Bluer Than You

Thanks to writer Michelle Mercer, I had the opportunity to read her forthcoming followup to Footprints: The Life and World of Wayne Shorter. Will You Take Me As I Am: Joni Mitchell's Blue Period will be released by Free Press on April 7. As the sub-title states, this is not a standard biography, but rather an examination of the context of Mitchell's fourth album, Blue, which was released in 1971.

A cornerstone of introspective, so-called "confessional" songwriting, Blue quickly became the soundtrack of young women who led with their hearts but kept their heads in the game of romance, too. Its potency leapt generations, as Mercer makes clear in her own opening confession, which sets the tone for the book. As an 18-year-old Kansas farm girl, Mercer judged prospective boyfriends by whether they could intuit the colours in Mitchell's music, see beyond the surface of her words and – the ultimate test – hear the influence of Claude Debussy at work. This is a highly effective opening because it clarifies the author's intention of delving equally into words and music, elements that are inseparable in much of Mitchell's work.

While she's a skilled and experienced music critic, Mercer is at her best when she approaches her subject from the basis of literary criticism. There is less insight about Mitchell's musical roots, though she does include this succinct passage about Mitchell's use of open guitar tuning:

"Standard tuning offered a compromise between simple, easy fingering for chords and the facility to play common scales from a single hand pattern.

This system is at first adequate for most musicians, because there are many combinations of finger positions or notes that can be used to create any chord. Some musicians find lasting contentment in standard tuning. The trouble is, for other artists, standard tunings can invite inertia, a hollow reverberation of old musical discoveries."

Mercer's biggest triumph, though, is capturing Mitchell in the book; not simply gaining her cooperation – no small feat – but in representing her voice so well. Anyone who has heard more than a few minutes of Mitchell discussing her own work is familiar with the mixture of wounded pride, arrogance and creativity that flows from her, and Mercer nails that combination. The only thing missing is the sound of the singer's incessant smoking, although the subject is addressed at several junctures.

Creating a book that inhabits the ground between hardcore academic study and celebrity-obsessed hagiography runs the danger of pleasing neither audience, but Mercer brings enough of herself – to say nothing of Mitchell – into play to broaden the scope into a unique brand of biography. Not without its flaws (I have some issues with the structure of the six sections, and the "Stuff Joni Likes or Even Loves" seems ill-suited to Mercer's goals) the book succeeds in illuminating an important recording.

Farewell, Dr. Art

Yesterday's mail brought an advance copy of Italian pianist Roberto Magris' new recording, Kansas City Outbound – the last recording to feature the great bassist Art Davis. My liner notes for the recording are re-printed below.

Usually, a liner note assignment entails getting inside the music and attempting to help the artist communicate his/her intentions to the listener. Contextualize, in other words. Kansas City Outbound was a different matter because it involved two intertwined stories: Magris' brief relationship with Davis, just prior to the bassist's death, and the mystery of Philadelphia pianist William Langford (aka Hassan Ibn Ali or The Legendary Hassan).

Kansas City Outbound has another backstory, too. Originally intended for release on Soul Note, it was still in production when the venerable Italian label and its parent – Black Saint – were sold to CamJazz. Fortunately, Magris' disk didn't fall between the cracks; it's now released on a label created by the pianist's agent, Paul Collins. It's available from CD Baby or directly from Collins.

Copyright © 2009 by James Hale

As musical relationships go, the one between pianist Roberto Magris and bassist-turned-psychologist Art Davis was short, but intense and oh so sweet.

They met in Los Angeles – Davis’ adopted home since 1986 – in October 2006, when Magris’ agent Paul Collins secured him a number of dates in the U.S. Davis – who continued to keep a full schedule as a bassist in addition to teaching and running a non-profit organization – joined the pianist’s quartet for two evenings at Catalina’s Jazz Club in Hollywood. They played a third time in a trio at the Jazz Bakery, and wrapped up with a set of duets in Santa Monica, where Davis had a long-standing Sunday gig at the Ritz Carlton.

“It all turned out very cool, onstage and offstage,” recalls Magris. “On one side I think that Dr. Art felt my awareness, respect and knowledge of the jazz tradition, and on the other side I felt that he really appreciated my pianism.”

Magris returned to his home in Italy, but eight months later he reunited with the 72-year-old bassist in Kansas City, along with drummer Jimmy “Junebug” Jackson – the 21-year veteran of life on the road with B-3 master Jimmy Smith. Together, they played a tribute to the recently departed Jay McShann at the American Jazz Museum and reconvened the following day in the studio.

