Jazz | Pint | Amok Amor

Tonight I planned to listen to selections from discs relating to an up coming session. The theme for November is "Jazz & Place" - which I'm leaning towards music that I have connection the place and the music. maybe something from Chicago which I've nailed down to a couple of options - Miles Davis 'Live at the Plugged Nickel 1965' (I lived a short walk from where the club once stood and it's one of my favourite recordings from Miles) or Ken Vandermark's 'The Midwest School' (I heard this group, Audio One, at the Green Mill in 2013 and this was recorded in 2014 at the same venue). And then there's NYC, and The Stone in particular - Connie Crothers and Bill Payne ('The Stone Set'), Richard Tabnik ('Symphony for Jazz Trio') or Connie Crothers Quartet with Mark Weber.... a tough choice! Plus there's Will Holhauser/Michael Moore/Han Bennink 'Live in NYC' not only a souvenir from that gig at Drom where I happened to run into Bastian Duncker (it's a reminder of the time I spent in Greece where I'd been a couple of months before playing music alongside Bastian). It all feels a little nostalgic tonight... maybe it's the chamomile tea?

But in the end, I went off script and ended up listening to Amok Amor - Petter Eldh (bass) Christian Lillinger (drums) Wanja Slavin (alto sax) and Peter Evans (trumpet) - and their high energy playing almost crushed any nostalgic feelings that were kicking about! Seriously though, this is a recent bandcamp purchase that I bumped into will looking into Lillinger. He's quite the drummer and worth price of admission alone, but everyone plays well, and it's a really cohesive quartet. Maybe not music I will return to a lot but when the moment strikes me it can hit the spot.

Straight Horning: Steve Lacy - Hooky

I had a fun at the monthly hang with friends listening to jazz records. This month the focus was vocalist. My selections were "The Things You See in New York City" from Tranceformation's In Concert and "Places" from Fred Farell's Distant Song (and interesting disc on which he sings pieces by David Liebman and Richie Beirach). Others played tracks from the likes of Cecile McLorin Salvant, Lizz Wright, Mark Murphy, Roberta Gambarini, and Bessie Smith. We finished the evening with part of a DVD of Manhattan Transfer that was pretty cringe-worthy. It really isn't my bag so to end the evening the car ride home featured something with a bit more intensity of purpose (I came prepared!). I first heard Steve Lacy's Hooky when my mate Craig lent me his copy. It was right around the time I was getting into Lacy.... almost 20 years ago (ouch!), and that week I gave it plenty of spins. I really dig his tone on this one. Tonight, "No Baby" and the Tao Suite kept me company once again. The CD player in my car is coming to the end of it's life and it wouldn't eject the disc tonight so maybe I'll be hearing a bit more Hooky tomorrow! I've been holding out, but I made need to invest in a bluetooth speaker if the CD player dies on me.

The soothing sounds of Connie Crothers and Hayden Chisholm

On select nights over the past couple of weeks, Hadyen Chisholm's Circe (Jazz Haus Musik) and Connie Crothers' Music from Everyday Life (New Artists) have been doing the late night rounds as I drift off to sleep. Both are albums I return to often, particularly when the mind needs calming.

Lambic Jazz Vol. 2

The post-class hang continues and I'm going to try and keep these going for the rest of the semester.

The night started off with Paul Motian: Time and Time Again (ECM) Paul Motian (d) Joe Lovano (ts) Bill Frisell (g)
I was introduced to the Motian by way of Lee Konitz (and come to think of it, that's how I first heard Frisell too) and I was taken by his playing, both as a soloist and as an accompanist. This album is a great feature of the latter. I enjoy the way he doesn't play time the way you might expect, breaking things up, creating dialogue with the rest of the trio, seamlessly moving between different pulses and textures so naturally and utilizing space in ways few drummers do. Lately, I'm enjoying Motian the composer and there are some really nice tunes here - "Wednesday," "Whirlpool" and "K.T." They have a uncluttered, folk-song or nursery rhyme simpleness that appeals to me.

This trio is a great showcase three very identifiable musical personalities and while I 'm not a huge fan of Joe Lovano, this is the setting in which I prefer to listen to his music. As opposed to degenerating into an all-star hit out, these personalities come together as one to form a true ensemble sound, although at times they provide the illusion of moving independently of one another - perhaps a side-effect of playing together for 20+ years.

