CANADA'S I Christensen is a pedestrian walking on Lateef's irony. His is a genuine fascination in things past. moody setting for "Carnival of Mother Kali." jazz festival, and they bring the same magic to the sidewalk, only that he's not necessarily after the Not everything works here; the strings lack a Drummer Lou Grassi is unobtrusively anchoring album, recorded in New York City in June,2004.The swing, even when he is playing counterpoint to one focus and energy level never wavers. Five minutes of the other three and not explicitly playing rhythm. Wheeler's rich tone and puckish melodicism under- further into the piece, the two players murmur highwire energy that informs the New York certain energy, and the mix doesn't always serve throughout the band's angular grooves and loose eight Wheeler compositions clock in at 64 minutes, School'spoets and painters to whom he dedicates Davis's piano well when the full ensemble an hour and a fraction of a myriad of subtleties and this recording. Instead, his use of form comes in a accompanies strides. Resolving with the brief, muted "Epilogue," the quartet is never lazy or overstimulated, but flowing, non-linear variety of shapes and sizes. just plain good. invention are the strong suits that all the players Perfect for this wandering is Satoshi Takeishi,who Shimmering Rhythm is a unique, heartfelt project whose legitimacy shines through. KuRT GorrsCHALK bring to the music,especially so for the three senior long ago found freedom from the trap set's rhyth- }AMES HALE mic forwardness. Here Takeishi melds into the ensemble, making declarative bumps that don't imply musical progressso much as they illuminate motion. It's purposeful, but it's not destined for one him. Those things aside, members of the group. This is not to slight Chris Mick Rossi OneBlockFromPlanet Earth OMNITONE nuances of mood. Lyricism and deep wellsprings of Potter; it is testament to his talent that he is in this company-and the bar is very,very high. Taylor's melodic right hand lines sing~in unex- 15207 (or even two) melodic or harmonic locations. Nary Mick Rossi displays the spirit of adventure that a kick drum booms acrossthe album. Christensen and his reeds-wielding sidekick Walt Weiskopf many musicians on today's jazz scene lack. Leading a crack quintet made up of multi-reed stray around rhythmic assertions, paying close player Andy Laster, trumpeter attention to Kermit Driscoll's likeminded bass as they work together flying function overform,a dis- bassist Mark Dresser and drummer Charles Descarfino, the pianist utilizes nearly every musi- playing of rhythmic decenteredness that coaxes cal style from his wide-ranging background as a the ear away from structures.It's part free-bop, part global-jazz. performer within his compositions. A regular at ANDREW BARTLETT pected twists and turns, and his left hand alone Russ Johnson, with a series of musical segments that stand almost completely independent of one another, VERVE FORECAST B000406902 yet somehow work together. The quirkiness of The strum of an acoustic guitar. The gentle pat of a "Page X" is reminiscent of the work of Joel hand drum. I can name that producer in one bar! Forrestor or Philip Johnston, while the sudden The big news about LizzWright's new CD was in the segue into a driving 5/4 rhythm provides a solid production booth, and Craig Street is the kind of background for Johnson's turbulent solo."Henry superstar producer who can upstage his artist with and Ribsy" showcases Lester's gutbucket bari- a quiet chord from a Wurlitzer piano.And he almost tone sax and a diverse piano solo by the leader. does that with Dreaming.All the producer's signa- "Stasis" is full of twists, acting like its going to tures are here: quiet, roomy arrangements favoring guitars,covers of unlikely Sixties pop tunes ("ATaste of Honey," "Old Man"). Just when you can almost play between the musicians throughout. The smell the grande lattes, something in Wright's cial elements in the approach of these players. MIKE CHAMBERLAIN "Heavenly Places,"written in dedication to Oliver chording and a restless theme, Fefer's tenor play- STEVE VICKERY Avram Fefer/ Bobby Few KindredSpirits strong, firm voice wakes you from the daydream. BoXHOLDER 048 in and out While the 24 year-old Georgia native does Street's HeavenlyPlaces behind the soloists. Mick Rossi'sremarkable live languid, barefoot thing very well, there's an urgency BoxHOLDER 049 DAVINOR 3455 performance at the Knitting Factory will easily in that church-trained voice that's subtly at odds In releasing these two discs simultaneously, Bobby Can music evoke an era without referring direct- stand the test of time. with the setting, bright metal amid the gauze and Few and Avram Fefer invite listeners to explore the ly to a stylistic landmark or dominant trendset- KEN DRYDEN soft cotton. The production will inevitably raise full spectrum of possibilities in creative music, con- Burton Greene - Roy Campbell Quartet isms out CIMP,1, There'ssomething about a pair of masters co-leading a quartet. OK, there's everything about that. Pianist Burton Greene and trumpeter comparisons to Cassandra