Renee Rosnes "Beloved of the Sky"

Renee Rosnes Beloved of the Sky Smoke SSR-1801

The stark cover art on pianist Renee (pronounced Ree Nee) Rosnes latest album Beloved of the Sky features a tall, spindly, yet singularly defiant pine standing in a field of stumps; remnants of its clear-cut brethren. The painting is titled Scorned as Timber, Beloved of the Sky and was painted by Northwest Canadian artist named Emily Carr back in 1935 when the artist was sixty-five years old; some say at the peak of her creative powers.

The painting was the source of inspiration for another Pacific Northwest born and raised Canadian, the pianist Renee Rosnes, who at fifty-six is showing signs of entering her own peak of creative powers as an impressive instrumentalist, a formidable composer and a leader in her own right. She is joined by a powerhouse group of like-minded innovators including scarily talented multi-reed artist Chris Potter, the sublime vibraphonist Steve Nelson, stalwart bassist Peter Washington and driving drummer Lenny White.

I first heard Rosnes on a great JJ Johnson album titled Heroes from 1998 where her playing just blew me away. I’ve been a fan ever since. In a year where we  are finally celebrating the talented women in jazz, Rosnes is a clear leading lady in this genre.

Renee Rosnes (Photo credit unknown)

If you have any doubt about the creative forces bubbling out of this woman just listen to the driving opener titled “Elephant Dust,” a reference to an allergic reaction to petting a circus elephant.  The music is a supercharged composition that is utterly original, pinning you to your seat from the very start. Many songs have a powerful drive, but few challenge conventions so effectively with the marvelous use of fractured, staccato changes that Rosnes employs and which the group navigates with graceful aplomb. The irrepressible Potter’s frenetic lead tenor intertwining brilliantly with Rosnes piano and Nelson’s buoyant vibes as Washington and White lay down a roiling rumble. Rosnes can play with the best of them, her splendid solo just a sample of this woman’s chops. This song is a joy and one can just imagine how much fun the musicians had laying this breathless track down.

“Scorned as Timber, Beloved of the Sky” is the most representative composition of Rosnes thoughtful rumination on the subject matter of Carr’s cover painting. Potter’s lilting soprano rises above Rosnes' resonating piano lines like the lone pine that stands in lonely defiance of its blighted surroundings. There is a somber grace here that has elements of classical music somehow woven with nativist underpinnings. Washington’s bass often providing a booming backdrop in concert with Rosnes piano.  When the pianist offers a brief solo it is a gorgeous interlude that bespeaks of the great natural beauty that is being so recklessly dismissed in the name of progress. Potters soprano solo soars on gossamer wings and Nelson’s tubular sound is reverential. An aural feast.

The album is filled with interesting music, often thematically connected by a sense of flow. “Mirror Image” was originally commissioned for the SF Jazz Collective of which Rosnes is a charter member. The song was composed as a feature for legendary vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson and here features Steve Nelson and Chris Potter. Rosnes graceful composition is a series of shimmering reflections that ascend and descend with a fluidity that create the underpinning for the soloists to expand upon. Potter is particularly expansive on his tenor.

While recording this album, Rosnes must have been channeling the late Bobby Hutcherson, who she played with for more than twenty years. She takes a particularly reflective solo on the vibraphonist's delightful composition “Rosie.” Potter never seems to be short on ideas and once again his biting tenor steals the show, while Nelson’s reserved ringing tubes offer a warm counterpoint.

On Rosnes jet-fueled “Black Holes” we are treated to the rhythmic stylings of this powerful pianist. Drummer White is particularly potent here, but it is the dazzling interplay between Rosnes and Potter that is the highlight. Washington lays down some powerful bottom and White is propulsive while Rosnes ostinato prods an energetic exchange with Potter’s hair-raising tenor, bringing the music to new heights and a powerful coda.

