Steve Swell's Slammin' the Infinite - 5000 Poems (Not Two)

One of the frequent recent criticisms of free jazz argues that there’s just too much of it available on record. Musicians who work within the idiom are accused of placing fecundity above quality control. Trombonist Steve Swell candidly cops to the charge in the brief notes accompanying this fourth release by one of his working bands. Employing a Walt Whitman essay as inspiration, he uses the analogy of sowing many seeds in the hope that at least a fraction will yield a nourishing crop. Passion and personal commitment are cornerstones of Swell’s music. He conveys these traits nakedly through his horn without reserve and is perfectly comfortable with the probability that not all of what he comes up with will hit the mark. That stripe of honesty can be off-putting and easily confused with ham-fisted self-indulgence. Close attention to his music counters that conception by exposing a degree of detail and diversity at odds with the typical free jazz stereotypes.

Swell’s colleagues in his quintet are all long-standing. Multi-reedist Sabir Mateen is the elder of the ensemble and adds a vibrant array of tonal colors on saxophones, clarinet and flute. Pianist John Blum, just recently recipient of renewed exposure via handful of new recordings of his own, has a performance resume dating back decades. Bassist Matthew Heyner, Mateens’s comrade in the erstwhile quartet Test, comes out of his mentor William Parker’s shadow. Lastly but not least, there’s drummer Klaus Kugel whose credentials are similarly ironclad with a percussive approach that balances muscle with poise. All five favor long-form collective improvisation and Swell’s seven compositions are geared toward just that. His writing isn’t just window-dressing to hang wooly solos on and there’s a natural flow between most ensemble and individual statements.

“Sketch 1” divides the band into pairings with Mateen’s flute dancing in extended concert with Blum’s kinetic piano. Swell and Kugel follow for another conversation. Far from the odd man out, Heyner concludes the piece with a solo statement steeped in stirring extended arco techniques. Heyner’s strings are also instrumental in setting the mood on “Where are the Heartfelt?’ and “My Myth of Perfection”, setting up a turgid ostinato on the first and scything high harmonics on the second to set off a slow boil. “Sketch 2” sprawls to six minutes shy of a half hour and it’s here where a little self-editing could’ve been beneficial, but the players otherwise make the most of the space and time accorded. At nearly eighty minutes all told the program isn’t a short trip, but true to Swell’s stated intent there’s plenty to see and hear along the way.

Tom Harrell – Roman Nights (High Note)

As a proud proponent of the “if it ain’t broke, why fix it” philosophy to music-making, trumpeter Tom Harrell reconvenes his working band for this latest release. It’s the same quintet on his last several records for High Note and a compelling example of the sort of dividends divisible from longevity with such an aggregation. These players know each other well and that camaraderie breeds a constructive shared confidence.

While both the instrumentation and music could easily construe as conventional, Harrell hardly seems bothered by the potential summation. He’s been in the game for so long and paid more than his share of dues, personal and professional that proving himself at this point in his career isn’t even of peripheral importance. Dig it or don’t, I’m going to do it the way I want to, seems to be his working credo. Fortunately, with the financial and artistic stability afforded by a continuing arrangement with High Note, any dark days seem well relegated to the rearview.

Tenorist Wayne Escoffery, who leads his own groups on the label, recalls a certain elder Wayne in his propulsive phrasing, which spools in close concert with the leader through melodically-charged serpentine coils. Harrell’s long been enamored of hard- and postbop forms that reached their apex in the mid- to late-Sixties and as with the past albums, those harmonic idioms directly inform his compositions and playing. Heroes Hubbard, Dorham and, perhaps most prominently, Baker are audible in his argot but Harrell is still very much his own man. Pianist Danny Grissett officiates the rhythm section on mainly to acoustic keys, but also breaks out the Rhodes on four numbers. Bassist Ugonna Okegwo and drummer Jonathan Blake complete the band and exude enthusiastic energy analogous with the others.

“Storm Approaching” and “Let the Children Play” work off vibrant hardbop structures, following familiar paths but offering winsome music on the passion and purpose of delivery. The title piece speaks to Harrell’s sublime facility with ballad form, his burnished exploration of a Milesean melody bracketed by warm comping from Grissett. Other standouts include the descending line “Agua” and the modal minefield “Bird in Flight”. While this album is certainly of a piece with the passel that’s come prior in Harrell’s recent discography, it’s still a satisfying listen and proof that playing what you know intimately needn’t be an instant recipe for redundancy.

