Multi-Reed Artist Ted Nash and his Quintet at Dizzy's Club Coca Cola

Ted Nash Qunitet live at Dizzy's Coca Cola  Plastic Sax Records

Often musicians come from musical families and so is the case with the saxophonist/composer/arranger Ted Nash. Both his father and uncle were accomplished jazz and west coast studio musicians. Father Richard “Dick” Nash’s work can be heard on albums by discriminating arranger/composers like Lalo Schifrin, John Williams and Pete Rugulo. Perhaps his most important association was as Henry Mancini’s favorite trombonist, playing with the maestro for over forty years from 1959 through 2000.  Ted’s uncle and namesake, Theodore Malcolm “Ted” Nash, was also a studio musician who played with Les Brown and was also favored sideman in Mancini’s band. Here is a recording the brothers did together.

With this pedigree, it is no wonder that our now modern-day Ted, a seasoned fifty-eight year old professional musician, should follow in these imposing footsteps. Not only has Nash made his own mark as a first call multi-reed artist - for the last nineteen years he has been a key member of Wynton Marsalis' Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra- He has established himself as a top rate composer and arranger. In 2010 Nash's Portraits in Seven Shades, a creative work of seven movements, each depicting the modern painters Chagall, Dali, Matisse, Monet, Picasso, Pollock and Van Gogh, was nominated for a Grammy. In 2017 his ambitious Presidential Suite: Eight Variations on Freedom won two Grammy awards, one for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album and one for "Spoken At Midnight" for Best Instrumental Composition. 

Nash is the consummate musical explorer, he has never let his love for big band music get in the way of his playing creative improvised music in a myriad of settings. He has been an integral part of projects like his work with bassist Ben Allison on The Herbie Nichols Project or the trio with Allison and guitarist Steve Cardenas that celebrates the music of Jim Hall and Jimmy Giuffre on Quiet Revolution.  Not to be pigeonholed as a pure traditionalist he made his own free jazz explorations of the music of Ornette Coleman on his Quartet album The Creep.

With such an unquenchable thirst for ever expanding his musical horizons its nice to hear Nash play “live” on his latest album Ted Nash Quintet live at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola. The line up is superb with trailblazers like Warren Wolf on vibes, Gary Versace on piano, Matt Wilson on drums and the glue that holds it all together the veteran bassist Rufus Reid.

Nash and company offers up seven delightful compositions two of which, the opener “Organized Crime” and the next to last song “Sisters” are Nash originals. The remaining fare is a thoughtful assembly of songs by Chick Corea, Herbie Nichols, Thelonious Monk, Johnny Mandel and Henry Mancini.

The pace quickens right from the opening lines of Nash’s “Organized Crime.” Reid’s bulbous bass notes accentuating the rhythm under Wilson’s polyphony of bombs and crashes. Wolf offers a distinctive solo before Nash plays a searing, Coleman-esque alto solo.  Wilson’s playful antics are fill the air with electricity. The energy is palpable.

The band moves on to Corea’s masterpiece “Windows,” this time with Nash on flute reminiscent of the work on this by the great Hubert Laws. Wolf’s vibes and Versace’s piano lend an airy feel to this as Reid’s steady hand is probing with authority. Nash has wonderful intonation on the instrument. Versace, a pianist who deserves greater recognition, dances with superb sensitivity along with Reid in a gorgeous display of intuitive grace that is a highlight of the album.

Herbie Nichols, a cult figure on the piano known for his unique style, composed the next tune “Spinning Song.” Nash on alto and Wolf on vibes play the main theme in step. As the song changes to a slow swing Wolf again shows why he is a master of invention. The song has interesting breaks which the group navigates with effortless polish. Nash’s alto tone is rich and luscious as he trades notes with a lone Reid holding the line. Nash finds a delicate balance between a classic and modern tone. His playing brings you to the precipice at times but you never feel like you re in danger of falling off. 

What would a set list be without at least one Monk tune. The one Nash chooses is “Epistrophy,” brilliantly lead off by Wilson and Reid and played in unison by Versace, Wolf and Nash on alto. Monk would be shaking his leg in approval. Nash wails on his alto expressing a deep affection for the changes here and showing how well he has absorbed the tradition. Wolf loosens up the tune with his own excursion, a fountainhead of ideas, while Reid relentlessly lays down the powerful bass line. Versace’s piano solo is a marvelously twisted piece of invention as Wilson lands bombs and crashes behind him. This one is just a delight.

