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Written by Alan Chase
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Wednesday, 27 June 2007 |
T.J. Wheeler has been a busy man of late. The blues/jazz guitarist, social justice advocate and humanitarian has been busy with a variety of projects, including his ongoing efforts gathering old musical instruments to donate to the New Orleans public school system, his ongoing “Blues in the Schools” initiative in schools across the countrym and his duties as the artistic director of the Blues Bank Collective. All of this activity has kept Wheeler away from performing on the local scene for some time now. Fortunately, that has changed in recent weeks. Wheeler has hosted a series of shows at various local venues he calls the Friday Night Blues & Jazz Series. The series continues this Friday, June 29, with an appearance by Wheeler and his band The Smokers at the Stone Church in Newmarket at 9 p.m., their first local appearance in close to a year. A terrific band that counts harmonica ace Hatrack Gallagher and bassist Melvin Graham among its members, The Smokers take the audience on a high energy trip through the black music diaspora, making it hard for anyone to keep from moving to the infectious sound. Wheeler’s various appearances also serve as a reminder of just how good a musician he is.
Speaking of bands with an infectious sound, Matt Jenson’s Combo Sabroso returns to the Press Room this Saturday, June 30, for an evening of inspired Latin/salsa dance music. Combo Sabroso translates to “Tasty Combo” which aptly describes the band. Conguerro Manolo Miarena and bassist/vocalist Alex Alevar provide the rhythmic underpinnings over which leader/pianist Jenson and saxophonist Matt Langley take flight with heated fervor. The whole band lays down smokin’ grooves, and the dance floor begins to heat up at 9 p.m.
Club D’Elf, a Boston-based band that I like to refer to as “beyond category,” has recently made a series of regular appearances at the Stone Church. The next show at the church takes place on Friday, July 13 at 9 p.m. I mean “beyond category” in a very positive sense, as Club D’Elf defies the usual music industry of categorization by creating music that is both continually creative and very groove oriented. Club D’Elf should be considered a poster child for music without boundaries.
In music where interaction is a crucial component, drummer Paul Motian could be considered one of the leading exponents of creative interaction. From his days as a member of the Bill Evans Trio, with Scott LaFaro on bass, to his membership in Keith Jarrett’s 1970s quartet to his two current projects—the Electric Bebop Band and his trio with guitarist Bill Frisell and saxophonist Joe Lovano—Motian has defined the art of interaction with his subtle and melodic approach to the instrument. An example can be found on the trio’s latest CD, “Time and Time Again,” on ECM Records. These three distinctive musicians create music that goes beyond the rote “play-the-melody-then-solo” approach. Instead, the instrumentalists are so in tune with one another that they create a wonderfully ethereal sound in which Motian’s free-floating approach lays the foundation for Frisell’s sparse sonic textures, over which Lovano’s thoughtful lines dart and glide. Fragments of melody give way to spacious periods of incisive group improvisation on original tunes such as “Cambodia,” “Party Line” and “In Remembrance of Things Past.” The disc’s two non-originals, Rogers & Hammerstein’s “This Nearly Was Mine” and Thelonious Monk’s “Light Blue,” receive the same thoughtfully interactive treatment. I would liken the music on this superb recording to a painting made with soft pastel colors.
New CDs from pianist/composer Ken Werner and saxophonist Joshua Redman offer examples of the cathartic power of music created in the aftermath of personal tragedy. Werner’s “Lawn Chair Society” on Blue Note comes less than a year after the tragic loss of his daughter Katheryn, who died in a car accident last fall. Yet the music is neither somber nor maudlin. Rather, its character is upbeat. Werner blends aspects of mainstream jazz with contemporary sounds, including touches of electronica and world beat influences, as well as his trademark subtle humor, to create a provocative sound that is refreshing and spontaneous. Trumpeter Dave Douglas, saxophonist Chris Potter, bassist Scott Colley and drummer Brian Blade lend their creative talents to the project, with producer Lenny Picket adding his equally creative touch in the recording booth. This one is a winner all the way that also serves as a loving tribute to a remarkable young lady.
Joshua Redman’s “Back East” on Nonesuch Records is one of the saxophonist’s strongest releases to date. The recording is reflective of recent events in the artist’s life, from the recent birth of his child to his departure from his post as music director of SF Jazz, to the death of his musician father Dewey last summer. Taking its cue from the classic Sonny Rollins recording “Way Out West,” “Back East” puts Redman in a variety of trio settings with bassists Larry Grenadier, Christian McBride and Reuben Rogers, and drummers Ali Jackson, Brian Blade and Eric Harland. Saxophonists Joe Lovano and Chris Cheek add their creativity to one tune each. There’s a spirited sense of adventure that runs through this recording, from the provocative opening version of “Surrey with the Fringe on Top” to nice updates of two tunes from the aforementioned Rollins recording, “I’m an Old Cowhand” and “Wagon Wheels.” Redman and Lovano get into a series of inspired tenor sax exchanges on Wayne Shorter’s “Indian Song,” while Redman and Cheek lock into a superb soprano sax dual on the original tune “Mantra #5.” Father and son engage in a spirited musical dialogue on John Coltrane’s “India.” and Joshua allows his father to have the final say on the CD with “CJ,” an original by Dewey that features him on alto sax with Grenadier and Jackson. The track serves as a poignant remembrance of one of jazz’s most original voices.
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