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Ernie Krivda & The Fat Tuesday Big BandSwinging Hard at the Savannah

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PAGE TWO Jazz & Blues ReportNovember • December 2003 • Issue 265

Ernie Krivda & The Fat Tuesday Big Band

Swinging Hard at the Savannah

Ernie Krivda’s Fat Tuesday Big Bandhas been holding down the fort at TheSavannah in Westlake every Tuesdaynight for the past 7 years, and has becomequite the tradition at the blues & jazz night-club/restaurant. Such atradition that many folkscome in just about everyweek to soak up thesound of the 19-piece bigband, many of themdancing throughout thenight; others simply sit-ting at their perches andgrooving. Whatever theirchoice of physical activi-ty...or participation...it isobvious that they arethoroughly involved inthe music and are defi-nitely enjoying them-selves. “They are all giv-ing back energy.” Krivdastates.

Krivda grew up lis-tening to the music ofswing bands and a goodportion of the music FTBB (Fat TuesdayBig Band) performs is from that era. Ernieis not looking to give a dose of nostalgia,but rather delivers swinging jazz big bandmusic with energy, passion and other qual-ities associated with newer forms of themusic. In other words, it is not a pop bigband, but rather a more straight jazz ori-ented swing band. An important elementfor Krivda is to “always keep the energyup.”

Ernie mentioned that “Rather thanbecome complacent with the ongoing gig,we constantly try to spice things up. Wehave recently added a vocalist, Erin Kuffel,who fits the big band thing to perfection.Just 21, she is in the vocal jazz program atTri-C. She just has that ‘thing’ happeningand fits right in.”

The band started in 1991 as arehearsal band and grew into a perform-ance unit. Two of the members, trumpeterSteve Enos and tenor saxophonist TommyFirst have been in the band since its incep-tion. The FTBB has two CDs out and is cur-rently working on a third. Prior to their 7year stint at The Savannah, they played atthe old Mr. Z’s for 3 years until the suc-cessful eating and drinking spot was sold

and razed for yet another drug store withan empty parking lot. No matter though, asThe Savannah was ready and willing tosign them right up like a red hot free agentin sports, and it is a much, much better

venue for the music toboot.

In addition to theSavannah gig, they haveplayed festivals inPennsylvania, WestVirginia and elsewhere.“It is hard to take the bandon the road though, withall the costs involvedtoday,” Krivda interjects.

While most of themembers of the FTBBlive in the Cleveland area,some travel weekly fromsuch yonder locales asAkron, Youngstown, andeven Columbus. The cur-rent edition of the band, inaddition to Krivda, Kuffel,Enos and First, includes:Ernie on tenor sax, Erin

Kuffel on vocals, Steve Sterner/lead alto sax,Don Turso/alto sax/ clarinet/flute and is one ofthe band’s arrangers, Chris Burge/tenor sax,Don Ingersoll/baritone sax, Garey Hicks/leadtrombone and is another arranger, GeorgeCarr/trombone, Andy Hunter/trombone andfeatured jazz trombonist, B.J. Bishop/basstrombone, Wess Orr/lead trumpet, SteveEnos and Dave Banks/featured jazz trumpetsoloists, Dave Pericco/trumpet and jazz spe-cialist, Joe Hunter/piano, Lee Bush/rhythmguitar, Kurt Kothiemer/bass and RayPorrello/drums. Krivda points out that theyare one of the very few big bands to use arhythm guitar, which was pretty much a main-stay in the format in its heyday.

Ernie has been well-known not only inthe Cleveland area, but nationwide andbeyond for the past 25 years or so datingback to his now out-of-print albums on theInner City label out of New York. He wasalways known for a very high energy brandof straight ahead modern jazz with a veryunique tenor saxophone style. “Peoplehave been confused as to why the jazz guyis doing this big band thing,” Krivda relates.“I always loved big bands, and wanted tofinally do the big band thing because Ialways had this feeling of how a big band

By Bill Wahl

Jazz & Blues Report November • December 2003 • Issue 265 PAGE THREE

should sound.” He wanted a band with topflight arrangements, strong rhythmic andblues sensibilities - and it had to swing! Ashe puts it...”If you can’t fundamentallyswing; if you can’t make people dance withyour groove...then you’ve got a real prob-lem.” The FTBB does not have that prob-lem at all...on any given Tuesday night,you’ll see people of all ages dancing, andthat is certainly a part of the fun!

