Cheryl Bentyne: Talk of the Town (2004)

Cheryl Bentyne is justly celebrated for her work as the soprano voice in Manhattan Transfer, but her work outside of that ensemble is just as impressive, if sometimes less flashy. This solo album, in fact, is notable for its lack of pyrotechnical wizardry, and is all the stronger for it. Focusing almost exclusively on standards, Talk of the Town finds Bentyne singing with an almost Ella Fitzgerald-like transparency, imposing little of her own ego on the material and avoiding heavy-handed interpretation. This is not to say that she sings without personality or style — simply that she sings like someone who wants to showcase the songs themselves rather than her own artistry. The result is quietly spectacular: on straightforwardly melodic fare like Cole Porter's "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To" and the classic ballad "These Foolish Things," the songs are like jewels in simple but lush settings; on more difficult numbers, such as "Little Butterfly" (which consists of lyrics by Jon Hendricks set to the Thelonious Monk composition "Pannonica"), she negotiates the tricky changes with grace and deceptive ease. Bentyne's voice sounds the way a warm shower feels. Very highly recommended.--AMG

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Talk of the Town (RS) / Talk of the Town (HF) / Talk of the Town (DF) @ 320K

Danilo Perez: ... till then (2003)

With Till Then, Danilo Perez pays tribute to popular composers he feels have made a difference in the world. Though the Panamanian pianist offers a few original compositions, the work of other composers — well-known, consequential people — is the main focus of this Tommy LiPuma-produced CD. Some of the more myopic people in the jazz world will automatically assume that if Perez is using jazz to salute popular composers, he must be thinking of Tin Pan Alley. But in fact, there are no Tin Pan Alley standards on Till Then — no George Gershwin, no Irving Berlin, no Cole Porter, no Harry Warren. And that's just as well because as dynamic as those legends were, worthwhile popular music didn't end with Tin Pan Alley (contrary to what the Stanley Crouch/Wynton Marsalis crowd would have listeners believe). Perez, thankfully, is smart enough to realize that — and on Till Then, he finds the acoustic post-bop possibilities in melodies by Stevie Wonder ("Overjoyed") and Joni Mitchell ("Fiddle and the Drum") as well as several Latin American legends, who range from salsa innovator Rubén Blades ("Paula C") to Brazilian star Milton Nascimento ("Vera Cruz"). Perez has long had a pan-Latin outlook — in other words, he looks to different parts of the Latin world for musical inspiration — and Till Then reflects that. Anyone who interprets Chico Buarque's "Trocando Em Miúdos" (another great Brazilian melody), Cuban artist Silvio Rodríguez' "Rabo de Nube," and Chilean singer Violeta Parra's "Gracias a la Vida" on the same CD obviously isn't limiting himself to any one particular area of the Latin spectrum. While Till Then is far-reaching and unpredictable, it's also focused and cohesive; clearly, Perez knows exactly what he's doing on this inspired addition to his catalog.

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... till then (RS) / ... till then (HF) @ 320K

Wayne Shorter: Alegria (2003)

Following the release of the critically acclaimed Footprints Live!, this CD is saxophonist/composer Wayne Shorter's first studio recording as a leader since the Grammy-winning 1994 release, High Life. Shorter is joined by pianists Danilo Perez and Brad Mehldau, bassist John Patitucci, drummers Terri Lyne Carrington and Brian Blade, and percussionist Alex Acuna. Backed by a superb woodwind and brass ensemble, this project offers a comprehensive and sophisticated presentation of Shorter's music, from the Andalusian airs on "Vendiendo Alegria" by Antonio Molina to a reincarnation of "Capricorn II" from his mid-'60s Miles Davis days. Shorter's soprano and tenor playing is his most expressive in years, and producer Robert Sadin (who worked on Herbie Hancock's Gershwin's World and Kathleen Battle's So Many Stars) has provided Shorter with his most poignant sonic setting on record. --Eugene Holley, Jr.