The title track catches Magris in a John Coltrane state of mind, improvising with some dark, dense chords reminiscent of McCoy Tyner and drawing Davis back to his collaboration with Trane on Africa/Brass, Ascension, Olé! Coltrane and the alternate takes of A Love Supreme. With a muscular tone and unerring, majestic touch, Davis reminds us why he was the only bassist with an open invitation to jam with Trane’s classic quartet, and an ongoing favorite of Alice Coltrane’s after her husband’s death.

Magris says he chose “I Fall In Love Too Easily” to take advantage of Davis’ “slow, rolling walk,” which is much in evidence here – stark contrast to the pianist’s angular phrasing and unexpected accents.

The otherworldly introduction to “Iraqi Blues” seems to speak to lost souls, and Magris says: “There is no political statement behind the title except the aim to recall the memory of people who died there, no matter who was right and who was wrong.” A strong touchpoint in his conception was Stanley Cowell’s 1969 “Blues For The Viet Cong.”

Billy Strayhorn’s gorgeous “A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing” was brought to mind by Davis’ recording of it with Herbie Hancock on the bassist’s 1995 recording A Time Remembered. Magris’ solo take on it is rendered stately and timeless by his extraordinarily precise fingering and light touch.

The scene shifts to the next day – when the young Kansas City-based drummer Zack Albetta joined Magris and Davis – and, as before, Magris opens the session with an improvisation that he relates to the influence of Denny Zeitlin.

When he recorded it on his 1978 Artists House album From California With Love Andrew Hill rendered his composition “Reverend Du Bop” as a meandering abstraction. Here, Magris tightens the focus while respecting Hill’s signature obtuse angles. Davis is extremely judicious in his note selection before switching to arco for one piquant chorus.

“Rainbow Eyes” is dedicated to the pianist’s beloved, and again, Strayhorn’s influence is much in evidence. Strays for lovers? Always.

Davis sets out the theme of Thelonious Monk’s “Bemsha Swing,” and the trio (with Jackson back on drums) bounces it between them – having so much fun, says Magris, that they almost forgot the arrangement they had worked out.

“Lonely Woman” – Benny Carter’s, not Ornette Coleman’s – was a gift left to Magris by saxophonist Herb Geller after they recorded the 2003 Soul Note release Il Bello Del Jazz together. He plays it pretty here; edging toward a stride style with deliberate phrasing.

Davis begins “Darn That Dream” with a distracted-sounding solo – like a man waking from confusing sleep – and he continues to set up tension through the piece with accompaniment that slips out of phase with Magris’ lead.

“Alone Together” is the sound of a band grooving hard. Davis is way up in the mix, setting a bustling pace and swinging effortlessly.

“Bye Bye Baby” maintains the pace, with Magris striking an unusually bravura stance that finds him chewing up the changes like Oscar Peterson as he duets with Albetta.

Peterson, Tyner, Cowell, Hill, Monk, Ellington… the roll call of great pianists present in spirit in Kansas City on these two days continues with one other who Davis felt Magris conjured the first time they met: “the Legendary Hassan.” Hassan Ibn Ali (born William Langford in 1931) is little more than a legend a couple of decades after his death. His recorded legacy is a mere single disc made with Davis and drummer Max Roach in 1964 and released under Roach’s name. A second recording with saxophonist Odean Pope was never released and the tapes are rumored to have been lost in a fire. But, like Robert Johnson, Hassan’s legacy can’t be contained by two shadowy recording sessions. A ubiquitous – albeit mysterious – figure on Philadelphia’s jazz scene in the ‘50s, Hassan is credited by Coltrane biographer Lewis Porter with opening the saxophonist’s ears to new harmonic possibilities. Jimmy Heath has said, “Hassan was Cecil Taylor before Cecil Taylor.”

“’You play like Hassan,’ Dr. Art told me,” says Magris. “’Your sound and concept remind me of him.’ I’d never heard the name before. I’d completely missed him, even though I’d listened to most of the pianists from the history of jazz, and studied many of them, too. When I was a young musician I learned day by day, listening to LPs and checking out names and styles, including some of the most obscure and forgotten ones, but I’d never heard of Hassan. Dr. Art said that the session with Hassan was one of the best sessions he ever played.”

Art Davis’ words carried authority, just like the man himself carried authority. His stand against discrimination at the New York Philharmonic shone a light on the continuing racism in U.S. symphonies, and his application of cello fingering to the double bass helped revolutionize the way the instrument was played. A giant figure, Davis died just three weeks after this, his last recording session.

“I still keep the image of him standing in the studio in front of me,” says Magris. “I am very proud to have shared a stage with him and to have these recordings. I think that Hassan and Max Roach would enjoy them.”

The New Middle Ages

For a time in the 1990s I conducted a number of interviews with jazz musicians who had, at one point in their careers, been much in the spotlight. These included people like Jackie McLean, Gary Bartz and Lester Bowie. A common thread that ran through these interviews was their belief that they had been ignored – both by the media and by the music-buying fans – during some of their most productive years. Some, like Bartz, were closer to that period than others, and one or two, like McLean – just a couple of years away from his death – were reconciled that those years were well in their past.