Nash takes to the microphone to explain how the next piece, Johnny Mandel’s beautiful ballad “Emily” is a dedication to his transgender daughter once Emily now Elias. This is a special moment for Nash, a man publicly acknowledging his unconditional love for his child. Played gorgeously by Gary Versace in duo with Nash’s transcendent clarinet, this one is special. Nash and Versace make beautiful music together and from Nash’s reaction that is caught on mic, Versace surprises him at times with his spontaneous and nuanced inventiveness. 
I recently praised a duo album by Fred Hersch and Anat Cohen using the same isntrumentation where I thought the two showed remarkable afinity for each other. Nash and Versace reach that same unfathomable simpatico here and it is just a treat to behold. You can tell by the complete and utter silence that the two command the room. The audience is spell bound. Bravo gentlemen!

Another Nash original, "Sisters," finds the saxophonist returning to his alto with relish and gusto on this quick paced swinger. Reid's bass line is in double time and flawless. Nash, Wolf and Versace all take turns burning down the house with their fleet, adreniline-paced inventions. 

The Nash-Mancini connection is inescapable and so it was appropriate to end the set with Mancini's playful "Baby Elephant's Walk." Nash plays the piccolo, an instrument rarely heard in jazz. Like the legendary Pied Piper, Nash leads the group on this rousing blues with joyful abandon, ending the show and the album on the perfect high note.

Live albums can at times be spoty or unisnpired, but Ted Nash Quintet live at Dizzy's Coca Cola is one of those rare recordings that has captiured a special moment in time, a moment when all things were working at the highest level and the only regret is that you weren't there to witness this for yourself.

Emory Jazz Fest 2018: Peter Erskine, Darek Oles, Warren Wolf and Gary Motley perform at the Schwartz Center

Gary Motley, Darek Oles, Warren Wolf and Peter Erskine at Emory's Schwartz Center

On Friday February 9^th the 2018 Emory Jazz Fest presented a sophisticated quartet at the beautiful Schwartz Center featuring the world class drummer Peter Erskine, the vibraphonist Warren Wolf, the bassist Darek Oles and Emory’s own director of Jazz Studies Gary Motley on piano. The concert on Friday was the highlight of a series of master classes that professor Motley arranged with the drummer/educator Peter Erskine to conduct on Thursday for the jazz studies students. Bringing in musicians of Mr. Erskine’s caliber, to share their in-depth insight, makes the musical educational experience at Emory appreciably more vibrant and Professor Motley should be applauded for his continuing efforts in this direction. Past performers at the Emory Jazz Fest have featured an impressive array of artists including the trumpeter Nicholas Payton, the saxophonist Theodross Avery, the drummer Carl Allen, the bassist Rodney Whitaker, the clarinetist Anat Cohen, multi-reed artist Victor Goines, the violinist Regina Carter and drummer Terreon Gulley.  The Emory Jazz Alliance should also be commended for their dedication to supporting the jazz studies program at Emory by raising awareness of this admirable art form.

The concert on Friday night was a highlight open to the public. A drum clinic on Saturday morning was opened to the public and was packed with drummers who wanted to get some of the inside scoop on techniques from the jubilant Mr. Erskine. Erskine, a roundish almost jovial presence, peppered his Saturday morning clinic and demonstration with some pithy anecdotes about his career and the various characters that he has worked with over the years, from Walter Becker and Donald Fagen of Steely Dan to Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter from his Weather Report Days. 

Erskine’s work can be heard on over seven hundred recordings starting with the Stan Kenton Big Band,  the seminal fusion group Weather Report and the cutting edge group Steps Ahead and including his work with artists from Joni Mitchell, Diane Krall and Jaco Pastorious to Bob Mintzer and Pat Metheny. He is a drummer’s drummer.

I attended both the Friday night concert and the Saturday morning drum clinic with Mr. Erskine. I was unable to attend the Saturday performance where Mr. Erskine and Mr. Oles performed with Mr. Motley and the Emory jazz orchestra and the Emory Symphony Strings.

