Chad McCullough and Bram Weijters: Imaginary Sketches

Origin Arts
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: Imaginary Sketches

Trumpeter/composer Chad McCullough is another multiple-degreed college grad who is part of the Seattle jazz scene. Pianist Bram Weijters was born and schooled in Belgium, which remains his primary residence. They’re joined here by two other Seattle artists: bassist Chuck Deardorf and drummer John Bishop. They’re an impressive quartet.

All the tracks are original compositions: five by Weijters, two by McCullough and one by singer/songwriter Ron Hynes, who resides and works with folk groups in Newfoundland. The style is “calm” progressive jazz, almost classical at times; it’s all instrumental (no vocalists), but the harmonics and phrasing are such that one can imagine lyrics being part of the original package. All but two tracks are done at balladic tempos; “tone poems” would be an accurate descriptor. The exceptions are “Speeding” and “Free As Poetry,” both written by Weijters. They groove nicely; the former is almost a “burner,” while the latter borders on funk.

McCullough and Weijters are masters of their instruments, and Deardorf’s bass is truly outstanding. In material this complex, a strong rhythm section is mandatory, and both Deardorf and Bishop hold it all together masterfully.

I’ve always regarded this kind of music as “thinking man’s jazz”: the kind of stuff you can listen to for hours.

This disc is another fine example of the high quality achieved by artists who inhabit the Pacific Northwest. The liner notes don’t indicate how McCullough and Weijters got together, but we can be grateful they did. Further, I hope some repeat sessions will be forthcoming.

Everybody Wants to Be a Cat: Disney Jazz Volume 1

Walt Disney Records
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: Everybody Wants to Be a Cat

From his artistic beginnings in the early 1930s Walt Disney was a jazz fan. I’m old enough to remember the old black and white Steamboat Willie Mickey Mouse cartoon, with its "rinky-dink" jazz soundtrack. In fact, no matter which Disney film you consider, it contained at least one song or soundtrack gem that has lived through the ages. We left the theater whistling those tunes, and we never forgot them.

Jazz musicians, in return, have always been Disney fans. My first exposure to Dave Brubeck was at a concert, decades ago, when he performed "Some Day My Prince Will Come." Artists from every era performed the charts from his films: Bunny Berigan, Louis Armstrong, Artie Shaw, Glenn Miller, Miles Davis and John Coltrane were all members of that club.

This album, produced by Jason Olain and engineered by Joe Feria, contains 13 tunes from Uncle Walt’s productions, each performed by one of today’s artists or groups. Trumpeter Roy Hargrove and his quintet get things off to a grooving start with the title track, which comes from The Aristocats; then bassist/vocalist Esperanza Spalding plays and scats her way through "Chim-Chim-Cher-ee," from Mary Poppins. The cherry that tops this musical sundae is Brubeck’s encore performance (at age 93!) of "Some Day My Prince Will Come," and he still takes your breath away.

One of the most endearing characteristics of Disney soundtracks was that almost every song came with equally clever and memorable lyrics; the exceptions generally were covers of classical melodies, such as those in Fantasia. As a result, many of the tracks in this release feature vocalists. Dianne Reaves (accompanied by Dave Brubeck) grooves on "He’s a Tramp," at a sultry blues tempo; Roberta Gambarini (with Brubeck’s Trio) mesmerizes us with "Alice in Wonderland"; and Nikki Yanofsky (15 at the time) reminds us that "It’s a Small World."

Delving into some lesser-known tunes, violinist Regina Carter gives us "Find Yourself"; guitar/pianist Kurt Rosenwinkel offers "Feed the Birds"; Joshua Redman blows his tenor — and blows us all away — doing "You’ve Got a Friend in Me"; guitarist Gilad Hekselman strums his way through "Belle"; Mark Rapp and his trumpet present "Circle of Life"; pianist Alfredo Rodriguez does "The Bare Necessities"; and last, but not least, The Bad Plus give us "Gaston."

And that just scratches the Disney surface. This album's liner notes promise that future albums are planned. We should be so lucky!