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Alegria (RS) / Alegria (HF) @ 320K

Dave Weckl: Hard-Wired (1994)

What was true of Master Plan is also true of Dave Weckl's third album as a leader of Hard-Wired — it isn't the fusion masterpiece Weckl is capable of delivering, but it certainly isn't bad either. This time, the drummer's guests include keyboardist Jay Oliver and bassist Anthony Jackson as well as bassist John Patitucci, who like Weckl, was no longer a member of Chick Corea's Akoustic and Elektric Bands and was making his own albums a priority. The album's main emphasis is fusion that is fairly accessible, yet substantial and improvisatory. Tunes like the Asian-influenced title song and the groove-oriented "Crazy Horse" weren't recorded with hard bop's hard-liners in mind, but at the same time, they don't pander to NAC radio. As enjoyable as this album is, it isn't essential. One sensed that Weckl's best work as a leader was yet to come. -- All Music Guide

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Hard-Wired (RS) / Hard-Wired (MU) @ 320K

School of the Arts: ST (2007)

Cutting-edge compositions, beautiful sinuous melodies, and massive chops make School of the Arts (SOTA) a truly rare confluence of influences and musical styles, pushing jazz and jazz-fusion into another dimension.

The brainchild of keyboardist extraordinaire T Lavitz (Dixie Dregs, Jazz Is Dead), SOTA culls the supreme talents of such fusion and progressive instrumental music heavyweights as drummer Dave Weckl (Chick Corea) bassist John Patitucci (Corea, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter), guitarist Frank Gambale (Corea, Vital Information), electric violinist Jerry Goodman of Mahavishnu Orchestra, Shadowfax, and Dixie Dregs fame, and T s longtime friend, Dregs mastermind, and Magna Carta label mate, monster axeman Steve Morse.

School of the Arts is different from every album I ve ever done as a leader, says Lavitz

With SOTA, Lavitz (with four decades experience in the music biz having played with such wide-ranging musicians as Widespread Panic, Bill Bruford, Billy Cobham, Nils Lofgren, Pat Benatar, Jefferson Starship, Mother s Finest, Dave Fiuczynski, Peter Himmelman, Dennis Chambers, Jeff Berlin, and Scott Henderson) is top dog, playing acoustic piano (an instrument close to his heart), and composing most of the material for the band s debut.

Underscoring Lavitz s empathy and musical instincts, is the keyboardist s ability to spearhead and hold together the SOTA project, despite each member s busy schedule: Morse is constantly touring with Deep Purple (occasionally with the Dregs); Jerry Goodman is an in-demand electric violin trailblazer; Patitucci and Weckl crisscross the globe with various artists and solo work; and likewise for Gambale, who recently finished a tour with Billy Cobham.

The music is definitely interactive, Lavitz says. When I take a solo, there s Frank Gambale answering me, like something you d hear on a gig.

Case in point: the Afro-Latin acoustic jazz tune Gambashwari. Sinewy guitar and piano chords/notes weave around one another in syncopated patterns, stating main, contra and counterpoint melodies. It s breezy, not cheesy, jazz -- the kind that possesses sophistication without being elitist, boring or unlistenable. It s utterly infectious jazz-fusion with aspirations toward chamber or classical music, with rock s reckless abandon simmering just under the surface.

Other tracks include, High Falutin Blues (an appropriate title for a song that crosses the boundaries of country, blues, and jazz), Like This (listen as Weckl locks into Patitucci s sparse bass line all the while commenting on Goodman s and T s jazzy/bluegrass-esque soloing acrobatics), and Teaser (a Chick Corea-style acoustic rocker, complete with trill-filled piano performances, blanketed by Weckl s silky stream of beats). Dave Weckl laid down some of the best drum tracks I ve heard in a while, Lavitz says.

Despite the obvious and some might say inevitable chops heard on this record, the high level of musicianship never detracts from the overall flow of the compositions. In fact, the record has a ring of newfound freedom; of a songwriter allowed to spread his compositional wings, which recalls the artistic creativity and motivation that drove Lavitz to create his 1986 solo debut, Storytime an album produced in the wake of a Dregs breakup. I am very excited about this, because not only did I get to write the bulk of the music, but I produced, played and played only acoustic, says Lavitz. While it has elements from other recordings I've done, it seems, at least to me, to stand out as being very different.

