Archive for the ‘Hank Jones’ Category
The James Moody and Hank Jones Quartet – Our Delight – (2006 – IPO Recordings)
The title Our Delight should have been subtitled with (to borrow a line from Ornette Coleman) “This Is Our Music,” not so much in the sense of revolution as revelation. But then Pianist Hank Jones and saxophonist James Moody have been revealing their precious gifts of music since the 1940s.
Both artists have been witness (and contributors) to the history of jazz. Jones played music in the hotbed of Detroit as did his brothers Thad and Elvin, then there were the many years accompanying Ella Fitzgerald. His ‘solo’ career of the last thirty years has elevated him into the living legend category. Likewise James Moody, who might best be known as a songwriter and sideman to Dizzy Gillespie. His encyclopedic jazz brain has probably stored more music than most artists will ever learn.
Although they did play together on Great Day (Argo, 1963), the intersection of these two rarely happened. Their common denominator here is the music of Dizzy Gillespie, which they reinvestigate with the joyfulness of a welcome home party.
With capable drummer Adam Nussbaum and Todd Coolman, perhaps Dizzy’s favorite bassist aboard, the ride certainly is a smooth one. The music of mostly familiar tunes allows you to delight in the assuredness and bliss of the session.
Moody’s saxophone playing is like his fellow Baha’i mentor Dizzy Gillespie, always perfect. After Hank Jones’ brief introduction on the blues “Birk’s Works,” the saxophonist states the theme with tremendous ease. Then he is on to a complicated improvisation that follows with such fluency, you might be fooled into believing this is simple music. It is anything but simple, and likewise Hank Jones who has made a career out of an economy of notes, his brand of jazz sounding simple.
The Tadd Dameron track “Good Bait” spills its infectious theme into a tasteful and quiet solo by Nussbaum. Jones takes a hesitative solo here, as he seemingly has done so in his whole career. His preference is to support his fellow players, not hog the spotlight. When he is not playing in a trio or perhaps solo, sometimes listeners can overlook his contributions. On the duo “Body And Soul” this is not possible. Sure, this track has been recorded thousands of times, but it may be the highlight of this recording. Moody’s saxophone is both a nod to Coleman Hawkins and, well, James Moody. Jones’ contribution, although brief, maintains the spirit and character of the moment.
The disc ends with Italian vocalist Roberta Gambarini’s take on “Moody’s Groove.” The vocalist, a favorite of Jones, who has accompanied her in concert and record of late, sings with a clarity much treasured in jazz. Her scatting fits comfortably with our two heroes’ approach.
All About jazz (Mark Corroto)
1. Our Delight
2. Birk’s Works
3. Con Alma
4. Lady Bird
5. Eternal Struggle
6. Body and Soul
7. Good Bait
8. Darben the Red Foxx
9. Soul Trane
10. Woody ‘N You
11. Old Folks
12. Moody’s Groove
Personnel:
James Moody (Tenor Sax, flute)
Hank Jones (piano)
Todd Coolman (bass)
Adam Nussbaum (drums)
Recorded at Sear Sound Studios, New York City, 28. & 29. 6. 2006 – Label: IPO
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Joe Lovano – I’m All For You – (2004 – Blue Note Records)
No instrument is more synonymous with jazz than the tenor saxophone, due equally to the expressive capabilities of the horn and the legacy of great players who have been attracted to it. On the evidence of Down Beat readers’ and critics’ polls over the past decade, Joe Lovano would appear to be the favorite among contenders for the top spot among present-day tenor titans. Is he one of the giants? Perhaps, though one might be hard-pressed to make the case on the basis of this single session from 2004.
In the liner notes, Ira Gitler invokes Dexter Gordon as an authority on the subject of strong individual tenor voices. The comparison seems less than apt, especially if Gitler is suggesting that Lovano is made of the same cloth. Gordon made each and every note a definitive choice during the course of constructing musical sermons delivered with such strong conviction that the extemporaneous circumstances of their creation is all the more to marvel at. His extended “Body and Soul” (from The Panther) rivals Coleman Hawkins in emotional rhetoric and exceeds him in some of its inspired note choices based on alternate harmonies—tones that Dexter treats like daggers, carefully selecting each one, then sharpening and honing each before aiming it right at the listener’s heart.
By contrast, Lovano’s “Body and Soul” (retitled “I’m All for You”) finds the player moving notes around on a chess board, experimenting with directions and possibilities, blurring some notes and abandoning others before making the move that counts, often to undeniable lyrical-poetic effect. He’s definitely closer to Lester Young than to any other tenor player associated with this tune—from Byas to Stitt to Lockjaw Davis to Coltrane. But his phrasing is more tentative and choppy, his sound is less open-throated, more squeezed and clipped than that of Lester or, for that matter, Stan Getz. In fact, if I didn’t know who the player was, I would guess Lee Konitz had momentarily exchanged his alto for a tenor (listen to any of Konitz’s recordings of the tune).
This album may be the best introduction to Joe Lovano’s inimitable sound and approach (as a Sinatra-phile, I found his tribute to Old Blue quite tepid). At this late, post-Bird, post-Trane time in American improvisatory music, sheer competence isn’t enough, and genuine innovation can be illusory. Possessing an individual voice is, in itself, no small achievement.
And it doesn’t hurt that the comparatively youthful, fifty-ish Lovano is supported by three of the current scene’s reigning patriarchs in George Mraz, Paul Motian and Hank Jones (for the math-inclined, a sexagenerian, a septagenerian, and an octogenarian). They lend not only sympathetic musical support, but also an incalculable sense of confirmation to this latest addition to a formidable musical heritage.
Across Rhythm 