Celebrating Sun Ra Arrival Day and the Marshall Allen Centennial

(Photograph by Baron Wolman / Getty)

After the long essay on Mal Waldron and Steve Lacy (apologies if it was too long), I hope to post shorter pieces more quickly for a while. First, we need to acknowledge two amazing events of planetary, no, universal importance – today, May 22, 2024, is the 110th anniversary of Sun Ra’s arrival day, and then May 25 is the Marshall Allen centennial. I trust there will be coverage of these two important events elsewhere because I can’t hope to fully capture their importance. Instead, I’ll add links to coverage in the notes below as I read what people have to say about two of the all-time great musicians.

Sun Ra, who passed into the next plane 31 years ago, is an epochal musical and spiritual force, a trailblazer of more styles and ideas than anyone. I really can’t top the way WKCR described Sun Ra at the time of his centennial: “the living myth commonly known as Sun Ra” is “an integral part of the Afro-Surrealist and Afro-Futurist movements, [and] has left the genre of jazz with an incredibly prolific collection of music, poetry, philosophy and more to listen to and learn from.” To celebrate, make sure you listen to WKCR, who will be playing 24 hours of Sun Ra that started at 1 AM and runs through the entirety of May 22. Stream WKCR here, or if you’re in the New York area, you can listen at 89.9 FM.

Another fantastic way to celebrate arrival day is to listen to the new archival release on Elemental Records, Sun Ra At the Showcase, Live in Chicago 1976-1977.  The set, released for Record Store Day and available on Bandcamp, consists of mid 70’s live recordings of the Arkestra which canvass an array of the bands’ styles and compositions. The lead essay, authored by John Corbett, perceptively calls Ra’s mid-70s live shows the “Ra Revue” because of the way they summarize all the periods of Ra’s music that came before. An ideal introduction! Throughout the two discs of this set, you’ll hear Sun Ra’s percussion-centered Afro-Futurism, music from Ra’s big band and bop roots, and a swirling mix of pan-African, free jazz, spiritual, blues, and other dimensional music. There are killer solos from John Gilmore, Marshall Allen, and Ra himself on a battery of electronics and synthesizers. The set comes with excellent essays by an eye-popping array of creative music stars such as Michael Weiss, David Murray, Jack DeJohnette, Dave Burrell, Matthew Shipp, and Thurston Moore. The period photos from the gigs and album artwork are also top-notch. The booklet alone is worth the purchase – yet another winner from Zev Feldman (AKA the “Jazz Detective”).

Sun Ra’s discography is far too immense for me to even scratch the surface here, so I’ll point you to some resources for your listening enjoyment. There is tons of Sun Ra on Bandcamp – search “Sun Ra” there and you’ll find over 130 albums available to sample before you buy. So a natural place to go are the two guides that Bandcamp put together – A Guide to the Many Sun Ra Albums Now Available on Bandcamp by Patrick Jarenwattananon and A Further Exploration of the Many Sun Ra Albums on Bandcamp by Piotr Orlov. I can also recommend a good 2017 guide by Andy Beta published in New York Magazine. One thing I plan on doing for arrival day is to watch the 1980 documentary that features a lot of Ra playing in the Philadelphia period, A Joyful Noise. So many places to go, but that’s the fun, isn’t it? Almost any Sun Ra fan will have their own personal favorites, and it’s a joy to listen widely and make your own.

For a contemporary channeling of the Sun Ra muse, the series of tributes by the Red Hot Org is a remarkable demonstration of Sun Ra’s legacy and relevance. Last May, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Angel Bat Dawid, and Irreversible Entanglements tackled Ra’s Nuclear War, followed in October by the delightful Sun Ra in Brasil. Meshell Ndegeocello was on one track from that last album, and in the latest entry of the series, she creates a whole album redesigning the classic The Magic City. Using Ndegeocello to cover/recreate this music was a stroke of genius, and she’s supported by Immanuel Wilkins, Darius Jones, and, yes, Marshall Allen himself.

(Wikipedia Commons – Marshall Allen in 2019)

Speaking of Marshall Allen, that brings us to the second phenomenal celebration this week: Saturday the 25th is the 100th birthday of the ongoing and amazing Marshall Allen. Not only is Allen one of the featured soloists on the Arkestra records above, but he has continued leading that group into the current millennium. Allen’s alto sax is a wonder – he effortlessly threads bop and jazz roots music with the avant-garde, and in “free” mode, his bracing sound is unique. I love the observation by Scott Yanow that Marshall Allen is “Johnny Hodges from another dimension,” a quote that captures Allen’s centrality in the Arkestra and his mix of high art with folkloric forms. You can hear plenty of Allen on the recent Swirling (2020) and Living Sky (2022). It’s a miracle that Allen sounds so vital on these albums, well into his 90’s. Here’s the Arkestra’s Halloween 2014 Tiny Desk concert, which observed Ra’s centennial. Ten years on, now it’s Allen’s centennial. Although given his age, Allen has understandably retired from touring outside of the Philadelphia area, I believe he’ll be in NYC when the Arkestra plays with Yo La Tengo at New York Sony Hall on June 15 and for a free show with Kim Gordon at NYC Summerstage on June 13. I’m still kicking myself that I missed Sun Ra with Sonic Youth in 1992, so don’t make that mistake – I’ll see you there!

Updated May 25, 2024

Happy 100th birthday to the great Marshall Allen! When I wrote this article, I didn’t know WKCR would be doing a marathon for Allen’s birthday. They are! Tune in here or at 89.9 FM if you’re in NYC and want to use an old-fashioned radio.

Allen performed last night in Philadelphia to celebrate his 100th birthday! Incredible. You can find a picture of Allen performing last night at Union Transfer here

It’s a great day to appreciate Allen’s enormous legacy. Check out this interview in The Guardian from this February, where Allen reflects on his life and playing with Sun Ra. Allen interviewed with CBS42 just a few days ago. I love how he credits the music for making it to 100. That’s a good reason for us all to listen!

Journey Without End – A New Look at the Musical Partnership of Mal Waldron and Steve Lacy

(Steve Lacy and Mal Waldron, photo by Hugo Peeters)

Jazz music has always been the home of great partnerships. The best of those collaborations find a space where the players can be unrestrained but also serve the music and complement each other. So many incredible partnerships come to mind: Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, Lester Young and Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, John Coltrane and his Classic Quartet, and many others are justly celebrated. However, one musical partnership that should get more attention is the collaboration of pianist Mal Waldron and saxophonist Steve Lacy. These two unique musicians first played together in New York in the late 1950s, but the story of their music together began in earnest when they met as expatriates and recorded together, mainly in Europe, from 1971 to 2002. Their collaboration is an ideal balance of unique voices and bold musical affinity. Waldron and Lacy have styles that are contrasting yet complementary, they share a deep musical connection and a personal relationship built around musical goals in common, and they embody essential virtues of collaboration: deep listening, sensitivity, and mutual respect. Unfortunately, these two men are gone; Waldron died in 2002, and Lacy died two years later in 2004. With the new release of a 1995 concert of Waldron and Lacy with the rhythm section of drummer Andrew Cyrille and bassist Reggie Workman, we have the opportunity to take another look at one of the great musical partnerships and appreciate the wisdom and power of the music that Waldron and Lacy created together.

Purchase The Mighty Warriors at Bandcamp
Stream The Mighty Warriors on Apple Music
Stream The Mighty Warriors on Spotify

That new release is called The Mighty Warriors, released by Elemental Music Records on streaming April 26 and as a limited vinyl release for Record Store Day. Links to purchase this album at Bandcamp or stream it are above. The music comes from a September 1995 concert at the De Singel Arts Center in Antwerp, Belgium, where Lacy and Waldron played a program that was part of a series of concerts to celebrate Waldron’s 70th birthday. Although the album is credited to both Waldron and Lacy, it’s clear that Waldron is the leader. Not only was this his birthday concert, but it was Waldron’s band – Workman and Cyrille were his regular rhythm section at the time. The album consists of two discs, each a set played back to back as part of an evening-long concert. One of the joys of this release is that you feel you are there, witnessing a special event. With one exception I’ll discuss below, the band sounds in optimal form, playing tunes by Monk and original compositions from Waldron, Lacy, and Workman.

According to the liner notes, the title for The Mighty Warriors comes from Workman, who, in a play on Mal Waldron’s initials, said he’s a “mighty warrior.” Of course, I’ll defer to the Workman’s assessment – he played with Waldron through the ’80s and ’90s and is likely the most inventive and simpatico bass player to support Waldron’s piano, as this new release ably shows. But I must register my complaint with this title – with music so committed to a personal vision made by people who led lives of creation and dedication to their craft, I’m not enthusiastic about calling Waldron and Lacy “warriors.” Waldron described himself as an “introvert” and was outspoken about the horror of war when he composed White Road/Black Rain Suite for Improvisers to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Hiroshima. Lacy led a humble life of tireless practice, built a unique musical vision and sound world, and created an aesthetic centered on listening and patience. For me, a better title would have been that used in the title track of the duo’s 1971 album, “Journey Without End.” Waldron and Lacy are all about the process of creating art, dedication to craft, and a life lived expanding the boundaries of expression. Let’s look at that journey to create a context for listening to this new album.

Lacy, Waldron, and Monk

I’ve talked about Waldron and Lacy, but not yet about the third musical legend in this story, Thelonious Monk. Monk is the muse who brought Lacy and Waldron together, and Monk’s music is central to their art and lives. Steve Lacy’s fascination with the music of Thelonious Monk is legendary – Lacy talks about his connection to Monk in the incredible book of interviews, Steve Lacy Conversations, edited by Jason Weiss. Lacy says “Monk’s tunes are the ones I most enjoy playing. I like his use of melody, harmony, and especially his rhythm. Monk’s music has profound humanity, disciplined economy, balanced virility, drama, nobility, and innocently exuberant wit.” (Conversions, 13). Monk’s music would become a driving force for Lacy and later for Waldron, too.

Lacy devoted his second album, 1958’s Reflections, exclusively to the compositions of Monk. At the time, Monk’s music was appreciated by only some of the jazz community, and the fame that came to Monk with being signed to Columbia Records and appearing on the cover of Time Magazine was a few years off. Lacy intended Reflections to be a demonstration of the possibilities of Monk’s repertory – even Monk himself only kept a handful of his tunes in his book at the time, and it was then unheard of for others to perform Monk’s compositions. But since the raison d’être of Reflections was to play Monk tunes without Monk, who to use on piano? Lacy chose Mal Waldron. Waldron’s darkly percussive approach to piano is related to Monk but also has a strikingly original way with harmony and repetition. Reflections was an important step in creating recognition of Monk’s genius and also the first sign of the great chemistry between Lacy and Waldron.

From there, Lacy and Waldron’s careers took divergent paths. Lacy formed a Monk-centric group with Roswell Rudd (captured on the Hat Hut album School Days), played on Gil Evans’s first album, and collaborated with the Jazz Composers Orchestra. But when economic opportunities dried up in New York, Lacy relocated to Europe — first to Italy in the mid-60s and eventually to Paris in 1970, where he remained for 30 years. Meanwhile, Waldron’s career went on its own trajectory. Waldron’s playing fit more easily than Lacy’s with the commercially successful hard bop of the late 50s and early 60s, and Waldron became the house pianist for Prestige Records. Waldron’s harmonically centered and rhythmically propulsive piano was perfectly suited to players like Jackie McLean, Gene Ammons, and Charles Mingus. Waldron was also a remarkable accompanist for singers, the most high profile being Billie Holiday’s piano player from April 1957 until Holiday’s death in July 1959.