Next up was Liz Gorrill (these days known as Kazzrie Jaxen) and Andy Fite: Cosmic Comedy (New Artists Records) - a live set of nine piano and guitar duets to round the night out. There are a couple of things that stand out to me listening to these two - Karrie's rhythmic nature and drive and Andy's articulation and tone with an emphasis on the acoustic side of his instrument (which seems to be a rarity). There are plenty of surprises as they take some familiar forms to new places, it's a wild ride but a lot of fun. I'm not sure I can really put this into words but I feel it's rare to hear jazz like this - spontaneous improvisation at its finest. The music feels as if it could go anywhere and often, at the blink of an eye, it takes off on another plane. The way Andy's lines slide over the piano dirge on "Blues for the Child" always gives me a kick, and then there's the counterpoint throughout the album. It's hard to play favorites but the quiet surge of "A Dream of April" snuck up on me tonight.

Accompanying the music tonight was St. Louis Fond Traditional Gueuze by Van Honsebrouck. And now it's time to tune in to the cricket (1st test NZ vs India). Yes that's right, I'm combining three of my favorite things tonight.... make that four as I played some sax before dinner!

Vol.1 can be found here.

More from Kazzrie Jaxen

As I mentioned earlier the music of Kazzrie Jaxen has been pumping out of the speakers of late.

Released in late 2013, A Million Shimmering Fish (New Artists Records NA1057) comes from a 2010 duo concert with writer Mark Weber at the Outpost Performance Space in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The album draws largely from the first set - the 10-part poem sequence "Undulations Water & Clouds." For the most part, the format has Mark speaking followed Kazzrie freely improvising with exceptions being parts 3 & 5, where Kazzrie improvises as Mark speaks. At first I was a little disappointed with the lack of concurrent playing, but I was soon drawn into it and the sense of space it gave the album as a whole. The breaks following the poems had me waiting in anticipation for the surprises Kazzrie had in store (her playing is breathtaking).
Part 3, "On Breathing Down The Spine" also appears on Live at The Stone/NYC (New Artists Records 1046) with Mark appearing alongside the Connie Crothers Quartet.
The last four pieces come from the concert's second set - one solo piano piece ("Catharsis"), two pieces that feature Kazzire's vocals (in addition to piano) along with text from Mark ("Timebounce" & "How Deep Is The Ocean") and a delightfully fun encore. An engaging duo.

Mark has posted about the concert and the album (including the text for "Undulations") along with photographs on his blog - I wonder if the 2nd set (Kazzrie solo) will get released?

My introduction to Kazzrie's music came via the New Artists Records sampler disc which contains "Shine The Warrior's Heart" from her 1998 solo piano album For The Beauty Of The Earth (New Artists Records NA1030). I picked up not too long after hearing the sampler disc.

Around that time (2003 & early 2004) some albums that had plenty of repeated listens included:
Richard Tabnik - In The Moment (NA1015) and Life At The Core (NA1016). The trio and quartet albums that I discovered by chance at Tower Records online (if you can imagine that!).
Connie Crothers - Perception (SCCD31022)
Connie Crothers Quartet Ontology (New Artists NA1035)
These two albums of Connie's would accompany me on late night walks from Newtown over to Lyall Bay.
Lenny Popkin - Self-titled trio album on Lifeline Records (LR101) with Rich Califano (b) and Carol Tristano (d)
I was living in a flat with three other musicians and I remember them all being into trumpeter Terence Blanchard at the time. They had a live recording of his group that went on to record Bounce for Blue Note (I think it was from an IAJE performance that one of them went to). For whatever reason, it just didn't grab me. However, the half a dozen albums listed above did.

Kazzrie Jaxen

Due to a couple of recent releases of late, I have been listening to Kazzrie Jaxen (formerly known as Liz Gorrill). For those of you unfamiliar with her work, you're in for a treat.

First up…. Callicoon Sessions (Candence Jazz Records CJR1243, 2013) by the The Kazzrie Jaxen Quartet with Charley Krachy (ts) Don Messina (b) Bill Chatin (d).

During the second half of 2009, I started playing with Don and Bill (along with Carol Liebowitz & Will Jhun) and they mentioned that the quartet had started playing together. In fact, "My Melancholy Baby" comes from the quartets' very first session together. The individual histories are much longer. Bill & Kazzrie go back to the early 70s, Charley & Kazzrie the late 70s (first recording together is from 1989), while Don & Bill have been playing together for about 30 years.

I feel these long standing relationships play an important role underpinning the eight standard tunes and one free improvisation. There is a casual, playful feel throughout the album, very much akin to old friends catching up.

"Foolin' Myself" somehow got lost amongst the shuffle and is seldom played these days. If you are looking to add some underplayed tunes to your repertoire this one is a gem.

