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.

Joe Locke Geoffrey Keezer Group: Live in Seattle

Origin Records
By Ric Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 2.1.07
Buy CD: Live in Seattle

This CD presents the 2005 award-winning concert — and U.S. debut — of the Joe Locke and Geoffrey Keezer quartet. Until recently, this group toured only in Japan, although it made two recordings for the Sony "Eighty-Eight" series label. 

But even a cursory look at the leaders' backgrounds and experience will reveal that we're dealing with a pair of Wunderkinds. 

Locke plays vibes and has long been recognized as the heir apparent to Milt Jackson. By the age of 17, Locke had played with the likes of Dizzy Gillespie and had moved from the West Coast to New York City. His experience is almost unbelievable for his age: He has produced more than 20 CDs with his own groups, and has been a sideman on 65 others. 

Keezer started to play piano at age 3 and, just out of high school, joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. 

Then Locke and Keezer met. 

They've toured extensively ever since, numerous times in Japan and Russia and — as this review is written — Italy. Many of their CDs were produced in those countries and aren't readily available in the United States. Worse yet, a fast Internet search revealed that many of these foreign disks are priced in the $40-$100 range ... yikes! 

Empty your bank account anyway. 

This quartet must be telepathic. The ensemble work is complex and often played at accelerated tempos, but the interplay between members is unbelievable. Mike Pope (acoustic and electric bass) and Terreon Gully (drums) sound as if they've been with the group since its inception; every note they play adds, never subtracts. 

Additionally, the solo work is backed up by the other instruments without creating a shambles. I've heard only a few groups that can do that successfully; the Modern Jazz Quartet comes to mind. 

Six of the seven tracks are originals, written by either Locke or Keezer; James Taylor's "Native Son" is the only interloper. 

This is true concert jazz. You can't dance to it, nor would you want to. It's modern, not straight-ahead, and at times pushes the envelope ... but the more you hear, the better it sounds. The technical work — recording and mixing — is excellent, particularly since the performance was recorded live. 

This is a remarkable group with superior musicians. Enjoy!

Rick Culver Trio: I'm Old Fashioned

Sea Breeze
By Ric Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 2.1.07
Buy CD: I'm Old Fashioned

Trombonist Rick Culver, who began playing when he was 10, decided right then that music would be his life. 

When he was old enough, he joined the Army and spent three years with the Army Field Band. He then earned a master's degree from Juilliard, and followed that with another master's from Michigan State University. 

Culver subsequently moved to Los Angeles and, for more than 18 years, was immersed in the West Coast jazz scene and became a "made" musician. He played in many of the great groups, including those fronted by Buddy Rich, Woody Herman and Bob Florence. Culver then returned to Michigan, where he teaches, writes and plays with his own trio (Jeff Kressler on piano, Nick Calandro on bass). 

All 14 tracks on this CD were arranged by Culver, who also wrote eight of them. One might worry, because of a trio's limited instrumentation, that this could make for boring listening. That's definitely not the case. 

The selections include four of the wonderful old standards that my generation grew up with — "I'm Old Fashioned," "Darn That Dream," "If I Had You" and "Emily" — each done beautifully. 

Then Culver takes a chunk of Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 in E minor ("Going Home") and turns it into a neat little mid-tempo swinger. 

My favorite track is a new take — and sweet piano solo — on a really early jazz form, "Late Life Rag." 

Even "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town," although unseasonable, will have you dusting off the ornaments. 

You'll play this album again and again, thanks to the combination of melodies and tempos, and the talent of the trio members. Culver's trombone work is silky-smooth and unforced; he's a master. Kressler's piano is just right for a trio, with his innovative solos and wonderful back-up for the ensemble passages. 

Calandro is excellent on bass, and his solo work is on par with the best I've heard on this instrument. He really drives this group; he has a wonderful beat, with delicate and accurate fingering. 

I haven't yet heard Culver's Painted Scarves, also available on CD, but it just hit my "must have" list.

Larry Koonse and Darek Oleszkiewicz: Storybook

Jazz Compass
By Ric Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 2.1.07
Buy CD: Storybook

This column's regular readers know I'm a huge fan of guitarist Larry Koonse. 

Storybook, the newest release by this gifted artist — in collaboration with bassist Darek Oleszkiewicz and percussionist Munyungo Jackson — reinforces my conviction that Koonse is, very simply, the best. 

