COVID-19 Lockdown: Day 9

A frustrating day of work was alleviated by some very enjoyable sounds. Kicking off the day was the new disc featuring unreleased recordings by Lennie Tristano - The Duo Sessions. It features Tristano is duo with Lenny Popkin, Connie Crothers, and Roger Mancuso. I’m a huge fan of all involved so this is going to get a lot more listening time. Due to the pandemic Dot Time Records were unable to post the physical disc but gladly sent me a digital copy.

Then I continued with my tour of the Root 70 discography with Getting Rooted. I hadn’t listened to this one for a while and was a little surprised how well I remembered it. Then I recalled just how much I used to listen to this album and I was somewhat less surprised. In turn, I started recalling the time I first heard this album - New York City, 2004 (ahh nostalgia). And realized that these two albums are linked, as NYC 2004 also happened to be when I met Connie. Time Flies. Kind of. In some respects in seems like yesterday, and then suddenly it feels like another lifetime.

COVID-19 Lockdown: Day 8

This morning kicked off with the latest from The Melancholy Babes – The Rat of the Riot. While the music is intense, it’s not all just crash and bash... as I don’t think I could handle that so early in the morning (it’s a very “room-sounding” recording and I think that takes a little of the edge off too). I don’t have all of their recordings, but it would be worth while working through the trio’s discography at some stage.

And now for something completely different... later in the day it was Root 70’s Heaps Dub getting a spin. This album marked a departure for them, the previous outings (I can never remember if this was their 3^rd or 4^th release... out around the time of Fahvergnugen) featured all original compositions, but on Heaps Dub they tackle the work of Burnt Friedman. Surely then, this must be considered the first of the conceptual series that followed? Something to mellow out to.

NZ Jazz: Dixon Nacey - The Edge of Chaos

Dixon Nacey - The Edge of Chaos (Rattle)

Dixon Nacey (guitar) Roger Manins (tenor sax) Kevin Field (piano/keys) Olivier Holland (bass) Andy Keegan (drums)

Although Dixon Nacey has recorded a number of albums, from memory I’ve only heard him on Tim Hopkin’s Seven (which I wrote a bit about here).

I picked up The Edge of Chaos on the spare of the moment from Slowboat Records the last time I was in the city. I wasn’t planning on reviving the series, it just happened to be the start of the month and I threw it in the car one morning on the way to work.... and here we are. And let’s face it... the title is quite apt for the current climate (hang in there everyone, isolate, take care!).

In the liner notes, Nacey mentions the problems practicing and developing the pieces with the aid of computer playback vs the realities of working with people. I’ve started getting into composition recently, but it’s an issue I’ve avoided as I don’t compose on a computer. I can see how it could be a real danger for many though.

One of the strengths of this listening project is it has me delving into things outside of my norm – and that’s the case here as The Edge of Chaos is not really the type of music I reach for on a regular basis.

The playing is first-rate – not surprising considering the personnel involved. I don’t recall having heard Andy Keegan before this, but his playing is on point throughout. And the remainder of the band – Kevin Field, Roger Manins, and Olivier Holland – are ever-present, heavy-hitters on the jazz scene in New Zealand.

At times the density, particularly the over-excited thing, gets a little too much for me – maybe this is my edge of chaos? Higher, faster, more notes. At times it’s fine, but it is often the “go-to” option – not only on this album, but a lot of contemporary jazz recordings/performances/aesthetic suffer from it too. Or maybe it’s just me ranting and raving as a result the current lockdown situation. I’m still not sure about the chaos though.... the music is not uncontrolled or disordered – actually I feel it is quite the opposite. Something bugs me though. Maybe it’s the lack of chaos? What exactly is chaotic jazz? Is The Edge of Chaos at the edge of chaos? Cluttered maybe? Not that I’m a minimalist, but things here seem constantly busy. But the arrangements manage to contrast things too – the solo passages of melody on “Bench Wrecker”, the way they brings things down for the piano solo on “Sketchy” brings some welcome relief (though it didn’t take them long to ramp things up again). “Ballad 2” offers some respite, but I feel it could have been stripped back further (chaos via silence?). The added vocals of Jonathan Leung and Chelsea Prastiti on “Taupo” bring a nice textural change. Once the vocals enter the piece has bit of a sound-tracky vibe - not a bad thing - I hear it as some kind of dark, rainy, murder mystery thing (not that I can think of many soundtracks with bass solos). Again, I prefer it when the vocals are less busy, particularly with the piano playing lines at the same time.... that just seems to be the mood I’m in at the moment.