The Friday night concert was nearly sold out, with the audience anxious to see this talented group perform. The group started with Erskine’s own composition “Twelve” which is a swinger loosely based on Cole Porter’s “Easy to Love.” Warren Wolf, whose vibraphone was center stage, took the lead solo; a smoothly executed cascade of high register notes. Mr. Motley seated at the piano stage left, took the second solo, a brief one featuring some interesting block chording ala George Shearing. The bassist Oles (whose full name is Darek Oleszkiewicz) offered a facile, deep-toned solo of his own before Erskine ended the piece with his own rousing barrage.

“Solstice” was the next selection, a pretty melody written by Mr. Motley and featured on his fine album No Reservations Required, released in 2017, but played here at a slower more sensitive pace. Kenny Barron’s “The Traveler” became the vehicle for some nice synchronous playing between Wolf’s vibraphone and Motley’s piano. Watching Erskine was like a lesson in technique. While the drummer for the most part played very laid back, he utilized sticks, brushes, the back of his brush, mallets and every other technique to get the sound he wanted.

Mr. Wolf led the proceeding for the most part when he was on stage. His composition “Sweetbread,” an upbeat swinger, was the next selection and his work on the vibes was light and liquid. He drew upon that tubular sound of his instrument to great effect letting the ring of those metal tubes linger in the air when appropriate. Erskine started to push the proceedings along a bit and Mr. Motley seemed to respond to the prodding with his own invigorated piano work.

Mr. Wolf’s beautiful ballad “Annoyance” from his album Wolfgang was said to be inspired by an annoyingly repeated note in one of Mozart’s compositions. Mr. Wolf, who credits the vibraphonist Dave Samuels as his mentor, can be quite moving on his instrument. The talented Wolf can also play drums, marimba and piano.

Mr. Wolf then left the stage and the quartet turned into Mr. Motley’s trio. The group did a Cole Porter tune “Everything I Love.” The song started out with a call and response between Oles and Erskine. You could see the intuitive nature of these two communicating on the stand as they have worked numerous times together over the years. Being the odd man out, Motley at times during the evening seemed a bit tentative, but on this one his solo work was a fountainhead of creativity and nuance. It became obvious that it became his trio and the three musicians responded to his commanding direction.

Wolf returned, and the quartet did a Stevie Wonder composition “Knocks Me Off My Feet” from his Songs in the Key of Life for the final song. The funky arrangement featured a nice solo by Wolf.  The group took a bow and the audience stood applauding until they came back for a final encore.

The group did an encore of “You and the Night and the Music,” which featured one of Motley’s most adventurous solos of the night. Wolf was as smooth as silk. Oles kept a rock-solid tempo throughout the evening and Erskine made his nuanced drum work look like it was effortless. The drummer ended the set with a rolling tom solo that scintillated the crowd.

The group never got too out of the box but presented a very polished performance that was reminiscent of the sophisticated work of John Lewis and Milt Jackson with their seminal group the Modern Jazz Quartet. 

Warren Wolf's "Convergence" : Converging on Excellence

Warren Wolf

The title of vibraphonist/multi-instrumentalist Warren Wolf is “Convergence,” a coordinated coming together of forces toward a single goal. In this case the forces are the formidable musicians that have come to take part in Wolf’s vision of music.  The core band is made up of Wolf on vibes, marimba and piano on one cut; Christian McBride on bass; Jeff “Tain” Watts on drums and pianist Brad Mehldau along with two songs that feature John Scofield’s soulful guitar work. Co-producer McBride wanted to bring the young lion of vibraphone into the spotlight and test his mettle by pairing him with this group of no nonsense talent. Wolf more than rose to the occasion, with the result a recording that combines grit, funk, swing, soul and outright beauty into one of the most satisfying albums of the year.

Warren Wolf's Convergence MAC 1105

The fun begins right from the opening bars of Wolf’s funky cha-cha shuffle “Soul Sister,” the perfect vehicle for Scofield’s twisted electric blues guitar as McBride and Watts drive the groove. Wolf’s melodic vibes have a sensuous smoothness to them, that cover you like silky lotion. 