The band has performed elsewhereas well. In addition to the above-mentionedfestivals, they’ve played at the Gray’sArmory for the Lindy Exchange, whichdraws swing dancers from all over. Theyhave also been involved with bringing backthe old marketing concept of the “Battle ofthe Bands,” a good example of which wastheir performance opposite the CountBasie Orchestra at a recent Tri-CJazzFest. They’ve also played at theBohemian Hall Ballroom on Broadway inCleveland, and have done some wed-dings. For that, the person has to callErnie...he certainly isn’t going to look forthem. But if the situation is just right - it canbe arranged for future I-DOers looking for asuperb swing big band playing the GreatAmerican Songbook.

In addition to the arrangers within theband mentioned above, the FTBB also uti-lizes arrangements by Thad Jones, QuincyJones, Bill Holman, Fletcher Henderson,Marty Paitch and Bob Florence. As Krivdapoints out “These (arrangers) are diversepersonalities, but the band plays them witha singular style, and that’s been a big rea-son for our success. They don’t simplysound like recreations.”

But the Fat Tuesday Big Band is notthe only project Krivda is involved withthese days. He’s also putting out a wholenew series of solo CDs on theCadence/CIMP label. The first of those, aquartet album titled The Music of ErnieKrivda, was reviewed in our July/Augustissue where Nancy Ann Lee wrote “mightjust be Krivda’s best yet.” He’s not releasedan album such as this comprised solely ofhis own compositions in quite a long time.There is another as yet untitled CD of hisown compositions coming out on CIMP inDecember, and another in the Spring. Inthe coming months there will also be a liverecording released of a 1998 SeveranceHall concert “Focus on Stan Getz,” whichincludes the famous Eddie Sauter compo-sition “Focus.” His CDs are available notonly in record stores, but at his gigs aswell. Pick one up at The Savannah.Cadence will also be reissuing an olderKrivda LP on CD for the first time titledTough Tenor Red Hot. As far as the oldInner City albums....who knows if they’llever be reissued, or who even owns them

at the moment.Ernie also does some traveling to

cities such as Columbus, Cincinnati,Chicago, Buffalo and other nearby citieswhere he plays gigs with local rhythm sec-tions.

But for Clevelanders who want toswing hard and have a great time...theplace to be is at The Savannah at 30676Detroit Road in Westlake at the corner ofBradley-just west of Crocker everyTuesday night. For those not familiar withthe area, take I-90 West from Cleveland tothe Crocker exit, hang a left on Crockerand a right on Detroit. Of course, thosecoming from the west, reverse those direc-tions until you get to Detroit. Then turn rightlike everyone else. Hats off to Jim DePaulat the Savannah for 7 years of the FatTuesday Big Band, and of course to theband members and Ernie the K as well.See you there one of these Tuesdaynights.

Janet Makoska PhotoExhibit at Rock & Roll Hall

of Fame & MuseumThe Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and

Museum has announced a new photoexhibit, “It’s Always Rock and Roll,” whichwill feature the work of Cleveland photo-journalist, Janet Macoska. The exhibit willopen to the public on Wednesday,November 19 on the Museum’s FourthFloor and run through April 2004.

For more than 25 years, Macoskahas captured priceless shots of rock starsfrom Aretha Franklin to Led Zeppelin. Herwork has been featured in publicationsfrom Rolling Stone and People Magazineto the New York Times and the LondonTimes. American Photo featured the pho-tojournalist’s pictures - alongside workfrom Annie Liebovitz, Mark Seliger andnoted rock photographers - in a specialissue devoted entirely to rock and roll.Macoska’s images have also been dis-played in the National Portrait Gallery inLondon.

The exhibit at the Rock and Roll Hallof Fame and Museum will include morethan 50 prints from Michael Hutchence ofINXS, David Bowie, Paul McCartney andAretha Franklin to the Ramones, AnnieLennox, Roxy Music and more.

