Art Bailey Trio, Quiet As A Bone

Some piano trios blow you out of the water with the sheer force of the improvisations. Others do other things. The Art Bailey Trio, as heard on Quiet As A Bone (HRL Records RAT-002), do those other things.

Art Bailey wows you with his very quirky compositions. They are harmonically advanced, melodically unexpected, chromatic/a-chromatic and delightfully asymmetrical.

Other than two group improvs, the disk features Art's pen as much as his piano and the trio's appealingly loose-tight improvisational stance. In Michael Bates, bass, and Owen Howard, drums, he finds a perfect compatibility, a locking-in of sound and sense.

So what does it sound like? There is a hint of the early-mid Paul Bley trios and Herbie Nichols, but only that. This is original sound, very hip, straightforward outness.

And the mesh between composition and improvisation is tight. Art has a strong idea of where he's going and the trio goes with him as a unity.

This is something to hear. If you dig modern-new-thing-avant piano trios, do not miss this.

For more information and to order a copy, past the following link into your browser: http://www.artbailey.org/listen/

Andrew Lamb, Rhapsody in Black

The new Andrew Lamb album Rhapsody in Black (No Business NBCD 40) pairs Lamb's saxes, flute, clarinet and conch with bass, tuba and dijeridoo by Tom Abbs and the two drummer/percussionists Michael Wimberly and Guillermo E. Brown.

The wealth of color/tonal possibilities built into this lineup is well realized in a freely rolling four-number set. Throughout Lamb shows us he has his own way with each of the instruments and the band does a fine job supporting and contributing to the complex mix.

There's a ritual feeling on "Initiation" that devolves into a good dialogue between Andrews clarinet, the swirling percussion-drums and Abb's boomingly zoned-in bass.

"Rhapsody in Black" begins with some sensitive and smart drums-bass free preluding. Maestro Lamb lets loose with some red-white heat on tenor that maps out a universe of sounds and exhortations--Lamb's sax work at it's best. Abbs solar-flaring tuba and the dynamic Wimberly-Brown free-teaming keep the fires burning.

"To Love in the Rain (Portrait of a Virtuous Woman)" has up-tempo walking, quietly swinging-free drums and Andrew coming out with some flute & conch ritualism with didjeredoo (overdubbed?). It's a contrast interlude that brings us down to earth after the fire of "Rhapsody" and so it comes at the right time.

"Song of the Miracle Lives" gives us a invocation kind of beginning with Andrew on solo alto, bass and percussion quietly entering underneath. The band builds nicely to some high energy onslaughts while keeping into the invocation mode.

So there it is: excellent sounding Lamb saxophonics and the potent bass/tuba drums/percussion lineup.

If you don't know Lamb's work, this is a good place to start. If you already do, this adds some ritual-earthy-cosmic zones to what you know. And the band is on it.

Andy Jaffe, Manhattan Projections, Reissue

Pianist, arranger, composer Andy Jaffe runs a gamut between hard-bopping mid-sized ensemble jazz and piano duets on the reissued Manhattan Projections (Big Round 8922).

Andy sounds great throughout and he is in some fast company. Smitty Smith, drums, Branford Marsalis on soprano and tenor, Wallace Roney, trumpet, John Clark, French horn, Tom McClung, second piano, and a host of others make some very good contributions in a series of three lineups from 1984, 1991 and 1998.

The pieces are together and the players are in the pocket.

It's straight-ahead and well-played. I hope we soon can hear more of his work and what he is doing now.

Cheryl Pyle, Sound Sculptures

Cheryl Pyle's new album Sound Sculptures (self-released) pulls together where she is as an artist--flautist, bassist, composer, poetess.

It's twelve pieces of pure Cheryl. Her compositions are chamber jazz in the best sense of the term. Like Giuffre she maps out musical motifs in bare-boned contexts--often her flute and electric bass in combination--and builds improvisations around the thematic material. She has a beautiful tone on flute and an ear for phrasings that have new music elements as well as those of "jazz." Some tribal bedrock can be felt too in the twists and turns of some of the riffs.

Max Ridgway joins her on guitar for several tracks for good result. And she overdubs two or more flutes at times for rich harmonies. And sometimes her flute has some electronic enhancements. That works too. Her poetry, one example here with electronic flute compositional framing, is soulful and full of feeling.

