Holiday Jazz 2020: A world affair!

[Web master’s note: Northern California film critic Derrick Bang — the eldest, youngest and only son of this site’s primary jazz guru, Ric Bang — has surveyed the holiday jazz scene for 24 years, with lengthy columns that just keep growing. Check out previous columns by clicking on the CHRISTMAS label below.]

As a greater number of releases have become solely digital, it has gotten harder to separate the (rare) wheat from the (all too common) chaff. The primary reason is an absence of data. Most digital releases offer only a cover image, and nothing else, in the way of information. No little essay about or by the primary artist(s), no recording or mastering engineers, and — quite often — no instrument personnel. 

 

This is a frustrating a throwback to the early days of LPs, when (as but one example) several of Vince Guaraldi’s Fantasy albums failed to credit his sidemen. It was rude and unacceptable then, and it’s just as intolerable now.

 

I also mourn the loss of cdbaby’s online store, which ceased operation in March, in order to focus exclusively on helping artists to monetize and promote their music. Every album listed in the former store — whether digital or hard media — had its own page, with all the essential information one would expect from a detailed CD booklet. Visitors also could sample tracks from every entry.

 

Fortunately, iTunes, Spotify and Amazon still allow sampling.

 

Even so…

 

Little by little, it’s getting harder to “browse” music — as in the good ol’ days of record bins — looking for wonderful stuff that you won’t know you want, until you stumble across it.

 

This is progress?

 

I think not.

 

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New York-based pianist Ben Paterson is both a Steinway artist and winner of 2018’s inaugural Ellis Marsalis International Jazz Piano Competition. No surprise, then: He has serious keyboard chops. He also performs smoothly alongside bassist Luke Sellick and drummer Charles Goold, with whom he shares one of those symbiotic relationships that suggests mutual mind-reading. They’re a tight unit, and I’ll Be Thanking Santa is a terrific album.

 

Paterson is a generous leader, granting Sellick almost as much solo time as he takes himself. Sellick favors walking bass, and his licks are quite engaging on “O Tannenbaum” and “Winter Wonderland.” He also introduces the melody on “The Christmas Waltz” and subsequently dominates that tune.

 

Goold tends to be less visible, establishing solid rhythmic backing without calling attention to himself; it’s almost startling when he takes occasional drum solos, on “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” and “Winter Wonderland.”

 

I love Paterson’s solo introduction on a thoughtful reading of “The Christmas Song”; his keyboard work sounds like a series of melodic questions and answers. His contemplative solo handling of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” precisely captures the wistful tone Judy Garland gave that song, when she introduced it in 1944’s Meet Me in St. Louis.

 

“O Tannenbaum” is a groovy, mid-tempo toe-tapper that challenges listeners not to get up and boogie; the arrangement of “Christmas Time Is Here” is much peppier than usual, backed by driving rhythm that feels like a moving train. “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” emerges as a bossa nova sparkler, while the Tagalog carol “Pasko Na Naman” is transformed into a tango-esque swinger that builds to an aggressive climax by all three musicians. Paterson also is all over the keyboard during most of “Winter Wonderland”; it’s easy to see how he won that Marsalis competition.

 

Paterson includes two vocal originals. “Christmas, Won’t You  Stick Around for Awhile” is a wistful ode to those who can’t bear to see the holiday season conclude; “I’ll Be Thanking Santa” is a cheerier love song that acknowledges life’s truly most important gifts. Both tunes boast clever lyrics and rhymes; Paterson definitely could moonlight as a songwriter.

 

This album demands heavy rotation on your playlist.

 

Bill Cunliffe: BACHanalia

Metro Records
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: BACHanalia

This terrific album comes from Bill Cunliffe, one of the finest big band composers and arrangers in the modern jazz world. The music is performed by some of today’s best instrumentalists, and the result is a marvelous demonstration of what the “new” can do with the very “old.”

The core of this release is based on compositions by J.S. Bach, C.P.E. Bach, Sergei Prokofiev and Manuel de Falla. Cunliffe has taken several of their most famous works, rewritten and arranged them into big band charts, and then gathered the most disciplined and swinging jazz orchestra that has come down the pike in years.