“Cleveland was a test market formany record companies in the seventiesand eighties and the major bands made ita stop on their tours,” Macoska said. Thefact that the city was relatively free of thephotographic competition that definedlarger markets such as New York and LosAngeles gave Macoska access to some ofrock’s biggest icons. “Sometimes magical

things happen,” she said.“Working out of Cleveland, Janet has

had unique access to many of the greatperformers of the last 30 years,” said JimHenke, Chief Curator of the Museum.“We’re pleased to be able to showcasethe work of a Cleveland artist who hashad such a successful career.”

“These are some of my favorite pho-tographs...Zeppelin, David Bowie, BruceSpringsteen at the top of their game, theway we, as fans, want to rememberthem,” Macoska said. “I’m a rock fan. Isucceed as an artist when my photos cap-ture the energy and spirit of rock and rollin a sixtieth of a second moment,” sheadded.

One of Macoska’s proudest accom-plishments is a photo of Paul McCartneythat hangs in the National Portrait Galleryin London. You can also find her work onbooks and record sleeves. Some exam-ples include the Led Zeppelin box set,David Bowie’s Stage CD and a series ofreissued CDs from the Kinks.

Janet is currently working as the mar-keting director for Tri-C JazzFest.

To mark the opening of this exhibit,visitors can see local musicians performingfor free on the Museum’s Main Stage from6-9 p.m. on Wednesday, November 19.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame andMuseum exists to educate its visitors,fans and scholars from around the worldabout the history and significance of rockand roll music. The Museum carries outthis mission through its efforts to collect,preserve, exhibit and interpret this artform.

The Museum is open seven days aweek from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. OnWednesdays only, the Museum is openuntil 9 p.m.

The Pat Metheny Trio, with Christian McBrideand Antonio Sanchez will be appearing atSeverance Hall on Sunday, November 9 at7:30 PM. Tickets are on sale at the SeveranceHall box office, or can be charged by phone bycalling 216/231-1111 (toll free 800-686-1141)

November • December 2003 • Issue 265PAGE FOUR Jazz & Blues Report

Jazz Superstars HeadlineTri-C JazzFest Cleveland

25th AnniversaryCelebration

Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland is throw-ing an unparalleled swingin’ 25thanniversary party, April 14-24, 2004, forjazz lovers in Northeast Ohio andbeyond. Opening weekend, April 16 &17, will feature a parade of jazz super-stars performing together onstage at theAllen Theatre in tribute to jazz legendsHorace Silver and Tommy LiPuma, withproceeds benefiting the Tri-C JazzFestendowment fund.

“Silver On Silver” - a tribute toHorace Silver, salutes this legendaryjazz composer with an evening of Mr.Silver’s compositions played by some ofhis fans, jazz giants David Sanborn, AlJarreau, Joe Sample (and more TBA)backed by The Clayton-Hamilton JazzOrchestra with the trio of ChristianMcBride, Geoff Keezer and Lewis Nash.

“The Art of LiPuma” - a tribute toTommy LiPuma, allows Tri-C JazzFestCleveland to salute a friend and a nativeson of Cleveland, who is currentlyChairman of The Verve Music Group.This evening will feature many of theartists whose careers Mr. LiPuma hasso significantly influenced as a Grammyaward-winning producer. Onstagetogether for this evening: Diana Krall,George Benson, Dr. John (and moreTBA) backed by The Clayton-HamiltonJazz Orchestra with the trio of ChristianMcBride,Geoff Keezer and Lewis Nash.

Opening March 28 and runningthrough July, The Cleveland Museum ofArt will be presenting an exhibition ofTommy LiPuma’s world-renowned col-lection of 20th century American art.Verve artist, Regina Carter, will performwith her quintet in concert at TheCleveland Art Museum on Thursday,April 22, at 8 p.m.

Beginning as a two-day festival in1980, Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland hasproudly grown into a world-class festi-val, celebrating jazz, enlarging, educat-ing and entertaining audiences, anddeveloping the next-generation of jazzmusicians. DownBeat has named Tri-CJazzFest “America’s premiere jazz edu-cation festival.”

Tickets for the above events are onsale now.

For tickets and the latest news onTri-C JazzFest Cleveland, visitwww.tricjazzfest.com or call 216/987-4400.

DVDV I D E O

Give the Gift of Music!

