Joe Lovano Us Five: Folk Art (2009)

In his 57th year, the saxophonist, composer and bandleader Joe Lovano is something of a jazz absolute: consistent in quality but traversing schools, styles and formats in a way that argues the music has somewhere to go without accommodating pop. His 2009 Blue Note release, Folk Art, recorded with a new group he calls Us Five, only reinforces his reputation as the consummate jazzman, an explorer and historian in equal doses. Folk Art is centered in postbop but plays in and around the avant-garde, and it features elements that, on paper, might seem gimmicky, but in Lovano’s hands foster thrilling music.

A cross-generational quintet, Us Five features two drummers, Otis Brown II and Francisco Mela, and Lovano uses them to ramp up the intensity as well as multiply the options for exchange. (“It’s as if there are 20 different bands,” he told JT’s Geoffrey Himes.) Then there’s Lovano’s arsenal of texturally brazen woodwind oddities, including the taragato and aulochrome, and the fact that Folk Art is his first album featuring his original compositions exclusively. Those tunes, alternately burning (“Powerhouse”), loping (“Folk Art”), tender (“Song for Judi”) and askew (the Ornette homage “Ettenro”), brilliantly underscore the group’s sensibility—one of dynamic interaction and aesthetic versatility. E.H.

Tracklist:
1. Powerhouse 4:09
2. Folk Art 10:05
3. Wild Beauty 7:17
4. Us Five 8:09
5. Song For Judi 5:46
6. Drum Song 8:30
7. Dibango 6:44
8. Page 4 5:52
9. Ettenro 8:12
Personnel:
Joe Lovano - saxes
Esperanza Spalding - bass
James Weidman - piano
Francisco Mela - drums
Otis Brown III - drums
Folk Art
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Marc Johnson: Shade of Jade (2005)

Marc Johnson doesn't take a bass solo on Shades of Jade until "Snow," track six of the 10-song album. Until then, the emphasis stays on tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano, guitarist John Scofield and pianist Eliane Elias, the last serving as the album's coproducer (with Manfred Eicher) and author or coauthor of half the album. In fact, Elias could almost be the de facto leader of the session.

But regardless of whose name comes first on the cover, everyone matches wits on "Ton Sur Ton," with tenor and guitar harmonizing deftly on the melody. The front end of the disc finds the group in a gentle mood that sometimes gets too languid (the title track) but often brings out the delicacy of the setting ("Apareceu"). "Blue Nefertiti" gets the second part of its name from a sideways quote of a certain Wayne Shorter tune.

Beginning with "Snow," Johnson asserts himself more, following that track with the solo "Since You Asked" exemplifying his vast melodic skills. In the closing "Don't Ask of Me," a drone accompanies a bowed solo where his impeccable tone could easily be mistaken for a cello. In between, "Raise" gives the group a medium hard-bop groove, and drummer Joey Baron, up to this point filling out the sound with subtle nuances, gets a chance to light a fire under the band, particularly Lovano.

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Shade of Jade (RS) / Shade of Jade (HF) @ 320K

McCoy Tyner Quartet: Live (2006)

McCoy Tyner's work with the John Coltrane Quartet is well documented, and this CD marks a welcome return to that format. Recorded live at Yoshi's in Oakland, CA, over New Year's, Joe Lovano does the honors in the tenor sax chair, while bassist Christian McBride and drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts hold the rhythm section together with honor, passion, and drive. The world-class bassist and drummer, usually known for their overt showmanship and over the top chops, show remarkable restraint and sensitivity throughout. Tyner and friends play several of his original compositions, well-known and revered over the years. Lovano sounds, eerily enough, like Pharoah Sanders, employing a slightly staggered expansive vibrato on "Walk Spirit, Talk Spirit," while using a more haunting stance à la Coltrane for "Mellow Minor," a new modern mainstream tune. Sounding more like himself, Lovano and the group join a loping desert caravan for the beautiful "Sama Layuca," with Lovano playing the part originally written for flute. They rip through "Passion Dance" and melt abject militarism during the poignant ballad "Search for Peace." Tyner, in character, utilizes a minimalist palette to extrapolate on improvisationally during his solos. After reported health problems, it is good to hear he is sounding quite inspired and energetic during the entire date. The happy song "Blues on the Corner" further cements his upbeat demeanor, while the finale/solo standard "For All We Know" is truly the real McCoy, replete with the many flourishes, dynamism, and harmonic colorations that distinguish him from all others. In many ways this is a remarkable date, a well-paced program with all the pieces (save "For All We Know") timed at around ten minutes, proof positive that Tyner's game is still very much on, and hovering at a very high level. --Michael G. Nastos - All Music Guide

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Live (RS) / Live (MU) / Live (HF) / Live (DF)

Mike Mainieri: An American Diary (1994)