Wilson's Street-pro- necting the brilliance of Monk, Ellington, and duced hits, but while Wilson is a coy seducer,Wright looks you straight in the eye.Same sound, different Mingus to the contemporary currents of instant composition. These recordings suggest that theirs approach, and one that makes you anxious to hear the real LizzWright, the one we haven't heard yet. that of their peers Taylor and Lyons. ]OHN CHACONA Roy Campbell individually have decades of experience playing and leading groups, and together share a dedication to their art that puts them in the upper Kenny Wheeler What Now? CAMJAZZ CAM5005 echelons of the field:they're inventive but melodi- Anyone who believes that intensity needs to be ous, approachable while being energetic. created with some combination of speed or vol- Two traditional Passoversongs, both featuring On their new ismsout, the pair turn (as the title ume or crashing crescendos or grand gestures vocals by Davis' elderly father, set a timeless, melancholy mood, and Sasha Boychouk's haunt- might be intended to suggest) styles and expectations on their heads.They've both long strad- should be required to listen to What Now?.The quartet of the veteran trumpeter Wheeler, pianist ing work on various reeds keeps the traditions of dled mainstream and avant successfully, and John Taylor, tenor saxophonist Chris Potter, and Eastern Europe in the foreground. Although it is together manage to run confidently through a bassist Dave Holland creates intensity through the less evident than the phrasing and tonality of variety of styles without being trite or overly ref- sheer force of authority in their playing. No cheap Boychouk's clarinet, there is also something curi- erential. The opening "Booker's Lament" is an tricks. No cliches. Heck, not even a drummer. ously old-fashioned about Davis's approach to upbeat bit of Brubeckism which leads to more The group held a full house spellbound at the piano, too. Again, it's not so much a stylistic thing adventurous ground with Campbell's pinpoint playing on "Careful" and bassist Adam Lane's Spectrum in Montreal, a club better suited to rock as it is an attitude-one lacking in postmodern acts,during their performance at the 2003 Montreal ,I position (it appears in abbreviated form on KindredSpirits)yields some keen contrasts but the live version rules the day, gripping the heart like Billie Holiday with a strength and vulnerability that is startling. Recommended. duets, with pianist Ron Davis's ambitious Shimmering Rhythm appears to flit through several periods and styles-pre-jazz, bop, Third Stream, hard bop-although the composer and his arranger, Tania Gill, avoid any blatant plagiarism. Sure,there's a hint of Gershwin in the use of raggy piano and klezmerish clarinet,and a dollop of Gunther Schuller in the shadowing of strings and reeds behind the core piano trio. But Davis is largely his own man here, and his collaboration with Gill-who arranged all 12 pieces-is in service of a personal, albeit nostalgic, vision. I ing conveying the shock of emotional separation. finale "Whatever," features a series of alternating ter? Toronto i' Comparing the two available versions of this com- Ron Davis Trio & Shimmering Rhythm Shimmering Rhythm Descarfino ducking I, together like doves. Focus and dynamics are cru- pin the ethos of the project. Strong, strong stuff. Johnson and Wilbur Morris, opens with spartan LizzWright DreamingWideAwake the Knitting Factory,Rossi'smusic teases listeners evolve into a ballad, shifting suddenly into a blues vehicle for a bar or two, but with wild inter- 28 CODA could comp for anyone. Holland never doesn't Heavenly Places is the opposite number to Kindred Spirits. "Heavenly Places" (composed by Fefer)takes an outbound path from its beginning, firing up the rocket that will carry the performers (and the lucky audience last summer in Antwerp, Belgium) into the wild places that only the adventurous can locate. Few's piano work is tumultous here, bounding through the music in an unfettered way, pushing Fefer along with tidal intensity, though one should not be too fast in dismissing this as a free music blowout. While ten minutes into"Happy Hour,"the hectic pace drops altogether to reveal Fefer's piquant clarinet melodies, the is a collaboration as significant to creative music as To come to grips with this music, start with Kindred Spirits. Fefer's reeds (tenor and soprano saxophone, clarinet) and Few's piano offer graceful readings of these compositions, revealing the craftmanship concealed in the material. Now in his seventies, Bobby Few is one of a rare breed of pianists (Misha Mengelberg is the only other that comes to mind) who can penetrate the logic in Monk's compositions,allowing the colors and tensions in the music to surface without needlessly smoothing the rough edges. Few conjures deep blues roots that sit comfortably alongside the tangy modernism of Thelonious. Fefer likewise loses no time staking his own claim to the territory that these pieces inhabit, charming the ear with his soulful tenor sound. This music has a depth of expression and soul that is unmistakable. ,'' CODA29