Natalie Cressman's Turn The Sea: Is this the course of Indie-Jazz?

It is becoming an increasing cliché to talk about music being genre-crossing as it seems almost every week I come across music that defies categorization.  After reading many interviews by some of the most accomplished practitioners of contemporary , improvisational based music, often lumped together in a category labeled “ jazz" ( link to  my review here of Radhika Philip’s book of interviews titled Being Here), it becomes apparent that most musicians shun having their music pigeon-holed by  labels at all.

Along comes Turn The Sea, a new album from the twenty-two year old trombonist Natalie Cressman, who also happens to sing and compose,  and you realize how labels become a waste of time. Ms. Cressman comes from a musical family- a jazz vocalist mother and a trombone playing father-so it was a natural progression for the young woman to explore her own musical career. Her father was a one-time member of the band Santana as well as a touring member of the jamb band Phish. Admittedly, Ms. Cressman had a distinct advantage when her father decided to quite touring with Phish and suggested his daughter to replace him in the brass section. She was just eighteen at the time. Getting a once in a lifetime opportunity is one thing but making it on tour as a professional musician and completing an education at Manhattan School of Music is a feat few could handle at such a young age. She certainly seems to have managed nicely.

 Turn the Sea incorporates many diverse elements including Ms. Cressman’s trombone, her compositional tendency toward storytelling  and her beguiling voice. Ms. Cressman’s voice has an indie-folk, softly spoken sound- a modern version of Jacqui McShee comes to mind- and she harmonizes with herself nicely through overdubs, especially on Bon Iver’s “Blindsided,”  one of only two tunes on the album that are not her own compositions. 

The  music is expertly played by her band Jonathan Stein on acoustic and electric bass, Gabe Schnider on guitar, Samora Pinderhughes on keyboards, Ivan Rosenberg on trumpet, Steven Lugerner on flute, clarinet and bass clarinet , James Casey on tenor saxophone, Michael Mitchell on drums and of course Ms. Cressman on voice and trombone. 

The music is well conceived exploring multiple rhythmic patterns, adept arrangements and vocals that linger hauntingly in their purposeful unpretentious beauty. The result is a surprisingly fresh approach that incorporates some of the best elements of jazz and indie music and defies categorization. 

Natalie Cressman

As a brass player herself, Ms. Cressman is well aware of the impact a good brass and reed section can lend to a song when incorporated into the mix effectively. To her credit she uses the various voices in her ensemble to great effect especially  on the opening of the title tune “Turn the Sea.”   The synchronous front line playing of reed and brass lend the song a jazz sensibility and cues the listener to be on the lookout for creative arrangements.

"Fortune’s Fool” is propelled by an interesting rhythmic pattern developed nicely by Stein’s serpentine bass lines, Mitchell’s syncopated percussive drive and the ethereal keyboard work of Pinderhughes.  This song utilizes echoed guitar chords and a dancing flute to give it a light atmospheric sound accentuated by the airy Celleste sounding Rhodes work by Pinderhughes and Cressman’s deft vocalizations.

Cressman’s successful reworking of the Bon Iver song “Blindsided” is the most Indie sounding of the songs on the album. Cressman utilizes overdubs of her own mid-ranged voice juxtaposed against some tasty bass clarinet work by Steven Lugerner to great effect in the chorus. This opens to a poignantly played trombone solo that is surrounded by dancing reeds. Jonathan Stein’s acoustic bass anchors the song with a large firm tone throughout.

“New Moon” is a mixture of modal groove, Ms. Cressman’s storytelling accentuated by flute and reed orchestration and  West African inspired chants and rhythms. One might suspect the mixture could tend toward the schizophrenic, but Ms. Cressman manages to make the seemingly disparate elements work quite well together. At times on this song, when she harmonizes with her own voice, she sounds strongly reminiscent of the Polish singer Basia Trzetrzelewska, but the music is a prime example of a blurring of genres.

On Hanne Hukkeberg’s “Do Not As I Do,” perhaps the most melodic of the songs on the cd, the cautionary lyrics are recited by Cressman who talks of past mistakes without judgment and no regrets. Her voice is light and confident as she sings the chorus with an innocent beauty. 

“Checkout Time,” uses multiple overdubs of Cressman’s voice to create an eerie repeating rhythmic pattern over which she sings the main lines accompanied only by Rhodes. A deeply echoed voice is electronically enhanced as she sings accompanied by Gabe Schnider’s sparse guitar. The song has a an electronically enhanced minstrel-like quality to it, but doesn’t seem to be fully realized.

