Sheryl Bailey: For All Those Living

PureMusic Records
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: For All Those Living

Unless you’re a really avid guitar fan, or spend time in the New York City area, you likely don't know about Sheryl Bailey. She's a relatively young artist who usually plays with small groups and is more interested in making music than becoming a name.

Today's electronic technology has made it remarkably easy to record music, and it isn't much more difficult to self-release an album. That's both an advantage and a curse; you don't need a contract with a recording company, or even a manager, but it's much more difficult to establish a presence and get publicity.

Bailey composes her own tunes, and has her own recording studio and record company. This is her newest release.

The first few bars of the first track are enough to prove that we're listening to a master of the instrument. Bailey's technique is excellent, and she's in complete control at all times. Her ability to produce background chord structure, while maintaining melodic lines, is outstanding. She enjoys and performs a wide range of jazz genres, from traditional through bop.

The backing trio — pianist Jim Ridi, bassist Gary Wang and drummer Shingo Okudaira — provides a solid foundation without interfering with the smooth musical content that Bailey lays down. Her menu covers all tempos, including solid swingers and balladic "memorials" to other artists who've influenced her.

Those who love guitar will want this album.

Cinzia Spata: Into the Moment

Koine Records
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: Into the Moment

Cinzia Spata may be new to U.S. jazz fans, but this Italian-born artist is an internationally acclaimed vocalist. Actually, she’s much more than just a vocalist; she composes, arranges and writes lyrics. She regards her voice as an instrument, and uses it as such. Although this album is the first she has recorded in the States, it’s her third as a leader, and it’s a swinging joy!

The first indicator of a vocalist's quality is the caliber of the supporting musicians. The artists in Spata's supporting quintet are superior, and most of them are — or have been — associated with the prestigious Berklee College. They include Bruce Barth on piano, Dave Clark on bass, Yoron Israel on drums, Ken Cervenka on trumpet and flugelhorn, and George Garzone playing tenor sax. This group, by itself, is one of best combos I’ve heard in a long time.

When joined by Spata, the result is a great, great album.

Many jazz genres are represented in the menu. Spata scats with the best — just listen to "Questar" and "Carlos" — and her expanded vocal range is evident on her cooking version of "My Favorite Things."

I've generally found that singers who scat can't always do ballads beautifully, but that’s not the case with Spata; her performances on the lovely "Widow in the Window" and "Soul Eyes" are quite moving. And I particularly enjoyed two lesser-known tracks: Bill Evans’ "Very Early" and Charles Mingus’ take on Duke Ellington’s "Sounds of Love."

Nor can I ignore Spata's version of "Tea for Two." I never expected to hear anything on par with Anita O’Day’s performance of this song at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival, but Spata's take matches it.

What an opening act for an entry onto the U.S. jazz stage. Spata is a keeper.

The Walt Weiskopf Quartet: Live

Capri Records
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: Walt Weiskopf Quartet Live

Walt Weiskopf is one of today's many multi-talented musicians; he plays tenor sax and clarinet, composes, arranges, teaches and is a writer. He joined the Buddy Rich band when he was just 21, after earning a bachelor of arts degree from the prestigious Eastman College. Then, just a few years later, he began a 14-year relationship with Toshiko Akiyoshi and her big band, touring throughout the United States, Japan and Europe.

Weiskopf continued studying during this period, and earned a master's degree from Queens College. He added the clarinet to his arsenal and began to play extensively with classical orchestras. In 2002, he became a member of the Eastman College faculty.

This is the first live concert album Weiskopf has released. His quartet —pianist Renee Rosnes, bassist Paul Gill and drummer Tony Reedus — performed at the University of South Carolina's Koger Hall. Although the concert was recorded, Weiskopf hadn't planned to release a CD commercially. But when Reedus died unexpectedly shortly after that performance, Weiskopf decided to issue the album as a tribute.

Weiskopf isn’t new to me; I’ve always been impressed by his originality and technique, and he doesn’t disappoint here. Weiskopf composed four of the tracks and arranged the remaining tunes: a traditional Scottish folk song and a couple of standards ("Blame It on My Youth" and "Love For Sale").

But I wasn't familiar with Rosnes, and she's a huge surprise; this Canadian-born artist is truly excellent. She swings wonderfully and is quite inventive. The rhythm section of Gill and Reedus provides solid backing, although the latter is too "busy" at times for my taste.

All in all, this is an intriguing combo. I look forward to hearing more from them.

Deborah Pearl: Evening Star

Evening Star Records
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: Souvenir of You

Deborah Pearl — a vocalist, lyricist and screenwriter — has idolized Benny Carter most of her life.

Every jazz fan knows about Carter, icon and legend of the alto sax. He was born in New York City in 1907 — yes, 1907 — and lived until 2003, and was an active performer and composer for more than 80 years.

His mother began to teach him to play the piano when he was 10, but he switched to the trumpet in his teens, then finally chose the alto sax.

It’s virtually impossible to find an artist or band with whom Carter hasn’t performed: He played with Horace Henderson in college, Duke Ellington in the 1920s, Fletcher Henderson in ’28 and Chick Webb in ’31. Carter launched his own orchestra in 1932. He moved to Paris in ’35, toured Europe and then returned to the States in ’38, just in time for the swing era. By this time, he had developed his composition and arranging skills to the point where he was doing Hollywood film scores. He also continued to play with the new generation of musicians, including Dizzy Gillespie, Sarah Vaughan, Ray Charles and many others. That continued into the 1980s.

In 1996, Carter received the prestigious Kennedy Center Honor. His other awards are too numerous to count. Sadly, he passed away in 2003.