I was reflecting on this last night while enjoying a terrific new composition by Joe Lovano called "Jazz Free," which is currently in the book of the SFJAZZ Collective. It begins, as you might expect, with a collectively blown free section and then morphs into solo segments for the various band members over shifting-but-constantly-interesting rhythmic pulses.

One of the most interesting things that has caught my eye recently in the jazz world was the news out of Portland that Lovano's new band includes both Francesco Mela and Gerry Hemingway on drums. I can't wait to hear that combination. Lovano's recruitment of the veteran percussion innovator Hemingway to join one of the most exciting young drummers on the scene shows what an open mind he maintains.

All of which reminds me that it would be easy to think that Lovano's most interesting new work is behind him, and that he will now comfortably coast on his laurels. Obviously, this is not the case; he's still trying new things.

And – like the mid-career work of a lot of artists – we ignore it at our own cost.

Now Spinning

David Mott Quintet – Downtown Runout
Toronto-based baritone saxophonist David Mott is one of my favourite musicians, and one of my favourite people in the music business. I know a couple of the other guys in this band, too, so this is in no way an unbiased review, but that doesn't change the fact that this is an exceptional recording. I heard the band improvise on the some of the 11-part title suite, "Downtown Runout," at the Vancouver Jazz Festival a number of years ago, and it's the kind of multi-layered, pace-shifting piece that Mott excels at. He is a brawny player, but also has tremendous sensitivity, and when he plays the blues you can tell that he was born in Chicago. Bassist John Geggie and drummer Jesse Stewart – my other two acquaintances in the quintet – are a very supportive, creative rhythm team, and this music brings out Geggie's ability to just crush a funky ostinato. It's a skill of his little heard since he anchored the quartet Chelsea Bridge and I've missed it. This is an independent release, so check out Mott's site for details about distribution.

Nathan Eklund – Trip To The Casbah (Jazz Excursion Records)
Unlike Mott, trumpeter Nathan Eklund is a new name to me, but the presence of saxophonist Donny McCaslin caught my eye in the credits. McCaslin is as strong and lyrical here as you might expect, but guitarist John Hart and bassist Bill Moring – also players I'm not familiar with – are also very impressive. Eklund wrote all 10 compositions and exhibits a nice touch with tuneful material that sticks immediately inside your head. Drummer Tim Horner keeps a crisp edge on everything with his light, responsive touch on cymbals. Eklund is a very melodic player with a sound that seems rooted in Clifford Brown moreso than in more contemporary players. Definitely someone to hear more from.

Lisa Sokolov – A Quiet Thing (Laughing Horse Records)
Singer Lisa Sokolov's last recording is one of only five that I've given the maximum five stars to in DownBeat magazine during the past 10 years, so this followup is one I've been looking forward to. Sokolov is a highly distinctive, emotive vocalist – and, as response to my review of her last album indicated, a taste not every listener can acquire. A Quiet Thing is not going to change your opinion of her. If anything, her singing here is even more highly mannered than last time out. Her take on "Lush Life," for example, put me in mind of Jimi Hendrix's "Roomful Of Mirrors," as Sokolov acts out what sounds like narcissistic psychosis; each phrase seems to betray a different aspect of the subject's despair. It's so outré that I'm not sure I'd be drawn back to it quickly, but that's the danger of pieces that are closer to performance art than mere delivery of a lyric. Like Nora York and – to a somewhat lesser extent, Kurt Elling – Sokolov inhabits a song, and when the subject matter is disturbing, as Billy Strayhorn's lyric is at its core, the performance can be disturbing, too. It's powerful stuff, though, and certainly no less affecting than her previous disc; Sokolov has tremendous control over her instrument. Definitely something you need to be in the mood for.

Saxophonists Fight Back

Two great stories in the news today about vital, New York-based saxophonists who have fought back from health issues.

David Adler has a post about the return of Mark Turner, who suffered a serious power saw accident last year.

Meanwhile, on the New York Times site, Ben Ratliff reviews a set by Andrew D'Angelo's new band – his first new project after life-threatening brain cancer, which struck him exactly a year ago.

Terrific to have both of them back.

Update: Mark Turner talks about his accident and rehabilitation on this interview with Josh Jackson of WBGO radio in Newark, N.J.

Recession Continues to Bite... and Bite

So far, we've chronicled festival suspensions and sponsorship woes, but today brings bad news on yet another level: poor ticket sales.

Last week, Cassandra Wilson won a Grammy Award; this week, she can't sell enough tickets in Portland to justify staging a double bill featuring her and another award-winning act, Jason Moran & The Bandwagon.