“Winter Chill” is Ms. Cressman’s most pop oriented of the songs on this album. The lyrical content of the song is predictably about a lost love and the orchestration is the least daring of her compositions,  the chorus being the most memorable part.

On “Stolen Away” Ms. Cressman returns to the rhythmic influence of West Africa. Mr. Schnider keeps the beat with his syncopated rhythm guitar as Ms. Cressman gives us a taste of her musical muscle on a rousing trombone solo.  The band creates an irresistibly danceable groove that is only reinforced by Ms. Cressman’s repeated catchy vocal refrain of “Stolen Away.” This one could be prime for repeat radio play.

The finale is an electronically produced version of the title tune “Turn The Sea,” a remix version produced by the band’s bassist Jonathan  Stein. Ms Cressman’s trombone solo is drenched in electronic sounds and synthesized sounds have been incorporated throughout. The production sounds a bit too busy for me and I prefer the original version.

Though a bit uneven Turn The Sea is for the most part an enjoyable offering and deserves a serious listen.  It just goes to prove that improvisational music can successfully take off in any number of directions and it’s up to us to be open enough to consider the possibilities.

Jazz Connect Conference Unites the Jazz Community at APAP NYC

On Thursday January 10^th and Friday January 11^th the Jazz Community got together to meet, renew friendships  and attend a series of panel discussions on the state of the music industry and jazz music in particular. The conference, held at the Hilton Hotel in NYC,  was sponsored as part of APAP (Association of Performing  Arts Presenters) NYC 2014 event and organized by Jazz Times magazine and the Jazz Forward Coalition. The theme of the conference  “The Road Ahead” with many of the conference panel discussions dealing with topics that are particularly relevant for musicians, producers, record labels, journalists and media experts operating in today’s increasingly morphing  entertainment and performing environment.

As a member of the Jazz Journalist Association and a freelance journalist specializing in jazz, I considered it a good place to connect with many of the artists whose music I listen to, to meet with fellow writers to discuss concerns and outlooks and to generally take the pulse of the industry. I was only able to attend the conference on Thursday, but I got to sit through several interesting presentations that were of particular interest to me.

“Engaging the Jazz Media Gatekeepers” was a panel discussion that was that sponsored by the Jazz Journalist Association,  with JJA President Howard Mandel moderating a panel  consisting Monifa Brown from Shanachie/WBGO, Newark, NJ ; Evan Haga from JazzTimes; J. Michael Harrison from WRTI Philadelphia; Hank Shteamer from the print weekly TimeOut  New York.  The concept is that  media professionals, like journalists and radio hosts, are gatekeepers between the musician and his ultimate audience. The panelists, prodded by moderator Mr. Mandel, revealed the process they use when they choose to promote a particular artist or album on their outlet. The discussion was broadly attended by musicians who were interested in getting insight into how they might improve their chances of having their music covered by the media. Some of the suggestions that came from the discussion seemed obvious. The general consensus from the panel was that with the sheer volume of label and self-produced material received made it virtually impossible to program or feature anything but the most compelling material. Clearly the subjective taste of the gatekeeper was a big factor in whether or not he or she would feature any particular music on their outlet. As Monifa Brown of WBGO said, try to target a presenter who might be sympathetic to your particular type of music; i.e. don’t send cabaret vocals to a hard bop aficionado as it most likely won’t be played. With stacks of music waiting to be opened, how does one choose which to look at and in which order? 

Several of the panel members confessed to looking for "name" artists when hunting through submissions as a way to cull out potential choices. Clearly having an artist of the stature of a Joe Lovano or a legend like Billy Hart on your album gets the gatekeeper's attention. If these guys are playing with this artist then maybe I should take a listen. I confess to being influenced by the presence of an artist that I already like on a new offering, but that leads to another question which was unfortunately never addressed at the conference. Does popular opinion within the insular jazz writing and radio community work to the detriment of uncovering new artists that deserve to be heard?  How do new artists or even established artists who remain on the periphery get the necessary exposure they need to become part of the discussion? Do new artists need to align themselves strategically with the artist du jour or an established legend to receive adequate ink and frequent air play? Is this a viable strategy for an artist provided he can remain true to his creative spirit? How do we as the gatekeepers ensure we are inclusive enough to continually expand the exposure of deserving artists?