CDsBOXED & MULTIPLE SETS

BLUES STORYSHOUT! FACTORY CD/DVD

Subtitled “The story of the blues toldthrough the eyes of the artists who livedit,” Blues Story is quite simply the defini-tive one volume DVD story of the blues-period. With 120 minutes of interview clipsfrom just about all the great living bluesartists, mixed with performance clips fromsome of the greats long gone, this filmgives the most accurate insight into theblues I have seen.

Originally aired on PBS earlier thisyear (and not to be confused with therecent Martin Scorcesse blues series),this video is now available for general salewithout being a pledge drive premium. It isbroken down into eleven sections as fol-lows: Origins, Early Artists, The Women,Down In The Delta, King Biscuit Time,Juke, St. Louis, Texas and West CoastBlues, Jump Blues, Memphis, Chicago,and closing with Blues Revival and theBirth of Rock. Within these sections areinterview clips, or stories, from Bobby“Blue” Bland, Charles Brown, Clarence“Gatemouth” Brown, Ruth Brown, R.L.Burnside, Honeyboy Edwards, WillieFoster, Lowell Fulson, Buddy Guy, JohnJackson, B.B. King, Willie King, Robert

Lockwood, Little Milton, Pinetop Perkins,Snooky Prior, Philadelphia Jimmy Ricks,Magic Slim, Hubert Sumlin, Koko Taylor,Rufus Thomas, Henry Townsend andOthar Turner. As they tell their stories,you’ll see short clips and performancefootage of many departed greats, includ-ing Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker,Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey and many oth-ers. The in-your-face camera shots of theartists telling their stories make it look likethey are sitting across the table from you,and many of them play short solo dittys aswell. Already, some of these artists havepassed away, including Charles Brown,Willie Foster, Lowell Fulson, JohnJackson, Rufus Thomas and OtharTurner.

The bonus tracks after the 1-1/2 hourdocumentary include complete perform-ances from R. L Burnside, Honey BoyEdwards, Willie Foster, John Jackson,Robert Lockwood, Pinetop Perkins,Snooky Prior, Philadelphia Jerry Ricks,Koko Taylor and Othar Turner & TheRising Star Fife & Drum Band.

In a nutshell - you can’t go wrongbuying this DVD as a gift for ANY bluesfan. and chances are they won’t have itsince it was just released around October1. Hey-get one for yourself too.

In addition, Shout! Factory hasreleased a 2-CD companion, also titledBlues Story, which contains 40 tracks byall the above artists (including Rainey,Bessie, Wolf, etc.) and many, many more-many of whom have been long gone.

Bill Wahl

MICHAEL FRANKSAnthology: The Art Of Love

RHINO 2-CD SETFrom his debut album in 1975, The

Art Of Tea, Michael Franks has been asinger that women simply LOVE. This isdue to his incredibly sensitive and openlyrics, beautiful melodies and airy, lyrical,dreamy vocals. Then throw in the pop-jazz style and Brazilian rhythms.Heck...how can a guy go wrong with all ofthat going for him?

Jazz & Blues Report PAGE FIVENovember • December 2003 • Issue 265

This 31 song retrospective reissues completely remasteredtracks sampling his biggest hits from all 13 of his Warner Bros.albums and his 1999 release on Windham Hill Jazz. You’ll get“Popsicle Toes,” “Eggplant,” “The Lady Wants To Know,” “Antonio’sSong (The Rainbow),” “Meet Me In The Deerpark,” “Tiger In TheRain,” “When It’s Over,” “Lotus Blossom,” “Tahitian Moon,” andmany others. Also included are his hit with Brenda Russell, “When IGive My Love To You,” and live tracks with Crossfire (from an import-only album) and tracks from the live album Franks did with theYellowjackets.

He’s always used top notch musicians such as David Sanborn,Bob Mintzer, Steve Gadd, Joe Sample, Larry Carlton, Earl Klugh,Kenny Barron and Mike Manieri–to name a few. The 44 page book-let is loaded with an essay on Franks, photos and discographicalinformation.

