Music for Commuting: Fred Farell - Distant Song

Fred Farell: Distant Song (Whaling City Sound)
Farell (vocals/lyrics) Richie Beirach (p/comp) David Liebman (ss/ts/comp) June 2015

I ran into Distant Song by chance while browsing Liebman’s discography online. I’ve been enjoying listening to Liebman lately, and his pairing with Beirach is of particular interest - add in a vocalist singing their pieces and it was bit of a no-brainer for me to grab it.



There's a pretty good story behind the recording. Farell comes in contact with Beirach in the early 1970s and begins studying with him. He starts singing the compositions of Liebman and Beirach, has religious awakening, drops out of music, 40 years later he reconnects with Liebman and Beirach to record an album of those songs. And the results are really solid.
As I don't have much from earlier in the careers of Lieb or Beirach,  I’m not familiar with the pieces (although I just heard “Places” on the first Open Sky album), so I need to get around to sourcing some of the instrumental versions. It will be interesting to see how knowing these vocal versions first affects my take on the originals.



Distant Song is an album of ballads. The 10 pieces (five each from Lieb and Beirach) are relatively brief which keeps things moving along, but I wouldn’t have mind something a little more up tempo for variety (a minor complaint). The two instrumental pieces - "Forgotten Fantasies" and "Zal" - break things up a bit.
 It must be a challenge for the composers to hear their work with some other meaning attached to it. So often you end up with these corny lyrics just so a vocalist has something to sing (just sing the melody!). But in this case, Farrel does a great job capturing the mood of Beirach's and Liebman's pieces.

 

Leaving
 
“Countrysides and Towns go by,
 
Like passing dreams,
 
Reality to me becomes the Pain of Leaving You.”



Lonnie’s Song

“But, I see Your Loss was meant to help

Us to grow and show The Way.”

With one exception, Farell 
doesn't improvise, he sings the straight melody with feeling, a nice tone and phrasing

. I don't mind that at all, and in many ways prefer it than listening to a singer that feels compelled to scat in order to be a jazz singer. Beirach takes on the more dominant role (mostly due to accompanying and soloing throughout ), while Lieb contributes short solos with nice melodic touches, along with the odd obbligato or two. Sometimes I get a little bugged with the way Lieb was recorded (is he in a booth?... you can almost hear the separation) and then other times it doesn't bother me at all! So Distant Song turned out to be a really nice surprise. Maybe not a disc with widespread appeal, definitely one for fans of Liebman/Beirach and those interested in lyrics. But he's a nice singer so perhaps your mainstream jazz vocalist fan would enjoy it too. 


I would like to delve a bit deeper into the Liebman/Beirach duo recordings.... add it to the list.

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.

Ran Blake & Jeanne Lee: Newest Sound Around & Down Beat Feature

Last year, Ran Blake & Jeanne Lee's Free Standards - Stockholm 1966 (see this post) grabbed my attention so kept I my eyes peeled for their first album together - The Newest Sound Around. I finally picked it up, and it's been getting some airtime around the apartment.

Recorded in 1961, the CD reissue (Phoenix Records) adds four tracks to the 11 on the original LP release. It was a very strong debut album and has held up well over the decades.

Aside from a track recorded at the Lenox School of Jazz in 1959, this is the earliest recording I have heard from Blake, and his personal style is already well in place. Although he doesn't really have that much solo space, the album showcases Blake's creative accompaniment. His harmonic sense and tasty use of dissonance and space blends well with Lee's deep, rich vocals. At times, Blake creates a dense sound (his accompaniment on "Love Isn't Everything"). At other times, his approach is more minimal (his first solo chorus on "Evil Blues").

There is a solo piano feature along with two solo vocal works. On two tracks the duo is joined by George Duvivier - who's solid bass playing adds some colour to the overall dark, brooding character of the album.

The album expresses a feeling that removes the need for any pyrotechnics, and leaves the impression that Jeanne Lee is very much underrated.

I consider this album essential listening for those interested in jazz vocals.

To finish things off, I thought I would share a couple of articles featuring the duo. The first is from Down Beat in 1962 (I lost my notes regarding what month it is from). The second are notes from a European tour (Down Beat May 7, 1964).

More vintage magazine articles can be found here.

Ran Blake & Jeanne Lee

Ran Blake & Jeanne Lee – Free Standards: Stockholm 1966 (Fresh Sound)

Earlier this year I picked up Ran Blake Plays Solo Piano and soon after, Free Standards. My introduction to Blake’s work came via recordings from the 1980s and 90s.

Clocking in at 73 minutes, the album is comprised of 25 previously unreleased tracks including Blake originals (“Vanguard,” “Galziation”), standards (“Take the ‘A’ Train,” “Ja-Da,” “I’ll Remember April”), bossa-nova (“Corcovado,” “Desafinado”), a couple from The Beatles (“Ticket To Ride” & “A Hard Day’s Night”) and originals from the session’s producer, Kjell Samuelson (all of which Blake plays solo). Lee is present on 10 of the tracks with Blake taking the rest on solo.

Even early on Blake’s sound is quite striking, percussive, dark and brooding, crystal-like clarity, utilizing a wide range of dynamics and the entire span of the keyboard. I enjoy the blend he and Lee achieve and the duo presents plenty of surprises for the listeners. I haven’t heard much from Lee (Carla Bley’s Escalator Over The Hill being the only thing I can recall). I found her inventive approach to the melodies along with her tone very listenable. For those interested in hearing a piano/vocal duo take tunes to a different place, this pairing could be you your alley. I must check out their first album together.