Eddie Mendenhall: Cosine Meets Tangent

Miles High Records
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: Cosine Meets Tangent

Eddie Mendenhall began to play the piano when he was 4, and was only 8 when he started performing the classics. But he didn’t get hooked on jazz until he attended the Monterey Jazz Festival, at age 13: He earned a place in the Monterey Jazz Festival High School All Star Band, where he was able to accompany Dizzy Gillespie on the Main Stage during the 1990 Festival.

Mendenhall subsequently received a bachelor of arts degree in jazz composition from Boston’s Berklee College of Music, then spent the next seven years in Japan, where he became one of the busiest pianists in Tokyo.

Mendenhall now resides in the States, is an instructor at Monterey Peninsula College and has formed his own quartet; that unit — Mark Sherman on vibes, John Schifflett on bass, and Akira Tana on drums — is featured in this, his first recording. This instrumental format, a favorite of mine, echoes the famous Modern Jazz Quartet: pianist John Lewis, bassist Percy Heath, drummer Connie Kay and vibraphone master Milt Jackson.

Mendenhall’s combo is the MJQ’s musical equal.

Eight of these 10 tracks demonstrate Mendenhall’s prowess as a composer, as well as an instrumentalist. One of the tunes (“The Great Triplet”) is by Sherman, and the last is a cover of Rogers and Hart’s beautiful standard, “So Easy To Remember.”

I’ve always thought that a quartet utilizing both piano and vibes is more musical and “interesting” than one with just a single instrumentalist and a rhythm section. The arrangements are more complex, because the two “lead” instruments are playing with — and against — each other, granting the listener different interpretations of the melodic lines.

In that respect, a comparison of Mendenhall’s group and the MJQ is revealing. Mendenhall and Lewis play the piano quite differently; the former is “busier” and uses both hands extensively, while the latter is predominately right-handed and plays more “loosely.” Putting it another way, Lewis was more of a swinger.

The same can be said of the vibes artists: Sherman has a “cleaner” technique, but isn’t as loose as Jackson. Their styles are different, but excellent in their individuality.

It wouldn’t surprise me if this quartet becomes as popular as the MJQ, and that says a lot about Mendenhall’s future.

Brian Lynch: Unsung Heroes

Holistic Music Works
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: Unsung Heroes

Musical giants often are identified by single names. Alternatively, scores of sidemen — who have played and recorded with everybody — aren’t recognized at all. In the category of jazz trumpet, we all know Pops (Louis Armstrong), Roy (Eldridge), Miles (Davis), Dizzy (Gillespie), Fats (Navarro) and others ... but what about Brian Lynch?

He’s a Grammy Award winner, and has played with Art Blakey, Horace Silver, Benny Golson, Phil Woods, Toshiko Akiyoshi and Eddie Palmieri. Despite this, many folks aren’t familiar with Lynch.

But you won’t forget him, after hearing this album.

Unsung Heroes is Lynch’s tribute to artists who, in his view, are underappreciated. How many of us recognize trumpet players Howard Mcghee, Charles Tolliver, Joe Gordon, Tommy Turrentine, Idrees Sulleman, Louis Smith, Kamau Adilifu, Ira Sullivan, Donald Byrd and Claudio Roditi? This release attempts to remedy that situation. Some of its tunes were composed by the above artists; the rest were composed by Lynch and dedicated to them.

Lynch fronts a septet that consists of his trumpet and flugelhorn, alto and tenor saxes, piano, bass and percussionists. In keeping with the album’s theme, these sidemen also aren’t well known, but they have one thing in common: Regardless of tempo, they swing like crazy!

Louis Smith’s “Wetu,” in particular, is an up-tempo bop burner that’s on par with the best that Charlie Parker and Dizzy ever recorded; it’ll leave you breathless. The rest, styled for the days of bop-tinged, straight-ahead jazz, also are winners.

This album is a joy, and I hope I don’t have to wait too long for follow-up Unsung Heroes entries!

John Vanore and Abstract Truth: Contagious Words

Acoustical Concepts
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: Contagious Words

Abstract Truth is a group headed by John Vanore who, in the 1970s, played trumpet and flugelhorn in one of Woody Herman’s Herds. I reviewed this group’s first release (Curiosity) several years ago, and was impressed by Vanore’s skill as both an instrumentalist and composer.

