Jim Guttmann - Bessarabian Breakdown

Jim Guttmann is having an extraordinary career. His love of music is unbound to a specific genre; from rock in the 60s to jazz and bluegrass in the 70s to klezmer in the 80s to an unabashed mix of genres with the aptly named Mimi Rabson’s Really Eclectic String Quartet (RESQ) in the 90s and now with a new eclectic mix of his own on Bessarabian Breakdown (Kleztone Records, 2010). Guttmann is currently probably best known from his three decades of work with the New England Conservatory’s Klezmer Conservatory Band (KCB). The KCB was pivotal in revitalizing klezmer music which lay dormant since the 40s; now, as popular as ever. Guttmann has also played with legendary singer Eartha Kitt, blues harpist James Cotton, the Artie Shaw Orchestra and the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra...MORE...

Phil Sargent - A New Day

Progressive jazz guitarist Phil Sargent’s second CD, A New Day, is his first release as leader since his debut, For Carl, in 2002. During the intervening years Sargent has been very busy as a sideman working with a variety of well-known band leaders such as Jerry Bergonzi, John Lockwood, Bruno Raberg and Bob Moses. He also performs and records with band mates Greg Loughman on bass and Mike Connors on drums, in the group Iskar, playing a blend of prog rock and free jazz. Sargent and Connors, also perform with the Industrious Noise Trio, an avant-garde jazz three-piece. On A New Day, Sargent, Loughman and Connors are joined by pianist, John Funkhouser and vocalist, Aubrey Johnson for seven tracks of Sargent’s original compositions. Sargent is as much a composer as he is performer, writing not only specifically for this quintet, but also for his other outlets. Although lengthy improvisations are a key element of his music, his compositions are intricate, comprised with complex harmonies and elaborate melodies...MORE...

Phil Sargent - Live at Ryles Jazz Club, Cambridge, MA (June 11, 2010)

Phil Sargent with his five-piece jazz group (Sargent, guitar; Aubrey Johnson, voice; John Funkhouser, piano; Greg Loughman, bass; and Mike Connors, drums) performed live at Ryles Jazz Club in Cambridge, MA on June 11, 2010 in support of their recently released CD, A New Day. Upon seeing the low stage the first sights to catch the eye are the grand piano, the upright bass and compact drum set. With Sargent’s rock and fusion influences it is somewhat surprising to see these traditional acoustic instruments. But, approaching the setup one can see an array of pedals on the floor in front of the guitar, leading to the assumption that at least some electronic effects will be employed. The band launches the first set with an unrecorded composition and Sargent immediately makes use of the pedals by controlling the volume to eliminate string attacks, resulting in a bowed string quality from his guitar. But, the most distinctive feature of the band is the use of voice as another instrument. Aubrey Johnson wordlessly voices melodic lines in tight unison with Sargent’s guitar and occasionally takes a free ranging vocal solo. Soon pianist, Funkhouser, is leaning inside the piano and tapping strings with a mallet as he runs a finger slide across them. He also blows softly on a melodian (a wind instrument with a small one-octave keyboard) during quieter moments...MORE...

Ellen Rowe Quartet - Wishing Well

Wishing Well, the Ellen Rowe Quartet’s second release, is, among other things, a concise study in modern jazz composition for small ensembles. The only piece not composed by Ms. Rowe is the Dietz and Schwartz standard, “Alone Together.” Ms. Rowe’s music is highly structured yet rich with melodic, rhythmic and distinctive tonal assets ripe for development and improvisation. Broadly speaking the compositions are simply formatted—intro, theme, solos, theme and coda—but the thematic material is often a complex and multiple motif blending of lyrical melodies and uncommon rhythmic and tonal attributes. These fertile concepts are often elaborately developed before the improvisational sections begin. Tenor and soprano saxophonist, Andrew Bishop, is also an accomplished composer (though not on this recording) as admirably demonstrated through his deft handling of the thematic resources at hand. The other two members of the quartet are Kurt Krahnke on bass and Pete Siers on drums. They are joined on two tracks (“For That Which Was Living, Lost” and “Longing”) by Ingrid Jensen (Berklee College of Music, Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra) on flugelhorn...MORE...

The Britton Brothers Band - Uncertain Living

The Britton Brothers Band debut CD, Uncertain Living (Record Craft), makes a good first impression for brothers, Ben and John Britton. Although still working on their formal music education (Eastman School of Music and Manhattan School of Music) at the time of the recording, the Brittons had played together and with other established talents for many years providing them with the practical experience necessary to give Uncertain Living the seasoned polish of a more mature recording. They also wisely enlisted the talents (and name) of an acknowledged top-notch soloist, band leader and composer, saxophonist Chris Potter, on two of the eight tracks. The quintet includes, along with Ben on tenor sax and John on trumpet, Austin Walker on drums, Jeremy Siskind on piano and Taylor Waugh on bass. The music is composed by the Brittons with the two exceptions of “Come Thou Fount,” a traditional hymn by Asahel Nettleton and “June Humidity” by Siskind. The style is mainly traditional jazz with elements of swing and be-bop given new life by creative compositions, intelligent soloing and precise ensemble playing. All members of the quintet have connections through the Eastman School and the familiarity and common experience shows...MORE...

Steve Swell's Slammin' The Infinite - 5000 Poems

Trombonist Steve Swell’s latest release, 5000 Poems (Not Two Records), is the fourth from his quartet turned quintet, Slammin’ The Infinite in its seven year history. Swell has been performing for over 35 years and has performed with the big bands of Lionel Hampton, Buddy Rich and Anthony Braxton. Swell sees a connection between the ample palette of colors available in these large traditional jazz ensembles and the aural images painted by improvisational free jazz. Through association with the free jazz pioneer Cecil Taylor and the influence of New York experimental jazz purveyors such as William Parker, Swell discovered ways to bridge that gap and was propelled into the abstract expressionism of Slammin’ The Infinite and 5000 Poems. The CD’s title, from a Walt Whitman essay, refers to the ideal of an artist’s dedication to his craft and the importance of a proliferation of creative expressions whether fully formed and mature or fresh and raw, an apt description of 5000 Poems...MORE...

Gato Libre featuring Natsuki Tamura - Shiro

Shiro is the fourth CD release from jazz improv quartet Gato Libre. Natsuki Tamura, the group’s leader and trumpeter, is a native of Japan who first came to the United States in 1986 to study at Berklee College of Music and later at the nearby New England Conservatory of Music. Both he and his keyboardist wife, Satoko Fujii, have toured widely, recorded frequently and are the recipients of much popular and critical acclaim. The music of Gato Libre is, to say the least, uncommon.

 

The uniqueness of Gato Libre begins with the instrumentation. Satoko Fujii, normally a pianist, plays, by design, the accordion on Shiro. Tamura deliberately choose the accordion for its sustained melancholy. Kazuhiko Tsumura on guitar and Norikatsu Koreyasu on bass complete the quartet. The music of Tamura and Gato Libre is sometimes surprising, often intense and always inventive. It is at times lyrical and melodic and at other times bombastic and anarchical. What it is not is commonplace or predicable...MORE...