Sylvie Courvoisier - Mark Feldman Quartet - To Fly to Steal (Intakt)

Partners in both music and in life, pianist Sylvie Courvoisier and violinist Mark Feldman share the marquee on their latest collaboration. Drummer Gerry Hemingway and bassist Thomas Morgan aren’t just along for the ride and receptive to a deep rapport, the four create music of superlative communication and cohesion. Their configuration invites immediate chamber associations and much of the interplay leans closer to classical than jazz in general cast, but extemporaneous expression remains an integral element with starched-collar propriety left at the door. The co-leaders contribute two compositions apiece and the remaining three tracks unfold as collective improvisations. As is common credo with Intakt, the fidelity of the recording is dazzlingly clear with everything audible down to the most minute gesture and inflection.

Courvoisier’s “Messiaenesque” finds Feldman in full-bloom virtuosic form, his bow play a blur of pitch-perfect swoops and glissandi complemented by the pianist’s close commentary. The name-checked composer comes to life in the violinist’s sweeping baroque scribbles that arc and angle against a tumbling pulse of bass and drums. Courvoisier and Morgan converse in minimalist increments on conclusion of “Whispering Glades” as Feldman and Hemingway bear silent witness. On Feldman’s “The Good Life”, Hemingway and Morgan converge on a wobbly snippet of jazz swing later annexing much of the piece for extended improvised dialogues punctuated by fleeting theme statements by violin and piano.

Feldman’s “Five Senses of Keen” if full of space and quiet. Courvoisier strums delicately at the interior of her instrument, generating a delicate zither-like cascade at the edge of audibility. Hemingway again sits silent for much of the duration, adding muted accents on shakers and light-touch sticks in a canny less-is-more fashion. The collectively improvised “Fire, Fist and Bestial Wall” unfolds as an impish dance between the participants that becomes feverish in its final minutes but falters in an oddly reticent finish, one of the rare moments where the players don’t sound in accord. Courvoisier’s closing title piece takes wing on a dark-tinged Old World theme, winding down in a tinkling denouement of pattering sticks and keys. Fearlessly willing to explore practically every permutation of its instrumentation, Feldman and Courvoisier have found a vehicle with Hemingway and Morgan brimming with further possibility.

ROW: The Staple Singers - Great Day (Milestone)

Culled from three early-Sixties Riverside platters and originally released in 1975 as a double LP, this compilation visits the Staples in iterations before their Stax ascendancy. Roebuck’s ringing, tremolo-rich guitar-picking is front and center assisted by several small rhythm combos that include either bass or organ and drums. Sister Mavis handles the leads with her father while siblings Cleotha, Pervis and Yvonne cover back-up and interject syncopated handclaps. Most of the cuts clock in the 2-3 minute range, short and irrefutably sweet in their synthesis of stripped down gospel, R&B and blues elements. There’s not really a bum track in the bunch and none of the production excesses that would erode the edge on some of their later forays into sanctified funk and soul. The harmonies positively soar on heartfelt songs like “Gloryland” and “Do You Know Him” and even shibboleths like “Swing Down, Chariot” and “Motherless Children” get fresh coats of consecrated paint. A dubious bonus is the long-winded liners scripted by one Stanley Crouch circa ‘75 who just can’t help himself in using the Staples’ music as a springboard for his predictable polemics on race, politics and African American artistic superiority. Fortunately, the inclusive and uplifting sounds summarily stuff a welcome sock in Stanley’s self-serving screed.

Jon Irabagon - The Observer (Concord)

Dream session fantasies are still favorite fodder of many jazz players and interviewers alike. In the case of saxophonist Jon Irabagon a fantasy came true thanks to well-deserved win at the 2008 Thelonious Monk International Saxophone competition. Part of the prize purse was a Concord recording date with the players of his choosing. Irabagon, an improviser renowned recently for his various freer leaning projects, chose fittingly against type. A closer examination of his biography reveals that such a move is hardly out of character considering his eclectic resume includes past gigs with artists as disparate as Tom Harrell, The Pointer Sisters and Billy Joel.

Pianist Kenny Barron heads up his chosen rhythm section also comprised of bassist Rufus Reid and drummer Victor Lewis. Having participated in countless sessions the three veterans embody a gold standard in the postbop milieu and are well up to the challenges Irabagon poses for them. Bertha Hope replaces Barron for a duo interpretation of her husband Elmo’s “Barfly”. Further bucking stylistic prejudices, trumpeter Nicholas Payton, a player in a position similar to Irabagon’s a decade ago, guests on two tracks, the lovely “Joy’s Secret” and the hardbop “Big Jim’s Twins”. Irabagon plays mainly alto, hoisting tenor for just two out of the ten pieces. As icing on the laudatory cake, Rudy Van Gelder handles the recording chores though his presence isn’t a completely propitious one.