While Prestige produced commercially successful albums in the jazz mainstream, Waldron also had an ear open to the cutting edge, and he was recorded in one of the hottest rhythm sections of all time on July 16th, 1961. On that day avant garde visionaries Eric Dolphy and Booker Little made legendary live recordings at the Five Spot club with Waldron on piano, Ed Blackwell on drums, and Richard Davis on bass. One thing I love about the Dolphy-Little Five Spot recordings is that after the blazing horn solos, the music coalesces around Waldron, who (while battling the Five Spots’ infamously out-of-tune piano) builds incredible edifices of propulsive piano vamping. Waldron’s Five Spot solos on “Bee Vamp” and “Lotsa Potsa” use strong rhythmically based left-hand lines embellished with right-hand vamps that move up and down over the bassline. It’s a firmly tonal style with hard bop roots, but gets its edge from incessant driving repetition that’s never boring because Waldron makes constant adjustments and embellishments to the vamps. In an essay on Waldron, Ethan Iverson memorably calls this repetitive, intense style “banging his rocks,” an image that I love. Through grinding session work and the caldron of live playing at clubs like the Five Spot, Waldron developed one of the most recognizable piano styles in music.

Then the music almost stopped for Waldron – in 1963, he suffered a nervous breakdown as a result of a heroin overdose and only luckily survived. In a 2001 Interview with Ted Pankin, Waldron said of his breakdown: “I couldn’t remember where I was. I couldn’t remember anything-about the piano or anything else. I lost my coordination, and my hands were shaking all the time.” Waldron had to convalesce for months in a hospital, and his medical condition was so severe that he could no longer play the piano, which he had to re-learn — by listening to recordings of himself! After recovering, he was offered the chance to record in Paris, and he got a one-way ticket and never returned to live in the United States. In the interview with Pankin, Waldron states that he remained an expatriate in Europe because he was treated with respect there, which he contrasted with the racism and poor working conditions for musicians in the United States. We must not forget how bad the past was for the oppressed – and always be mindful of how close we still are to that past now.

Waldron’s recordings in Europe (such as 1969’s Free at Last, the recording that started the ECM label) show that after Waldron’s health crisis and relocation to Europe, he developed into an even more fiery and individualistic version of himself and boiled down his style to its essential and definitive elements. Waldron removed unnecessary ornaments from his playing, taking out superfluous complexity, and developed “rhythmically instead of soloing on chord changes,” as Waldron wrote in the liner notes to Free At Last. Waldron’s touch was even more recognizable, and his commitment to repetition in his playing was even more hypnotic.

The Journey Continues – Waldron and Lacy in the 1970s

This is where Waldron and Lacy’s stories come back together. On November 30, 1971, Waldron and Lacy recorded again in a Paris studio, creating the album Journey Without End. Unfortunately, this vital recording has never been reissued in any format and has been out of print for decades. As of this writing, you can still download a vinyl rip of it from the blog inconstant sol. Another album begging for a reissue! At any rate, on Journey Without End, you can immediately hear why Waldron and Lacy gravitated toward each other. The album is credited to both as co-leaders; side A is all Waldron tunes, and side B is all Lacy. Lacy’s sax sounds fluid and at ease, and you can really appreciate his beautifully fast vibrato and shining tone. Journey Without End also has some great compositions — the title track is built over an earthy bass figure, and Waldron and Lacy both deliver probing solos. On side B, Lacy introduces the tune “Bone,” an important Lacy composition that later became the centerpiece of his Tao Suite. The iconic album cover photo above captures it all. Pictured are two fellow travelers: Waldron and Lacy pose in front of a narrow passageway, smokes in hand (a habit Waldron never gave up; a dangling cigarillo is a constant companion in almost every Waldron photo). Waldron looks incredibly debonaire and photogenic, and Lacy is humble but really hip, too. You can see in this picture that these two men are so different but share a connection and a common passion.

Waldron and Lacy must have felt their alchemy because they were back in the studio the following year for the wild Mal Waldron with the Steve Lacy Quintet. Waldron is pictured on the cover and credited as the leader, but that’s not what I hear in the grooves. This is the one Waldron/Lacy album where Lacy chose the band, and he showed up with his crew – wife Irene Aebi on cello, saxophonist Steve Potts, and bassist Kent Carter. Maybe America Records didn’t pay the band because Lacy and his players sound positively angry! Even most “free jazz” records are more programmatic than the rabid music Lacy’s players unleash. To my ears, Waldron’s more tonal style sounds a little out of step with the music on this release, yet strangely his authoritative sound and emotional power build their own center of gravity, too. The palpable friction creates one of the most remarkable listening experiences in jazz music, especially on “Jump for Victor,” where Waldron solos with his trademark vamping amidst the onslaught. I could write much more about this fantastic and somewhat anomalous date – it will be the subject of a future post!

Waldron must have enjoyed the aural chaos of the America date because he named it one of his five favorites from his albums in the 2001 Pankin interview. Waldron and Lacy continued to collaborate through the 1970s, with all the issued recordings being with Waldron’s band. Hard Talk (1974), One-Upmanship (1977), and Moods (1978) are Waldron leader dates with Lacy, with either Makaya Ntshoko or Allen Blairman on drums, Isla Eckinger, Jimmy Woode or Cameron Brown on bass, and Manfred Schoop or Terumasa Hino on trumpet. All these records were released on the German ENJA label, and each has its charms and is a classic in its way. Hard Talk is a crackling live date where Blairman gives a rock feel on his tom-toms, and Waldron, Lacy, and trumpeter Schoof sound particularly energized. On One-Upmanship, Lacy’s tone and power are incredible; his sax playing over Waldron’s dirge “The Seagulls Of Kristiansund” is some of the most moving music I’ve heard. Moods mixes an international cast of musicians with Waldron solo tracks, placing the emotional impact of Waldron’s piano front and center. Waldron and Lacy hit a groove across the 1970s of building resonant and impactful music that shows each of them to great effect. With each of these records, their collaboration feels like they are building toward something.

The Duets and the Return of Monk

The playing of Waldron and Lacy through the 1970s focuses on original compositions, some of them stone-cold classics like Waldron’s “Snake Out” or “The Seagulls Of Kristiansund.” I don’t know who planted the seed, but a significant change was about to take root: the return of Monk’s compositions to the Waldron/Lacy discography, which they had not recorded together since Lacy’s 1958 leader date. If I’m going to speculate, it must be Lacy who instigated the change. Lacy had a deep relationship with Monk’s music, and he started playing Monk again in the 70s after several years of focusing on his own compositions (for evidence of the change see the Monk program on Eronel, a 1978 record in the Italian Horo label). Also, Lacy pursued a compositional style that iterates on Monk’s compression and mercurial wit – Monk’s music is always central to Lacy’s concept. Whatever the reason, Waldron and Lacy gathered together in August 1981 at the Dreher club in Paris and, over four nights, made live recordings that balanced equal parts Monk’s compositions with originals by Lacy and Waldron. From that point on, Monk tunes are a prominent part of the discographies of both men.

The 1981 Dreher records also bring another sea change to the Waldron/Lacy joint discography – these recordings are just the two musicians, no rhythm section. Almost all of their subsequent joint recordings for the next 20 years were in a duo format. What’s the reason? I’m not convinced the 1970s rhythm sections did justice to their music, and Waldron and Lacy may have realized they preferred playing without other band members getting in the way. Both players have very strong rhythm and organized ideas, and you never miss the drummer. While handling the logistics of leading a band (and getting the band paid) might have been a factor, the perfection of the Waldron/lacy duets argues that they realized this was the ideal format for the music they needed to make.

For proof of their potent new concept, the place to go is the 2003 Hat Hut four CD release, Mal Waldron And Steve Lacy Live At Dreher Paris 1981. This epochal four-and-a-half hours of live music is mercifully available on streaming services. If there’s one thing you take from this essay, please go to either Apple Music or Spotify and dip into the mother lode. Waldron and Lacy are on fire, and the music is revelatory. They cover essential Monk repertory such as “Round Midnight, “Epistrophy,” ‘Well You Needn’t,” and their personal Monk talisman, “Let’s Call This.” They also give definitive readings of Waldron and Lacy’s compositions, such as Waldron’s “Hooray for Herbie” and “The Seagulls Of Kristiansund,” and Lacy’s tunes like “No Baby” and “Bone.” The unflagging invention, energy, and simpatico camaraderie are the height of artistic creation. I could go on, but I’ll let you listen instead. If I had to take one record to the proverbial desert island, for me, this may be it.

Waldron and Lacy continued to lean into their muse in the duo format, and were just getting started. The recording from 1982 at Amsterdam’s Bimhuis released in 2006 as Steve Lacy & Mal Waldron – At The Bimhuis may be even better than the Hat Hut recordings due to its conciseness. Lacy’s “Blues For Aida” is spooky and mesmerizing and with this version of “Snake Out,” Waldron’s trademark vamping morphs into a stunning gospel-tinged rave-up. On “Reflections” Lacy delivers a solo of aching beauty. Also recommended from the trove of duets is the deep and mellow exploration of Duke’s music on 1986’s Sempre Amore, and the excursion into the music of Herbie Nichols on Hot House (1990). There are a lot of Waldron/Lacy duo records (see the discography below), and they’re all great. With the Waldron/Lacy duets, two musicians who are outstanding individually join together to form music that is elevated to an extraordinary level.

Waldron and Lacy and the Band

Before the release of the new album The Mighty Warriors, there were a dozen officially released albums of music performed by Waldron and Lacy together from 1981 onward, and all but one had no drummer. Only The Super Quartet of Mal Waldron featuring Steve Lacy, released in 1987, reveals Waldron and Lacy in a quartet format, with Reggie Workman on bass and Eddie Moore on drums. So the newly released The Mighty Warriors provides a needed look at Waldron and Lacy performing with bass and drums. And with no ordinary bassist and drummer! Reggie Workman had played with Waldron for years at the time of this concert, starting with the record with Up Popped the Devil from 1973. Waldron’s working group with Workman and Ed Blackwell is one of the most potent of the 1980s, which Ethan Iverson celebrates in his fascinating post on Waldron that I mentioned above. Andrew Cyrille was a more recent associate for Waldron, but the Waldron/Blackwell/Cyrille rhythm section worked a lot together for years before this concert and is captured together by the Waldron release Soul Eyes (1997). So getting to hear Waldron and Lacy with a rhythm section – and this rhythm section – alone justifies The Mighty Warriors coming out – it’s an absolute pleasure to hear these musicians together. So, let’s talk about this new release.

The evening’s music is captured over two discs. The first disc consists of two Monk tunes (“Epistrophy” and “Blue Monk”) and a composition each by Waldron and Lacy – “What It Is” and “Longing,” respectively. The sound quality of the recording is quite excellent, although the mics are back from the stage and maybe toward the drums; you may want to turn the volume up to hear everything. While the music is adventurous, attention to melody abounds. At this point in his career, Lacy had dispensed with much of the exploration of noise and extended techniques that once were the center of his playing. His solos on Waldron’s “What It Is” and the two Monk tunes are constructed of motivic patterns that the listener can easily grasp. Waldron sounds both relaxed and in very good form – on “What It Is,” he uses his unique technique of building a solo around rhythmic blocks, but without the breathless rush that characterizes many of his solos. Here, the more relaxed pace allows you to appreciate the beauty of his melodic development and his incredible sound. The rhythm section is seamless and subtly inventive – listen closely. Workman’s bass playing is constantly probing, an interesting counterpoint to Lacy and Waldron. Cyrille elevates the whole concert—the sound of his cymbals mesmerizes, his time is slippery and enchanting, and his solos, such as on “What It is,” are dynamic and exciting. Cyrille has a great ability to make the drums trace the melody as he plays through the tune’s structure. Amazing stuff.

The two Monk covers are surely the highlights of the first disc – at this point after a lifetime with Monk’s music, Waldron and Lacy were definitive interpreters. This version of “Epistrophy” glides effortlessly through the tricky structure of the tune, perfectly capturing the intensity of the iconic baseline and the jaunty chromaticism of the melody. The disc one closer, “Blue Monk,” is even better. Waldron and Lacy take the tune at a stately pace and build an interesting piano counterpoint into the arrangement of the tune. Waldron’s solo on “Blue Monk” is a great example of how his famous sense of humor off the bandstand sometimes peeks out in his playing – amidst the dark, intense clusters of his melodic solo, he quotes “Oh! Susanna.” The audience audibly loved it.