Two dozen artists are involved; the basic unit consisted of 18 performers, although the sessions were mixed and matched so that each was used on one or more tracks. Cunliffe conducts and serves as pianist on everything, as does drummer Joe La Barbara. 

The “classic” tracks include J.S. Bach’s “Sleepers Wake” and “Goldberg Contraption”;

Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3, First Movement; C.P.E. Bach’s “Solfeggietto”; and de Falla’s “The Three-Cornered Hat.” 

Cunliffe’s re-writing and arranging is unbelievably excellent, and his keyboard skills are marvelous. The orchestral passages, support and instrumental solo work are mind-boggling. Pay particular attention to La Barbara; he’s a stupendous percussionist. He hits every emphatic phrase perfectly, has beautiful volume control, and drives the band like crazy.   

The other charts are equally great. A Cunliffe original (“Afluencia”) is joined by “Blame It on My Youth,” featuring trumpeter Terell Stafford and guitarist Larry Koonse; and “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” starring vocalist Denise Donatelli. She also contributes vocalese passages to several of the other charts; she has a gorgeous voice, hits every note dead-on, and is a true swinger.

This fantastic album is a must.

Todd Coolman & Trifecta: Collectables

Sunnyside Records
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: Collectables

The Trifecta is led by bassist Todd Coolman, supported by pianist Bill Cunliffe and drummer Dennis Mackrel. Their collective experience is impressive.

Coolman is a two-time Grammy Award winner who, during a 25-year career, has worked with Horace Silver, Gerry Mulligan, James Moody, Jon Faddis and many others. Cunliffe has played with Buddy Rich, Clayton Hamilton, Benny Golson, Ray Brown and more; Mackrel was hired by Count Basie, stayed with that band when Frank Foster took over as leader, and also joined the Dizzy Gillespie All-Stars and groups led by Buck Clayton.

The trio format demands excellent artists, and this album proves that these guys are among the best working today. The melodic lines often are carried by a pianist and a horn, but in this case the “horn” is the bass; Coolman not only provides a solid rhythm line, but is an outstanding melodic soloist. He works beautifully with Cunliffe, and lays down some of the finest solo passages I’ve ever heard. Along the way, Mackrel keeps  everything moving solidly.

The menu includes charts from the Great American Songbook — “You’re My Everything,” “Prelude to a Kiss,” “We’ll Be Together Again” — and a number of mid- to up-tempo arrangement by members of the trio. 

This group doesn’t produces “background music,”; this stuff grabs — and holds — our attention. One of my criteria long has been Is it music I’d enjoy hearing in a club that I attend regularly?  The answer is a rousing yes!

You’ll love these guys.

Lyn Stanley: Interludes

Self-produced
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: Interlude

This is a beautiful album, first-class in every way, starring a multi-talented woman graced with a flawless voice. 

But it isn’t true jazz.

Lyn Stanley is quite exceptional. She’s a college graduate with a PhD in communications, and a successful career in business. She has won championships in USA DanceSport, and placed third in a World ProAm event. She also has studied voice under coach Annette Warren Smith — famed jazz pianist Paul Smith’s wife — and is an audiophile fanatic. Stanley’s recordings have been released on high-end vinyl, SACD stereo and reel-to-reel tape.

(Incidentally, Stanley dedicated this album to Paul Smith.)

Interlude has a lot going for it, starting with 14 classics from the Great American Songbook, with excellent arrangements by some of the music world’s best. Additionally, the two bands supporting Stanley include some truly great artists: among others, pianist Bill Cunliffe, bassist Chuck Berghofer, trombonist Bob McChesney and guitarist John Chiodini.

Stanley’s voice is flawless: Her tone, range, enunciation, warmth and phrasing are superb, and she “sells” a song as well as anyone alive today. No surprise, she’s quite popular. Her albums sell in the tens of thousands globally, which — considering the relatively limited “buying audience” that exists for jazz today — is exceptional.