Hey Guys...got a woman who likes light jazz...listens to TheWave? Buy her this for a stocking stuffer and see what happens.Your’e gonna owe me...big time. Bill Wahl

BOX OF THE BLUESSixty Performances on Four CDsROUNDER/ZOE RECORDS BOXED SET

Box of the Blues – the recently released Rounder retrospec-tive - is the perfect musical remedy for blues aficionados every-where.

Disc One, entitled 61 Highway, collects acoustic blues by first-generation players, while Disc Two, called One More Mile featuresthe fuller band sound of “city-style” blues. Disc Three, Change in myPocket, introduces some of the best younger generation interpretersof the blues, and Disc Four, A Good Day for The Blues, offers lis-teners the best of Rounder’s soul and gospel blues recordings.

Perfectly packaged, Box of the Blues features glossy linernotes that includes a well-written essay by Scott Billington,Rounders’ vice-president, A&R, chronicling the evolution ofRounder’s relationship with the blues. Each song is accompanied bya paragraph that explains its genesis. Candid black and white pho-tographs of some of the performers that appear throughout alsocomplement these liner notes.

The highlights of Disc One are the opener “61 Highway” per-formed by Mississippi Fred McDowell and Blind Willie McTell’s“Dying Crapshooter’s Blues.”

Disc Two opens with Rounder’s first Grammy-Award winnerClarence Gatemouth Brown, and his “One More Mile.” A hoppinghorn section of trumpet and trombone combines with alto, tenor, andbass saxophones to crank out this big band blues number.

Another highlight of Disc Two is Carey Bell’s version of theMuddy Waters classic “My Eyes Keep Me In Trouble.” The Chicago-style blues-harmonica legend wails away, as Bob Reidy and hisChicago Blues Band tries to keep pace with Bell’s harp.

Marcia Ball’s soulful voice and piano-playing prowess on “BlueHouse” is one of Disc Three’s gems. The rest of this disc offers anew generation of blues artists, many of whom rework traditionalblues. Boston’s Tarbox Ramblers’ “Down South Blues” is an exam-ple of this. With fighting fiddles, drums, and guitar, they give thistimeless song a modern hillbilly blues treatment.

Ruth Brown and her soulful “Good Day for The Blues” opensDisc Four. Wilson Pickett’s “Outskirts of Town” shows his powerfulpipes still can deliver.

Otis Clay’s Mississippi gospel roots rings out on “I Can TakeYou to Heaven Tonight,” backed by The Legendary Hi RhythmSection and The Memphis Horns.

From the depths of the Delta, to Chicago, New Orleans andMemphis, this 60-song, four-disc set captures all the classic artiststhat Rounder has recorded in the last couple of decades.

David McPherson

MILES DAVISComplete In

Person Friday andSaturday Nightsat the BlackhawkCOLUMBIA/LEGACYBOXED 2-CD SET

In terms of remoterecording, jazz morethan any other type ofmusic is most naturallyfound in its creative ele-

ment. Musicians are most apt to improvise freely withoutthought to time limits when on the bandstand and the nonver-bal communication with the audience can certainly boost adren-alin levels, which in turn increases the intensity of the perform-ance. Of the many jazz legends who have recorded in the mod-ern era, Miles Davis was documented in more live settings thanprobably any other of his peers, thanks in part to the healthycoffers of Columbia Records. As a result, we have a much bet-ter picture of Davis’ many classic ensembles over the years asheard “on the job.”

Back in the spring of 1961, Davis was in a period of transi-tion. Tenor saxophone master John Coltrane had left the trum-peter’s employ to lead his own band and Hank Mobley hadcome on board to take his place. While the new tenor man hadhis own style, it was less radical than Coltrane’s histrionics andDavis was not always pleased with the end results. Still, the trioof Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Jimmy Cobb had beentogether for some time and the chemistry that they shared wasundeniably strong. It is this band that appeared at San

PAGE SIX November • December 2003 • Issue 265

Francisco’s Blackhawk where all of themusic performed on the weekend of April21st and 22nd was recorded for prosperi-ty.