Lacy’s one tune presented in the concert, “Longing,” is the only misstep of the night. The title “Longing” is, among many other things, a witty pun – it’s a long-form composition (42 bars) and takes almost two minutes to play the head in this performance. The composition is a melodic haiku and it’s classic Lacy, but needs patience from players and listeners alike. I believe Waldron, Workman, and Cyrille were all new to “Longing” and they sound a bit tentative here (see the documentary A Portrait of Mal Waldron, which I discuss below; at 16 minutes you’ll see Lacy teaching the tune to the band, seemingly for the first time, at the rehearsal before the concert). Also, the distanced mics don’t do the performers any favors on this spare composition, and tracing the form at this slow tempo, especially during Workman’s bass solo, feels challenging. “Longing” is a remarkable composition – please check out the definitive interpretation on Lacy’s album Bye-Ya with his close associates John Betsch and Jean-Jacques Avenel, or the amazing unreleased version that I talk about in the notes below.

Chalk it up to this blog’s preference for experimental music, but the more avant-garde second disc seems more assured and inspired to me. This is especially true of the almost 25-minute performance on Reggie Workman’s “Variation of III.” The whole band is energized in the second disc, and their ideas, individually and collectively, are intensely creative. “Variation of III” starts with a playful collective rumination that sounds like an orchestra tuning up. Workman delivers an arco bass statement, then switches to pizzicato, and then the center of the music switches to Lacy. Lacy seems to relish the open form of this tune, and from 4:00 to 9:00, he plays with a quizzical, probing tone, deft use of space, and abstract but clear ideas that characterize his best work. Cyrille accompanies sparingly, but it’s all Lacy in top form for five glorious minutes. There’s nobody like him, and if this is your introduction, diving into the rest of his discography is one of life’s great joys.

At 9:00, the performance shifts gears, and Workman delivers a fleet and nuanced solo statement. At 13:00, we hear from Waldron again, who plays rubato chords that move up and down the keyboard, sounding like a race car driver waiting for the flag to drop. Then Cyrille’s ride cymbal winds the music up, dramatically shifting the energy, and Waldron’s playing develops into his trademark two-hand rhythmic structures. The injection of Waldron’s piano energy calls back to his playing at the Five Spot from 34 years earlier, with Waldron stealing back the center of the music and “banging his rocks,” to use Ethan Iverson’s phrase, all over again. I love this! When Waldron goes to this place, nobody has a more robust musical vision, and the stage becomes his. That’s only half of the 25 minutes of this performance – then Lacy returns with a focused solo while Waldron develops more stimulating ideas, Workman pushes it all along, and then we get a simmering drum solo. Suddenly, the band plays what sounds like the head – but for the first time at the end of the song! Have we been listening to a deconstructed version of the tune all this time, or is this “out chorus” a marvelous bit of group improvisation? With players this confident, I can’t really tell. “Variation of III” is a keeper and the highlight of the evening.

Then the group wraps up the night with their surefire burner – Waldron’s definitive rave-up “Snake Out.” “Snake Out” is a really a blowing vehicle, and Lacy delivers the first solo with brisling ideas over Waldron’s assertive comping. Most Waldron/Lacy versions of “Snake Out” then plunge into a Waldron solo, but here he dramatically lays back, and by turns, Workman and Cyrille deliver lengthy and interesting statements over the song form. When it’s Waldron’s turn, he delivers a knockout surprise by interjecting another song altogether – his emotional tribute to Cecil Taylor which he first recorded on 1987’s Update, “Variations On A Theme By Cecil Taylor.” I’m not sure this performance rises to the incredible levels of that recording, but the drama of the live performance more than makes up for any nitpicking I can throw its way. The setting is suitably dramatic, and it’s a satisfying end to the performance when the band returns to the thundering chords of “Snake Out” to play the out chorus and end the evening of music. The lore about audience reactions in continental Europe is that they tend to be politely restrained, but even so, you can hear the crowd break into the waves of applause – was there an encore? I don’t know, but I’m glad we have this new document of a memorable night of music from the sunset of Waldron and Lacy’s careers.

While they both went on to individually record worthy albums after this event, The Mighty Warriors is now the penultimate officially released recording of these two men together. They made one last record together, One Last Time, recorded in 2002 and released before Waldron’s death in December 2002. Lacy died from cancer only two years after that. Waldron and Lacy left enormous legacies on their instruments and their compositions, as well as their approach to music, improvisation, and collaboration. Their discographies are each huge and immensely rewarding, and the processes of discovery and rediscovery continue to reveal how much power this music provides to us, years after its creation. The Mighty Warriors gives us a chance to look back and appreciate the depth and greatness of what Waldron and Lacy did together and to understand how they changed music. Their music offers approaches and solutions that have not been fully explored by today’s practitioners and offers a wealth of wisdom and beauty for the ages. As Andrew Cyrille says in the album’s liner notes about Waldron, these musicians are “points of light.” That light lives on in the music; when you listen, the journey continues.

Links to explore more Waldron and Lacy

Here is the Waldron/Lacy Joint Discography!
In preparation for this post, I tried to find a discography online that included all of the known recordings of Waldron and Lacy together, and I could not find one source that covered it all. So, to remedy this problem, I created a Mal Waldron and Steve Lacy joint discography. I hope this is a resource that will lead to your discovery of Waldron and Lacy’s music and that you’ll find it helpful. I’m still reviewing and looking for errors, corrections, or additions, so please, if you have suggestions, leave a comment so I can make this better.

The Joys of the Discographer
In the past, I’ve been a listener who only spent a little time with discographies (excepting those in Mosaic boxes, R.I.P. Michael Cuscuna), and the discography linked above is my first stab at compiling one. Putting this information together was critical to my understanding of the arc of Waldron’s and Lacy’s music and reinforced for me the importance of understanding the chronology of an artist’s work. Also, studying the details of the Waldron-Lacy discography uncovered some interesting mysteries for me. The biggest discovery concerns the epochal 1981 Dreher duets. The releases are really confusing, owing to Hat Hut having issued this music over five albums prior to the 2003 four-CD set (hatOLOGY 4-596). However, I was under the impression that hatOLOGY 4-596 put everything out, and since that’s the only one of the Dreher releases I have access to, I thought I had all the music from these four nights from 1981 in Paris. However, I discovered that the liner notes to the long out-of-print 1986 LP Mal Waldron And Steve Lacy – Let’s Call This state that the album’s performance of “Epistrophy” is a trio with the addition of trumpet player Erico Rava. Here are the credits and liner notes on the back cover:

I don’t own the 1986 LP Let’s Call This, but listening to both versions of “Epistrophy” on hatOLOGY 4-596, there’s no trumpet to be heard! At least to my ears, it seems the 2003 release did not reissue the “Epistrophy” with Rava, contrary to existing discographical information. This is a mystery that I will be digging into. I would like to hear the version of “Epistrophy” with Rava, and I’ll try and track down an affordable copy of the 1986 LP. Further, this discrepancy suggests there may be more music to hear from Waldron and Lacy’s four nights of performances, which, given the caliber of what we have, would be incredible. I’ve already emailed Hat Hut, and I’ll report my findings here when I get to the bottom of this.

Calling the Jazz Detective – Release the 1990 Bimhuis set next!
The Mighty Warriors is a great release that increases our understanding of one of music’s most important musical partnerships. However, listeners of WKCR’s program Deep Focus may know there is an unreleased recording featuring the musicians on The Mighty Warriors, plus trombonist Roswell Rudd and trumpeter Enrico Rava. This sextet was captured in a live performance on February 27, 2000, at Bimhuis in Amsterdam. You can hear the whole performance on the three-hour-long Deep Focus broadcast and also dig excellent commentary by saxophonist Phillip Johnson and host Mitch Goldman. It’s archived in three parts: part 1, part 2 and part 3. This exceptional recording frankly sounds even better than The Mighty Warriors. The whole band is in great form and is focused and energetic over ten tunes – eight by Monk and one each by Waldron and Lacy. Interestingly, the Lacy tune is the same one they play on The Mighty Warriors , “Longing.” I said above, the band sounds underrehearsed on the 1995 Antwerp date, but by 2000 at Bimhuis, Waldron, Workman and Cyrille sound really tight. The addition of an incredible-sounding Roswell Rudd and an exuberant trumpet from Rava does not hurt, either. The Bimhous “Longing” captures the patient, loping melody and the menacing undertone of the composition beautifully. Another extraordinary part of the Bimhaus performance is the boisterous approach to Monk, which reaches its apex on the out-choruses of “Monk’s Mood” and “Bemsha Swing,” where the band morphs into Dixieland with joyous collective improvisation. The Mighty Warriors is a great start, but the 2000 Bimhuis is the next step — this recording needs to be released!

A Great Documentary about Waldron
As part of my preparation for this post, I watched an excellent documentary, A Portrait of Mal Waldron. You can really appreciate the wit and character of Waldron, understand his music better, and learn a lot about him. Also, this doc is a great companion to the music of The Mighty Warriors because it includes extensive interviews with all of the band members, apparently made the same week as this concert. A revelation from the documentary is that at 10:30 to 12:30, and again under the closing credits, there is video from the same concert documented in The Mighty Warriors. If this concert can be released with both the video and audio of that night, that would be something to celebrate!

Waldron/Lacy Gold on YouTube
Another discovery I made while researching this piece was a YouTube video archive called “Vintage Music Experience.” One of the Waldron/Lacy recordings archived there is of an August 29, 1986, FM broadcast of a tentet playing Monk. The band is billed as “Thelonious Monk Orchestra Reunion” and has a legit relationship with Monk – Ben Riley is the drummer, and Charlie Rouse is the principal soloist. The music is joyous, and both Lacy and Waldron sound great here. Every major city should fill its bandshells and public spaces with free Monk performances! It’s fantastic to find these gems on YouTube, curated by passionate music lovers who want the great message of this music to get out.

Check out Snake Out, the Mal Waldron Blog
I also discovered an exceptional blog devoted to Mal Waldron’s music – Snake Out. At Snake Out, you’ll find reviews of every one of Waldron’s official releases, along with very knowledgeable annotations and interviews with filmmaker Tom van Overberghe and bassist David Friesen about Waldron. The passion for Waldron’s music jumps out on every page – it’s a great way to get to know and appreciate Mal Waldron’s artistry better.

Read Ethan Iverson’s “On Mal Waldron”
I remember reading Iverson’s piece about Mal Waldron on the old Do The Math blog when he published it in 2010. You can find Iverson’s essay here. A lot of my listening to the great pianist was inspired by reading “On Mal Waldron.” Returning to Iverson’s piece to prepare this essay, I found it’s shorter than I remember (about 2,000 words) but just as insightful. Iverson’s description of Waldron’s style as “banging rocks” and dubbing Waldron/Workman/Blackwell as the “evil trio” are irreverent but terrific. Also, Iverson makes sure you know where his heart is when he admits, “I owe one hell of a lot to Mal Waldron.”

 

TNB Song of The Week “What Comes”- March 31, 2024

Christopher Hoffman – “What Comes” (featuring Henry Threadgill), from the album Vision Is The Identity


Listen to “What Comes” at Apple Music
Listen to “What Comes” at Spotify

(Out Of Your Head Records, released March 22, 2024)

Personnel on Vision Is The Identity: Christopher Hoffman – cello, electric cello, drum programming & synth; Frank LoCrasto – keyboards; Bill Campbell – drums; Henry Threadgill – alto saxophone (track 2); Ryan Scott – guitar (tracks 2 & 6); Anna Webber – flute (track 5); Alfredo Colón – EWI (track 7)

Sometimes, even amidst a fantastic album, one composition or song will stand out and demand your attention. On Christopher Hoffman’s new album Vision Is The Identity, I had that experience with the track “What Comes.” I’m not focusing on “What Comes” to suggest the rest of Vision Is The Identity isn’t great – far from it; I’m excited about this record as much as any in 2024 – it’s uniformly excellent! Each of its seven tracks is a compressed statement, and at 24 minutes, Vision Is The Identity is a wonderful example of only releasing the most impactful, potent content. But even on such a strong release, “What Comes” stands out, and I want to focus on this track – and my love for it is only partly for its star-featured soloist – but we’ll get to that.