Pearl chose a baker’s dozen of Carter's compositions, wrote special lyrics for them, then set up recording sessions with two swinging big bands: Carter’s own group and the Rutgers University Orchestra. Carter himself is featured on two of the tracks: "Happy Feet" and "Anniversary Dance."

This album clearly demonstrates that both Carter and his work were essentially ageless. Some of the tunes were written decades ago, but they remain as fresh and "modern" as much of today’s music. Pearl is to be congratulated for a masterful effort that honors both Carter and her own talents.

Chuck Deardorf: Transparence

Origin Arts
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: Transparence

Chuck Deardorf is one of many Pacific Northwest musicians who have made this locale a key area for jazz; he has lived and worked there for almost 30 years. He began playing the trombone as a youngster, but soon switched to acoustic bass; he then added electric bass and bass guitar. He’s a first-call artist for groups visiting Seattle, is currently a member of several organizations working in that region, often plays with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, and — in his spare time — teaches at the Cornish College of the Arts. Deardorf’s discography as a sideman is extensive; this is his first album as leader.

Deardorf is joined here by a dozen artists with whom he has worked during his career. All but a pair of these — Hans Teuber and Richard Cole, on sax — are members of the rhythm section: Two are pianists, three are percussionists and the rest are guitarists. Deardorf, the sole bassist, utilizes acoustic and electric instruments as well as a bass guitar. The combos on this album vary from duets to septets.

The 10 tracks consist of several standards (including “Collage,” based on the chord structure of “You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To”), pop tunes (John Lennon’s “Dear Prudence” and Jobim’s “Zingaro”) and originals by some of the artists who participated in the session.

The tunes that utilize both bass and guitar (or guitars) are particularly noteworthy. Deardorf isn’t just a bassist who sets and maintains the rhythm; he’s an outstanding soloist capable of playing intricate runs and patterns which, in conjunction with the guitar(s), produce truly beautiful and breathtaking music.

You’ll listen to this album, in its entirety, again and again.

Marc Copland: Crosstalk

Pirouet Records
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: Crosstalk

Musicians spend years learning to play an instrument well enough to earn a living performing with it; only a very few achieve that goal on more than one horn.

It’s relatively common to become fluent with several members of an instrument family: Those who can play the clarinet or alto sax are able to play the tenor sax; flutists and trumpeters often can perform on the flugelhorn and coronet. Less frequently, you’ll find musicians who can handle instruments that are less alike — both the trumpet and trombone, for example — and only a few become masters of “horns” in totally different families.

Marc Copland is one of those individuals. He was born in Philadelphia in 1948, and entered the jazz world playing alto sax. Although he experimented with an electronic version of the instrument, he became (in his words) “dissatisfied with the inherent limitations in the saxophone.” As a result, in the 1970s he relocated to the Baltimore-Washington, D.C., area to become a jazz pianist. During the next decade, while learning his new instrument, he worked as an accompanist and sideman for artists such as Randy Brecker, Bob Mintzer and Art Farmer. Copland moved to New York in the early ’80s, working both there and in D.C.; he also toured. Since 2000, he has concentrated on small combos, with increasing emphasis on solo work.

Crosstalk, recorded in 2010 in New Jersey, features Copland, Greg Osby (alto sax), Doug Weiss (bass) and Victor Lewis (drums). Osby, Weiss and Lewis have been part of the New York City jazz fraternity for years. The album was mastered at MSM Studios in Munich, and released by Pirouet Records from that same city.

Seven of these nine tracks were composed by these artists: three by Copland, two by Osby, and one each by Weiss and Lewis. Another was written by Gigi Gryce, while “Tenderly” (the only standard) is a Walter Gross standout.

This quartet’s musical genre is “chamber jazz.” The original tunes, done at balladic and mid-tempos, are thoughtful and complex at times, and melodically rich. That said, my favorite track is “Tenderly.” Not long ago, a jazz musician explained — in the liner notes of a recent album — that he always enjoys it when artists play a standard, because it gives him an opportunity to assess their originality and style, relative to that of other artists who’ve performed the same tune. I feel the same way. Copland and his combo have produced one of the most beautiful takes on “Tenderly” that I’ve ever heard; it alone is worth the price of the entire album.

Storms/Nocturnes Trio: Via

Origin Arts
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: Via

Storms/Nocturnes is an outstanding trio, composed of Geoffrey Keezer (piano), Joe Locke (vibraphone) and Tim Garland (tenor and soprano sax, and bass clarinet). All three began their professional careers playing straight-ahead jazz; as time has passed, they’ve graduated into the “chamber jazz” genre.

Via, their third release, offers music that is innovative and much more complex than what can be found on most jazz albums, but it’s beautifully done and guaranteed to leave you wanting more. Each musicians contributed three original compositions to this album.

Keezer, the youngest of the trio, began playing piano before he entered kindergarten and, after his first year at the Berklee College of Music, he became part of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. He has recorded with numerous groups as a sideman and leader, and was nominated for Grammy Awards in 2009 and ’10. Locke is equally proficient; he has released more than two dozen albums as a leader and contributed to more than 100 as a sideman. The British-born Garland is one of few reed players also proficient on the bass clarinet (used extensively on this album. He’s a 2009 Grammy winner and frequent collaborator with Chick Corea.

The compositions here relate to locations that are special to each musician. Keezer’s inspirations are his backyard garden, created by his wife; a lane in Missoula, Montana; and a tropical ocean. Locke is enthralled by a retreat in Vermont, a stroll in Central Park during an early winter snowfall, and a music venue in Half Moon Bay. Garland is impressed by a Tuscan farmhouse and a couple of locations in England’s Lake District.

All three musicians interact exceptionally. Jazz can be beautiful!