On his “Four Stars from Heaven” the interplay with Mehldau is particularly insightful. The pianists signature angular sound darts perfectly with the intuitive rhythm section of McBride and Watts. Mehldau is a master of building tension in his solo. Wolf feeds off the inspiration and juxtaposes his own solo with a marvelously relaxed approach, building tension in a series of cascading arpeggios that get increasingly faster.  He brings the band back together for another Mehldau solo that rollicks as Watts creates a tumult of sounds on his toms, snare and cymbals before the band fades into the dreamy sounds of Wolf’s vibes at the coda.

Wolf reduces the band to a duo for” King of Two Fives” where he a McBride play off each other in a delightfully swinging conversation. McBride is a master of his instrument and hearing him play with such seemingly effortless facility is a pure joy. Wolf’s unobtrusive vibes are the perfect accompaniment during the bassist’s forays, lending beautiful sustained harmonies to the music.

Dave Samuel’s “New Beginning” utilizes another duo, this time Wolf and Mehldau. The beautiful sensitivity both players reveal recalls Bill Evan’s “Blue in Green” in part. Mehldau’s solo is Evanesque in his approach enhancing the connection to the old standard. These two have a great chemistry and the conversational quality and utter beauty of their musical dialogue is quite moving, reminiscent of the work of Corea and Burton did on their famed “Crystal Silence.”

The pulsing “Cell Phone” features the quartet again, with McBride’s relentless bass line and Watts polyrhythmic drum work surging the piece forward. Wolf’s blurred vibe tones and Mehldau’s staccato piano jabs all make for a frenetic frenzy of a piece, emblematic of Wolf’s aversion to cell phones that ring constantly.

“Montana” is a Bobby Hutcherson composition that is the epitome of a “chill” tune. Wolf employs the trio on this one, a subtle bass line and traps. The vibraphonist creates the dreamy landscape by overdubbing his own vibe accompaniment to his single note solo work on Marimba over the top with the effect being quite enchanting. Lay back on your lounge chair and enjoy this one with a tall one and you sure to relax.

The full ensemble is back for “Havoc,” a fusion tune written by Wolf but inspired by guitarist’s Scofield’s “Trim.” The group hard charges as Wolf and Scofield trade licks in a test of spontaneous creativity. The ensemble is tight as they whirl through some complex, serpentine passages at both the beginning and the end. Like oil and vinegar go together, Scofield’s guitar ekes out his nasty pungent sound and Wolf replies with his own tasty viscous flow of notes.

One of my favorite song’s of the early seventies was bassist Gene Perla’s “Transgiversation” that I first heard on Elvin Jones’ classic Merry Go Round from 1971. The title according to that album’s liner notes means “…something like the act of changing one’s mind continually, of being a renegade.” On it two monster Fender Rhodes players Chick Corea and Jan Hammer played opposite each other trading licks to this wonderful fast paced melody as Perla’s bass held the beat and Elvin played exquisite brushes. Here Wolf, McBride and Watts play this swinger to perfection. Wolf’s vibes mimic the Rhodes sound perfectly. McBride takes an auspicious solo that wasn’t present in the Jones/ Perla original, but is fabulously swinging and Watts keeps the pace pushing in true Jones-style. Wolf doesn’t have another lead foil to do battle with, but no matter, his endless creativity is amply up to the task of making this an awe inspiring rendition that put a smile on my face. See for yourself.

Stevie Wonder’s “Knocks Me Off My Feet” is a slow sensual ballad that features Wolf as the multi-instrumentalist. This time he overdubs a piano accompaniment and his marimba solo work on top of his vibes as McBride and Watts provide subtle rhythmic support.

The spiritually sound of Wolf’s warm marimba kicks off his “A Prayer For the Christian Man” with its deliberate back and forth sway accentuated by McBride’s plucky bass. The dirge-like song takes its inspiration from John Coltrane’s “Alabama” and Wolf’s deeply moving mallet work is as reflective as you’ll find. The Coltrane inspiration is carried on by a stirring Elvin Jones-like poly-rhythmic burst at the end by the formidable Jeff “Tain” Watts.

The finale is all solo Wolf, playing the delicate hollow sounding Marimba, first on sensitive rendition of Hoagy Carmichael’s “Stardust” joined in medley with a utterly fantastically whimsical version of the classical piece, Chopin’s Minute Waltz.

Warren Wolf’s music on this album ranges from the burning to the sublime and does it all with an easy aplomb. The excellence of Convergence marks Wolf as a major player on the contemporary music scene whose time has come.