Initially released in truncated formand with edited performances in somecases, for the first time we get to hearevery recorded note amounting to nearlyfour hours of music on four discs and withthe best possible sound quality. Sevensets were recorded with a total of 29 per-formances being the net result. Thirteenof these have never before been heard,adding considerably to this cache of Davismemorabilia. There are several takes onfamiliar tunes such as “If I Were a Bell,” “IThought About You,” and “Green DolphinStreet,” however each one speaks with anindividual sense of creativity, a testamentto the resourcefulness of each one ofthese talented musicians. Miles himself isin solid form, often playing with a muteand stretching out at length. Mobley spinssome wonderful yarns despite some reedproblems, although his melodic style issimilar to Davis’ and as such there’s muchless of a contrast between the two leadvoices.

Packaging for this boxed set consistsof two slim double jewel boxes housed in ahard cover outer box. Notes inside the CDbooklet are nothing all that revelatory, witha reprint of the original liners and a briefremembrance by Eddie Henderson. Whilemore exciting changes were to come forDavis and his ensembles, these two nightsin San Francisco solidified Davis’ main-stream manifesto and are a valuable addi-tion to the trumpeter’s legacy.

Chris Hovan

DEEP BLUESA Musical Pilgrimage To The

CrossroadsSHOUT! FACTORY DVD

Deep Blues is a wonderful documen-tary conceived by guitarist Dave Stewartof the Eurythmics (who is also the execu-tive producer) to pay tribute to the greatunknown blues artists living in Mississippi.He hired noted music writer RobertPalmer (who wrote the book Deep Bluesand was the music writer for the New YorkTimes and Rolling Stone) and directorRobert Mugge (Hellhounds On My Trailand The Gospel According To Al Green) tolocate, film and record some of the bestblues musicians in the region. That theydid. It was 1990, and they searched outmany artists who were unknown at thetime, but have since been “discovered”and recorded–some to great extent.

After an introduction narrated byPalmer (who narrates throughout) themusic starts right in with Benjamin Perry

doing “I’m So Glad Trouble Don’t LastAlways” and continues through a total of16 songs featuring solo, duo and bandperformances not only in Juke Joints, butin living rooms, front porches and fields.The other musicians you’ll hear from are:Booker T. Laury, R. L. Burnside, JessieMae Hemphill (both solo guitar/vocals andwith her fife and drum band), JuniorKimbrough, Roosevelt “Booba” Barnes,Big Jack Johnson, Jack Owens & BudSpires and Lonnie Pitchford, who closesthe film with three songs. On the first ofthese, “Johnny Stole An Apple,” Lonniepicks a single metal string fastened to awood beam on the outside of a houseusing a ratchet socket (a big one) as aslide.

The bonus tracks here are LonniePitchford playing “My Babe,” again play-ing the single string with socket, R. L.Burnside and Dave Stewart with a jukejoint band and 2 more solo piano songsfrom Booker T. Laury. Then there is abonus audio chapter with 7 more audio-only tracks from Kimbrough, Jelly RollKings (Frank Frost, Sam Carr & Big JackJohnson), Burnside, Barnes andPitchford.

The only bad note here is the factthat since this film was made, Laury,Kimbrough, Barnes, Frost, Pitchford andRobert Palmer have all passed away. AndHemphill suffered a stroke, which pre-vents her from playing the guitar. But thisfilm will live on for many years to come asa testament to the blues of Mississippi,presented in a first class manner in boththe audio and video categories as well asshowing a deep respect for the artists itpresents. Very nicely done! Bill Wahl

MODERN JAZZ QUARTETMJQ-The Complete Prestige &

Pablo RecordingsPRESTIGE/PABLO 4-CD BOXED SET

Some of the MJQ fans out theremight have the boxed set of the quartet’sAtlantic recordings, released severalyears ago. I don’t have it, and don’tremember how complete it was, but thisnewly released box of four CDs containsevery recording the band made for thePrestige and Pablo labels. Since bothmonikers are now owned by FantasyRecords, putting this set together was notonly a natural...but also quite an easytask, no doubt.

MJQ made their debut as a unit withthe 1952 Prestige release simply titledMJQ. Subsequently, they released threeothers for Prestige, including one withSonny Rollins joining in for the session.They then went with Atlantic after which

they took some time off before they sur-faced again, this time on Pablo Recordsfor the 1981 release Reunion atBudokan, a live recording of a concert inTokyo. They went on to record anotherlive album for Pablo in 1982, and did twostudio albums for the label in ‘84 and ‘85.