"In my 31 years as a jazz presenter this is the first time I have been faced with such an arduous decision," said Portland Jazz Festival artistic director Bill Royston in announcing the cancellation.

Wilson and Moran were scheduled to perform as part of the festival's tribute to Blue Note Records, marking the label's 70th anniversary.

"The economic downturn has loomed large over this year's event," said Royston, referring to the earlier loss of the festival's previous title sponsor and last-minute rescue by Alaska Airlines.

An Institution Closes

Jazz Journal billed itself as "The World's Greatest Jazz Magazine." It was certainly among the longest lived, publishing continuously since 1948.

Like DownBeat, Jazz Journal was also a family business, and like DownBeat before it, Jazz Journal is now facing closure due to a death in the family. The death of Janet Cook, associate publisher and wife of publisher and editor-in-chief Eddie Cook, has led Eddie to decide to close the doors.

In his announcement, Cook left open the hope that someone would rescue the magazine – as happened with both DownBeat and, following the retirement of Bill Smith, Coda – but no white knights have stepped forward yet.

Summer Taking Shape

If you live in a winter-bound place like me, the concept of summer begins to look very good just about now. Even with a long weekend approaching, the cold days stretch out ahead without much relief in sight.

Best, then, to think of warmer days and summer jazz festivals.

From this vantage point, it looks like this summer is shaping up to be a decent one for the North American festival circuit. The Maria Schneider Orchestra is hitting the road, which is always a good thing, and the band has already announced dates in Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. Sonny Rollins will be around, as will Wayne Shorter. Enrico Rava and Stefano Bollani will be playing duets in a number of cities, including Montreal, and Gary Burton has announced a tour for his "Reunion Quartet" with Pat Metheny, Steve Swallow and Antonio Sanchez.

As far as younger players, like The Bad Plus, Brian Blade, Kurt Rosenwinkle, et.al., no solid word, but that's the stuff that winter dreams are made of.

Jazz Grammys

After last year's stunning upset by Herbie Hancock it was inevitable that jazz would return to its usual position as poor cousin at this year's Grammy awards, but we had our year in the sun.

This year's winners include:

Francis Davis for best liner notes for his contribution to the Kind Of Blue anniversary package.

Randy Brecker for his Brazilian recording.

Cassandra Wilson for Loverly, which I thought was far from her best work.

Gary Burton and Chick Corea for reprising Crystal Silence.

The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra for their live recording.

Arturo O'Farrill and his orchestra for his tribute to his father.

Terence Blanchard for his solo on "Be-Bop"

Jack DeJohnette won the Best New Age Recording category for his record Peace Time.

SFJAZZ Collective On Tour

Last February, I caught the debut show in the SFJAZZ Collective's tour of their Wayne Shorter program in Portland. As noted in a couple of places on Jazz Chronicles I found the show wanting. It struck me as too brash and loud given the material being played, and several of the arrangements sounded cluttered.

But how could a band with this much talent – Stefon Harris, Miguel Zenón, Joe Lovano, Robin Eubanks, Matt Penman, Dave Douglas, Renee Rosnes and Eric Harland – sound less than stellar? I've already admitted that context might've had something to do with it (I left the SFJAZZ Collective show for a highly textured performance by Myra Melford's Be Bread that wound up being one of my favourite shows of the year), and it was the first show on the band's tour. Given that I have a ticket to see them in Ottawa on March 1 – for their new tour, playing a McCoy Tyner program – I thought I'd check out the recently released three-CD set of the 2008 tour, which is available only by mail order from SFJAZZ.

Notably, there are no performances from the Portland show; rather, it captures 17 pieces – nine Shorter compositions and one by each of the band members – recorded at eight concerts, beginning 11 shows after the Portland set I caught.

The band can still hit hard, befitting an octet with three brawny horns in the front line and a drummer as exuberant as Eric Harland, but these discs reveal a number of nuances, like the way the rhythm section dances lightly behind Eubanks' solo on Zenón's arrangement of "Armageddon." Lovano strikes a minimalist note on his approach to "Infant Eyes," painting light strokes on tenor with just Harland's brushes as accompaniment, and Douglas' "Secrets Of The Code" has the solo acerbic trumpet lead and suspended time you expect from him.

There are surprises, too, not the least of which is Douglas' arrangement of "Aung San Suu Kyi," the most recent of the Shorter compositions in the band's repertoire. While Shorter usually imbues the piece with mystery and performs it with dramatic, slashing shifts in dynamics, Douglas transforms it into a joyous celebration with allusions to New Orleans parade music.

Shorter purists may still balk at raucous interpretations like Rosnes' arrangement of "Footprints," but that's the price of turning personalities as strong as these loose on music filled with both inspiration and room for liberal interpretation.