A few minor foibles mar what is otherwise a marvelous session, namely Lewis’ clumsily intrusive hi-hat on the opening “January Dream” and the heavy compression Van Gelder assigns to Barron’s keys on tracks like Tom McIntosh’s “Cup Bearers” and “Acceptance” that make them sound akin to a narrowly-applied Rhodes. Listening to Irabagon repeatedly put his partners through a playful but demanding set of paces brings to mind Eric Kloss and his youthful meeting with Miles’ crew of Corea, Holland and DeJohnette. This date conveys a comparable excitement as the elders bear proud witness to a delegate of the younger generation blowing the hell out of his horns and doing so in a manner cognizant of the pantheon that precedes him. Most importantly, it blows apart any attempts to place Irabagon in an idiomatic box and discloses the breadth of talent at his disposal.

Ari Roland - New Music (Smalls)

Bassist Ari Roland doesn’t mince words with the title of his latest disc. The summarizing phrase is succinct just like his preferred style of soloing on his instrument. While the seven compositions are indeed fresh creations, they still align quite closely with the extant occupants in his songbook. That familiarity extends to his sidemen as well, players who are equal-footing peers rather than subordinates. Saxophonist Chris Byars fields both alto and tenor to the session, playing each in the by turns darting and droll, dry-toned language that is his common parlance. Pianist Sascha Perry and drummer Keith Balla don’t break with established character either, Perry, in particular, showing his prowess when its time to comp. The pleasingly executed program is a jazz corollary to comfort food, warm and comparatively conventional in a positive connotation like a plate of home-cooked meat and potatoes.

As with past outings, Roland sticks to his stock strategy of pizzicato in the ensemble passages and arco for the solo improvisations. His sharp, see-sawing strokes on the latter passages still manage to swing despite the relative rigidity of their implementation. Balla switches deftly from sticks to brushes for such occasions, enhancing the beat with swishing accents. Despite the reliable musicianship, the tunes tend to follow similar structures and pacing. The first three pieces cycle smoothly from head to solos, concluding with slight variations on a series of drum-tight exchanges between Balla and the others. His breaks are crisp and propulsive and his comrades respond in kind, but by the third iteration of the basic itinerary on the cleverly-titled “The Finder of Horsehair” the set starts to tip toward tedium. Fortunately, “Station Blues” slows the tempo and open things up, Roland bending bow with leavened urgency and achieving a less astringent tonality in the process.

While the program doesn’t depart dramatically from Roland’s previous records, it still constitutes a satisfying listen. The affinity these musicians share, built from countless hours on the bandstand together, is something of an endangered quality in today’s jazz. The sad news that the Smalls label is also imperiled makes it even easier to ignore the slight sense of déjà vu that pervades the session. Better to have a new date by these players that follows established protocols than none at all.

Michaël Attias - Renku in Coimbra (Clean Feed)

New York-based saxophonist Michaël Attias has a sound steeped in a somewhat unexpected amalgam of sources. He’s obviously enamored of the free jazz canon and players like Jimmy Lyons and John Tchicai, but there’s also a feathery, aerated inflection to his phrasing that obliquely recalls the Cool and West Coast schools of 50s jazz and specifically players like Lee Konitz and Art Pepper. This set, recorded during a three-night stand in Portugal by his quintet in the summer of 2008, pares that group down to a trio for an exploration of six originals as well as Konitz’s “Thingin’” and Lyons’ “Sorry”.

The collaborative Japanese poetry form referenced in the disc’s title is a handy analogue to the ensemble’s dynamic and sound. Bassist John Hébert is Attias’ shadow, his accompaniment and counterpoint so closely aligned with the saxophonist that borders on the extrasensory. Drummer Statoshi Takeishi plays his kit with an ear and touch aligned towards nuance and pacing. Gongs, shakers and other percussion regularly inform the foreground of his patterns, enhancing with color and shading the supple rhythms he sculpts with sticks. The pair’s repartee in the initial minutes of “Do & the Birds” coalesces into a loping processional of bulbous and brittle bass manipulations and muted percussion play that Attais eventually glides across.

Pianist Russ Lossing pops up on fleeting “Fenix Culprit”, changing the chemistry quite dramatically with increased density and momentum. Attias hardens his attack as Takeishi and Hébert work up a heavy rhythmic froth, but the four retreat into pallid tension and release in the piece’s finale. That taste of more aggressive interplay also informs the comparatively tumultuous Lyons’ cover and a genuine groove builds out of the lush back and forth that propels “Universal Constant” but much of the set adheres to a conversely temperate itinerary. Tenorist Tony Malaby, the last member of the quintet, is absent and it’s hard not to pine for his presence given the spark Lossing brings with a brief cameo. Summing up this appraisal with a superficial sports metaphor, the set’s not a slam-dunk, but rather a solid basket from the post.