His “little big band” is unique: The brass section is huge — six trumpets/flugelhorns, two trombones and a French horn — while the reed “section” consists of just two men who play alto, tenor and soprano saxes, clarinets and flutes. They’re all joined by a rhythm section of bass, drums and guitar, rather than a piano. Three guest artists are utilized on several tracks: a pianist, another flautist and a bass trombone.

The result is a rich, and swinging “chorale,” with major emphasis on the brass section.

Vanore composed most of the music and arranged all but one of the tunes: the wonderful old standard “You Go to My Head,” handled instead by trumpeter Kevin Rodgers.

This group is definitely a concert orchestra; the music is contemporary and relatively complex, but still exciting ... and it does swing. The rich ensemble work provides a background that, from the soloists’ viewpoint, is to die for.

In general, today’s musicians are better educated than those of the past, and are more likely to search for ways to create something new, than to merely keep playing the styles that initially intrigued them. That’s all well and good, as long as the basic premise of jazz is maintained: It has to swing! Vanore, and bands like Absolute Truth, have achieved that goal.

The Yellowjackets: Timeline

Mack Avenue Records
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: Timeline

The Yellowjackets are an institution. The band has been around for more than 30 years, beginning in 1977 as a unit called the Robben Ford Group; the first album under the Yellowjackets name was recorded in 1981.

This is the group’s 21st release and, although the personnel has varied over the years, most of the original artists still are present. Today’s members include Russell Ferrante on keyboards and synthesizer, Jimmy Haslip on bass, Will Kennedy on drums, and Bob Mintzer on reeds. Original guitarist Robben Ford and trumpeter John Diversa pop up as guest artists.

What set this band apart, when it came on the scene, was its combination of R&B and straight-ahead jazz genres. As time passed, the band’s sound delivered less of the former and more of the latter, but the ability to swing like crazy always was present.

The 11 tracks here consist of a little old and a lot new, mostly composed by Mintzer and Ferrante.

This session blasts off with a couple of burners: “Why Is It” and “Tenacity.” Both will get your attention, and set your heart to thumping. Kennedy’s “Rosemary” is a neat treatment of a ballad, which demonstrates how a drummer can be lyrical; “Timeline,” the title piece, is a cohesive little swinger that arrives — then departs — all too quickly. “Magnolia,” originally presented on a 2008 album — and the vehicle for Ford’s guest appearance — demonstrates how much electronic technology has meant to the guitar. The remaining tunes, all done as ballads, illustrate just how beautifully this quartet can perform.

With offerings like these, it’s clear that the Yellowjackets can be with us as long as they desire.

Matija Dedic: MD in NYC

Origin Arts
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: MD in NYC

This album demonstrates anew that jazz truly is an international art. Matija Dedic, born in Croatia in 1973, began to play classical piano at age 5: a common path for Eastern European music students. He had broadened his interests by his 18th birthday, and he subsequently entered the Graz Jazz Academy. After graduation, he delivered his style of jazz while touring throughout Europe, Scandinavia, South America and the United States. He has worked with his own groups and many others, writes music for TV and theater, and often plays with touring pop stars.

MD in NYC was recorded during a 2009 stay in the Big Apple. Dedic's basic trio — in which he plays both piano and Fender Rhodes — includes bassist Vincent Archer and drummer Kendrick Scott. That core group is backed on several tracks by an unidentified string section.

Dedic wrote six of the 10 compositions; the rest are covers of tunes from Herbie Hancock ("Maiden Voyage"), Miles Davis ("Blue in Green"), Sting ("Fragile") and Toby Gad ("If I Were a Boy"). All are done at near balladic, but softly swinging tempos.

You can always tell when a pianist has had classical training. Jazz artists often are essentially one-handed; the right hand establishes the melodic line and is the "innovator" ... which is to say, the hand that produces the solo lines that the mind creates. The left hand plays a "supporting" role, maintaining the chord structure and providing emphasis where appropriate.

That isn’t the case with Dedic. Both hands are intensely involved at all times; sometimes you'd swear that two solo lines are occurring simultaneously. Additionally, one is "forced" (in a very positive way!) to listen intently to this album, to catch everything; as a result, the tunes seem to just fly past. A 5-minute track is over before you want it to end.

And that's the case with every track on this album. It’s beautiful, pensive, attention-getting and memorable jazz. Dedic is a talent to be reckoned with!