Straight Horning: Jan Garbarek - Folk Songs

Jan Garbarek (ss/ts) Charlie Haden (b) Egberto Gismonti (g/p)

Folk Songs (ECM) is the trio's follow-up to Magico (both recorded during 1979) and four of the six pieces feature Garbarek on soprano (albeit of the curved variety....I'm being a little flexible with the “Straight Horning” title today). A few years back I made an effort to check out a fair amount of Garbarek's work, and almost without exception I preferred his playing from the 70s. Garbarek's distinctive tone (perhaps even unique) was the thing that struck me when first listening to him many years ago. It's very easy to pick and that alone is worthy enough reason to give him a listen. Considering soprano is his second horn makes it all the more impressive. And judging from the more recent things I have heard (mostly via concert footage on Youtube), it's still fairly well intact.

It's a bold sound, resonant, full and the upper register can have a laser-like focus at times. While revisiting Folk Songs this week I started noticing how he uses tone to maintain energy (on both ballads and up tempo pieces). The attack, buzz, vibrato and dynamics have an urgency to them and gives him the freedom to use space and not overplay while still maintaining energy and momentum. “Cego Aderaldo” is a pretty good example or the held notes on “Equilibrista” or the title track.

The influence of Ornette Coleman comes through in his soprano playing but I don't hear it as much in his tenor playing (but that could be because my listening has focused on his soprano work). It is hinted at in his phrasing, melodic material and certain intervals. Maybe it is most apparent on “For Turiya” (side note: the opening of the piano solo on this track always seems to make me think of Mike Nock). “The Windup” from Belonging with Keith Jarrett is another example of the Ornette influence on Garbarek too.

I like the way the notes are almost smeared together on uptempo lines on “Equilibrista.” At times this track brought to mind David Liebman but I think it had to do the post-Coltrane type content of the lines rather than the articulation/smeared phrasing (or maybe it's just because Lieb is playing in town next weekend and he was on my mind).

Haden plays great and there are times when I listen to this album just to focus on his playing. As usual he makes a great study for using the minimum to the maximum.

I'm making an effort to keep up the weekly straight horning post. I'm yet to decide on what soprano album will be the next to get some attention, but stay tuned for more.

Lambic Jazz Vol. 3

It's Wednesday night after class and that means beer and jazz time. Only one disc tonight as there are dishes waiting to be done - Kieth Jarrett's The Survivor's Suite (ECM) from 1976 with Jarrett (piano, soprano sax, bass recorder, celeste, osi drum) Dewey Redman (tenor sax, percussion) Charlie Haden (bass) Paul Motian (drums, percussion)

The album is comprised of two tracks, each running over 20 minutes with fluctuations in feel and density that keep things moving along and engaging, which makes for a really well-paced album.

While many listeners are probably more interested in Jarrett's piano playing, I'm curious about his work on soprano saxophone. His playing doesn't sound like other players of the straight horn or that era (or since really). It's a stripped-back approach, kind of raw and unpolished with an emphasis on melody, sound and texture rather than flashy chops. Sam Newsome describes Jarrett's approach to the soprano as "organic" - it's definitely not genetically modified. Well worth checking out (as is Sam's playing!).

Haden's bass playing is a wonderful lesson in economy that is seldom heard. As and accompanist and soloist, he has the rare quality of being able to use the minimum amount of notes to maximum effect - with a great sound to boot. His partnership with Motian is one of my favorite rhythm sections. For that reason alone I don't know why I haven't checked out more from this group (aside from some listen sessions at the library some years ago). Add it to the list I guess! I'll get around to it, but before I do, The Survivor's Suite will get a few more listens. The 48 minutes fly by (hence this being a rather quick post). Highly recommended. And now it's time to do the dishes.

More Lambic Jazz: Volume 1 - Volume 2

Jazz April: week 2 listening

Plenty more jazz sounds bouncing around the apartment this week.
Yusef Lateef: 1984 (Impulse)
I had been on the lookout for this one for a while now (due to the presence of Mike Nock) and picked it up as part of a 2-for-1 reissue paired with The Golden Flute. There's a lot of variety here - straight up blowing of "Soul Sister," oboe and flute exotica of "Try Love," the juxtaposition of "One Little Indian," the balladry of "Warm Fire" and the searching title track - makes for a very interesting album.

Quest: Circular Dreaming (Enja)
For those unfamiliar, Quest is the long-standing group of David Liebman, Richie Beirach, Ron McClure and Billy Hart and here they focus on tunes of the 60s quintet of Miles Davis (with two thirds of the tunes coming from Wayne Shorter). And while it may be a tribute album, Quest have developed a band sound (over the past 35 years) that places a personal stamp the music. Later in the week I gave some of the tracks back-to-back listens with the original recordings by Miles' group.