Only speaking for myself, I try to listen to each and every artist whose music that I receive, whether or not they are known to me. If it is sent to me then the least I can do is take a serious listen. It can be a daunting task to give the music its fair share of listening time. There is many an instance when a piece of music doesn't immediately strike my fancy, but upon careful repeat listening I discover something that makes it worth the second effort. 

In this information age where we limit ourselves to  140 characters to get our point across, where people have little or no time to read in depth writing about national policy let alone jazz music how can an artist make enough of an impression to gain an audience? These are some of the perplexing issues that face new jazz artists.

Another panel discussion was titled “The New Paradigm for Record Labels” and was moderated by Jim Cuomo of Entertainment One Distribution with panelists musician Dave Douglas, of Green Leaf Music;  Jana Herzon from Motema Music;  musician Greg Osby of Inner Circle Music; Seth Rosner of Pi Records; Denny Stilwell of Mack Avenue Records and Oliver Weindling of Bable Records.  

This discussion was centered on the way the music was being delivered with streaming and downloads taking and increasing share of product placement over hard copy cds.  Artists who have formed their own labels like Dave Douglas and Greg Osby were finding that many of their listeners prefer the immediacy of downloads, using them as an entry point to the artist and his music.  It was noted that many of the younger audience have never used a cd player. Despite the fidelity issues of various media players, young people prefer downloads for their portability and space considerations. A resurgence of vinyl in record production was discussed, but it was clear that it is a tiny part of  overall sales and it has greater penetration in the European market where fidelity and cover art seemed to be of greater concern.

The effect of Spotify, the on-line streaming music service, was also discussed with most panelists deciding that the trend was inevitable. As to whether or not the overall effect on the music industry and the artists in particular was positive or negative, the sentiment was that it remained to be seen, but the consensus was that the artist share of the revenue had to be increased to a more sustainable share for it to be good for all concerned. 

I caught part of an inspirational address given by Wendy Oxenhorn from the non-profit Jazz Foundation of America, speaking passionately about the work she and the foundation has done and continues to do for elder jazz musicians who have fallen on hard times. Ms. Oxenhorn welled-up with emotion as she recalled once  finding the late saxophonist Cecil Payne, stubbornly but proudly living in seclusion, barely eating. Realizing his peril she  finally convinced him into accepting some help. I confess the story almost brought me to tears. Clearly the Jazz Foundation is a labor of love that needs to be supported by all of us and Wendy’s tireless work will be sorely missed as she is stepping down as President.

Between these and concurrent panel discussions, the conference was a great hang. I got to meet many of the musicians that I have listened to and written about and the feeling of community was palpable. The final panel that I was able to attend was held by the JJA in the afternoon.  I  met face to face with fellow members to discuss how we as a writers, educators and advocates could expand our effort to support the music. We discussed how we could continue our association with jazz educational institutions as a viable means to bring the appreciation of jazz to a younger audience.  It was agreed that we should all make efforts to raise awareness of the music locally by promoting Jazz April, the upcoming month of April as Jazz Appreciation Month and April 30th 2014 as International Jazz Day.

At the conclusion of the day I came away with a sense of being a part of something that was quite extraordinary, a community of people who aspire to create, preserve, promote and proselytize a very special music. A music that transcends boundaries and unites us all by raising our awareness. An awareness that we are all members of the human race and that creative expression is something that needs to be actively nurtured if we are to ever to reach our limitless potential as part of that race..

Ben Allison "The Stars Look Very Different Today"

                                                                Sonic Camera Records

With a distinctively science fiction flavor,  composer/bassist Ben Allison’s latest  The Stars Look Very Different Today  follows a Star Trekian path to “…to boldy go where no man has gone before.”  For
Mr. Allison the path is the creation of modern, approachable improvisational music and here he is once again successful in blazing the way.

Continuing on the science fiction/outer space theme, the album title is taken from a line in David Bowie’s Space Oddity which back in 1972 was itself a bold statement on a changing world and the disorienting effects of scientific progress. Over forty years later, Mr. Allison clearly influenced by Bowie among others of his generation, is not so much disoriented by space-aged technology as he is fascinated by the possibilities that it creates. The textures and sounds he now has at his disposal as a result of this technology is what seems to interest him and he sets forth to show us that he has learned how to use them tastefully.