“What Comes” perfectly distills the strengths of its creator, cellist Christopher Hoffman. If you are unfamiliar with Hoffman, his interview with PostGenre is an excellent place to start. There, Hoffman describes how, as a young musician, he was in the Suzuki program learning classical music, but ultimately, he “didn’t want to play in an orchestra” and looked for a more individualistic path. That decision led him to the improvised “jazz” world and approaches to cello that eschew the norm for the instrument. For example, Hoffman’s 2018 album Multifariam uses both acoustic and electronic backgrounds, a trajectory Hoffman continues with Vision Is The Identity. With his new album, he creates tracks utilizing synthesizers, keyboards, and programmed beats on top of acoustic drums. Then, he often plays his cello with pedal effects, making his instrument sound like a distorted guitar or sometimes like a bass. Frequently, on Vision Is The Identity, the distortion on Hoffman’s cello catapults the energy of the music to another level.

Hoffman’s nonconformist direction is embodied in his association with the most iconoclastic musician alive, Henry Threadgill. Hoffman plays in Threadgill’s band Zooid and has appeared on six of Threadgill’s albums so far. Threadgill’s music has often used the cello, starting with the Sextett of the 1980s, where Deidre Murray’s careening, explosive solos often dominated the music. More recently, Hoffman has filled the cello chair with his intense sound and rhythm, and you can hear him on standout Threadgill tracks like “Ceroepic” and “Dosepic” from In for a Penny, In for a Pound (2015), “Part 2” from Old Locks and Irregular Verbs (2017), and “Come and Go” from Poof (2021). All those performances feature dynamic playing from Hoffman, who has been part of the formula for the new heights that Threadgill has reached over the last decade.

Now, Threadgill returns the favor with his feature appearance on “What Comes,” where he plays a solo that reminds me of the unparalleled power improvised music can have. Here is what I’m hearing, but as always, the real point is for you to listen along, so by all means, hit the link above: Threadgill plays on the second half of the opening chorus and then a four chorus solo from 0:26 to 2:10 – you can really hear his gloriously acidic and intense tone throughout the performance. That sound is the first thing you notice about Threadgill; it’s a sound that occupies a unique emotional space in music. I love how Threadgill balances his phrases with dramatic spaces for breath, which only intensifies the emotional wallop. In his last half chorus, Threadgill plays an idea (1:58-2:03) that’s one of his characteristic rhythmic phases, which drives the solo home dramatically. I’m fascinated by this kind of phrase that is a soloist’s calling card, and which is much more than a mere “lick.” These ideas, honed through the crucible of practice and imagination, are compressed musical ideas used to intensify the rhythm, project a forceful melody, and reorient the direction of the music. In Threadgill’s rhythmic phrase, I hear a connection to a great tradition, which is the provenience of alto sax players like Bird, Ornette, Julius Hemphill, Jackie McLean, and others. Threadgill is part of that lineage, but he’s startlingly unique, too. You can only listen to his playing in wonder.

But Threadgill’s playing is far from the only amazement in “What Comes,” which showcases Hoffman’s craft at creating a setting to elevate all the players on this album. One of the things I enjoy about this track, and Vision Is The Identity overall, is how non-traditional it sounds, and how exciting the electronic settings are. “What Comes” opens with four bars of Frank LoCrasto’s keyboards, played out of tempo and using a memorable reverb that sets an eerie tone. The rest of the opening chorus uses Hoffman’s programmed beats, giving way to acoustic drums played by Bill Campbell for the rest of the performance.

“What Comes” has an interesting rhythm track, which layers Ryan Scott’s guitar and LoCrasto’s keyboards to create a gorgeous shimmering sound. I also love how Hoffman has chosen the solo order – Threadgill’s dramatic solo is followed by a keyboard solo by LoCrasto, whose restrained, emotionally calmer sound is the perfect release after the intensity before. After LoCrasto’s three breezy choruses, Hoffman’s distorted cello comes in, ramping up the tension and the urgency again. The combination of the distortion pedal on the cello (Hoffman is credited to both “cello” and “electric cello”) and the note choices drive the performance back into an intense peak that he sustains through the out chorus. “What Comes” also features guitarist Ryan Scott, who is a big part of the sound and elevates the music without getting in the way. He plays exciting counterpoint during Threadgill’s solo, creating an intriguing sonic landscape throughout the track. What I especially dug is the spooky overtones Scott gets out of his guitar near the start of the performance and again on the out chorus. His playing combines beautifully with Threadgill’s, and together, they create an incredible sound that I just not have been able to get out of my head.

I hope you do not mind over 1100 words on one song. Music this rich and that says so much deserves to be played multiple times and studied. It’s a valuable exercise to listen over and over and try to understand what’s going on to the best of your ability and experience. You test yourself and start to unlock the mysteries and meaning in the grooves. As I said above, I recommend “What’s Comes” and the entire album Vision Its The Identity. Each track is a standout, but I’ll also mention Anna Webber’s incredible flute on “Better & Better,” the riot of LoCrasto’s keyboards and EWI (Electronic Wind Instrument) by Alfredo Colón on the closer “Farewell Forever,” and the cinematic processed electronics on “It Is Done.” Also, I need to mention the fantastic album art by TJ Huff, which is the perfect match for the gripping music. While it lasts, check out Bandcamp’s merch, which includes a cool sweatshirt and stickers with the iconic cover art, and pick up a copy on vinyl.

Very striking cover art by TJ Huff!

Saturday and Sunday – Two Sides to the Music of Vinnie Sperrazza

My original intention for this post was an album round-up of about a dozen new releases with links and short descriptions. But after listening to recent music from Vinnie Sperrazza, I decided to shift my focus to this drummer, one of today’s most exciting musicians. Sperrazza has released two excellent but different albums – Saturday, which came out last March, and a sequel of sorts, Sunday, released in January of this year. These two releases are a delight – each in their own way – and demonstrate two sides to Sperrazza’s music. Let’s discuss both, and my goal is for you to check these out and maybe even listen along.

Vinnie Sperrazza – Saturday

(Fresh Sound New Talent, released March 4, 2023; Album graphic design – Jacob Sacks)
Buy from Fresh Sound New Talent
Stream on Apple
Stream on Spotify

Ethan Iverson – piano
Michael Formanek – bass
Vinnie Sperrazza – drums

Saturday is a trio album of Sperrazza on drums with pianist Ethan Iverson and bassist Michael Formanek. While the music is in the tried-and-true piano trio format and sticks to a theme and solos design, that’s a strength rather than a weakness. The engagement and dialogue with jazz tradition is one of the highlights of this album. Sperrazza wrote all the tunes on Saturday, which are delightfully inventive. Innovation that is based in tradition, that’s what jazz is all about, right? I’ve found the music addictive and played this album over and over. Let’s talk about what makes Saturday so special.

First, I want to highlight a really attractive quality apart from the music itself. While this blog is not about evaluating audio fidelity, the sound of this recording itself is remarkable and worth appreciating. Saturday was taped at Van Gelder Studio, where legendary albums like A Love Supreme, Point of Departure, Fuschia Swing Song, and so many others were created. The close-up, warm presence of the instruments on Saturday is an absolute pleasure, especially Sperrazza’s drums – the cymbals are so vivid you feel you can reach out and touch them. The recording also does justice to the high notes of Iverson’s right hand and the low register of Formanek’s bass. It’s so good to have this hallowed recording studio back; musicians, if you want to make your next record sound great, you know what to do!

But of course, it’s the music itself we’re here for, which I found to be exceptional. Saturday moves quickly from one highlight to another, and I’ll run down (most) of the tracks with you. The album starts with “Stephen Paul,” a tribute to drummer Paul Motion. I especially liked Iverson’s piano here – on this opening track, he plays the pattern from the opening Prelude & Fugue of Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier. This was a really lovely touch! It feels appropriate that Sperrazza starts Saturday with a tribute to Paul Motion, who was the first subject of Sperrazza’s excellent Chronicles Substack. Sperrazza’s style, especially his wide multidirectional cymbal beat, is right out of the Motion school.

The next tune is the title track, “Saturday,” a blues. In a recent interview, Sperrazza called this his most successful attempt at a blues so far, and the result more than fulfills that humble promise. I love the development of the tune into a groover with a touch of boogie-woogie – what Sperrazza calls “the Duke Ellington thing” on his Substack page. “Don’t Mention the War” is a sly reference to the British TV comedy Fawlty Towers. Here, the band has fun with the bouncy-poignant melody, and Iverson gets into great use of the sustain pedal over tasty drumming. “Veiled Promise” is a hushed ballad and a feature for Iverson, who develops his solo with style and interesting ideas. If I’m hearing it right, he quotes the second strain of the love theme from Gershwin’s Rhapsody In Blue, which, given Iverson’s recent controversial New York Times essay, is fascinating. Sperrazza again demonstrates his talent for melody with the Burt Bacharach-like “Just Forget It,” a title that shows his modest humor – far from forgettable, it’s quite memorable! “Angular Saxon” is a drum feature with layered and dynamic use of cymbals and a balance of structure and sonics. To me, Sperrazza’s solo echoes not just Motion but Max and Tony – but really, he sounds like himself.

Many of the highlights of Saturday come in the second half, surely a sign of an album with no weak tracks. “Ellipsis” has an effortless lyricism, with the band locking into a glowing pulse over which Iverson plays unhurried ideas. The choice to have Formanek solo with freedom through the head and during Iverson’s playing on “Ellipsis” is brilliant – the bass playing here is Formanek’s most striking on the album. The tempo ramps up with “Sunday,” a song based on rhythm changes. Over a quick groove, the band jumps from one chorus to the next, pushed on by Sperrazza’s pulsating cymbals. The band does justice to the Walton/Jones/Higgins paradigm of piano trio music here, another example of this group’s relationship to tradition and music history. Lyricism returns with “A Place Where Nothing Happens,” based on the chorus of the Talking Heads song “Heaven.” Iverson’s solo on this tune is his best on the record for me. The album closes with “One Hour,” a tune Sperrazza previously recorded in 2017 on the excellent Juxtaposition. While that version allowed each soloist five choruses over a 28-bar form (12+2, twice; hope I hear that right!), here Iverson and Sperrazza take three roiling split choruses that appropriately evoke Cecil Taylor’s “Air.” At a minute and 52 seconds, the performance is like an exclamation point, bringing Saturday to a satisfying conclusion.

Saturday is a rewarding album that benefits from repeat listening (which I’ve done with pleasure). I’m not sure this record got a lot of notice last year – when I googled it, I only found two reviews – one on the Marlbank blog and another in the May 2023 New York City Jazz Record. Surprising! This record deserves more notice – you should listen.

Vinnie Sperrazza Apocryphal – Sunday


(Loyal Label, released January 19, 2024; Cover collage and design by Espen Freiberg)

Loren Stillman – tenor and soprano saxophone
Brandon Seabrook – guitar, banjo, mandolin
Eivind Opsvik – bass
Vinnie Sperrazza – drums

Buy from Bandcamp
Stream on Apple
Stream on Spotify

If Saturday is full of satisfying melodies, Sunday is an open-eared adventure that shows a much different side of Sperrazza – this is one for the progressive music fan. The concept was born a decade ago while contemplating the word “apocryphal,” which Sperrazza wrote about on his blog :

“Around the time I kept noticing the word, I wrote a tune with a melody that sounded sort of like ‘My Heart Belongs To Daddy,’ but with a tonic chord that kept switching willy-nilly between major and minor. When I played the song through, with its fake Cole Porter melody, and changes that only sort-of worked, I realized: ‘this tune is apocryphal.'”