Sal Mosca: Too Marvelous for Words (Candence)
This week it has been disc 3 as I make my way through the 5 disc set. I think solo piano is my preferred setting to hear Mosca - and he's really on form throughout this entire set. We're lucky he made a number of solo recordings (Sal Mosca Music, A Concert, For You, Trickle, Recital in Valhalla). Check out the opening chorus of "There Will Never Be Another You" - too marvelous indeed.

Marilyn Crispell & David Rothenberg: One Dark Night I Left My Silent House (ECM)
A very nice set of 13 improvisations between bass clarinet/clarinet and piano (with some percussion). I got this on a whim recently mostly due to my interest in duos. While I'm somewhat familiar with Crispell (having heard her live and on a few albums), I hadn't heard Rothenberg before and found the two paired well. The improvisations contain strong melodic content and a nice amount of space making for a very enjoyable album.

Charlie Haden & Hank Jones: Steal Away (Verve)
I felt like something mellow and melodic, and this album of spirituals, hymns and folk songs hit the spot. If I have one complaint about this album, it is the way the piano recorded.... it seems muted or watery.

Lenny Popkin is a favorite of mine (great sound and lines and so relaxed) and this week I had a session listening to a selection of tracks from his trio albums (LP on tenor throughout with bassists Rich Califano, Eddie Gomez and Gilles Naturel and drummers Peter Scattaretico, Carol Tristano and Philippe Soirat).

317 East 32nd {originally released on Choice as Falling Free} "Dreaming" and "Everything Reminds Me of You"

Lenny Popkin (Lifeline Records): "Trio" and "I Surrender Dear"

New York Moment (Paris Jazz Productions): "Origin" and "Another Time"
Live at Intone Festival (PAO): "Out of Nowhere" and "When You're Smiling"
Time Set (Lifeline Records): "Call" and "Circular Logic" (the latter features multi-tracked solo saxophone)

Konitz/Haden - Sweet and Lovely

Not long after discovering the music Lee Konitz, I picked up Alone Together (Blue Note) featuring Konitz alongside Charlie Haden and Brad Mehldau. It was placed on heavy rotation and quickly became one of my favourite albums and by the end of the year (1999) the follow up - Another Shade of Blue - also was getting plenty of airtime.
In the liner notes of Alone Together Konitz mentions that the gig was originally intended to be a sax/bass duo recording for King Records. A couple of years later I found the duo recording listed in an online discography but I was unable to track it down. Over the years it would pop into my mind and I would have a search, hoping it would eventually show up on eBay, and then forget about it again.

In December, while browsing Dusty Groove for Charlie Haden recordings, there it was - Lee Konitz & Charlie Haden Sweet and Lovely - the missing piece of the December 1996 recordings at the Jazz Bakery in Los Angeles. Although I placed my order immediately, someone bet me to it and it was out of stock. It came back in stock while I was somewhere over the Pacific Ocean, and by the time I found out, the elusive duo had sold out once again. The new year rolled around and the album appeared on eBay and this time around it didn't escape.

The first spin reminded me of catching up with old friends you haven't seen for many years and things just slot right back in place. That's not to say there weren't surprises - there were, and as I continue to listen, the album keeps delivering the goods. The sparseness of the sax and bass on the trio albums always appealed to me and it really comes to the fore in these seven duo performances. Sweet and Lovely has been getting regular airtime over the past month and I feel it's the kind of album that will keep on giving. I had been waiting a long time to hear this and it didn't disappoint. Konitz and Haden have added a little weight to the decision that if push came to shove, duos would be placed at the top of my favourite line-ups. Highly recommended for fans of Konitz, Haden, bass accompaniment, duos and melodic playing.

Recent Listening: People Playing Ornette

The passing of Charlie Haden back in July led me to listening to plenty of his work with Ornette Coleman. Starting with some albums I am quite familiar with (The Shape of Jazz To Come, Change of The Century and This Is Our Music and the duo record Soapsuds, Soapsuds) and moving on to one I hadn't heard before (In All Languages). That led me to some albums of Haden playing Ornette Tunes sans Coleman - two volumes of The Montreal Tapes. The first with Paul Bley and Paul Motian and other with Don Cherry and Ed Blackwell, which in turn led me to a few other albums featuring the work of Coleman.