The album offers a curious mix of deep space and terra-firma. Songs like “The Ballad of Joe Buck,” and “No Other Side,” with their strange combination of twang and techno, seem clearly more down to earth, a view from the ground up as it were. These songs are curiously juxtaposed against his more spacey creations like  “Neutron Star,” “ D.A.V.E.” (Digital Awareness Vector Emulation) and “Improvisus”  where there is no doubt that Mr. Allison has had his head in the stars as of late. All his compositions seem to offer a unifying cinematic quality where you can see yourself in the sound scape he creates no matter how alien those places may seem.

The band is made up of a pulsating rhythm section. Mr. Allison strumming his bass, creating a drone-like beat. Drummer Allison Miller producing military-like cadences on her traps keeping everyone in step. This is especially notable on the lead song “D.A.V.E. “ The two guitar format is unusual but effective. Mr. Allison employs these two lead instrumental voices as perfect foils in both attack and tone. Mr. Cardenas is a sumptuously lyrical player with a warm, smooth tone and marvelous harmonic sensibilities as featured on the beautiful “Dr. Zaius.” Mr. Seabrook is a wrecking ball of a player whose has an arsenal of sounds that range from penetratingly piercing to simply sublime. Seabrook’s creative use of the banjo adds another dimension most interestingly on a song like the brooding and sauntering “The Ballad of Joe Buck.” The deliberately slow, exaggerated pace of the melody belies the degree of skill it takes to do this kind of song effectively and reminds me of some of the progressive work in this style done by the seriously under appreciated group Slow Poke.

“Neutron Star” is a repeating, ascending guitar vamp by Mr. Cardenas that is punctuated by the rhythmic chording and electronics of Mr. Seabrook and  Mr. Allison’s booming bass lines over Ms. Miller’s rolling toms and splashing cymbals. Cleverly employing the  electronic and acoustic sounds of his band, Mr. Allison and his group manage to create a field of pulsing rhythmic energy, a musical neutron star.

“Kick it Man” is an ostinato based, crescendo building vamp that feels like you are in a situation room where the world outside is growing ever more dangerous, accentuated to frenzy by Ms. Miller’s bombastic drum solo. Could this be Mr. Allison’s statement on the invasion of tranquility that technology brings with it?

“Swiss Cheese D” is an electronic, riff-based shuffle that features Mr. Allison playing some facile bass lines. Mr. Seabrook interjects wild electronic sounds from both guitar and banjo while Mr. Cardenas offers staccato guitar lines and brash chords as Ms. Miller keeps the fractured time.

As a progressive composer Mr. Allison is  looking to embrace aspects of popular contemporary music combining them with  skilled improvisational techniques, including the creative use of electronics and codifying them into original works. He like others are blazing a musical path that has not yet been fully explored. Hopefully his efforts will spark interest in a new generation of listeners that are discontent with what the current popular music scene has to offer. Raising the plane of what we can expect from our musical artists.

With The Stars Look Very Different Today, Mr. Allison and friends have provided a musical journey to no particular destination.  For those who wish to take the ride it offers some interesting sights and sounds along the way.


All Music composed By Ben Allison:
Personnel:
Ben Allison, Bass : Steve Cardenas,  guitar;  Brandon Seabrook, guitar, Banjo; Allison Miller, drums

East Meets West - Review of "Spirit and Spice" by George Brooks' Summit

CD: George Brooks    Spirit And Spice
(Earth Brother CD 1011)



The musical path of saxophonist George Brooks is a serpentine one to say the least. He has always seemed to be attracted to slightly out of the mainstream artists such as the pianist Jaki Byard, the iconoclast saxophonist Jimmy Guiffre and trombonist Slide Hampton. He has studied with George Russell, played in orchestras led by Gunther Schuller and collaborated with the minimalist composer/pianist Terry Riley. Sometime back in the 1980’s he took two extended trips to India and there he became captivated by the music of this ancient land. He studied with and befriended master Indian vocalist Pandit Pran Nath, a friendship that lasted until the master’s death in 1996.



With a thorough understanding of India’s raga style he has played with many important Indian musicians both here and abroad. His association with master fusion drummer and one time member of the rock group Journey, Steve Smith, led him to form his Raga Bop Trio with Smith and Indian electric guitarist Prasanna. His work with tabla master Zakir Hussain led him to be a featured artist on John McLauglin’s "Floating Point " album in 2008.