It’s been a lot of fun returning to the NZ Jazz series. There’s every chance I’ll be back next month with another round. Let’s see how things pan out.

COVID-19 Lockdown: Day 7

Last the couple of mornings have seen early starts, and this time round I had Kim Paterson’s The Duende giving me a hand (along with a cuppa oolong). And the opening track, Coltrane’s “5^th House” was a great wake up call. I enjoy hearing Mike Nock and Kim Paterson together, and it made wonder why that hasn’t been a more regular occurrence. A duo album or something with a lot of percussion would be interesting....but I would happily settle for a regular ol’ quartet outing.

Later in the day it was Root 70’s Fahvergnugen to keep me company. I’m a fan of the alto saxophone/trombone front line. We hear a lot of tenor/trumpet combos but it makes a nice change.

The album title translates to something along the lines of “The pleasure of driving”, but for today I’ll pretend it’s the “pleasure of not driving” - it’s made a nice change not having to hit the road each day.

COVID-19 Lockdown: Day 6

Root 70 On 52^nd 1/4 Street got the day rolling. The 1^st of the conceptual series, features original lines written over the harmonies of classics from the American Songbook. It has been fun revisiting the Root 70 catalogue at a time when the pandemic shut down their 20^th Anniversary Tour. Only a few more albums to go.

Then the afternoon saw some more overdue listening, and it made for a definite change of pace from the morning as we moved into the realm of free improvisation. This time it was Wet Robots by Fay Victor’s SoundNoiseFunk. This one has been my radar for a while due to a couple of reasons. 1) The couple of times I heard Fay live I was really impressed but I’m not at all familiar with her recorded work. 2) Sam Newsome. I’ve spent quite a bit of time with his solo recordings, and increasingly want to hear him in ensemble settings. Wet Robots checks both boxes (and much more!). Fay recently posted that the follow-up album is in the can. I won’t wait so long this time.

COVID-19 Lockdown: Day 5

The tour through the Root 70 catalogue continued today with the 2010 release, Listen to Your Woman – an all-blues outing and part 2 of the conceptual works. When I studied with Hayden in Greece during 2009 he mentioned this up coming recording and played me a little bit of the boogie piece he was writing (the albums opener, “Rusty Bagpipe Boogie”). This is the first , and only, Root 70 album to contain compositions from each of the members.

It had been a while since I had listened to Bernie McGann, and 1966 had been on my list for a while now. Bernie is so distinctive and Kim Paterson is under-recorded (or at least I’m missing out on albums I don’t know about!) and it’s the earliest recording I have heard from all involved

The fidelity isn’t the greatest – totally listenable though - and the music and historical importance more than makes up for it. Great energy throughout.

NZ Jazz: Postcards

A while back I was in the process of clearing out a bunch of excess stuff. I’ve been finding homes for clothes, books and other stuff that has been lying about unused. It started off pretty well but there’s plenty still to go... and I kind of hit the wall (mostly because there's some stuff I want to sell but can't be bothered with listing it/answering questions/postage etc). Perhaps now's the time to kick things back into gear. Part of the effort includes trying not to accumulate stuff but I couldn’t help myself when I crossed paths with these gems – some promo flyers from Yellow Eye Records including a postcard promoting the release of Syzygy’s Tongue Grooves.