The eponymous opening track of that 2014 album is a statement of purpose for a band that plays songs created outside conventional rules of structure and instrumentation because this music tells new stories. Sperrazza convened the perfect band to realize this concept – with the leader on drums, saxophonist Loren Stillman, bassist Eivind Opsvik, and guitarist/banjo player Brandon Seabrook, they play tunes that are adjacent to tradition and then break the rules to make something idiosyncratic and memorable.

The new album, Sunday, is the third studio album from the Apocryphal quartet and is their most focused release yet. What I loved most is how this record feels like an unfolding narrative, something Sperrazza makes explicit in his post about the album. Too often, improvised music gets mired in formula and loses sight of the raison d’être of jazz, the “sound of surprise.” Sunday avoids clichés with its episodic structure, and the writing, arranging, and playing have those surprises at every turn – you never really know what awaits you next.

But just because this group favors rule-breaking does not mean it has left melody behind. For example, the opening track, “Presence,” starts with over a minute of Loren Stillman playing a beautiful melody, unadorned and alone on tenor saxophone. Sperrazza says this tune depicts waking up and how it “changes something about the air around you.” Stillman captures that idea perfectly – the see-saw sax lines have a quiet perfection and evoke the idea of a dawning consciousness. Stillman’s sax is followed by Brandon Seabrook playing Derek Bailey-like “cracked” ideas, and then the sax/guitar/bass play this material together. The tune’s ending is tagged by gritty guitar feedback, maybe signaling that our protagonist has been rudely awoken from a somnolent dream. The opening track says a lot about the clarity of Sperrazza’s concept – Sunday is an experimental album at heart, but it does not lose the listener because it centers simple, beautiful melody alongside a skewering of the rules.

Interestingly, there are no drums on the opening track, and the following track, “First Weather,” is just Sperrazza – a drum solo that subtly builds both musical and narrative momentum. Those first two tracks introduce the listener to a progression of textures and moods that are combined when the band plays “Caffeine Dream,” the standout performance for me. Here, the drums and bass dig into a slinky groove, over which Stillman plays the melody and then a memorable solo. But the real spark comes from Seabrook, riffing with an incredibly transparent and energetic tone and playing a solo at the end of the track that is pure fire. “Caffeine Dream” has been a bit of a soundtrack for me since I’ve heard it, and it’s been on repeat for days.

That’s just the first three tracks. The remainder of the album is full of excellent music, and running at 38 minutes, Sperrazza knows how to avoid overstaying his welcome. If you play this album in the background, there is bound to be some idea or gesture that will jump out at you and draw your attention. Later, some small bit of music you heard will pop into your head – like Seabrook’s rhythmically wild banjo at the end of “PM Drift” (I didn’t know a banjo could phrase like Cecil Taylor!) or Sperrazza’s authentic rock beat on “Sundowning (Culture Is Cosmetic).” Sunday is an insistently diverting album that presents an eclectic but coherent vision. After hearing Sunday, this group has become one of my favorite ones in music, and I look forward to seeing the Apocryphal quartet live.

There you have it, Saturday and Sunday. These are two excellent albums that rejuvenate the mind and soul but are very different, just like the contrasting days of your weekend. Sperrazza was somebody I had only heard about before listening to these albums, but now he is planted at the top of the artists making music today music for me. I’ll be looking for what he does next, and you should, too!

More Vinnie Sperrazza Links:

Listen to Apocryphal
The Apocryphal quartet has captured my ear; I love its open-minded and exciting approach to music. If you enjoy Sunday, check out the prior albums by this group: their eponymous 2014 release, 2017’s Hide Ye Idols, and a lo-fi recording of a 2015 gig released in 2020. All these records feature unpredictable, eclectic, and exciting music.

A Substack Supreme
If you’ve come this far, I know you’ll subscribe to Sperrazza’s Substack page, Chronicles. Don’t take my word for it; you can trust Nate Chinen when he says Chronicles is a “must-subscribe, must-read.” One of the things that makes Sperrazza’s writing so great is his obvious passion for the history of music, combined with the knowledge he brings to the table, especially about drummers. I love his posts on the underrated Phillip Wilson, TNB favorites Ed Blackwell and Gerald Cleaver, and the three-part centennial celebration of Max Roach. Sperrazza also writes about non-drummers, and I can hardly wait for what he publishes next.

Two other new albums are out!
This post has focused on Sperrazza’s two recent leader sessions, but he’s on two more new albums you should also check out. Both released on February 16, Sperrazza is co-leader with saxophonist Charlotte Greve and bassist Chris Tordini on The Choir Invisible’s Town of Two Faces and also plays drums on Mike McGinnis’ Outing: Road Trip II. Like Saturday and Sunday, these are two very different records – the first focusing on free and expressive interplay with no piano, and the latter a romp through large band orchestrations in a variety of styles from Carla Bley to Count Basie. Sperrazza, whose drumming is so flexible, is a first-call drummer for settings like these and more.

Interview on YouTube
To prepare for this review, I watched an excellent interview on YouTube on the Thanks For Dropping By channel. I especially like the section (29 minutes in) where Sperrazza demonstrates the complexity of traditional rhythms and how getting an authentic feel is part of a lifetime’s work.

Apple calls it Lounge!
At The Necessary Blues, we try to look beyond labels and words that describe genre – those labels can be helpful but also feel like a prison. So I think it’s pretty laughable that Apple Music labels the genre for Saturday “Lounge.” If you use genre descriptions, try to get them right! But on the other hand, maybe somebody searching for “Lounge Music” would benefit from hearing an album full of invention and ideas.

“Saturday and Sunday”
I’m sure this is off-topic, but I can’t write about Saturday and Sunday without thinking about “Saturday and Sunday,” the epochal Jackie McLean tune. The 1963 performance of “Saturday and Sunday” comes from a genuinely killer band: McLean with Grachan Moncur III, Bobby Hutcherson, Eddie Khan, and Tony Williams. In a blog focused on progressive and experimental music, we need to give a nod to the Rosetta’s Stone. You can listen here.

TNB Album of the Week – February 4, 2024

Ches Smith – Laugh Ash (Pyroclastic Records – released February 2, 2024)

Shara Lunon – voice and vocal processing
Anna Webber – flute
Oscar Noriega – clarinets
James Brandon Lewis – tenor saxophone
Nate Wooley – trumpet
Jennifer Choi – violin
Kyle Armbrust – viola
Michael Nicolas – cello
Shahzad Ismaily – bass and keyboards
Ches Smith – electronics, programming, vibes, drums, tubular bells, glockenspiel, timpani, tam tam, metal percussion

Album photography by Billie Miro Breskin

Buy at Bandcamp
Stream at Apple Music
Stream at Spotify

Ches Smith – where to start? In 2023, he was everywhere. Smith drummed on a half dozen of my favorite 2023 albums – Echolocation by Mendoza Hoff Revels, Michael Formanek’s As Things Do, half of Matt Mitchell’s Oblong Aplomb, and three John Zorn albums – Homenaje A Remedios, Full Fathom Five, and The Fourth Way. I’m sure I’m missing a bunch of Ches Smith album credits in the last year – how do you keep up with one of the most active and accomplished drummers around? With all that sideman work, it’s hard to imagine where Smith fits in time for his own projects, but when they do come out, they are always special. Top of mind is Smith’s 2021 album of Haitian voodoo music with We All Break, Path of Seven Colors, one of my favorites of the last decade. Path of Seven Colors is a transcendent meeting of Afro-Caribbean rhythms with jazz harmony, and my love of that album has only heightened my anticipation for Smith’s new album, Laugh Ash, which is out now. Laugh Ash delivers music that sounds like a consolidation as well as a bold new statement.

Ches Smith has always had multiple ongoing bands, each revealing a different side of who he is. There’s And These Arches, which explores a beat-heavy jazz and noise improv, and the duo with Devin Hoff, Good for Cows, which creates experimental interactions of bass and percussion. Smith has a working group of Mat Maneri and Craig Taborn that released The Bell (2016), and with the addition of Bill Frisell, Interpret It Well (2021), often quiet albums that spin trance-inducing improvisations from melodic kernels. Then there’s Congs for Brums, which innovates the presentation of extended percussion with solo electronics. These are all super accomplished projects, but each one is so different and distinctive from the others that it gives a picture that’s a bit fractured. Who is the real Ches Smith? Now we have the answer. Laugh Ash is the album that draws from all these different aesthetics and then boldly strikes out into even more sonic vistas. If you’re new to Smith’s music, start here.

Laugh Ash covers so much ground it’s hard to summarize and a real challenge to write about. Not only does Smith synthesize his prior statements in minimalism, electronics, noise, and percussion, but you also can hear a swirling blend of other sounds – hip-hop, dance rhythms, opera, modern classical, prog rock, dub, jazz poetry, video game bleeps, sound collage – the list could go on. These sound ideas co-occur, and at any given moment, you might be listening to a raag melody played over hip-hop beats, filled out by 8-bit bleeps and warbles. After a few seconds, the music will dramatically shift (like on “Remote Convivial,” but almost every other track too), segueing into a sax solo over skronk-fuzz bass or another dramatic juxtaposition. This happens throughout – Laugh Ash is bursting with more ideas over fifty-one minutes than most artists have in their discographies!

Laugh Ash also represents Ches Smith’s most through-composed music to date and the most outstanding example of Smith’s imaginative writing. The amount of composition and level of detail means there’s less blowing than on Smith’s prior albums, but that does not stop this accomplished group from shining. For me, the MVP is bassist/keyboardist Shahzad Ismaily. Ismaily sounds like he was given the role of improvising bass lines underneath and throughout all of the fixed parts, and whether predetermined or not, his playing provides the album with a consistently spontaneous and alive feel, even during the densest material. Ismaily’s electric bass also sounds fantastic – it gives a propulsive undercurrent, energetic noise, and interesting texture. The album is also enlivened by the tenor sax of James Brandon Lewis, who contributes hard-hitting, angular solos on “Remote Convivial,” “Sweatered Webs (hey Mom)” and “Unyielding Daydream Welding.” The album features impressive string playing from violinist Jennifer Choi, violist Kyle Armbrust, and cellist Michael Nicolas. Anna Webber’s flute is essential to the atmospherics and arrangements, and the album would not be the same without her. Both clarinetist Oscar Noriega and trumpeter Nate Wooley have outstanding solo spots on “Unyielding Daydream Welding.” Finally, the band’s other crucial member is vocalist and poet Shara Lunon. Most of these tracks feature her vocals at the border between soul, opera, and hip-hop. Lunon wrote the lyrics, which are reprinted in the liner notes and are fascinating and often compelling, such as when she sings “the interior of grief leaves its marks in strands” on the aforementioned “Sweatered Webs (Hey Mom),” or in her spoken word performance on “Winter Sprung,” where she declares “the blood is in the roots, you can taste it.” Lunon’s presence is compelling and pushes this program even further toward the striking and unique.

Laugh Ash also embodies experimentation as a philosophical concept. Smith doesn’t play with genres merely as evocative signifiers but instead as language components used to create music that can have a transformative effect. In the liner notes, Smith identifies laughter as an expression of the way you can deal with something new: “listeners might find parts of it at least a little bit funny. As a form of catharsis, laughter is fine by me. Genuine laughter arrives unannounced, causing a fissure where time stops. If the bout of laughter is severe, you may find yourself at the point of disintegration. Afterward, if not too worn out, you can dust away the ash, put yourself back together and continue your life afresh, newly curious about what is possible.” Yes, Laugh Ash had me laughing at some of its wild combinations of ideas and Smith’s feat of imagination in creating an album that references genres and elides them, too. Smith juxtaposes musically complementary but novel elements and creates a startling, sometimes funny, and reconfiguring result. You should listen to Laugh Ash – there’s nothing else out there like it.

(Laugh Ash; L-R Shahzad Ismaily, Shara Lunon, Anna Webber, James Brandon Lewis, Kyle Armbrust, Ches Smith, Michael Nicolas, Oscar Noriega, Nate Wooley, Jennifer Choi; Photo credit Bianca Claircidor)

More Ches Smith Links:

Laugh Ash Then and Now
Smith debuted a smaller version of the Laugh Ash group at Roulette in 2017, and the audio from that performance is saved at the Roulette website here. The music is different in this early version in a number of ways, most notably that 2017 Laugh Ash has much leaner writing, and there’s a lot more solo space. This makes me so curious to hear how the current iteration of Laugh Ash will sound live – if you are in the New York area, don’t miss them at Roulette on March 20, 2014.