On Spirit And Spice, Brooks has written and performed an interesting, sonically rich and rhythmically alive collection of music that successfully integrates two distinct musical forms, creating an alluring hybrid having its own distinct appeal.

From the opening salvo “Monsoon Blues” you get hit with a high-powered funk driven song. Electric bassist Kai Eckhardt’s keeps the groove in front of the syncopated beat of Steve Smith and the honky tenor saxophone of Brooks. Brooks has some Maceo Parker soul/funk going on here, perhaps a nod to his early days backing blues artists like Etta James and  Motown favorites like The Temptations. Toward the end the group adds some curried spicing to the tune by introducing a section with Indian multi-percussionist and vocalist Sridar Parthasarathy that turns this into a ragified funk, undoubtedly unlike anything you’ve heard before.


On “Spice” Brooks introduces a classical piano sound played by Frank Martin to the mystical bowing of Indian violinist Kala Ramnath and the twangy sitar sounds of Nildadri Kumar along with his own tenor, creating an exotic blend that carries you into the mysterious world of the bazzar. Brilliant interplay by Fareed Haque on guitar and Swapan Chaudhuri on tabla along with Smith’s amazingly empathetic drumming completes this journey into the depths of this far away land of antiquity and intrigue.


“Silent Prayer-Madhuvanti” is a seductive melody that Brooks plays with a clean, affirmation of someone who is comfortable in his own skin. Brooks work with Haque is crisp and synchronous as the two play in front of Smith’s ever increasingly driven back beat.

The most approachable song on the album is the forceful “Spirit”. Brooks plays the repeating melody line with a bright, forthright attack on tenor. Breaking the tension created by Brooks' high-powered introduction, Haque softly introduces a repeating guitar riff, accompanied by Martin on piano. The song reminds me a bit of Weather Report, sans the electronics, as it builds on a heavily driving beat laid down unerringly by Smith with Haque guitar and Martin’s accompanying piano chords.
(Photo by Stuart Brinnin)

“Lalita” features the eerie sounds of the bansuri, a wooden Indian instrument that looks and plays like a flute (here played by Ronu Majumdar) mixed with a haunting Indian vocal scat by female vocalist Hamiska Iyer. Brooks has a sensual Latin
inspired, almost Gato Barberi type sound on this number. Combined with the rain forest flute-like sounds of the bansuri makes this song an unusual cross-cultural delight. A few short bars from Santana’s “Black Magic Woman” at the coda emphasize the Latin influence.


“Sri Rollins” has a Calypso-like beat that pays homage to Sonny Rollins work on his classic Caribbean inspired “St. Thomas” . Brooks has absorbed many styles into his repertoire and here he shows just one more facet to his saxophone personality. Haque similarly does some nice guitar work ala Jim Hall.

“Pehkar for Hamza” is my favorite cut on the album, as it creates an air of spirituality and searching that is very moving to behold. Here the great tabla player Zakir Hussain’s wonderful and magical percussive skills are the perfect backdrop for the musings of Kumar’s poignant sitar and Brooks mellifluous saxophone. Hussain’s finger technique is amazing and Smith undoubtedly finds it invigorating to play drums along with such a kinetic percussionist. I suggest closing your eyes, turning up the stereo or donning the headphones and just listen to this wonderfully evocative piece of music.


“Casting” is the last song on the album and the only song that finds Brooks on soprano saxophone. This is perhaps the most new age sounding song on the record. A smooth melodious tune that is very easy listening and pleasant, but after the mesmerizing effect of the aforementioned “Pehkar for Hamza” somewhat of a let down for me as a finale.

 (In Picture l to r Zakir Hussain, George Brooks, Kai Eckhardt, Fareed Haque & Steve Smith )

All in all this is a fine, well-played album that successfully bridges the gap between Indian music and jazz in a way not heard since John McLaughlin’s Shakti. With his  Summit group George Brooks may have found the perfect formula for melding  mysticism with modernity.

Recorded : Studio D , Sausalito, CA 2010
Musicians:
George Brooks (Saxophones); Fareed Haque (guitar); Kai Eckhardt (bass); Steve Smith (drums) with Kala Ramnath (violin); Niladri Kumar (sitar); Frank Martin (piano); Sridar Parthasarathy (mrdangam, ghatam, ka & vocals) track 1; Zakir Hussain (tabla) track 7; Celso Alberti (percussion) track 8; Swapan Chaudhuri (tabla) tracks 2 & 5,