Having heard Charley play "My Foolish Heart" live, I was keen to hear the quartets' interpretation - it didn't disappoint. Nobody over plays their hand - timely fills are added in the bass, piano accompaniment is supportive yet creative, swirling brushes and cymbals create a subtle wash and the melody is presented quite "straight" but with plenty of feeling (with out resulting to milking it). During the saxophone solo, the melody is never far away.

Contrast follows in "You Stepped Out Of A Dream." It kicks off with a  piano/drum duet of blurring lines, dense chords and crisp ride & snare that is full steam ahead.

The free improvisation "Callicoon" is made up of two parts "The River" & "The Train." The quartet move out of flowing pulse that is a feature of the album and break things up with rubato/free time and hinting at a shifting pulse.

Don gets a pretty sweet recorded sound from a DAT recorder and a single stereo microphone. He has recorded a number albums this way (the three BMC Trio discs, Jimmy Halperin's Cycle Logical and an album he and Bill made with Jon Easton, probably others too). Sometimes it makes me wonder why there can be so much fuss over studios and such.

I got my copy from CD Baby. It only arrived a couple of days ago but has already had multiple spins.

Of her two duets with guitarist Andy Fite I have been listening to Cosmic Comedy (New Artists Records 1012) - from a September 1990 concert at Greenwich House. These duets are excellent examples of the unlimited nature of tunes from the Great American Songbook. The two albums are full of surprising twists and turns, it feels like the music could go anywhere at anytime. The music goes places.

Notebook 2: One Free Note

Here's part two from the Notebook Series (Part one is here).  

This exercise was part of my lessons with Richard Tabnik. What struck me was the simplicity, fun, and effectiveness of Richard's ideas.

He introduced this exercise to me when we started working on free improvisation. It most definitely had a flow on effect when I played tunes too - loosening and opening up the lines I played. 

Over the years I have worked on it by myself, with friends (great for duos), used it as a daily warm up, and applied it to tunes (this is something I want to do more of). 

Start with a single note. Hear and feel the note. Play the note - it can be loud, quiet, long or short - whatever you feel in the moment.

Relax, breathe, listen and play your next free note.

The note is what it is in that moment - don't aim to control it. Let it be free. Listen to it as you play. 

Stay playing single notes until it feels right to move on to two notes - Don't rush, take your time.

Now's the time for two free notes. The process is the same. Play the note you hear in the moment, listen to that note and then play your second free note

Hear and feel the note-to-note connection between the two notes!

Relax, breathe and listen before moving onto your next two free notes. It becomes quite meditative.

Again, continue until it feels right to move on to three free notes. And so it goes on through up to seven free notes - phrased in one breathe with rhythm, articulations, dynamics, tempo etc as you feel them in the moment.

Once you spend some time playing seven free notes it feels quite natural to move into free phrases - these do not need to be more than 7 notes (they can be though).  Approach the free phrases the same way as you have the 1-7 notes groupings.  Relax, breathe, listen and then play a free phrase - repeat.

Working your way back down from free phrases to seven free notes all the way back to one free note can be a blast. How does playing one free note differ now to when you started?

Find someone to trade free notes with - this is a blast. I have done this with a couple of friends, working from one note up to free phrases. Just simply trade notes - you play one free note, they play one free note etc. Eventually one player will change to two free notes, then three free notes and so on.

As I said earlier, this was passed onto me by Richard Tabnik - a wonderful alto player. Be sure to check out his music. His latest recording is Symphony for Jazz Trio (New Artists Records 2012) with Adam Lane (b) and Roger Mancuso (d) - a 2CD set featuring live and studio recordings of his three movement work "A Prayer For Peace" (plus half a dozen other pieces too).  His work and teaching have had a profound impact on me - Thanks Richard!! 

Here's the original notebook page typed up.

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* One Free Note (RT) *

• Play It => 1 note! (could it be any easier?)
• Hear It
• Feel It
• Long, Short, Slow, Fast
• FF, pp
• Free It
• Sing It
• ! Be Relaxed !
• 2 Free Notes, 3, 4, 5 etc (up to 7)
• One Free Phrase (hear it, feel it)
• Another
• Another

+ Great to play/trade with another person/other people

+ Try it when playing a session/on a tune

+ By the time you have done 7 free notes for a while, Free Phrases will naturally flow - trade Free Phrases with someone.

+ After playing 1, 2, 3 etc Free Notes after Free Phrases work backwards... Free, 7, 6, 5 etc to 1 - it's quite a different feeling.

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