A Cool Video
Frank Heath created a video for the track “Minimalism” from Laugh Ash. The video is striking looking and enriches the music by exploring the relationship of humans to technology. You can find the video on Ches Smith’s website.

Interviews with Ches
Ches has given several terrific interviews, which I recommend. He discusses jazz and metal with Hank Shteamer and goes into the relationship of composition and performance with Samo Salomon. Also, his answers to “15 Questions” are insightful, going into the process of creation and including this wisdom: “Fear gets in the way, and curiosity helps a lot.” Good advice for life!

Hear Ches Rock
Listening to the above podcasts, I learned that Ches came out of rock drumming and into improvisational music and jazz. I can hear it now! He brings an authentic and hard-hitting feel into all his drumming, and his ability to combine worlds just by sitting at the drums is part of the reason he’s so loved. Smith’s first records are with the noise rock band Theory of Ruin. On streaming, you can hear their self-titled EP. If you want to hear Smith rock in a jazz context, try the albums Hammered and Finally Out of My Hands by And These Arches. Some of the hardest-hitting drums you’ll hear on a jazz album.

TNB Album of the Week – January 28, 2024

Amanda Gardier – Auteur: Music Inspired by the Films of Wes Anderson (released January 26, 2024)

Amanda Gardier – Alto Saxophone and compositions
Charlie Ballantine – Guitar
Jesse Wittman – Bass
Dave King – Drums

Purchase on Bandcamp
Stream at Apple Music
Stream at Spotify

Wes Anderson may have been snubbed by the Motion Picture Academy this past week, but his fans can find solace in the release of Amanda Gardier’s Auteur: Music Inspired by the Films of Wes Anderson, a heartfelt and winning album inspired by the aesthetic of the great director. When I saw the album cover for Auteur, which channels the visual style of Wes Anderson, I was immediately excited about the concept of making music inspired by film. Although musical tributes to film directors are much less common than for musicians or albums, a few examples come to mind. Enrico Pieranunazi did a stylish album dedicated to Federico Fellini, William Parker devoted one disc out of his ten-volume opus Migration of Silence Into and Out of The Tone World to Fellini and other Italian filmmakers, and Tim Hagans & The NDR Big Band did an album inspired by John Cassavetes. Ken Vandermark named a band after avant-garde filmmaker Chris Marker. I’m sure there are others, but I think tributes to film directors may be less common because directing is an inherently visual activity with no obvious musical analogue. Making an album inspired by Wes Anderson is a particularly interesting choice. Anderson’s aesthetic and stylized dialogue are distinctive and evocative, and translating this world into sound is an enticing project that attracts sympathetic minds.

Amanda Gardier’s writing is terrific on Auteur, and I think you can hear the connection to Anderson in the music. Gardier’s talent for portraying a slightly melancholy, melodically attractive sound world can be traced to the first track of her discography as a leader, “Giants,” from the 2018 album Empathy. “Giants” uses an arrangement of reeds, bass, and guitar lines to create a luminous effect that is simultaneously downcast and hopeful. The rest of Gardier’s debut and her 2020 follow-up, Flyover Country, contain more of this fine writing and are highly recommended. The compositions on the new Auteur expand on this emotional landscape and feel of a piece with the world of Wes Anderson. Gardier achieves a variety of moods, starting with the opening track, “Coping with the Very Troubled Child,” which conveys a frantic sense of displacement. Other tunes are distinctive, such as “The Incarcerated Artist and His Muse,” which features a wistful sax melody over tremolo guitar, or the joyful calypso line of album closer “Green Line.” Gardier seems to like creating intros and outros that use repetition drawn from minimalist techniques, such as at the end of “The Cycling Reporter” or “Order for Yourself.” Then there’s “Let’s Hope It’s Got a Happy Ending,” which feels like the album’s centerpiece, a thoughtful arranged, long-form composition that conveys the mixture of feelings suggested by the song’s title. However, for me, the highlight is “The Blue of Winter,” which is built around a plaintive alto melody that Gardier repeats, developing increasingly intense, forceful ideas. The last 3 minutes of this tune are cathartic, with incredible drumming from Dave King – “The Blue of Winter” is the most moving music I’ve heard so far this year.

Auteur also features strong playing from all the members of this quartet. Gardier brings back two players from Empathy, guitarist Charlie Ballantine and bassist Jesse Wittman. Ballantine, who is also Gardier’s husband, has a great sound and interesting ideas. He knows how to play in many contexts, whether rock, blues, or jazz, and has the restraint to serve the song as well as the chops to play attractive, melodic solos, which he does on “Electroshock Therapy” and “Green Line.” Bassist Jesse Wittman is much more prominently featured on Auteur than on Empathy, and his playing, especially in quick tempos such as the opening track, is impressive. Dave King, who plays in The Bad Plus, with Julian Lage and his own Dave King Trucking Company, hardly needs any introduction – he’s one of the top drummers anywhere. His playing is a delight throughout Auteur, always full of energy regardless of tempo and pulling an astounding array of textures and ideas out of his kit. But the star is Gardier herself, and while I think her writing is the primary attraction of this album, her playing is excellent, too. Her alto sax playing has a buoyant sound and a full, rich tone. On this album, Gardier displays new dimensions of her playing, such as pushing expressive tonality with the intensity of “The Blue of Winter” that I describe above or playing “off the horn” techniques with her solo on “The Cycling Reporter.” Her playing is melodic, energetic, and has a bite when the music needs it.

Auteur: Music Inspired by the Films of Wes Anderson has a great concept and is well executed. You don’t need to be a Wes Anderson fan to hear what is happening in this album. The music is quite varied, and there is a lot of beauty and a convincing rendering of a sonic and emotional space. With Auteur, Gardier has joined the small but distinguished group of musicians that use the visual medium of film as an inspiration to make music. More artists should give it a try.

Related links:

Catch up with Gardier
To prepare for this review, I listened to two good interviews with Gardier, here and here. She’s a very amiable interviewee who freely shares her debt to Miguel Zenón, and her interest in composing based on characters and themes from TV and film.

More Ballantine!
Gardier’s husband, Charlie Ballantine, is one of the top guitar players today. If you like his playing here, you’ll also enjoy checking out his records. I recommend Vonnegut,  Life is Brief: The Music of Bob Dylan, or Where Is My Mind? which all feature Gardier.

More King!
King’s drumming lifts up Auteur – well, King’s drumming is always a wonderful. Hearing him here made me jump back and listen to his drumming on the recent 2023 Chris Speed album, and also watch and listen to my favorite drum break in recent memory. (Go to 3:30 in). I also listened to two favorites, Adopted Highway and Surrounded By The Night by Dave King Trucking Company. And that’s just scratching the surface. Also, I need to mention Rational Funk, a deep resource of drum knowledge and good humor.

Here’s where I fess up
One of the reasons I didn’t try and make direct connections between these tunes and Anderson movies, is that . . . I’ve seen very few of them. I enjoyed Asteroid City, but bizarrely, it’s the first Anderson movie I’ve seen. I did see Bottle Rocket after that (I loved it), so now I need to take in all the films in between. I’ve been inspired by this album, and I ordered a giant stack of DVD’s from the New York Public Library. So, now I’ll be watching Wes Anderson with Amanda Gardier as my guide!

TNB Album of the Week – January 20, 2024

Mary Halvorson – Cloudward (Nonesuch, 2024)

Link to purchase at Bandcamp
Link to stream at Apple Music
Link to stream at Spotify

With snowflakes falling outside, I’m listening to Cloudward, the highly anticipated Mary Halvorson album. It’s the best soundtrack I can imagine for enjoying the first NYC winter-like landscape in two years; like the snow, Halvorson’s music moves with spontaneity and grace and, at the same time, conveys an uplifting feeling. Halvorson emphasizes the sense of hopefulness she felt when she wrote this music in 2022. In the press kit for the album, Halvorson says, “This band, for me, was quite simply working, both musically and personally, and the main thing I felt while writing the music was optimism.” That feeling of optimism is all over Cloudward, an album which showcases the leader’s strengths and her remarkable sextet.

Cloudward comes on the heels of Amaryllis, the 2022 release that capitulated Halvorson to the top of that year’s Francis Davis Jazz Critics poll. Halvorson’s new album uses the same band as Amaryllis – Halvorson on guitar, Patricia Brennan on vibraphone, Nick Dunston on bass, Tomas Fujiwara on drums, Jacob Garchik on trombone and Adam O’Farrill on trumpet. On Amaryllis, this band performed dense, knotty, and energetic music in the same vein as other Halvorson classics like Away With You (2016) and Illusionary Sea (2013). You could hear the excellence of the then newly formed band as well as the potential that they could do even more. When Amaryllis was written and performed, the pandemic had sidelined live work, but after that recording, Halvorson was able to take the band out on the road. Cloudward reflects both the opportunity for this band to develop the chemistry that comes from playing together and for Halvorson to imagine the possibilities of writing for a working group rather than a studio ensemble.

The development of Halvorson’s writing marks the biggest leap forward with Cloudward. Halvorson’s accomplishment brings to mind an oft-repeated adage about Duke Ellington that he used the personalities of his band to forge his compositions, harnessing the qualities of his player’s instrumental voices and often developing tunes as a showcase for star players. Halvorson’s compositions on Cloudward use that wisdom to great effect. For example, the second and third tracks, “The Tower” and “Collapsing Mount,” form a kind of suite for the vibraphone player Patricia Brennen in both solo and prominent accompanying roles. Brennan sounds spectacular here, and Cloudward is an excellent display of the versatility of her playing and the power of her sound and phrasing. Elsewhere, remarkable brass solos bookend the album. On the opening tune, “The Gate,” Jacob Garchik comes out of, yes, the gate with an assertive and fluent trombone solo, followed by the exuberant trumpetry of Adam O’Farrill. The two closing tunes repeat the same trick, with Garchik dominating “Tailhead,” followed by O’Farrill injecting propulsive and uplifting energy to album closer “Ultramarine.” Drummer Tomas Fujiwara provides terrific support throughout, using his rich palette to set the mood and structure of the performances. On “Unscrolling,” bassist Nick Dunston gets to deliver a memorably energetic arco solo. Also making an appearance is labelmate Laurie Anderson, who plays violin on “Incarnadine.” I like the quietly mysterious free improv here, buoyed by Anderson’s enigmatic playing. Notably, none of the tunes run through multiple back-to-back solos which sometimes happen as a consequence of band “democracy,” where everybody gets a crack at every tune. Instead, each performance on Cloudward showcases one or two band members in ways that are always in service of the compositions’ individual energy, texture, or mood. Everybody gets a chance to shine, but Halvorson brilliantly marshals this creativity within the musical structures.

As for Halvorson herself, her guitar playing is surprisingly restrained through much of Cloudward, which I think demonstrates how she has chosen to use this release to spotlight her compositions, arranging, and band-leading. However, in the mid-album “Desiderata,” Halvorson turns the volume up and delivers an unfettered, intense, metal-edged solo that bursts out of the intricate arrangement. It’s a singular moment of ferocity and a reminder of what a total badass Halvorson is on guitar. Halvorson does not take another solo like that one on the record, which might have left you wanting more, but the music and this band are so remarkable that nothing seems out of place.

Cloudward is a deep album that balances beauty and energy and achieves a wonderful variety of moods and ideas. In this release, Halvorson demonstrates her growth as a bandleader and her deep level of maturity and skill. If you’re a Halvorson fan, I’m sure you won’t miss this one, and if you’re new to her music, this is a great place to start. This band is on tour now, and it will be interesting to see how they develop and change this material in performance. Make sure you check them out live and pick up a copy of Cloudward.

