Lambic Jazz Vol.7

No class last week, but there was tonight so I'm back for the Wednesday night post-class hang.

A couple of days ago two discs arrived via CD Baby. On Monday and Tuesday I listened to Virgo Dzurinko (p) & Ryan Messina (trpt) Undertow (New Artists) and tonight Carol Liebowitz (p) & Nick Lyons (as) First Set (Line Art Records) is getting it's first spin. Nick was the first person Connie Crothers introduced me to when I came to NYC to study with her and a couple of days later I met Carol at a session with Nick (at which they played duo). Over the years it's been great to hear them play together and now a moment of that relationship (in concert during 2012) has now been captured.

I've heard Carol and Nick improvise - freely and on standard forms -  many, many times and there are always surprises. The bonus here is that they play two lines written by Connie ("Carol's Dream" and "Roy's Joy"). Of interest to me is the final track - "Another Time." Even though it was recorded five years earlier (2007) and the energy is a bit different (studio vs live perhaps?) it doesn't distract from the flow of the album. This was recorded before I had met Carol and Nick (although I did have a couple of Carol's albums) and I'm curious to see if I pick up on anything I hadn't noticed before. Duos are a favorite format of mine so I expect these two albums will be getting plenty more airtime. Tonight's music was accompanied by De Troch Oude Gueuze.

I'm looking forward to hearing them play (Virg & Ryan too) as part of the Connie Crothers celebration concert on November 13th. If you're in the NYC area get on down to Roulette and check it out. The full line-up is here.

Yesterday Norman Meehan's Serious Fun: The life and music of Mike Nock came off the shelf and I started re-reading it this afternoon. This will be the third (I think) time reading it in full, although I do read a few pages or a chapter on a semi-regular basis. Norman has another book due out in December - New Zealand Jazz Life (Victoria University Press). I'm looking forward to it.

Now I'm going to keep an eye on the first few hours of the first test between Australia and South Africa (looks like I've already missed a bunch of the action!) as game 7 in the World Series goes right down to the wire.

A good night in (aka Lambic Jazz vol.1)

I decided a post-class relaxing night at home was on the cards. Tonight this was in the form of listening to my friends, vocalist Cheryl Richards, guitarist Adam Caine and alto saxophonist Nick Lyons on Cheryl Richards' If Not for You (New Artists). I don't mention my friends albums all too often (Hayden Chisholm being the one exception) but this is something I want to change. I find it quite hard writing about friends music and I'm not sure why really. Anyway....the majority of the album features vocal and guitar duos (Nick joins in on 3 of 10 pieces), and Adam's accompaniment really stands out to me. "Willow Weep for Me" in particular always grabs my ears with Adam touching on the blues in ways I haven't heard him play before. His playing on "My Melancholy Baby" is a treat too. Nick is at his relaxed, lyrical best on "Foolin' Myself." And Cheryl's phrasing on "You'd be so nice to come home to" leapt out at me tonight - softly touching down in places unexpected yet completely apt. Although I haven't been playing many standards of late, I still get a kick listening to them being interpreted in a personal way. Nick has album in the works that should be released shortly, so more friends will make and appearance in the near future.

If Not for You was followed up by something that I hadn't really given a decent listen to just yet, Michael Formanek's Ensemble Kolossus: The Distance (ECM). Although I have heard the majority of the personnel in various settings (both live and on recordings), very few.... if any, were large ensembles. So I didn't know what to expect with this album but that can be a good thing as it let's you sit back and be surprised. The title track kicks things off and is followed by "Exoskeleton" a suite in nine parts. There is plenty of room for soloists and the duties are spread throughout the group with pretty much everyone getting room to move at some stage. Often the ensemble is stripped back to a small group accompanying a soloist or there are sections of collective improvisation with varying numbers of players, rather than an over-reliance on more traditional soloist/rhythm section/backgrounds approach so common with big bands. I enjoyed the way Mary Halvorson's solo emerged from within the ensemble on "Part V - Without Regrets." I hadn't heard the tenor sax of Brian Settles before, but his playing on the title track put me in the right mood for the rest of the album. I found the ending somewhat abrupt and underwhelming but other than that, The Distance went down well this evening and I would recommend it to those of you into big bands. Outside of Kenny Wheeler's Music for Large and Small Ensembles I can't think of too many large ensemble albums on ECM (a Dave Holland album rings a bell too). Are there any others that you would recommend?

Tonight's listening session was accompanied by a bottle of Lindemans Cuvée René Oude Gauze and now I'm going to read a little from Peter Ind's Jazz Visions: Lennie Tristano and his Legacy - definitely not a traditional biography by any means but it is an interesting read that I find myself returning to on a fairly regular basis, even if it's only to read a few pages.