So, why the caveat regarding her style? Well, Stanley doesn’t swing like artists such as Anita O’Day, Kim Nazarian, Ella Fitzgerald or Billie Holliday. Stanley is more like Sarah Vaughn, although she could swing like crazy, when it suited her. (Remember her cover of “Cherokee”?)

Still, anyone who collaborates with the range of arrangers, producers and musicians assembled for this album — and her earlier releases — surely has a passport to the jazz genre, as far as I’m concerned. Call it what you will, this much is certain: Stanley is in a class by herself.

John LaBarbera Big Band: Caravan

Jazz Compass
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: Caravan

Thank goodness for musicians like John La Barbera ... and the rest of the La Barbera family! When I simply must get another “big band fix,” artists such as La Barbera get the same urge and produce an album like this one.

Let it be shouted from the rooftops: This is a “for real” big band. 

The five-man reed section comprises Brian Scanlon, on alto sax and flute; Pat La Barbera, on tenor and soprano sax; Rob Lockhart, on tenor sax and flute; Kim Richmond, on alto sax; and Bob Carr, on baritone sax and bass clarinet. The brass section features trumpeters Wayne Bergeron, Bob O’Donnell, Willie Murillo and Clay Jenkins; trombonists Les Benedict, Eric Hughes, Ryan Dragon and Ken Kugler (the latter on bass trombone); and a rhythm section of keyboard artist Bill Cunliffe, bassist Tom Warrington, drummer Joe La Barbera, and percussionist Aaron Serfaty. John La Barbera is the leader, arranger and composer, and three of the nine tunes on this menu are his.

The title song is a well-known Juan Tizol/Duke Ellington standard, as are Kenny Barron’s “Voyage” and McCoy Tyner’s “Atlantis.” All the charts swing wonderfully, and the solo work is generous and excellent.

It wasn’t even necessary to close my eyes, to make it feel like I had time-traveled back to the best of those great years, when this kind of ensemble jazz ruled the land.

Producing this kind of music merely (!) requires a blend of some well-known artists — the La Barberas, Clay Jenkins, Bill Cunliffe and Tom Warrington — and a generous helping of the myriad lesser-known, but equally talented artists who frequent the music-oriented schools and studios that are prevalent in cities such as Los Angeles and New York. The result is almost always great jazz. 

We don’t currently get as much of this large ensemble jazz as once was the case, but this album sure will do until the next big band era comes along. It’s mandatory that we support such music for now, so that it’ll survive until the next coming!

Joe La Barbera Quintet: Silver Streams

Jazz Compass
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: Silver Streams

During the years I’ve reviewed jazz releases, I’ve noticed that certain individuals often contribute to the albums I enjoy the most. Such players generally appear individually, as one of the sidemen in a group fronted by different leaders, but sometimes they'll perform together. Such is the case in this album: The “leader” is drummer Joe La Barbara, supported by bassist Tom Warrington, pianist Bill Cunliffe, trumpeter Clay Jenkins and reed master Bob Sheppard.

These artists have much in common: All obtained college degrees from schools famous for the jazz artists they have graduated; all are teachers who play jazz as a sideline; all compose and arrange; and all have extensive experience with famous "name" combos and orchestras (many were with these groups at the same time).

Jenkins has appeared with Stan Kenton, Buddy Rich, Harry James and Count Basie; Sheppard with Rich, Bob Florence and Chick Corea; Cunliffe with numerous artists, and with several of his own orchestras; Warrington with Rich, Florence, Peggy Lee and Freddie Hubbard; and La Barbara with Rich, Bill Evans and many, many others.

On top of which, these five musicians are all close friends, and they play together brilliantly. 

Two of the eight tracks were contributed by Cunliffe ("Afluencia" and "Silver Streams") and one  by La Barbara ("Monkey Tree"). The late Scott LaFaro, who played bass with Bill Evans for years, contributed "Jade Visions." The rest are standards by other jazz composers, and the common denominator is swing: They all groove wonderfully.

