Music for Commuting: Jonathan Crayford and Jean-Paul Celea

A couple of albums keeping me company as I roll through the farmland each morning and evening. Jonathan Crayford’s Dark Light will eventually get the NZ Jazz post treatment, as it deserves more than a passing mention. As does Yes Ornette!, from the trio led by bassist Jean-Paul Celea. This one was of interest on a few fronts: I’m into Ornette and this album features his compositions including many he did’t record. Plus, featured throughout is the soprano sax of Emile Parisien, a player I hadn’t heard before. I’ve been listening to a bit of Ornette played by others lately so expect to see more Ornette-oriented albums getting a mention here soon.

Arthur Street Loft Orchestra - Mark Lockett

Monday night at The Third Eye is big band night with the Arthur Street Loft Orchestra. The band shifts personnel each week and features the music of a local composer. This past Monday, drummer Mark Lockett provided the tunes (mostly from his trio album Sneaking Out After Midnight) which were arranged by Lucien Johnson for the pretty standard lineup of 5 saxes, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones and rhythm. I was surprised to learn that this was Mark's first ever big band gig. And maybe that's what I liked most about his playing... he didn't seem like a big band drummer (that chops-driven, bombastic, big band drumming cliche has never really appealed to me). Due the pick-up nature of the band, things tend to be a little underrehearsed, but it really didn't matter at all, as the feeling projected by the band overpowered any inefficiencies. In fact, it was the most fun I've seen and felt exuding from the bandstand in quite some time. It's catchy too, as the crowd really got on board with the good vibes. Jake Baxendale is doing a great job putting together this series, get along and check it out.

Mark Lockett featured with the Arthur Street Loft Orchestra

The Melancholy Babes at Snails

I forgot to post a photo of The Melancholy Babes gig. Snails in Palmerston North was the third stop (of five) on the trio’s North Island tour supporting the release of their fourth album, Shingles.  It was nice timing to hear Jeff live, having just spent the previous month digging into The Triplets Book. I picked up a copy of Shingles, so eventually I might get around to adding that to the NZ Jazz posts.

The Melancholy Babes (L-R) Jeff Henderson, Anthony Donaldson, Tom Callwood

Music for Commuting: C.L Bob and Steve Lacy

A couple of discs doing the rounds recently -  C. L. Bob’s Stereoscope and Steve Lacy’s Wordless. After many years apart I’m reacquainting myself with the former, which will eventually make its way into a NZ Jazz post. The latter is the earliest example I have of Lacy’s "Tao Suite" (and it features an early incarnation of the quintet) which makes for fascinating listening. I need to check his discography to find out if an earlier version of the complete suite exists. And a listening session last night, I spun the opening of the suite, "Existence," from his solo album Remains (highly recommended) and it opened up some very good discussion.

NZ Jazz: The Triplets Book

The Triplets Book (iiii Records)

Jeff Henderson (alto/bari/C-Melody/C-Soprano Saxes) Eamon Edmundsen-Wells (b) Joseph McCallum (d) November 2016

Sometimes deciding what album to delve into proves to be problematic. I've tried making lists but invariably I don't stick to them (but I continue making them anyway!). This month the plan was to listen to the newly released Good Winter from the Antipodes, but that fell by the wayside when October rolled around and I still hadn't bought it (I have since taken care of that). So instead I went for another release from earlier this year, The Triplet Book, which I picked up from Slow Boat records at the end of September. 

It's nice to feature the freer end of the jazz spectrum - something I need to do more - and also, this post marks the overdue appearance of Jeff in this series (if you exclude a NZ Music Month post on Syzygy from a few years back). Maybe Jeff was on my mind after I wrote the post on Roger Sellers? Whatever it was, it's nice to include him here and I have another couple of albums on the pile to get to down the track.

I can remember when Jeff added the baritone and clarinet to his arsenal, the soprano too but from memory, I haven't heard him play the latter until now. He's got a sound I dig on the straight horn – fat and resonant (there is also something I think of as sweetness). And it's the soprano that kicks off the album with “Triplets”. It's a good example of improvising within a limitation – in this case the whole tone scale.