Given the range of this band and its potential to unleash enormous energy, I'm looking forward to what lies ahead for the Tyner material – particularly if they dig into some of his rich catalogue from the early '70s.

This One's For Phil

Apropos of nothing, here's a piece from 2005 that I wrote about Phil Nimmons. I can't recall where this ended up published, but reading it again reminds me once again of just how much Nimmons has meant to music – and culture writ large – in Canada. What a beautiful guy he is.

A few years ago, during a time when I was briefly employed for a financial services company with enough money to send me winging across the continent to share some knowledge or other with fellow employees, I spent a couple of hours interviewing him in his University of Toronto office. I was on my way to Vancouver for yet another meeting, and I was thankful to spend some time talking about music rather than communications theory. When we finished our time together, Phil passed me a three-CD set that the Canadian Music Centre had just put out to honour his long career as a composer. I thanked him and dropped the CDs into my bag.

I got to Vancouver and, through one of those great flukes that sometimes smile on weary business travelers, wound up being upgraded to a fantastic penthouse room overlooking the city through floor-to-ceiling windows. Off the bedroom was a terrific, little glassed-in balcony. Feeling flush, I ordered some salmon from room service and opened a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc from the mini-bar. I discovered that the room had a built-in sound system and remembered Phil's gift. The music wafting out of my bedroom onto my little balcony made the perfect accompaniment to my meal as I watched the lights twinkle up the length of Robson – off toward the neighbourhood where Phil grew up.

Months later, I ran into Phil at some music festival or other and told him the story. He looked at me with a great twinkle in his eye and asked, "Did you pour a glass for me, James?"

Ah, I didn't then, but here's to you, Mr. Nimmons.


© Copyright 2005 by James Hale

Culture critics who opine that Wynton Marsalis has opened new frontiers by bridging classical music and jazz, moving jazz into major institutional settings, pioneering jazz education and generally being an erudite spokesman for all things jazz would do well to consider 82-year-old Phil Nimmons. The Kamloops, B.C. native – who studied clarinet at Julliard, established a ubiquitous presence on CBC radio with his big band Nimmons ‘N’ Nine, and co-founded jazz programs at the Banff School of Fine Arts, the University of Toronto and the University of Western Ontario – has been at the nexus of jazz activity in Canada for more than 50 years and shows no sign of slowing down.

Still active at U of T, still improvising like an instrumentalist half his age and still writing, Nimmons is the subject of a new three-CD set, featuring live performances of his compositions and an extensive interview, released by the Canadian Music Centre.

Nimmons’ own career is perhaps the best promotion for music education and the rewards of a lifelong interest in learning.

Already an accomplished clarinetist and music copyist by his early teens, he stuck to the books – albeit in pursuit of a career in medicine – and stayed at the University of British Columbia even as his wartime success with dance bands and the quintet of guitarist Ray Norris grew. He was still completely self-taught when he applied to Julliard in 1945 and naively arrived at the New York City institution without a place to stay. Rejected as a composition student because of his lack of formal training, he auditioned on the spot as a clarinet major and won a scholarship. Being a Julliard student from 1945 to ’47 gave him nighttime access to the musical riches of Manhattan’s thriving 52nd Street – then in the sway of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie – and daily experience with clarinet teacher Arthur Christmann.

A broken heart drove Nimmons out of New York before he completed his degree at Julliard, and he landed in Toronto, where he enrolled in composition at the Royal Conservatory of Music. It was a heady time at the school, where Nimmons’ classmates included Glenn Gould, Lois Marshall and Harry Freedman, and John Weinzweig’s composition classes opened young ears to the possibilities of 20th century tonality. But, for Nimmons, the revelation was Bach, as introduced by instructor Richard Johnston.

In 1950, Nimmons co-founded the Canadian League of Composers, and began writing incidental music for CBC. Working in association with radio director J. Frank Willis, he quickly became a frequent presence in Canadian homes, providing music for programs like “Dr. Dogbody’s Leg,” “High Adventures” and “CBC Wednesday Night.”

Writing for radio sustained him, and provided an opportunity to investigate an early interest in the so-called “cool” sound popularized in California, but he needed a full-time outlet. He found it in a tentet, which formed as a rehearsal group in 1953. The band was marked by the leader’s use of clarinet riding atop a four-reed section, as well as his abiding love of long-form composition.

In 1956, the band had its concert debut at the Stratford Festival and made its first recording on jazz impresario Norman Granz’s Clef label – a connection that came courtesy of Nimmons’ friendships with Oscar Peterson and Gunther Schuller. Three years later, as Nimmons ‘N’ Nine, the band was recording for Granz’s higher-profile Verve label and well ensconced as a daily presence on CBC. Film work was forthcoming, too, and Nimmons provided scores for A Dangerous Age and A Cool Sound From Hell. Add a gig as the house band on the popular television program The Barris Beat and you have the ingredients for being the nearest thing to a household name that a jazz musician could hope for.