This is what results when a handful of great artists — who enjoy each other — get together: truly great jazz!

The Mark Masters Ensemble: Ellington Saxophone Encounters

Capri Records
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: Ellington Saxophone Encounters

Step into your time machine, fasten your seat belts, and settle back for a visit to the Duke Ellington era. 

Have you ever wondered what it would be like, if a modern musician were to wander onto the stage and sit in with one of the great bands of the past? Well, that’s what this album is all about. It’s a collection of tunes written by members of Duke’s bands, during the era when he reigned supreme, and played here by eight of today’s top artists: the Mark Masters Ensemble. 

This group’s instrumentation is unique: five reeds and a rhythm section consisting of piano, bass and drums. Each individual is famed, having spent a career working with top-level jazz groups. The baritone sax is held by the award-winning Gary Smulyan; the other reed players — each fluent with clarinet, alto, tenor and flute — are Gary Foster, Pete Christlieb, Gene Cipriano and Don Shelton. The supporting rhythm section features pianist Bill Cunliffe, bassist Tom Warrington and drummer Joe LaBarbera. Leader Mark Masters is responsible for the arrangements.

The Ellington artists who contributed the tunes — all part of Duke’s library over the years — include Johnny Hodges, Paul Gonsalves, Harry Carney, Jimmy Hamilton and Ben Webster. All are Jazz Hall of Fame members. 

Hodges composed “Esquire Swank,” “Lawrence Brown Blues,” Used to Be Duke,” “Jeep’s Blues” and “Peaches.” Gonsalves did “The Line Up” and “The Happening”; Carney contributed “We’re in Love Again” and “Rockin’ in Rhythm”; Hamilton gave us “Ultra Blue” and “Get Ready”; and Webster wrote “Love’s Away.” You may not know some of the titles, but you’ll recognize the melodies. As was the case with many of the tunes in his book, Ellington often  played a role in the end result, as a “co-composer.”

You’ll swear it’s Duke’s wonderful band from the first bar of the lead track, “Esquire Swank.” Close your eyes, and you’ve time- and place-shifted back to one of the great 1940s ballrooms. The same can be said of all these tracks: This is, indeed, an encounter of a most magical kind.

It’s an ensemble and album to die for.

Holiday Jazz 2012: Swing Ye Noel!

By Derrick Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 12.11.12

[Web master’s note: Northern California film critic Derrick Bang — still the eldest, youngest and only son of this site’s jazz guru, Ric Bang — has surveyed the holiday jazz scene for roughly 17 years, with lengthy columns that just keep growing. Check out previous columns by clicking on the CHRISTMAS label below.]

It’s getting harder to find this stuff.

Time was, I’d start haunting the holiday section at music stores shortly before Thanksgiving; the better brick-and-mortar outlets would be laden, with some even giving holiday jazz its own sub-category. Berkeley’s marvelous Amoeba Music continues that practice to this day, and therefore remains an essential part of my annual December rituals.

Closer to home, alas, the options aren’t nearly as diverse. Or rewarding.

Which brings us to the ever-more-ubiquitous online alternative. Although Amazon’s search engines continue to improve, one still can’t get reliable results from the phrases “Christmas jazz,” “holiday jazz” or similar choices. CDBaby is a bit better, although I still wade through a lot of non-jazz while hunting for the good stuff. Sadly, EJazzlines.com, once a great source for hard-to-find holiday jazz, no longer sells CDs.

On the other hand, being able to hear samples — at both Amazon and CDBaby — is a treasure.

Take comfort, then, from the fact that I’ve done the legwork and returned with tidings of jazzy comfort and joy. Patience may have been required, but it turned out to be a good year. Nog those eggs, don a Santa hat and prepare to swing!

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The season’s prize is a 2011 release that arrived too late for last year’s column: the Marcus Roberts Trio’s Celebrating Christmas (J-Master Records). This is what jazz is all about: a tightly arranged melodic dance between Roberts, on piano; Rodney Jordan, bass; and Jason Marsalis, drums.

I’m hard-pressed to cite a favorite track, although this group’s inventive approach to “The Twelve Days of Christmas” is first among equals: The tune, often redundant as an instrumental, is delivered here in 12 different styles, and with each day represented by one of the 12 major keys. That’s simply brilliant.

The trio’s handling of “Little Drummer Boy” is equally clever, with Marsalis establishing a peppy march beat that Roberts initially refuses to follow, choosing instead to play “behind” the beat at a much slower tempo. Roberts gradually picks up speed as the song continues, until finally all three musicians are in synch.

Jordan’s walking bass is the highlight of a velvet-smooth “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” and he also dominates a short but deliciously whimsical cover of “Frosty, the Snowman.” “Let It Snow” has a south-of-the-border ambiance, with some great keyboard wandering and another nice bass solo.

“Winter Wonderland” blends striking percussion with Roberts’ New Orleans grease; “Jingle Bells” has a similar bouncy, New Orleans-style strut, with some more fabulous bass and drums action. This cut features one of Roberts’ many signatures: He fails to complete the line as the song concludes, leaving us a few chords shy.

“Silent Night” is delivered at a slow 6/4, with an achingly sweet call-and-response between piano and bass; later in the song, Roberts delivers similar counterpoint between his left and right hands. Sheer genius.

Three tracks are solo piano: “We Three Kings,” “O Come All Ye Faithful” and “Joy to the World.” Each is slow, deliberate and lyrical: a bit extemporaneous, with a touch of ragtime on “Joy to the World.” Stylistically, these evoke memories of Roberts’ earlier Christmas release, 1991’s “Prayer for Peace,” a solo keyboard album that was far more solemn.

“Celebrating Christmas,” in great contrast, is lively, vibrant and fun: an album that demands close attention because it’s so creative and joyous.

Mark Sherman: The L.A. Sessions

Miles High Records
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: The L.A. Sessions

Bebop fans will enjoy this album. It’s not the frenetic kind of bop that dazzled the jazz world back in the day; it’s more “polite” ... but it swings just as much. 

Sherman began his career as a drummer, switched to piano and then the vibraphone. He’s also a prolific composer. Although jazz is his first love, he has extensive experience with classical orchestras and is on a first-call basis with many name vocalists.

Pianist/arranger/composer Bill Cunliffe switches gears and plays B3 Hammond organ here. Early in his career, he toured with Buddy Rich and Frank Sinatra and, after moving to the West Coast, worked with icons such as Ray Brown. Cunliffe has written scores for films, TV and other orchestras, including his own magnificent big band.

Guitarist John Chiodini is world-famous. He was a member of the Boston Pops Orchestra, under Arthur Fiedler, in the 1960s and ’70s. After moving to Los Angeles, Chiodini toured, wrote and recorded with both jazz groups and name vocalists such as Peggy Lee, Tony Bennett and Shirley Horne.

         

Drummer Charles Ruggiero was a member of the New York City jazz scene for several years; he landed a gig with Chuck Mangione, toured with Marilyn Manson and is an in-demand sideman.

It’s clear that this group enjoyed revisiting the bebop era. Many well-known bop standards are included here: Dizzy Gillespie’s “Woody ’n You,” Milt Jackson’s “Bag’s Groove,” Charlie Parker’s “Quasimodo,” Benny Golson’s “Whisper Not” and others. Sherman also contributes an original (“Far Away”), and the group puts a new polish on Burke & Van Heusen’s “It Could Happen to You.”

This is a neat album. It’ll bring back a lot of memories and demonstrate that what was exciting years ago, still can get your pulse pounding today.

Holly Hoffman and Bill Cunliffe: Three's Company

Capri Records
By Ric Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 6.3.10
Buy CD: Three's Company

Regular readers know that I lean toward hard-swinging instrumental and vocal jazz performers. That said, an album comes along every so often that — while not in my desired category — is intriguing enough to get noticed. Such is the case with this one.

Pianist Bill Cunliffe began as a classical musician, then expanded his horizons to include jazz; flutist Holly Hoffman followed the same path. Both also are composers and arrangers, and have known each other, and worked together, for more than 20 years. This duet album is their third.