The contemplative Rosnes composition “The Flame and the Lotus”  features the melody line played in unison by Potter’s tenor and Nelson’s vibes, as White plays his toms in a cadenced march. After a brief Nelson solo, Rosnes takes a solo that gives us a taste of her bluesy side. Potter gives another rousing solo before the group returns back to the original melody line.

“Rhythm of the River” is another Rosnes composition that has a distinctive samba pulse. The group sounding to me like early Return to Forever and Potter’s flute sounding eerily like the great Joe Farrell’s at times. 

Alec Wilder’s “The Winter of My Discontent” is a ballad that Rosnes plays with great sensitivity. The pianist first heard this brooding melody as a teenager sung by the vocalist Helen Merrill and accompanied by the pianist Dick Katz.  Potter takes a gorgeously plaintive solo and Peter Washington’s bass gets to the core of the emotional poignancy of this song with a masterful pizzicato solo.

The closer is a pure swinger, "Let the Rumpus Start," whose pulse is given its swagger by this fabulous rhythm section of Washington and White. Rosnes is remarkably adept at fitting in some bubbling lines on her piano while the crew percolate behind her. Potter is no stranger to letting loose in front of a swinging section and Washington’s facile bass is given a chance to strut his stuff. The song ends with White taking turns at different rhythmic variations.

Renee Rosnes’ Belovedof the Sky, which will be released on Smoke Records on April 6th,  is simply a superlative session that stimulates the senses on so many levels and provokes serious and rewarding listening for those willing to take the time.

The Joyous Feel of Guitarist Dave Stryker on "Strykin' Ahead"

Dave Stryker Strykin' Ahead

Sometimes when you just do what you do so well you can be taken for granted. Guitarist Dave Stryker has been around now plying his trade like a journeyman for nearly forty-years. During his maturation, the Omaha born guitarist did a two-year apprenticeship with the organist Brother Jack McDuff, and then worked a ten-year stint with the saxophone giant Stanley Turrentine. With twenty-eight recordings as a leader under his belt, you’d think he would be better known. His last three recordings Eight Track, Messin’ with Mr. T and Eight Track II,  and his work with the under-the-radar saxophonist Steve Slagle, have all received critical acclaim. People are starting to notice just how good Stryker is. The guitar icon Pat Metheny said about Stryker “…he just gets better and better with one of the most joyous feels around.” 

This summer, I had the opportunity to see Stryker as he played with the bassist Nilson Matta in Bar Harbor, ME on a program titled Samba Meets Jazz.  He struck me as a subtle, accomplished player, not prone to showing off technical prowess, who was well versed in all styles and whose fluid playing did indeed exude a sense of joyous exuberance

Dave Stryker photo Ralph A. Miriello 2017

On his latest Strykin’Ahead the guitarist redeploys the musicians that he used so successfully on his Eight Track II album. The group includes Jared Gold on organ, McClenty Hunter on drums and Steve Nelson on vibraphone. Boy can these guys make magic together.

From the cascading opener Stryker’s “Shadowboxing” to the beautifully realized version of Wayne Shorter’s classic “Footprints,” the arrangements and execution are nuanced and superb. Stryker knows the strengths of his fellow bandmates and he employs them with a deft precision. Nelson’s use of space and Gold’s light touch on the B3 are both exemplary.  Stryker’s playing, almost non-chalant, is never flashy, always so confident and subdued that it can seem deceptively simple. But rest assured it is full of imagination. Hunter is that rare trapmaster who has  dynamic propulsion, big ears and exquisite taste.

Billy Strayhorn’s “Passion Flower” is given a brushed Bossa beat by Hunter, with Gold’s bass lines pulsing the music forward. Nelson and Stryker are musical soul-mates; both artisans in their ability to say so much with less.

Stryker shines on another of his originals “Strykin’ Ahead,” the fleet intro- Nelson, Gold and Stryker all playing the rapid opening line with cool precision.  With the gurgling pace provided by the driving Hunter, Stryker’s notes just fall from the guitarist’s fretboard like raindrops from a cloud. There is a stream of consciousness feel to the way he attacks his notes, a consistency that produces a smooth organic flow. When this group gets into a groove their cohesiveness  is a pure delight.