Many artists with such a busy career would be satisfied, but Nimmons saw an opportunity to develop a new generation of players.

“People were constantly approaching Oscar for lessons, so we knew there was a need there,” he says. “Also, Oscar’s trio wasn’t as busy as it could be, so we saw it as a way to stay busy.”

With Peterson and bassist Ray Brown, Nimmons founded the Advanced School of Contemporary Music in 1960, which began offering lessons in Peterson’s home. The school soon expanded to its own facility, but the growing popularity of Peterson’s trio brought the institution to an early close in 1963.

A decade later, Peterson and Nimmons tried it again. This time, under the auspices of the Banff Centre, the concept for an international program focusing on jazz studies caught, although Peterson withdrew after the first year. Arguably the most influential springboard for a generation of Canadian jazz performers, the Banff program grew beyond Nimmons’ vision – creating a rift when it shifted its influence to include foreign directors like Dave Holland and Steve Coleman – yet he remains inexorably linked to it. Today, under the direction of trumpeter Dave Douglas, the program continues to stress performance – Nimmons’ signature.

His link to the jazz program at the U of T is equally strong. He began teaching there in 1973, and became director emeritus of its newly organized degree program in jazz studies in 1991.

Today, you can continue to find him on campus, a friendly, hip, presence, encouraging students and professing the joys of performance.

“For me, it’s always been about playing the music. I tell kids, We might not be able to get past the fact that it’s 10 o’clock in the morning and the room is lit by fluorescent lights, but we can imagine.

“This new recording featuring Dave McMurdo’s band playing my music was done at (Toronto’s) The Rex. There are mistakes, you can hear the cash register, but you get past all that because you’re there in the moment. For me, composition has always been like improvising.

“I still love it. It’s like this duo I have with pianist David Braid. We never rehearse; it just happens. My old friend (trumpeter) Guido Basso saw us play and was amazed we didn’t even discuss things beforehand. I said, ‘Guido, you gotta try it.’ It keeps you fresh and alive.”

Star Power

When I was a fledgling jazz fan around 1970 and just discovering DownBeat magazine I was torn on the question of the five-star rating system, which has been in place since 1952. On one hand there was the consumer-friendly nature of it; on the other was the problematic reduction of art to an apparently arbitrary number of stars.

Some things never change. Opinion on the star system – whether in DB or any number of other publications and blogs that use it for recordings, films, books and restaurants – continues to be divided. Even some critics dislike assigning stars (or film reels, forks, etc.) but submit to their publishers' demands. Mindful of my own dichotomous feelings from 40 years ago, I've always remembered that some consumers depend on them, and hopefully, most don't skip the 300-odd words in the review and just look at the stars.

In the 10 years that I've been writing CD reviews for DownBeat – some 200-odd reviews, I reckon – I've allotted five stars to five recordings. The latest is Continuation by drummer Alex Cline, released on the Cryptogramophone label. So, what makes it a five-star recording? Officially, DB editor Jason Koransky sets out the following criteria for five-star reviews: "...great conception, definitive solos, memorable compositions, high-quality production—and will be talked about for years to come...."

Obviously, critics can't guess whether any given CD will reach enough listeners to be talked about for years, but the other elements are readily apparent on truly great recordings. The path to determining what is a five-star recording is always a bit different, but with the Cline it was a two-step process.

As an aside, I approach the recordings I'm reviewing any number of ways: they might start off as my "road" music as soon as they're assigned, or might jump immediately into my computer for listening while I go about my early-morning office chores. I try to listen to the recordings I'm reviewing in as many situations as possible, to attempt to mimic all the ways that consumers actually experience the music they buy. Regardless of how many different ways I first listen, every CD I review ends up on my primary stereo system, where I give it a critical appraisal on both headphones and speakers. At some point in the process, I generally reach a decision where on the five-star scale the recording is going to fall. Half-stars are usually determined as I peruse the detailed notes I make in those final couple of listening sessions, and might be determined by something as simple as "value" (I routinely dock a CD a half-star for falling under the 50-minute mark, unless it's marketed – and priced – as an EP).

The Cline recording first attracted my attention for its personnel: cellist Peggy Lee and pianist Myra Melford are two of my favourite musicians, based on years of hearing them play in many different settings. An advance copy of the CD sat on my desk for several days while I addressed some other things, and I didn't actually spin it for the first time until I was assigned the review. It became one of those early-morning office spins, which often don't yield any kind of critical judgment. I'm in and out of my office, which is in the front room of my house – often tending to my aged golden retriever or re-filling my coffee – and occasionally a phone call will disrupt these initial listenings. Continuation is one of those recordings that rewards close attention, and it can't be rushed, so it didn't really register on my consciousness until an explosive eruption of Melford's piano on "On The Bones Of The Homegoing Thunder," which, until that point, had been filled with long tones from Lee and violinist Jeff Gauthier. It was one of those moments out of the old Maxell tape ads, where the listener's hair is blown back by sound. I put away whatever I was working on, took the CD over to my stereo and sat down with my attention riveted.