He wrote six of this album's 10 tracks; the remaining four are by Oleszkiewicz, one of the most lyrical bassists I've ever heard. 

Jackson is a perfect choice on percussion; he quietly supports and never intrudes. 

Storybook presents a beautiful potpourri of low-key jazz stylings. It begins with a short, moving "Vignette," done in a classical Spanish style, then moves into "For Chopin," with the guitar taking the place of the harpsichord. "Between Nowhere and Goodbye" is an extension of the Chopin-like theme, with the bass and guitar exchanging passages. 

The ballad-like "Candle," with its 5/4 feel, features Oleszkiewicz; his slow-tempo solo work is masterful. 

Because of the relatively long length of that instrument's strings, it's difficult to place the finger at the exact position that'll result in the actual note desired. 

As a result, most bassists don't try to hit that position initially; they'll purposely contact the string in a lower (flat) location, then slide the finger up to reach the perfect note. Indeed, that technique — known as "bending" — is standard in jazz. 

Well, when Oleszkiewicz wants to hit a note perfectly, he hits it ... no bending, just square on. This beautifully augments his solos and permits him to play a lyrical melodic line. 

Each track echoes another melodic style: "Island Song" and "Beautiful Eyes" take us to the islands; "Seventh Heaven" and "Harlequin" move us to Spain; "Senegal Trance Dance" is an African sojourn; and we return home with the pensive "Valentine." 

This is a beautiful, wonderfully produced album. The music won't make you want to dance, but you'll never get tired of listening to it. The interplay between bass and guitar is intricate, precise, lyrical and almost hypnotic. 

Storybook is a perfect demonstration of a jazz form that doesn't blow you away, but there's no denying that it's jazz.

Holiday Jazz 2006: Yule be swingin'

By Derrick Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 12.7.06


[Web master’s note: Northern California film critic Derrick Bang — the eldest, youngest and only son of this site’s jazz guru, Ric Bang — has surveyed the holiday jazz scene for roughly 11 years, with lengthy columns that just keep growing.]

Researching this annual round-up just became a bit harder.

Whatever the chain’s other vices and virtues, Tower Records always displayed an impressive selection of seasonal music, and — at Sacramento’s Watt Avenue outlet — even divided the releases by genre. Flipping through discs to find new holiday jazz releases was an annual treat, and one I greatly anticipated each November.

But now, with Tower gone, my only local option is Borders. I’ve nothing but praise for their variety of books, but the music section has needed serious help for quite some time; it appears as if nobody even bothers to alphabetize the discs in many sections, let alone divide by sub-category. Have you ever tried to find a soundtrack in that mess?

Fortunately, the still-cherished “search the bins” experience remains a possibility, albeit with a bit more planning. Berkeley’s Amoeba Music sets up a dynamite display of holiday music in late November, and those folks also stock an impressive supply of used CDs and — wait for it — even LPs.

I call it paradise.

Even a visit to Amoeba, however, didn’t reveal all that much in the way of 2006 holiday jazz releases, which makes me wonder if the last decade’s “soft jazz”-inspired deluge finally might be receding. One year does not a trend make, but I am surprised by the relative scarcity of new material.

Thank goodness for the Internet, and for below-the-radar Web outlets such as cdbaby and ejazzlines.com. I’ve long shouted the joys of cdbaby, but ejazzlines is new to me this year ... and they even have a special section wholly devoted to Christmas jazz.

Thanks to such resources, I found quite a few recent and even older CDs to round out this yearly celebration of holiday jazz. As usual, an initially reasonable article therefore blossomed into a monster of redwood status, and I’ll be mightily impressed by anybody who keeps reading to the bitter end.

But the journey, as the say, is reason enough. I had my usual good time with all this music, and I hope some of it winds up in your home, as well.

Those who’ve grown tired of the same old-same old in seasonal jazz will want to run, not walk, to find a copy of the Classical Jazz Quartet’s Christmas (Kind of Blue 10014). This positively sublime album features some of today’s finest jazz stars: Kenny Barron on piano, Ron Carter on bass, Stefon Harris on vibes and marimba, and Lewis Nash on drums.

And you won’t find a trace of Rudolph, Frosty or the Chipmunks.

As befits the ensemble’s name, these guys have compiled an album of classically hued tracks: two stand-alone pieces — the “Hallelujah” from Handel’s Messiah, and Bach’s “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” — and an ambitious, six-movement arrangement of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker.