More links:

One of the Albums of the Year
Unsurprisingly, Cloudward is getting lots of notice. Read excellent reviews at The Guardian, Pop Matters, Bandcamp, All About Jazz, and The Quietus.

It’s on Vinyl
We’ve been hearing for years that vinyl is making a resurgence, but the production cost for vinyl releases is still very high, so if you want to support this format, check out the vinyl on Bandcamp. Here’s Mary playing her copy.

Halvorson’s Album Picks
As part of the promotion for this album and the 60th anniversary of Nonesuch, Halvorson made a  video inaugurating Nonesuch’s album library, where she picks out favorite albums.  I love her choices, some of which I have not heard!

Guitar Corner
This video might be better suited for guitarists, but even for the novice, the gear session featuring Halvorson, Julian Lage, and Miles Okazaki is delightful. I love listening and looking as they geek out over guitars and equipment, plus you pick up some fascinating musical tidbits.

It’s All Here
The Mary Halvorson sessionography by Rick Lopez is comprehensive and outstanding. We need this type of discography available for more artists.

TNB Album of The Week – January 13, 2024

Matthew Shipp – Steve Swell – Space Cube Jazz (RogueArt, 2024)

Link to purchase at Bandcamp

Personnel:
Steve Swell – trombone
Matthew Shipp – piano

(released January 12, 2024, recorded November 24th, 2021, at Park West Studios, Brooklyn, NY, USA)

The new year has started with Space Cube Jazz, an album of duets from pianist Matthew Shipp and trombonist Steve Swell. Given their respective reputations in creative music and both artists’ long relationship with RogueArt, it’s surprising that Shipp and Swell have never recorded an album together until now. However, the results are excellent, and Space Cube Jazz is strongly recommended. A great way to start 2024!

This new album is also a good entry point into the huge discographies of these two musicians, as it gives plenty of space for both the pianist and the trombonist to demonstrate their personalities, show what they can do with their instruments, and create a representative sound world. In Shipp’s case, he has referred to himself in interviews as a “cosmic pianist,” which you can hear in the abstract piano sounds, as well as the title Space Cube Jazz, and song names like “Dark Matter” or “Space Warp.” The other half of the titles describe a kinetic energy, such as “Flashes” or “Electric Tip,” which capture the flavor of the record. The interactions of Shipp and Swell have a palpable fission, and the music has a density and luster that marks its excellence.

I want to share some of the highlights. On the tune “Dark Matter,” the meeting of these players is at its most simpatico and authoritative. Taken at a leisurely tempo, Swell plays in a deep blues vein and shows off an astonishing array of moans and shouts over Shipp’s left hand bass patterns. “Dark Matter” is delightfully connected to classic jazz language and sets a wonderful and effective mood. Another memorable performance is on the dirge-like “Firmament,” which reminded me of the classic tune “Evolution” by Grachan Moncur III. Swell’s trombone, like Moncur’s, digs into a deep and meditative place, while Shipp uses the tranquil setting to craft a beautiful accompaniment. The rest of Space Cube Jazz is at an equally high level. The album opens with a dynamic back and forth of “Flashes,” where you can hear the close listening and creativity of the duo partners. Other tunes show off a shared language such as on “Stairways” and “Ice and Water.” The pacing and variety of Space Cube Jazz is also maintained by using two tracks for a solo statement – Shipp demonstrates his mesmerizing solo piano vocabulary on “Space Warp” and Swell plays a kind of trombone etude on “By and By.” Space Cube Jazz brings out the distinctive qualities in both players – Shipp’s playing is evocative, angular, wonderfully moody, and highly rhythmic. Swell’s trombone has a vocal quality, and his articulate lines feel like an echo of human thoughts and feelings. This is just what you want from the duo format – both players display what makes them special and also find a middle ground where they create memorable music.

I’m glad Swell and Shipp have finally recorded an album together, and I hope they will make many more. It is a fascinating and welcome release. As usual, there is another Shipp record right around the corner – he just announced a trio album with Michael Bisio and Newman Taylor Baker coming out in April. Swell also has another RogueArt disc coming out with the PNY Quintet in March 2024. You can check out upcoming gigs at Swell’s website, with the next being live date this Sunday at New York City Jazz Vespers. Lots to look forward to in 2024!

The Francis Davis Poll and Thinking about the Year In Jazz

The past couple of weeks have been list-making time, an opportunity to reflect on the great music that came out in the past year and try to distill what was best or most meaningful. I discussed my top 20 albums in this blog’s year-end summary, a slightly expanded version of the list I submitted for the 18th annual Francis Davis Jazz Critics poll. The Francis Davis poll is now live at Arts Fuse, and if you are interested in jazz or adjacent genres of creative music, you owe it to yourself to spend some time checking out the poll results in detail. In this year’s poll, the 159 critics and journalists who participated were asked to pick their top 10 new releases, three top archival releases, and make one pick each for debut artist and Latin jazz. The published results calculate the winners and publish a list of the top 50 jazz albums for 2023, along with insightful essays by poll founder Francis Davis and tireless poll runner Tom Hull. You’ll also find a list of jazz musicians who have died in 2023 and, most interesting of all, access to each of the individual ballots. Digging into the wealth of results is an excellent way of finding music you missed over the last year and getting a new perspective on the landscape in the creative music community.

In his keynote essay “The State of Our Union Could Be Better,” Francis Davis argues that the annual poll results over the last 18 years document a changing of the guard. In the first poll from 2006, only one of the top ten finalists was under 50 years old. By contrast, in the 2023 poll, only two of the top ten are over 50. Jazz is now younger, more diverse, more international, and more female – all excellent developments for the health of this art form. But the picture presented by the poll results is far from rosy. Davis also points out that the overwhelming number of the top 50 releases are on small artist-run labels. Although releasing music independently is often cast as giving artistic freedom, this choice is created from necessity. The 18 years of poll results show how major labels have largely left the “jazz” scene, and artists now have to fend for themselves. You can find the prior poll results here; the comparison is illuminating and a little distressing. Among the poll winners from the first five years of the poll were jazz albums on major labels such as Verve, EmArcy, Sony, and Concord. Even more important is the influence of Blue Note, one of the most important independent labels in jazz, but really a major label owned by Universal Music Group since 2012 and EMI since 1979. During the first 13 years of the poll, Blue Note consistently had at least one and often multiple albums in the top ten poll winners. This year, however, Blue Note released only four of the top 50 poll winners and had no top ten albums for only the second time in the poll’s history. There are really no other majors to pick up the slack – the only major label release in this year’s top ten is from James Darcy Argue on Warner Brothers-owned Nonesuch (#5 on the list). The declining absence of major labels from this jazz poll is part of a long story of disinterest in America’s art form that started with Columbia’s infamous purge of their jazz roster in 1973.

Artist-run labels have largely filled the vacuum left by the departure of major labels. First-place poll winner James Brandon Lewis released For Mahalia, With Love on Tao Forms, a label started by drummer Whit Dickey in 2020. Runner-up Jason Moran self-released From the Dancehall to the Battlefield on his Yes Records imprint, which has issued only Moran’s albums to date. Elsewhere in the top ten, independent standard bearer Pi issued three albums in the top ten (by Steve Lehman (#3), Tyshawn Sorey (#4) and Henry Threadgill (#8), while Kris Davis’s Diatom Ribbons Live at the Village Vanguard is on her Pyroclastic label (#7), and the fifth edition of Matana Roberts’ Coin Coin is on Canadian independent Constellation (#6). The top ten is rounded out at 9th place with Jaimie Branch’s posthumous release on Chicago-based indy International Anthem and the second album by Myra Melford’s Fire and Water Quintet on French independent label RogueArt. Whether the poll documents a decline in interest by the majors or a disconnect between major label support and artistic excellence is almost beside the point. The poll results show that the artists making the most vital music have had to do it on their own. Just about every month, another musician announces they are starting an imprint to self-release their new album, undoubtedly a sign of the change in times. And let’s not forget the withering of other critical sources of support to artists, such as the closing of local performance venues or the uncertainty over the future of artist favorite Bandcamp. It’s easy to feel the struggle of musicians to make a living or to read the tea leaves as to where we are headed. Part of the message is that the future of this art is in your hands – make sure you support the music you love!

But the absolute joy and pleasure of the Francis Davis jazz poll isn’t getting a roadmap of the scene – it’s getting hipped to the excellent and exciting music released in the last year. Much of this music doesn’t get the attention or notice it deserves until you have the benefit of journalists and critics crowdsourcing their accumulated knowledge, distilled into the poll results. I recommend drilling down to the individual ballots and seeing the individual top 10 lists of the 159 critics who participated in this poll. Taking in the list’s enormous variety of music is a reminder of the depth of today’s creative music and the ingenuity of the artists who create it. I can personally say I learned of at least a half dozen records that otherwise may have escaped my attention from reading these ballots. The quality of outstanding new music, the wild depth and variety of recent releases, and the genius of today’s musicians are a source of never-ending amazement.

Finally, on a personal note, it was a real honor to be invited to be one of the 159 participants in the poll. I want to publicly thank Tom Hull for the invitation. It was a responsibility I took seriously and a pleasure to listen to and ponder the best and most impactful music of 2023. Above all, I want to thank all of the artists who devote themselves to creating and sharing work that helps make the work a better place. The act of creation is what we need in the world at this time. If you want to check out my ballot, the link is here, but as I said above, I recommend reading everyone’s ballots and then going back to the music and making your next discovery. Now, on to the great music of 2024!

Your humble “jazz critic” is one of the voters!

 

TNB 2023 Year-End Best of List!

This post may be called a “best of,” but let’s acknowledge that list-making is inescapably subjective. Even if we agree to look for excellence within a defined area – such as the best progressive and experimental music of 2023 – my preferences, listening habits, and context for music appreciation will differ from yours, and our lists may also be very different. So I think the value in list making is the exercise of appreciation, and hipping you to some music that means a lot to me. Sharing the love of music makes the world a better place (really, I mean that) and helps support musicians who need the community of listeners to make a living and keep on making great art.

So, while this list may reflect my preferences, I hope these personal favorites from the past year will also resonate with you. In 2023, I sought out music that stirred the imagination, provoked thought, and awakened emotion. It was an excellent year for music that checked off those boxes – this year’s experimental albums expanded the language of improvisation, freely drew from a variety of genres, used harmony, rhythm, and melody in innovative ways, drew on biography and history, or were simply beautiful. The music on this list embraces these concepts and more, helping us get through a dark world by providing enlightenment, entertainment, diversion, and appreciation for the connection that art brings. With those thoughts in mind, here are the albums of experimental music that kept me coming back, thinking, and dreaming in 2023.

1 Kate Gentile – Find Letter X (Pi)

TNB’s coverage of drummer/composer Kate Gentile started in April when I attended pianist Matt Mitchell’s album release show for the excellent Oblong Aplomb. Half of that show was duets with Gentile, who I had never heard before. I was impressed with the drummer’s fluent use of polyrhythmic patterns and odd meters, which prompted me to write a profile of her music. Little did I know that 2023 would be such a big year for Gentile; shortly after the album release gig, she started a music label (Obliquity Records) and released biome i.i, a collaboration with the International Contemporary Ensemble. biome i.i is one of the year’s best, a successful third stream vision of “jazz” drumming set against Gentile’s writing in a “contemporary classical” vein. Gentile then topped herself with the release of Find Letter X, containing three discs of music that she’s been writing and conceptualizing for years. Throughout Find Letter X, you’ll encounter a shifting kaleidoscope of ideas that quickly mutate, restlessly flowing into new and surprising musical vistas. I hesitate to use tired genre markers like “new music,” “jazz,” or “metal” because, on this release, the hybrids and interactions between those strains are so numerous that the music is really unclassifiable, moving beyond genre categories. Even within the same song, you may end up in an entirely different place than where you began and immediately jump back to the start to re-trace how you got there. Also, I have to mention the terrific band – Matt Mitchell’s synths and piano are indispensable, Jeremy Viner’s tenor sax and clarinet playing show him to be one of the most underrated reed players working today, and Kim Cass’s acoustic and electric bass are both one of a kind. An exceptional release and a benchmark for where the language of improvised music is headed.