Paul Plimley and Lisle Ellis
Kaleidoscopes (Hat Art)

I was unfamiliar with both Plimley (piano) and Ellis (bass) but my keenness to hear various takes on the music of Ornette Coleman led to grab this album. According to the liner notes, they started working as a duo since 1980. By the time Kaleidoscopes was recorded (1992) the had developed a great rapport. Ellis' tone is rich and woody (the bass sounds unamplified), complementing Plimley's light touch. Both musicians can swiftly fly around their instruments but I never felt it was "chops for chops sake."

I wasn't surprised that seven of the 11 tunes come from the quartet recordings on Atlantic, but I was pleased they included some less common tunes. Yes, "Chronology," "Peace" and "Beauty Is A Rare Thing" are present but so too are "Street Woman," "Long Time No See" and "Moon Inhabitants."

I believe this album is out-of-print (my copy came from Academy Records on 18th St. during a recent trip to NYC), it's been getting a fair fair bit of airplay in the apartment and I encourage fans of Coleman's music to hunt it out.

Paul Bley - Notes On Ornette (Steeplechase) 1997

Paul Bley is one of my favourite pianists and listening to the album above made me give this trio disc (with Jay Anderson (b) Jeff Hirshfield (d)) a spin too. Comparing the two, Bley's is probably more approachable for those coming from a "straight ahead" background - it's more conventional with the rhythm section walking and Bley blowing on top. Okay, so that description sells the album short, but I'm speaking in very general terms - there's a lot more to it that.

Whereas solo works by Bley tend to be somewhat reflective (at least from what I've heard so far), when playing with a rhythm section there's an energy and rhythmic push that Bley puts into his notes that differs from the solo works.

Bley contributes one original (which fits the flow of the album) with the rest of the material coming from Coleman. Five tunes from his albums on Contemporary Records and one ("Crossroads") that was captured live at the Hillcrest Club in 1958 (with Bley on piano) and may have appeared later on Atlantic (I'm writing from memory). It seems to make sense that Bley would choose material from the period in which he was playing with Coleman. As a long standing champion of Coleman's music it is a shame that there are no studio recordings of the two together.

Ornette Coleman "Blindfold Test" and "Caught In The Act" Five Spot Review

Here are a few pages from the January 7, 1960 issue of Down Beat Magazine. First up, Ornette Coleman is the subject of Leonard Feather's "Blindfold Test." He comments on the likes of George Russell, Charles Mingus, Quincy Jones, Miles Davis and Yusef Lateef. Then his quartet (with Don Cherry, Charlie Haden and Billy Higgins) is "Caught In The Act" at the Five Spot Cafe by George Hoefer. Enjoy.

Charlie Haden

Haden @ Jazz Middelheim August 2009
photo by Guy Van de Poel

The web is alive with tributes to Charlie Haden and I felt it was necessary to add my two cents. I spent some time on Friday afternoon listening to some selections from the post-Ornette quartet "Old and New Dreams" and Etudes (trio with Geri Allen & Paul Motian), Memoirs (trio Paul Bley & Paul Motian). He has plenty of room to shine on Soapsuds, Soapsuds, a duo with Ornette Coleman.

Improvisers (on any instrument) can learn so much from his melodicism and economy. The later being a rare quality (we all tend to over-play) and is something I am becoming increasing interested in. The man could say a lot with a little and his music came from a deep place. One of my favourites.

I first heard Haden during my mid-late teens on Ornette Coleman’s The Shape Of Jazz To Come. At the time my ears were drawn to Ornette's playing and it wasn't until years later that I started coming to grips with the importance of Haden in this music. It’s an album that I’ll write about separately at a later date.

He was brought to my attention again a couple of years later on Lee Konitz’ Alone Together (Blue Note). This album got some serious airplay in 1999-2001. I was transcribing Lee’s solo on “What Is This Thing Called Love?” and my saxophone teacher challenged me, saying something along the lines of, “Why? What are you going to learn from that?” – I didn’t know what to say! Haden’s backing of Konitz (and Brad Mehldau) is superb – not a wasted note on the entire album. The same can be said for his solos to. I heard a Konitz/Haden duo set was recorded but I have never managed to track it down (I found a pic of the album cover somewhere online years ago). If anybody out there can direct me to it I’d be extremely grateful.

I only heard Haden in person once – a duo with Paul Bley at the Blue Note in NYC in 2009. I could only afford to sit at the bar, where they crammed us in like sardines. It was a pretty disappointing listening experience and put me off going to the Blue Note again (it was my first time there). I spent the evening squeezed in the corner unable to see the bandstand and having to put plenty of chatter around me. However, I had no complaints about the music.

Here are links to just a few of the many tributes: Nate Chinen at the New York Times, the Free Jazz Collective Blog, NPR Remembering Charlie Haden.