This is music. Cheryl Pyle music. Expect something else and you wont get it. It takes a few listens to find your balance because this is not a typical "jazz" album. But once you do, you have the experience of entering an original world that has some marvelous flute playing, some conceptual uniqueness and compositional frameworks that stand out. Give it a listen! The mp3 link to purchase from Cheryl is .. http://www.cherylpyle.blogspot.com/

Ben Powell, New Street: A Tribute to Stephan Grappelli

Ben Powell plays violin in ways that extend the post-Hot Club style of the late Stephan Grappelli. There's warmth, a generous vibrato, a capacious amount of technique and a rhapsodic projection.

On his album New Street (self-released) he shows all of this to good effect. The album divides into two interrelated halves. One is a violin-piano-bass-drums quartet playing originals and a few standards. Everyone is quite good, and in a modern vein, but Ben is front-and-center as the star attraction. He impresses.

The second half is made up of the Stephane Grappelli Tribute Trio: Ben, Gary Burton on vibes and Julian Lage on guitar. They play the piece "Gary," which was written by Grappelli for Mr. Burton but not played on record until now. Then there is another evocative Grappelli composition and a number that evokes his earlier Hot Club days.

Ben Powell comes off as an impressive artist. He can play a sort of post-Gypsy modern and he can dig deeper into the tradition, but he does so as himself, in spite of the strongly anchored roots.

This is delightful music from start to finish. Whether or not you have been a Grappelli fan for years, I think you'll emerge from listens to this album as a Ben Powell fan.

Anders Gahnold Trio, Live at the Glenn Miller Cafe, 2008

Ayler Records' Download Series yields treasures for those willing to explore and experiment. I've heard them all at least once and covered many in the various blogs in the past several years. There are still a few left of interest that I'll be discussing in the coming months.

Today, altoist Anders Gahnold and his trio Live at the Glenn Miller Cafe (Ayler Download aylDL-089).

It's Gahnold with Erik Ojala, bass, and John Stahlgren, drums, recorded at the cafe in Stockholm on July 4, 2008.

The sound is clear, the mood good. The trio lets loose on seven blowing tunes. The trio is loose and open; the music is more freebop than free-form, in that there is riff, tonality, rhythmic pulse as a constant.

Sometimes Gahnold and company remind a little of Air, Threadgill's seminal trio, or something the late Thomas Chapin did with this sort of lineup.

In other words Anders plays with fire and thrust in bluesy and jazz-phrased outness while the rhythm section provides strong anchorage yet is loose and fire-y as well.

It's a very nice set and a very good example of Gahnold's convincing way. The download is available only at Ayler Records' website (see link on this page). For a couple of bucks you get something nice here!

Nate Wooley, Christian Weber, Paul Lytton, Six Feet Under

Since I write all the reviews myself for my three music blogs, I sometimes find the task of listening, evaluating and writing up the articles (usually 15 per week) rather taxing and, when the wolf is at my door as it is at the moment, a huge amount of time that might be more productively spent on survival attempts. My partner gives me those looks, which mean "why are you still doing this?" and I cannot blame her. But I am of course devoting enough time to the survival front in all truth. And I do know that the discipline of this rather rigorous regime reaps quite considerable dividends in terms of my understanding of the current situation regarding "serious" musics of various genres. I have the remote hope also that someone might once again be willing to pay me for my efforts not too far down the road.

And when an LP like the one at hand appears, I remember why I listen. We have today a thoroughly outside trio adventure. Trumpeter Nate Wooley, bassist Christian Weber and drummer Paul Lytton kick up plenty of dust on their Six Feet Under (No Business LP16), a spontaneously open set of trio improvisations that situate the three on the nether fringes of avant invention.

Nate is in an all-sounds, many notes and the notes and tones in-between those notes and tones mode. He is afire with ideas throughout.

Christian is in a complementary mode. He plays a great deal of bass on these sides and what he does supports, cajoles and sets the trio off in good directions.

Paul Lytton too is in a highly creative mood, with his wonderfully busy, acoustically distinctive free sound-sculpting in sharp focus.

This LP is printed up in an edition of only 300, which tells you something about what "No Business" means these days. It's a very good trio outing, with Nate Wooley in great form. So grab one if you are inclined.