Immediately, it became clear this was a superior recording, and then the tough work began. Did it have the depth, the sustaining power, the emotional clout to make it a five-star review?

Those aren't easy questions, and perhaps the answers remain ethereal and subjective enough to reinforce your dismissal of the rating system, but using indisputably classic recordings as my guide, I'm convinced that making those kinds of value judgments are worthwhile – given that the stars are only an indicator of the critical evaluation that's expressed in the review itself.

My review of Alex Cline's Continuation can be found in the February 2009 issue of DownBeat.

Living In A Sonic World

Something pianist Nancy Walker said to me last night between sets of her gig with bassist-bandleader John Geggie and drummer Matt Wilson (which I don't think she'll mind me quoting here) is ringing with me this morning. Speaking of her first experience performing with Wilson, she said she felt enveloped in his sound – like what he played supported and embraced her.

So, those words were in my mind this morning as I listened to a live stream of a BBC radio interview with Bruce Springsteen. Although he never addressed the subject of sound directly, he spoke of the community of a band and its audience as he reflected on the recent death of his longtime bandmate, organist Dan Federici.

When I reflect on great concerts I've experienced, it is a sonic world I think of; not so much the individual notes played or the choice of songs or the demeanor of the musicians onstage, but how successfully the musicians are at creating a sonic world that you all can live in for awhile. It might only be one song, it might only be one solo. If you're really lucky, that sonic world – that communal bond – lasts the entire performance. And it doesn't matter whether it's a punk band thrashing at top volume, Daniel Lanois' band creating a low, electric rumble or Paul Motian playing solo – when you're enveloped in that sonic world, everything's alright.

The Big Cuts Start

Rumors have been circulating for several weeks about the financial crisis facing Festival Network, the company – formerly based in New York and San Francisco – that purchased veteran promoter George Wein's Festival Productions in 2007. Now, DownBeat is reporting that the company, which it says has lost "millions of dollars," has laid off staff and axed nine of its 17 music festivals for the coming year. Its office in San Francisco has been closed.

Not on the 2009 schedule are festivals produced by Festival Network in Martha's Vineyard, Miami, Jackson Hole, Mali, Chicago, San Francisco (not to be confused with the San Francisco Jazz Festival produced by SFJAZZ), Whistler, Los Angeles and Paris. No word on the state of Festival Network's showcase festivals, including its jazz and folk festivals in Newport, the Playboy Jazz Festival in LA, and the JVC-sponsored jazz festival in New York City. The JVC North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam – formerly a Festival Network property – will apparently continue independent of the company. Festival Network also controls multi-cultural festivals related to the Olympic Games in Vancouver, London and Sochi, Russia.

Urgent Need For David S. Ware

I'm copying an email from AUM Fidelity owner Steven Joerg concerning saxophonist David S. Ware's urgent requirement for a kidney transplant in the hopes that there's a match out there.

Dear friends,

This is an urgent notice on David S. Ware’s health. David needs to find a kidney donor.

David S. Ware was diagnosed with kidney failure in 1999 and he began dialysis that fall. He had an intensive three week hemodialysis regime toward beginning peritoneal (self-administered) dialysis, which would allow him to travel. David has been on this self-administered dialysis regime multiple times every day and night since October 1999. While certainly difficult, he has been able to travel, and perform his music undiminished, since then.

However, late this past December, David called to say that after 9 years this treatment was no longer working as it had been, and that a kidney transplant is the only viable option for his survival.

Since then a number of friends and family members have offered to give him one of their kidneys. Unfortunately, they have all been disqualified due to health reasons or not having David's blood type, O.

Some basic/initial requirements for viable donors are that they must be under 60 years of age, do not have diabetes or high blood pressure, are in general good health, and have blood type O (either O+ or O- is fine).

The hospital where a transplant would take place is the very highly regarded Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, NJ.

Willing and able potential donors should please get in touch with us as soon as possible:

Steven Joerg / David S. Ware management
aum at aumfidelity.com
telephone: 718 854 2387

We will then get them directly in touch with the Kidney Transplant Center at RWJU Hospital to begin the screening process for donor viability.


Thank you on behalf of David S. Ware;
please feel free to forward this notice.

Steven Joerg
AUM Fidelity

Ben Ratliff Online

A recurring feature online at the New York Times website – for my money (well, it's free, actually), the best website anywhere – is a Q&A session called "Talk To The Newsroom" with various people from the editorial staff.