The overall tone may be on the occasionally solemn side, but the jazz chops are magnificent. Harris struts his stuff with a dynamic interpretation of the melody line from Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus”; he yields to Barron’s equally vigorous piano work, and then the entire quartet goes to town.

Bach comes next: Carter gently plucks the opening melody, which expands to include both piano and vibes until kicking into high gear after another minute or so. Many Christmas jazz albums serve nicely as background music, but you can’t help but pay close attention to these four guys; musicians who complement each other so well demand a listener’s full concentration.

As for the nearly 40-minute “Nutcracker,” all I can say is wow. The second movement — the “March” — is particularly delightful.

I’d love to have been in the studio while this album was recorded, because these guys clearly had a great time. And they just might help sway that Bach, Beethoven and Mozart-oriented friend of yours, who hasn’t yet found a reason to like jazz.

Liam Sillery Quintet: Minor Changes

OA2 Records
By Ric Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 3.16.06
Buy CD: Minor Changes

Liam Sillery is relatively unknown outside the New Jersey/New York area. He was born in a New Jersey suburb; attended the University of South Florida, where he received a bachelor's degree in music; then settled in New York and became exposed to jazz via artists such as Joe Henderson and Red Rodney. 

Sillery worked in that arena for 10 years, attending the Manhattan School of Music in his spare time. 

When I first played this CD, I thought I'd accidentally chosen an older, 1960s-vintage disc from my collection. This quintet's instrumentation is the standard trumpet/flugelhorn, tenor sax, piano, bass and drums that was so popular in that era. 

The ensemble work features trumpet and sax playing the primary theme in unison, and then each musician gets a solo before the track ends by revisiting the primary theme. The CD has seven tracks, six originals — written by Sillery — and one old standard ("You Are So Beautiful"). 

Except for the latter, which is a trumpet solo, each follows the above-mentioned unison/solos/ unison treatment. That becomes monotonous after awhile. 

The musicians are competent and relaxed, and they've obviously played together for a long time. 

But their solo work never rises above average, and that's also true of Sillery. He sounds like a blend of Chet Baker and Red Rodney (an early influence), but never wanders into Rodney's hard-bop style. 

That makes the group pleasant, but dated. You wouldn't take this CD off the changer if you walked into a room, but I doubt you'd play it again.

Chick Corea: The Ultimate Adventure

Concord Records
By Ric Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 3.16.06
Buy CD: The Ultimate Adventure

Chick Corea is one of the jazz field's most widely experienced and prolific musicians and composers. It's difficult to name a jazz great he hasn't played with and been influenced by, or a style he hasn't visited. 

He was born in the early 1940s, at the beginning of the bop era, so his initial catalysts were Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker and pianists Bud Powell and Horace Silver. 

Then Bill Evans arrived on the scene, and Corea's world expanded. He subsequently delivered exquisite free, jazz-rock, fusion, Latin, funk and classical recordings, and was one of the first to provide a distinctive, personalized sound with electric as well as acoustic instruments. 

Corea played free jazz with the Miles Davis groups, Latin jazz with Mongo Santamaria and Willie Bobo, then teamed up with Blue Mitchell and Stan Getz, and finally rejoined Miles, whom he left in the '70s, to form the first of his own groups. Corea changed direction many times during this period, beginning as an acoustic jazz-rock unit with an Afro-Latin bent, becoming a propulsive fusion band with a decided rock tilt, then transforming into a pop unit with a New Age feel. 

Since then, Corea has concentrated on his Elektric and Touchstone bands, the latter of which is featured on this Concord release. 

Corea has had a "lifelong connection with L. Ron Hubbard's works." Because one of Hubbard's stories had a southern Spain-northern Africa-Arabian background, Corea was prompted to compose the tunes included in this CD. 

"Three Ghouls" is a suite that begins with Bartok, moves through a groove section featuring flute and Fender Rhodes electric piano, and closes with a Latin-influenced jam with a hand-clap undercurrent. "Queen Tedmur" and "King & Queen" introduce a theme for the book's two romantic characters, then moves into the "Moseb the Executioner" suite. The "story" concludes with eight melodic lines, featuring the various members of the Touchstone group playing flute, bass, drums and Corea's Fender Rhodes piano. 

If the Hubbard story ever is made into a movie, they'll already have the perfect soundtrack.