With guitarists, there is always room for a blues and on “Blues Down Deep” we get a little window into where it all began for Stryker. No flash here, just an economy of notes played with a sustained sense of emotional depth, following in the footsteps of some of his idols. Gold has a marvelous control of his B3,  producing sounds that are juicy with pathos and Nelson’s vibes resonate with bluesy authenticity.

The remainder of the set includes Clifford Brown’s “Joy Spring,” the Broadway hit “Who Can I Turn To” -where Stryker uses some Montgomery-like octave work-, and Parker’s tangled “Donna Lee,” which Stryker conforms to his slipstream style of playing.

 Strykin’ Ahead is an immensely satisfying album that should firmly establish Dave Stryker into the elite ranks of jazz guitarists working today.

Vibrapohonist Steve Nelson's Homage to Mulgrew Miller: "Brothers Under the Sun"

The vibraphonist Steve Nelson is one of those musicians who has been discreetly plying his craft over the years, most frequently with groups led by the pianist Mulgrew Miller and the bassist Dave Holland. On his latest album Brothers Under the Sun, a title that makes reference to the friendship and astrological affinity Nelson had with the pianist Mulgrew Miller (they were both born under the sign of Leo), Nelson selects a repertoire of songs that are either composed by late pianist or are strongly associated with him. The result is a rewarding collection of music that honor Miller's legacy by perfroming these songs with a joyful reverance, consummate professionalism and an unerring sense of swing.

The rhythm section of Peter Washington and Lewis Nash assure a skilled continuity of spirit for this endeavor, as they, with Nelson played on several recordings with Mr. Miller. The wild card here is the pianist Danny Grissett- who has played previously with this group under the leadership of trumpeter Jeremy Pelt- who does an admirable job of injecting his own creativity into this homage, including his own composition dedicated to Mr. Miller, the closer “Melody for Mulgrew.”

The album leads off with a sauntering “The More I See You” which Nelson plays faithfully in deference to the melody, an approach favored by Mr. Miller when he would play ballads. Nelson’s tone has a warm resonance that comes from the measured and deliberate attack of his mallets. Grissett incorporates some of Miller’s bluesy/gospel feel, while still fluidly traversing across the keys in a modern approach. The group pulses along with Washington’s warm, throbbing bass lines leading the way. Nash, a master swinger, knows how to subtly prod the group, propulsing them forward with just the right mixture of press rolls and cymbal splashes.

The Afro-Latin beat of Miller’s vibrant “Eastern Joy Dance,” allows the group a more fluid platform on which to improvise. Nelson’s mallets glide over the bars in a glissando of notes. Grissett is more angular in his approach here, as Washington and Lewis create the rhythmic rumble.

“Grew’s Tune” is one of Mr. Miller’s most memorable compositions and these guys do it royally. The lock-step, unison playing of Grissett and Nelson is coolly intuitive. Grissett’s solo is a miniature of style, before Washington offers his own impressively effervescent solo.

“Soul-Leo,” -a reference to the astrological sign that binds Miller and Nelson together forever- has its own special swagger. Washington’s bass guiding the tune like a beacon in the night. Nelson and Grissett once again play deftly in unison; both offer invigorated solos as Nash pushes the song along effectively behind Grissett’s repeating left-hand phrases to the coda.

The Rogers and Hart standard “It Never Entered My Mind,” is introduced by Nelson with a gently resonating vibes solo, after which the group picks up at a languished pace. The album continues with the Brazilian influenced Miller composition “Samba D’ Blue,” the bright, uplifting Nelson title composition “Brothers Under the Sun,” and  another  two Miller compositions “For Those Who Do” and the angular, Monkish “New Wheels,” where the group is at its dynamic best. The set ends with pianist Grissett’s persuasive homage, the buoyant and deferential “Melody for Mulgrew.”

Here is a video of Nelson with Miller from 2011: