Clarity: Unhinged Sextet

OA2 Records
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: Clarity

In the beginning, jazz was a “blue-collar” profession. Most artists hadn’t earned more than a high school education; some went on the road without even that degree, although many continued studies after completing their early careers. That isn’t the case today; artist biographies often contain references to colleges and universities that offer advanced degrees up to the doctoral level. 

Consider the sextet Clarity: Every member has one or more degrees, and each is associated with advanced teaching institutions, as a member of the faculty at organizations throughout the country.

Pianist Michael Kocour is an associate professor and Director of Jazz Studies at Arizona State University, in Tempe; he also holds a degree in mathematics from the University of Illinois. Woodwinds player Will Campbell is Director of Jazz Studies and Associate Director of Saxophone at the University of North Carolina. Saxophonist Matt Olson is associate professor of saxophone, and Director of Jazz Studies at South Carolina’s Furman University. 

Trumpeter Vern Sielert has a PhD and teaches at the University of Idaho. Bassist Jon Hamar teaches at Central Washington University, Northwest University, and Edmonds Community Colleges in Washington. Drummer Dom Moio also is on the faculty at Arizona State University, along with a position at Mesa Community College. 

On top of which, all of these guys have worked with many, many name artists.

This, Clarity’s debut album, features a blend of bop and straight-ahead jazz; all concerned excel at it. The 12 tracks are composed/arranged by the various members of the band. With respect to meter, there’s something for everyone: “Unhinged” is a hard bop  flag-waver, and “Watch Out of the Way” is another burner. “Clarity” and “Leaving Soon” are ballads, and the rest are mid-tempo swingers.

The melodic lines are memorable, and the ensemble passages are cohesive. The solo work is some of the best I’ve heard; these fellas are true masters of their instruments.

This is “thinking jazz”: what results when it’s done by artists who’ve spent their lives living with — and teaching — music that they obviously love.

Chris Amemiya: In the Rain Shadow

OA2 Records
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: In the Rain Shadow

There’s a Chris Amemiya who plays trombone, has performed with combos and big bands in Hawaii (his birth place), Boston and Seattle, and has formed the swinging sextet featured on this release. 

There’s also a Chris Amemiya who completed his college undergraduate degree at Purdue University, obtained a PhD in genetics at Texas A&M, received an Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship in molecular studies, completed postdoctoral studies in comparative immunology at the Tampa Bay Research Institute, and another postdoctoral fellowship working on the Human Genome Project at the Livermore National Laboratory ... not to mention several other teaching projects. Oh yes, and is a full professor in the biology department at the University of Washington. 

Believe it or not, they’re one and the same guy.

I’m concerned here with his musical alter ego, of course, as a Doctor of Jazz. Amamiya’s first instrument during high school was the euphonium, but by the time he hit college he had switched to trombone. Although his career in science took top priority, he never stopped playing and was hooked on jazz early on. He performed with jazz, blues, salsa and R&B groups, recorded jingles, and ultimately formed his Jazz Coalescence sextet in 2006; that’s the straight-ahead unit featured on this album.

The members include Jay Thomas, a multi-instrumentalist who plays trumpet and flugelhorn on this release, but also is fluent on the reed instruments and flute; Travis Ranney, on alto and tenor sax; John Hansen, on piano; Jon Hamar, on bass; and Steve Korn, on drums. Amemiya handles the trombone chores. 

All these players are key elements in the Seattle/Pacific Northwest jazz scene: first-class musicians who have played with many bands as sidemen and/or leaders. In this unit, their melding is particularly noteworthy. 

One of the primary goals for this sextet was to be a group that not only worked well together (“coalesced”), but featured artists who could produce great solos. To that end, the average running time for the tunes exceeds 10 minutes, which provides space for clever ensemble work and solos by all six musicians. Eight composers are represented; in several cases, arrangements are by members of the group. 

My favorite track is Eubie Blake’s 1930s hit, “Memories of You,” which is given a complete overhaul and a grooving meter. Sammy Fain’s “Secret Love” is another seldom-heard melody that glistens anew.  

In fact, everything on the menu is a winner. 

Jon Hamar: Hymn

Origin Arts
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: Hymn

Bassist Jon Hamar is another of the many excellent jazz artists based in the Seattle area. The Washington state native began to play the acoustic bass as an 11-year-old, and added the electric instrument a year later. He earned a bachelor’s degree in classical double bass performance from Eastern Washington University, followed by a master’s degree in jazz and contemporary media from Eastman University. 

Hamar moved to Seattle in 2001, where he became a fixture in the thriving jazz scene.

In addition to his involvement with many Pacific Northwest orchestras and combos, he teaches at several state universities and colleges; his prowess as an instructor is best indicated by the fact that many of his former students have been accepted by the prestigious Eastman School Of Music for advanced studies.

The trio used in this album is quite unusual: Hamar is the bassist; Geoffrey Keezer plays piano and Rhodes; and Todd DelGiudice is on alto sax. That combination, initially used at a jazz festival, intrigued Hamar; he recalls thinking, “This could work out, if everybody has a similar time concept”.  He discussed the idea with bassist John Patitucci, who opined that the choice of pianist would be crucial; Keezer’s name headed his list of potential candidates. 

The more Hamar thought about it, the more excited he got; he composed several trial tunes for that instrumental grouping, then contacted Keezer, who reacted positively. Hamar already was familiar with DelGiudice, who had worked with the likes of Woody Herman, Maria Schneider and Ray Charles. As a result, as Sherlock Holmes would have put it, the game was afoot.

  

Half of the dozen tracks in this album are Hamar compositions, the rest are arrangements of tunes written by other artists. Chinese pianist Xia Jia, whom Hamar met at Eastman, wrote “Tea”; and Steve Swallow’s “Falling Grace” is a jazz standard, as are Coltrane’s “Giant Steps,” Jimmy Van Huesen’s “It Could Happen to You” and Billy Strayhorn’s “Isfahan.” The styles range from ballads, tone poems and traditional melodies to grooving tunes such as “The Big Fat Hen.” The common thread is the scintillating performance provided by the trio members. 

Hamar was right: Everything did work out, and the result is some of the most tasty jazz I’ve hear in years.

Brian Owen: Unmei

OA2 Records
By Ric Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 2.1.07
Buy CD: Unmei

And yet another young lion enters the jazz arena. 

Trumpeter, composer and arranger Brian Owen, born and raised in Everett, Wash., is in his early 20s ... and always has been in a hurry. 

He took advantage of the Running Start program and finished high school and community college simultaneously. While attending Central Washington University, he became immersed in music, playing in symphony orchestras, big bands and small club groups. Because of the limited opportunities available in jazz, he worked on a cruise ship, beginning as a sideman on one of the luxury liners and progressing to become musical director of all the bands employed by the Carnival line. 

During layovers in Seattle, the home port, Owen (trumpet/flugelhorn) formed the quintet that is the core of the group featured on this CD; he's joined by John Hansen (piano), Jon Hamar (bass), Phil Parisot (drums) and Jay Thomas (tenor sax). Steve Treseler (alto sax) and Nathan Vetter (trombone) were added for the title track. 

This is Owen's debut CD, and he composed and arranged all the songs. Some reviewers consider that a "negative" factor for an unknown band, since such collections feature no familiar or "standard" tunes that the listener can compare to arrangements by other artists. Be that as it may, Owen is as interested in exposing us to his composer/arranger skills, as he is to his band. 

Like many new groups today, Owen's form of jazz is super-arranged. Most of the ensemble passages are not played in single-note unison, but as harmonic progressions. In addition, the meter usually isn't the standard 4/4, and it often changes as the tune progresses. That's certainly more interesting, but such a technique increases the need to listen more carefully, to appreciate what's going on. 

And such music usually is presented in concert format, rather than in a lounge or club environment. 

"Perkoosha 3" is typical; the meter varies from 5/4 to 6/4, and the tune is written in what musicians describe as an AABAC format: The intro (A) is played and then repeated, followed by a different chorus (B) and then back (A), before concluding with an "outro" (C). 

"Last Mountain" also is performed in an unusual manner, with a nine-bar phrase that keeps the musicians — and listeners — on their toes. The title track utilizes unusual progressions; "Train Chase" plays with harmonic progressions. 

"The Take House" is almost straight-ahead jazz, done in a 4/4 meter and with tasty solos by each member of the quintet. "Mitsuda's Walk" and "Waltz for Aska" have an Asian feel; the latter was done for Owens' wife. 

This is an impressive first release for a very promising group. Unmei is the Japanese word for "destiny," and it'll be a pleasure to hear these guys develop.