In addition to a few group originals, vibraphonist Mike Mainieri performs some unusual pieces with his quartet (Joe Lovano on tenor, soprano, and alto clarinet; bassist Eddie Gomez; and drummer Peter Erskine) on this CD, including two folk songs and selections by Leonard Bernstein ("Somewhere"), Frank Zappa ("King Kong"), Aaron Copland ("Piano Sonata"), Roger Sessions ("Piano Sonata No. 1"), and Samuel Barber ("Overture to the School for Scandal"). The pianoless quartet (which displays a lot of versatility by Joe Lovano) turns all of the music into creative jazz. The most interesting aspect to this thought-provoking disc is how difficult it is to tell which compositions are taken from classical music and which are new. There is a surprising unity to the potentially difficult material; the performances on the rather moody outing reward repeated listenings.

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Official Website

An American Diary

Joe Lovano: Universal Language (1992)

One of the top saxophonists of the 1990s, Joe Lovano still seems to be improving. His tenor tone is based in the tradition but is fairly original and his chancetaking improvisations are both stimulating and refreshing. His father Tony "Big T" Lovano was a fine tenorman who played in Cleveland. Joe originally started on alto when he was six, switching to tenor five years later. He attended Berklee and then worked with Jack McDuff and Lonnie Smith. After three years touring with Woody Herman's Orchestra (1976-79), Lovano moved to New York, playing regularly with Mel Lewis's Big Band, Paul Motian's various groups (since 1981), Charlie Haden's Liberation Music Orchestra and (in the early '90s) John Scofield in addition to touring Europe with Elvin Jones (1987). Joe Lovano has recorded as a leader for Soul Note, Jazz Club, Label Bleu (reissued by Evidence), Enja, JSL (a date with his father) and a long string of very impressive outings for Blue Note. The 1995 Blue Note set Rush Hour features Joe Lovano and his wife, singer Judi Silvano in top form collaborating with Gunther Schuller on a challenging set of music. Trio Fascination followed in 1998, and a year later he teamed with Greg Osby for Friendly Fire. 52nd Street Themes appeared in the spring of 2000, finding Lovano working with a richly textured bebop nonet.

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Universal Language

Charlie Haden: Land of the Sun (2004) mp3 @ 320K

Those who know bassist Charlie Haden from his avant-garde work with the Liberation Music Orchestra and Ornette Coleman will be in for a shock here. LAND OF THE SUN bears little resemblance to the free, strident music Haden recorded in those groups. With the help of accomplished, intense musicians such as pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba and saxophonist Joe Lovano,Haden has made a record of astonishing consonance, serenity, and beauty.LAND OF THE SUN features music by three significant Mexican composers. Haden's group performs a song each by Agustin Lara ("Solamente Una Vez [You Belong to My Heart]") and Armando Manzanero ("Esta Tarde Vi Llover [Yesterday I Heard the Rain]"), but the remaining eight tracks are byJose Sabre Marroquin (whose lyrical, delicate music seamlessly blends jazz with his country's folk traditions). Though understated percussion grooves occasionally accent a melody,the tunes, for the most part, are ballads and lullabies. Rubalcaba wrote the arrangements here, which prominently feature his own sensitive piano playing and Oriente Lopez's lilting flute ("Anoranza [Longing]" is a gorgeous example of their interplay). As appropriate to an afternoon siesta on a Mexico City veranda as it is for romantic dancing on a New Yorkrooftop, LAND OF THE SUN is soothing, dream-like, and exquisitely made. (116MB)

Tommy Smith Sextet: Evolution (2005) mp3 @ 320K

Born and raised in Edinburgh, Scotland, Tommy Smith is a big-toned tenor saxophonist who has played both straight-ahead jazz and fusion. It was in Edinburgh that Smith became seriously interested in jazz as a teenager, and he was only 15 when he was accepted to the renowned Berklee College of Music. In 1984, the saxman moved to Boston to attend Berklee, and, in 1986, an 18-year-old Smith was hired as a sideman by Gary Burton at the recommendation of Chick Corea. Smith signed with Blue Note in 1989, recording 1990's Burton-produced fusion/post-bop date Peeping Tom and 1991's straight-ahead Standards. After finishing up at Berklee, Smith returned to Scotland, where he signed with the Glasgow-based Linn label and recorded several albums in the mid- to late '90s: Misty Morning & No Time, Reminiscence, Beasts of Scotland, Azure, and the Duke Ellington/Billy Strayhorn tribute The Sound of Love. Blue Smith, his first release of the new century, followed in the spring of 2000.

"Evolution" is his last efforf recorded in 2005 with a bunch of great musicians: Joe Lovano, John Scofield, John Taylor, John Patitucci and Bill Stewart. Enjoy! (135MB)