Personnel:

T Lavitz - Piano;

Frank Gambale - Acoustic Guitar;

Steve Morse - Acoustic Guitar;
Jerry Goodman - Violin;
John Patitucci - Acoustic and Electric Bass ;
Dave Weckl - Drums and Percussion
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SOTA (RS) / SOTA (HF) @ 320K

Arturo Sandoval: Swingin' (1996) mp3 @ 320K

It seems remarkable that Arturo Sandoval never seems to win any jazz polls, for few trumpeters can come close to equaling his technique, jazz chops, and warm sound. On this advanced hard bop date, the music is strictly straight-ahead without any Latin rhythms. Sandoval matches wits quite successfully with clarinetist Eddie Daniels on two songs, tenor great Michael Brecker on three (including a memorable rendition of "Moment's Notice"), and veteran flügelhornist Clark Terry on a joyous "Mack the Knife." In addition, Sandoval pays tribute to Woody Shaw, John Coltrane, and Dizzy Gillespie. Other highlights include the moody "Streets of Desire" (on which Sandoval plays piano), the racehorse tempo of "Real McBop" (which has an impossible but impeccably played melody chorus), and Sandoval's humorous use of the plunger mute on "It Never Gets Old." All in all, this is one of Arturo Sandoval's finest recordings to date.

Jay Azzolina: Past Tense (2000) mp3 @ 320K

Apart from an intriguing arrangement of Kurt Weill's hauntingly lovely "My Ship," guitarist Jay Azzolina's first album as a leader in eleven years is devoted entirely to original compositions. What may come as a real surprise to those familiar with his earlier work is the straight-ahead nature of the compositions and of his quintet's playing style. Gone are the rockish tone and slick fusioneering of his previous solo work and his two albums with Spyro Gyra. Instead, Azzolina leads a quintet (guitar, tenor sax and piano trio) through a set that includes the spiky, bluesy strut of "Inside Pie Eyes," the minimalist "Black Waltz," and a difficult and highly original treatment of the "I Got Rhythm" chord changes entitled "Rhythms Change." Azzolina's tone is self-consciously traditional, warm and round with the occasional edge of John Scofield-style vinegar. His supporting group couldn't be more empathetic — John Pattitucci spends most of his time on string bass (though it sounds like he's playing a fretless electric on "Marvelous Marvin") and drummer Adam Nussbaum keeps things well grounded while still creating lots of rhythmic interest. Best of all is tenor player Chris Potter, who spars with Azzolina throughout the album and keeps him on his toes. Highly recommended!!!

(105MB)

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)

Wayne Shorter Quartet: Beyond the Sound Barrier (2005) mp3 @ 320K

Recorded live on three different continents (Europe, America, and Asia) from 2002-2004, Beyond the Sound Barrier finds Wayne Shorter leading the same acoustic-oriented post-bop quartet he led on his 2001 recording, Footprints Live!; the veteran tenor and soprano saxophonist is joined by pianist Danilo Pérez, bassist John Patitucci, and drummer Brian Blade. But if Beyond the Sound Barrier should be considered a sequel to Footprints Live!, it is far from a carbon copy. While Footprints Live! contained several Shorter pieces that have become jazz standards (including "Atlantis," "Footprints," and "Juju"), Beyond the Sound Barrier places more emphasis on new material. Half of the eight selections are new, and the rest of the CD ranges from Arthur Penn's "Smilin' Through" (the theme from the 1941 movie) to two pieces from Shorter's Joy Ryder album of 1988: "Over Shadow Hill Way" and that album's title track. No one will accuse Beyond the Sound Barrier of being standards-oriented, and the quartet doesn't go out of its way to be accessible; this is definitely one of Shorter's more cerebral releases. But the material is rewarding if one is broad-minded enough to appreciate Shorter and his younger colleagues at their most intellectual, and the audiences' enthusiastic applause — not just polite applause, but enthusiastic applause — indicates that they have no problem comprehending all the abstraction and angularity that is taking place. Beyond the Sound Barrier falls short of essential, but it's a solid demonstration of the fact that Shorter — who was in his late sixties and early seventies when these performances were recorded — wasn't afraid to be challenging and keep taking chances in the early 2000s.