They modified their usual instrumentation for this session. Four of the tunes are piano/flute duets, while the rest employ guest artists to produce unusual trios: two “horns” and piano; flute, violin and piano; and flute, piano and drums. The result is quite tasteful chamber jazz.

The guests include violinist Regina Carter, clarinetist Ken Peplowski, trumpeter Terell Stafford and drummer Alvester Garnett. The selections aren't free-for-alls; they're carefully arranged and quite musical, and they swing gently. Cunliffe composed half of them, while Hoffman wrote one; the others are covers of songs by Burton Lane, Billy Strayhorn and Gabriel Faure.

The resulting album is innovative, beautifully executed and genteel.

Bill Cunliffe: The Blues and the Abstract Truth, Take 2

Resonance Records
By Ric Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 4.2.09
Buy CD: The Blues and the Abstract Truth, Take 2

Oliver Nelson lived, and performed, during the key years of jazz.

Like many of his peers, he left us all too soon — born in 1932, died in '75 — but his contributions during that short span made him a legend. He played sax as an instrumentalist, but he was better known as a composer and arranger. He worked with many name bands during his life — Quincy Jones, as a notable example — but the classic album he released in 1961 made him famous: The Blues and the Abstract Truth.

Jazz musicians consider it in the same light as the tablets Moses brought down from the mountain. Nelson's album contained just six of his blues compositions, and they all became standards.

Pianist Bill Cunliffe, famous in his own right, is one of Nelson's disciples. Some time ago, Paul Lines, who runs the Pasadena Jazz Institute, suggested that Cunliffe should write some charts based on Nelson's album; the pianist did so, and he performed them at The Vic, a Santa Monica jazz club.

That session was taped by George Klabin, who later started Resonance Records. This album is the result; Cunliffe rearranged the six original blues and added two of his own compositions.

He has wrought a new classic.

The Take 2 band consists of trumpeters Terell Stafford and Larry Lunetta; trombonist Andy Martin; saxists Jeff Clayton, Bob Sheppard and Brian Scanlon; bassist Tom Warrington; drummer Mark Ferber; and Cunliffe on piano. It's a truly delightful group. The arrangements are excellent, as are all the instrumentalists.

The unit swings wonderfully, and Cunliffe has a lot to do with that; his solos are great, but the way he lays down chords — to back the melodic lines and other soloists — is exceptional.

This is the best album I've reviewed so far this year.

Rob Lockart: Parallel Lives

Origin Arts
By Ric Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 4.3.08
Buy CD: Parallel Lives

Rob Lockart is Texas born and educated at the University of Texas' Eastman School Of Music; he completed studies at the Banf School. He has lived and worked in New Orleans, New York and Los Angeles, where he now resides and teaches. 

His musical experience includes jobs with the Woody Herman Orchestra, Doc Severinson's Big Band and performances with numerous smaller groups headed by well-known artists such as Clark Terry, Joe La Barbera and Mel Lewis. Lockart currently is an active member of both the Chris Walden Big Band and the Woody Herman West Coast Band. 

Lockart has recorded several albums with the Walden group, but this is the first release under his own name. 

He's an excellent tenor sax artist, composer and arranger, having written all but two of the tunes here. The basic quartet consists of Lockart on tenor sax, Bill Cunliffe on piano, Jeff DiAngelo on bass, and Joe La Barbera on drums. Bob Sheppard plays tenor sax on one track, while guitarist Larry Koonse guests on another. 

All the musicians are well known and highly regarded, and their contributions are key to making Lockart's debut release a success. The group is quiet, thoughtful and swings wonderfully. 

Lockart has been a sideman with many great bands but, as a result, hasn't received the recognition he deserves. Whether he decided to take the step himself, or was talked into it, this debut is outstanding. 

Another reviewer mentioned that Lockart's cover of the old standard "All or Nothing at All" is so moving that it's hard to move forward through the rest of the tracks. I agree, and I wish I'd said it first. 

But do listen to everything; it's all prime.