This week, the featured subject is jazz and pop music critic Ben Ratliff, and so far he has fielded some questions about writing live reviews, the viability of artists without major label support/distribution, and his picks for best albums of the past couple of years. There's still time to send him your own question if you have one.

You can link to the feature from the main page. It may require you to register, but as noted, it's free and provides access to the entire paper and a substantial portion of the archives.

Yoshi's Downgrades Jazz in SF

Like New York's Knitting Factory before it, the San Francisco branch of Yoshi's has decided that other forms of music might be more profitable than jazz.

As Jesse Hamlin writes in this San Francisco Chronicle article, the club – which is headquartered across the bay in Oakland – has just overcome a looming financial crisis. Now that the city's re-development agency has bailed out the Fillmore location of Yoshi's, the club's booker is looking to expand his music policy to include other genres of music. "(Jazz) won't be the main focus," says Bill Kubeczko. Among the acts he's pursuing are bluegrass legend Doc Watson and pianist Bruce Hornsby.

Coda: Advancing To The Rear

For the second consecutive issue, the venerable Coda magazine – now billing itself as "Jazz Understood" – is mining the legends of obscure Canadian musicians. The veins run deep, too.

Issue 340 – which was festooned with a garish American flag motif – featured no fewer than 18,000 words (!) by Jack Chambers on the subject of Calvin Jackson. Who? You may well ask. I'm all in favour of long-form journalism and shining a light on underrated and/or misunderstood musicians, but Chambers' sprawling examination of Jackson was an excess of excess.

Issue 341's cover story on Claude Ranger runs a mere 10 of the magazine's 44 editorial pages, and it's a virtual re-hash of a radio piece produced by the same contributor (Carole Warren). It even includes a paragraph outlining how she sold the story to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Now, Ranger was a superb drummer and an important figure on the Canadian scene, where he mentored a number of better-known players, but his story has been told with more insight by Mark Miller, to say nothing of Warren's own radio documentary. So, strange that editor Andrew Scott believes Ranger – presumed dead since 2000 – deserves the cover and almost a quarter of his editorial space.

These odd editorial choices mask the fact that Coda seems to be running on auxiliary power lately. Missing from its pages is the informed, entertaining writing of contributors like Mike Chamberlain, Marc Chenard, Ken Waxman, Nate Dorward and numerous others; instead, the number of editorial "voices" has dwindled to a pale chorus. Increasingly, the magazine seems to rely on features like "In The First," which invites musicians to write about themselves. Hmmm, I was under the impression this was why news releases, websites and MySpace pages were invented.

Timing is another problem. The "November" issue, which reached me in January, contains reportage on events from as far past as last April. Kurt Gottschalk's "New York Is Now" column reports – without irony – on an event from June. There are a whole lot of New York minutes between June and January.

On the positive side, the look of the magazine continues to maintain the standard set when Darryl Angier was editor – a fact that Scott feels compelled to trumpet with a couple of readers' letters.

As a long-time Coda reader, former Coda contributor, big supporter of Canadian magazines – hell, on so many levels – Coda's direction pains me. With exciting new voices like Mary Halvorson, Darcy James Argue, Harris Eisenstadt, Tyshawn Sorey, Rudresh Mahanthappa in the air – all artists who would've graced the cover in Coda's better days – why does Coda increasingly look like it's going in reverse?

Jazz understood? It's open for debate.

Lovin' Last.fm

An old friend from my radio days hipped me to Last.fm today and I've been glued to it all evening. Regular Jazz Chroniclers will remember (oh! the tears) my mourning over Pandora's decision to pull its service from Canada. Well, one evening into my new love affair with Last.fm and I have the feeling that it's beating Pandora hands down in terms of the quality of the music it presents to you. I created a Charles Lloyd "station" late in the afternoon and it has been feeding me primo stuff from Ornette to Lovano all evening. I haven't had a chance – or the desire – to try some other genres, but I sense I'll be spending a lot of time with Last.fm this week. Mind you, if I discover that it's an endless source for great Cecil Taylor (after I just dropped a big wad of dough at iTunes and Amazon to fill in some gaps in my CT collection), I might not be so pleased.

What's embarrassing, of course, is that I didn't find out about Last.fm before this. It has been around since 2002, and is owned by a branch of Sony now, but maybe I was blinded by sweet Pandora – and those tears when she packed up and moved south.

More Festival Woes

Yet another annual jazz festival – the Jacksonville Jazz Festival – is in trouble. The event, which has had challenges holding on to both major funders and a stable site, has been bumped from its early April dates and has no immediate alternative.

A story posted on Jacksonville.com outlines the festival's problems.

Last year's Jacksonville Jazz Festival featured Cassandra Wilson, Benny Golson, John Pizzarelli and others.