“Stones” flows on from the opening track and features more a pointillistic approach to Jeff's phrasing (still on soprano) and space plays a more prominent role, as does a lower dynamic level – nice contrast to both the proceeding piece and the track that follows. Following a solo introduction from Jeff, “Wabi-Sabi” takes shape with full-throttle blowing throughout – something I don't remember hearing on a C-melody before. The tubbiness in the core sound actually works pretty well with Jeff's rasp and bark around the edges. Although it doesn't fully surface, I get the feeling that there's a march feel underlying things here.

Considering the time of year, it seems appropriate to have a piece titled “Swarm Warning” (there were two swarms last week). It's full of pops, clicks, squeaks, slaps, blasts, multiphonics, air sounds, wailing, scrapes, prods, and stabs. Everything in moderation. First and foremost I think of Jeff as an alto saxophonist - it's the horn I have heard him on the most. On "New Folk" he passes a classic alto bubbly-ness through his own filter. In this case it's a little more Ornette-y than I expected (at least towards the beginning). There's plenty of energy and the buoyancy makes for a nice contrast to the previous piece and the upbeat feeling makes for a satisfying way to round out the album.

Jeff is the driving force out front but the rhythm section hold their own. While I'm aware of their names, I've heard very little from Edmundsen-Wells (some videos posted by John Fenton and Jim Langabeer's excellent album, Secret Islands) and even less from McCallum. But that's exactly what this listening series is about. It's quite a raw sounding recording, which I don't mind, but with the drums and saxes more prominent in the mix, I deliberately spent some time concentrating on the bass to make sure I digested Edmundsen-Wells' contributions without them slipping by – which could happen with more casual listening. There's a really nice blend between the bowed bass and throaty baritone sax on the contemplative, even tender, “Old Friends.” Plus he gets some solo room to stretch out, in which he contrasts the rich low register with whispering in the upper reaches. Although I found the polyrhythmic playing (along with the limited tonal field) on “Triplets” created a nice meditative quality, often I found McCallum's playing a little too dense for my liking. Not that the density was really out of place, but maybe it wouldn't have bothered me as much if the bass popped out a bit more - I'll survive. The more spacious “Stones” worked better for me, as did the mallet work on “Old Friends.” I welcomed whenever the dynamics dropped welcome, as it gave the bass a chance to reveal itself. 

Often I prefer to hear this sort of thing live (volume can be an issue for me... but I can control that here), and often I treat free jazz recordings like a concert and sit down and absorb things in one sitting via headphones (my stereo is in a box somewhere floating home). But not all that often do I make repeated listens over the course of a month, and it has been refreshing to do so. And I have to say the composed melodies are pretty catchy. There's a curiosity factor at play too (not a bad thing at all), as one thing I find a bit fascinating with music along these lines - particularly the “scratchy” and/or full-throttle playing - is that I don't envision myself ever playing this way. I'm not sure I'd know where to start, but maybe I should have a crack. 

Stroma and The Jac

Jasmine Lovell-Smith's "Cerulean Haze" was premiered by Stroma and The Jac as part of the Vox Fem concert that featured women composers whilst celebrating 125 years of women's suffrage in New Zealand. It was a long day, but I'm glad I got along. It had me thinking on the trip home... how about a Stroma concert featuring works composed by New Zealand jazz musicians/improvisors? I'm sure the likes of Jasmine, Rosie Langabeer, Jeff Henderson, Hayden Chisholm, Lucien Johnson etc, would come up with some worthy music. Plus it could make an interesting addition to the Wellington Jazz Festival.

Music for Commuting: Miles Davis Quintet box set

Lets face it, the rumble of the road isn’t exactly the ideal listening environment, but it provided an interesting listening experience this past week or so as the Miles Davis Quintet box set accompanied the daily commute. Tony’s cymbals and snare on my right and Miles and Wayne to the left. Herbie made appearances mostly in the form of solo lines with some comping popping out here and there. While Ron’s presence was felt at times, there was very little in the way of clarity. Not exactly what I had in mind but it was great to be able to focus on the horn/drum pairings. Maybe I need to round things out and have a session or two to zone in on Ron and Herbie.

Call me old fashioned, but it's the first three discs that really appeal to me - before the introduction of the electric piano and bass. E.S.P and Miles Smiles are two of Miles’ albums I've listened to the most alongside the likes of Birth of the Cool, Kind of Blue and The Plugged Nickel recordings. Nefertiti isn’t too far behind either. The addition of guitar to the group has never really appealed to me. And although I hadn’t listened to those recordings for ages, I still haven’t warmed up to them - it just seems extraneous.