2 Michael Formanek Elusion Quartet – As Things Do (Intakt)

Michael Formanek makes some of the most lively and interesting music around, and this album is perfectly realized by saxophonist Tony Malaby, pianist Kris Davis, and drummer Ches Smith (he plays some vibes, too). As Things Do has a terrific arc and is smartly programmed; it opens with the stormy “Bury the Lede,” followed by music that centers melody and cleverness and closes with the satisfying harmonies of “Gone Home.” More people need to listen to this great composer, bandleader, and bassist. Formanek appears to be based in Europe these days, but I hope he’ll be back in New York soon.

3 Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer & Shahzad Ismaily – Love In Exile (Verve)

Link to Apple Music

Link to Spotify

This much-loved record is as good as you’ve heard. Combining Aftab’s haunting vocals, Iyer’s pianos and electronics, and Ismaily’s bass produces luminescent and mysterious music. Every time I return to Love In Exile, I fall into a trance – it’s simply the most beautiful album of 2023.

4 – Mendoza Hoff Revels – Echolocation (AUM Fidelity)

With Echolocation, guitarist Ava Mendoza and bassist Devin Hoff create a program of big, loud riffs backed by wailing sax from James Brandon Lewis and Ches Smith laying out wild rock-like drum beats. For all the guitar madness, there’s a lot of detail subtly packed in here too, which makes the moments of chaotic noise that much more fun. If you’re in New York for Winter Jazz Fest, don’t miss them at Brooklyn’s Union Pool on January 13.

5 David Virelles – Carta (Intakt)

I don’t know why Carta got so little attention this year. David Virelles has proven once again he’s one of the world’s most important pianists and composers. Carta convincingly deploys Afro-Caribbean rhythms and jazz harmony and beautifully mashes up the past and the present. Virelles could only do this so well with the right support; bassist Ben Street and drummer Eric McPherson are both exceptional here, the perfect rhythmic teammates.

6 Jaimie Branch – Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die (​(​world war​)​) (International Anthem)

Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die (​(​world war​)​), Jaime Branch’s third and last studio recording, may be her most vibrant. Branch put together a program that gleefully romps through jazz, blues, folk and country, hip-hop, as well as her distinctive and politically prescient vocals. The album is direct, passionate, and easy to love. Jaimie Branch is a legend, and that legend will only grow – she is sorely missed by fans and musicians alike.

7 John Dikeman, Pat Thomas, John Edwards, Steve Noble – Volume 2 (577 Records)

For those obsessed with British pianist and electronic musician Pat Thomas, the year 2023 brought a lot of interesting electronic experiments (the fascinating Burdah Variations and two more volumes of synths as WAZIFAH, vol. 1 and vol. 2), but less of the piano-led group albums that are Thomas’ forte – no [Ism] or [Ahmed] this year. I should also say there was a lot of great “jazz” Thomas in 2023 – Fathom (with John Butcher, Dominic Lash, and Steve Noble), which focused on unusual group dynamics, Know: Delirium Atom Paths, which pairs Thomas on synth with Chris Sharkey’s guitar, and Scatter (with Phil Minton, Dave Tucker and Roger Turner) which brought Minton’s idiosyncratic and mesmerizing vocals on board. I also love the live pianos and “small instruments” in Pat Thomas & Steve Beresford – One Or Two Pianos. Once you’ve got the Pat Thomas bug, you’re never at a loss for new music! But for my money, Thomas’ best release this year was Volume 2 with Dikeman/Edwards/Noble. Here, Thomas is at his most commanding, opening the half-hour first track with demonic piano runs and using space to great effect in his comping throughout. Noble’s drums sound like a freight train, and Dikeman’s sax screams. Recorded live at Cafe Oto, this might just be another night as Thomas’ home base, but it will give you your fix. And looking ahead – the new [Ism] will be out on February 16! It’s on my calendar; is it on yours?

8 Anna Webber – Shimmer Wince (Intakt)

Anna Webber has a knack for putting out one heavy record after another, and her releases are rapidly becoming an event. In the wake of the best album of 2021 (the incredible Idiom), Webber has released a fascinating album that reconfigures medieval “just intonation” techniques in a modern context. The title aptly describes the result – radiant and subtle music with biting dissonance lurking underneath. As always, the leader’s flute and tenor sax are breathtaking. A heady conceptual experiment and also deeply satisfying – a rare combination.

9 Ben Wendel – All One (Edition Records) & 10 Nate Wooley – Four Experiments (Pleasure of the Text Records)

I will talk about Ben Wendel’s All One and Nate Wooley’s Four Experiments in tandem because ever since I heard these two albums, they have been in dialogue with each other for me. Wendel’s is the quintessential pandemic album – he worked tirelessly in the studio to layer and multitrack his saxophones to achieve a rhapsodic statement, then invited collaborators to play (or on two tracks sing) over his creations. On the other hand, Wooley enacts a musical concept that relies on the “mutual aid” of the musicians to achieve its effect. Both All One and Four Experiments are music intended to convey what Wendell calls a “message of togetherness, friendship, and unity.” They share an introspective quality that is both an aesthetic and ethical statement. But it’s fascinating how these projects enact their humanistic projects in wildly different ways. Wendel crafted poised musical lines amidst lockdown isolation and created an album that feels perfect. Wooley embraces imperfection and puts together his compositions to make his players embrace mistakes – “failure,” as he calls it. Both of these albums have the divinity of great human art – Wendel strives for a flawless statement, while Wolley’s music is all about the transience of existence. I put these two albums at the end of my top ten, but I love them both and could easily flip the list and put them at the top.

11 André Roligheten – Marbles (Odin Records)

I’d never heard of Roligheten before this album, but now I’m a fan. Play Marbles and listen to sax that moves slickly in and out of “the tradition,” exciting drums from Euro free-jazz star Gard Nilssen (see Family below, also featuring Roligheten), and very fetching steel pedal guitar – the album has everything you might want or need, whether you are looking for melodic beauty, shake em’ up energy, or the elegant craft that ties the two together.

12 Angelika Niescier – Tomeka Reid – Savannah Harris – Beyond Dragons (Intakt)

German alto sax star Angelika Niescier has delivered another passionate, intense, and triumphant free jazz album. I call this “free jazz” for it’s unrestrained blowing and because Niescier’s reach never exceeds her grasp, but make no mistake – this freedom is very intentional and structured, and she delivers the music with maximum impact. Cellist Tomeka Reid and drummer Savannah Harris match Niescier and provide the taunt and explosive support that makes this my favorite from Niescier yet. There was no better way of introducing somebody to improvised music in 2023 than playing “Hic Svnt Dracones,” the opening track of this fiery gem.

13 London Brew – London Brew (Concord Jazz)

London Brew is a collective that recreates the electric groove of 70s Miles Davis for the here and now. The TNB post “London Brew Starter Kit” was our longest of 2023, but that survey of the London improvised music scene just scratches the surface. London Brew, both band and album, is sprawling yet also focused, and it sounds so of the moment. Out of many standout contributions, I keep coming back to Shabaka Hutchings’s bass clarinet, which rocks; somebody needs to talk him out of his recent decision to just play flute. Spin this for your non-jazz friend, and see if worlds grow.

14 Zoh Amba & Chris Corsano & Bill Orcutt – The Flower School (Palilalia)

The best introduction in 2023 to Albert Ayler-style free jazz was The Flower School. The album delivers the goods with Orcutt’s giant guitar feedback and Amba’s passionate and hypnotic saxophone. Corsano’s drums are perfect – these are three of the most dynamic players in improvised music. One thing I especially loved was the pacing and focus of an album that hardly breaks a half hour (this is a good thing). The Flower School beautifully transitions from waves of guitar/sax noise to tender moments of beauty, where these musicians show they can scream and whisper with equal authority. Rainbows follow the storm.

15 Gard Nilssen’s Supersonic Orchestra – Family (We Jazz Records)

Riotous, boisterous, alive (and live), this is a family I want to sit down for dinner with. I imagine holidays with Nilssen and his crew – you might get overheated, exhausted even, and the windows are dripping with steam, but the excitement does not stop. And because this is only a metaphor, you can wake up from your daydream and play the album again. Listen in wonder at one of the most potent big bands in the world show off their chops and stretch their imagination. The closing number, “SP68,” is the most ecstatic moment of music-making released in 2023.

16 Fire! Orchestra – Echoes (Rune Grammofon)

Like Family above, another legendary European big band with a potent album out in 2023. The first track of this momentous, almost 2-hour opus may be the highlight. Beautifully recorded, the music slowly builds in a minimalist vein – a softly played snare drum, evocative strings, and a distant piano lock in over a bass groove. Then, at 4:20, Mats Gustafsson’s baritone materializes in all its ragged glory, slicing through the hypnotic vamp. It’s a thrilling moment and one of many among the rich and varied music here. This quote from the press materials sounds about right to me: “Echoes is a two-hour work of epic proportions; full of beauty, energy, haunting passages, and stunning musicianship, embracing progressive rock, contemporary avantgarde, cosmic, free jazz, ethnic experimentalism and more.”

17 Kid Millions and Sarah Bernstein – Forest Park Live (Island House Recordings)

Forest Park Live documents an intense September 2021 duet at the titular park. It’s a fascinating exchange of timbres and ideas; Kid Millions’ drums roil and push while Bernstein intones poetry and plays the violin. And that violin is something else! Played through an amplifier and effects pedals, Bernstein’s playing suggests all kinds of sound associations (white noise machine, tacks hitting the floor, or the spaceship at the end of Close Encounters of the Third Kind all came to mind for me). Very inventive stuff! You can see videos of the performance here: part one and part two.

18 Gaia Wilmer Large Ensemble – Folia: The Music of Egberto Gismonti (Sunnyside Records)

Saxophonist, bandleader, and composer (photographer too) Gaia Wilmer “recomposes” music by Brazilian legend Egberto Gismonti, played with depth and various sonorities by a 19-piece orchestra. Composer Gismonti plays the piano, a particular highlight such as on “7 Anéis.” But the orchestra is the center of attention, and when it’s in full flight, like on “Folia,” “Infância,” and “Baião Malandro,” the depth of the arrangements, tightness of the playing, and power of the horns (seven reeds, eight brass) is thrilling. Folia: The Music of Egberto Gismonti came out last January and stayed with me all year.

19 Jason Moran – From the Dancehall to the Battlefield (Yes Records)

Moran opened 2023 by dropping this album, a passion project devoted to the music of James Reese Europe. Even amidst a strong year for music, Moran’s album was not one to be forgotten. The excavation of overlooked repertoire, but with modern treatment, reminds us that the old can be new and the past, present, and future can meet through art. The Bandwagon (Moran with bassist Tarus Mateen and drummer Nasheet Waits) sounds better than ever. Will Moran drop another new album on January 1, like he has in the last two years? We’ll see . . .

20 Rogue Parade – Dion’s Quest (Sugah Hoof Records)

The latest by Rogue Parade, Dion’s Quest, features layers of electric guitars (two of them sparring throughout) and drums, which together kick up an exciting, swirling din, the perfect setting for group leader Greg Ward’s alto sax. Sometimes, Ward adds to the riot; other times, he cools the fervor. Either way, Dion’s Quest invokes the search in the album’s title and is a memorable listen.

That’s 20 albums and all I could write for now. There was lots of other fantastic music released over the last year, really far too much for me to write about. Plus, there’s a lot that I missed, and I keep on making new discoveries. I recommend a number of places to check out what albums made the grade – try Tom Hull on the Web (an encyclopedic listener’s guide to new releases) and year-end lists by Nate Chinen at NPR, Giovanni Russonello at The New York Times, or Dave Summer at Bandcamp. Or you can check out TNB’s album round-ups from our prior post in 2023. We will be shaking up the format for next year, and you can expect more frequent, focused coverage of new experimental and progressive music in the next year. Happy holidays, and see you in 2024!