Milt Jackson, John Lewis, PercyHeath and Connie Kaye (the originaldrummer was Kenny Clarke) are a jazzinstitution, with a huge following of listen-ers of both the jazz and classical genres.As Eugene Holley states in the liner nots“Their syncopated science, telepathicinterplay, and monastic commitment toswing beautifully blended African-American jazz and blues with Europeanclassical compositional forms.”

This set offers dozens of gems from aband who worked together for almost 50years. Enjoy! Bill Wahl

RAY CHARLESIn Concert

RHINO 2-CD SETThis set, available only online, is a

compilation of live concert recordings bythe great Ray Charles recorded over aspan of 19 years from 1956 to 1975. Rayis always at his finest in a live context (atrait that also rings true for the best of allmusicians), and this set comprised ofsome the songs he’s known for is sure todelight Ray’s many fans.

The albums sampled for this set areRay Charles Live at Newport (Atlantic,recorded 1958), Ray Charles In Person(Atlantic, 1959), Ray Charles • Berlin(Pablo, 1962), Ray Charles Live inConcert (ABC-Paramount 1964) and RayCharles Live in Japan(Crossover/London, 1975-JapaneseImport). You’ll get 29 nuggets rom Rayand his band, including “(Night Time Is)The Right Time,” “Talkin’ “Bout You,” “YesIndeed,” “What’d I Say,” “Georgia On MyMind,” “Unchain My Heart,” “Hallelujah ILove Her So,” “I’ve Got A Woman,” and aslew of others.

A fine set of Ray Charles capturedlive, this two CD set is available only atwww.Rhinohandmade.com for $39.98.

Bill Wahl

Jazz & Blues Report

PAGE SEVENJazz & Blues Report November • December 2003 • Issue 265

CARMELL JONESMosaic Select

MOSAIC MAIL ORDER BOXED SET I have to claim a special affinity for

the music of trumpeter Carmell Jones asdocumented on this three-disc set. Goingback to an interview I conducted withMosaic’s Michael Cuscuna a few yearsback, I commented on how much of thePacific Jazz material that had been reis-sued up to that point consisted largely ofalbums from the ‘50s, ignoring the follow-ing decade’s trinkets. Cuscuna shared myfeelings and expressed his desire to findsome way to package items from thePacific Jazz catalog that might not be ascommercially viable as those classic ChetBaker, Gerry Mulligan, and Bud Shanksides. Now we have the Jones set at handand things seem to be looking up.

Although the misconception existsthat the prevailing jazz climate on theWest Coast was much cooler than its EastCoast counterpart, a quick listen to “I’mGonna Go Fishin’” from 1961’s TheRemarkable Carmell Jones should putthat myth to rest. Jones is fluid and fierythroughout, as is tenor saxophonistHarold Land, who contributes some of hismost incendiary improvisations. A rareitem that fetches high prices on vinyl, thisset has been long overdue for reissue, yet

even more remarkable is the availabilityhere of two additional Pacific Jazz rarities,Business Meetin’ and Brass Bag. Thesesets sport large ensemble chartsarranged by Gerald Wilson and not onlyadd much to our knowledge of Jones’work, but also speak to the arrangingprowess of Wilson. Little need exists forsingling out specific performances asevery moment deserves to be savoredand the anonymity of these performancessimply defies explanation.

Completing this package are twosessions that were not recorded underJones’ leadership, but prominently featurehis contributions. The first of these is apreviously unissued 1963 Pacific Jazzdate led by Frank Strazzeri. Consistinglargely of the pianist’s originals, nothingall that revolutionary occurs, but Jonesand tenor man Hadley Caliman form apotent front line and the solo spots areuniformly fine. Harold Land’s JazzImpressions of Folk Music is entirelysomething else, an extensive hard bopreworking of public domain ‘oldies’ suchas “Hava Na Gila,” “Tom Dooley,” and “OnTop of Old Smokey.” To say that Jonesand Land whip things into a vibrant froth isan understatement and the album’s inclu-sion here is an unmitigated bonus.

As an introduction to Mosaic’s newline of reissues, this title succeeds bril-

liantly. As for the individual artist involved,the recorded work is of substantial merit,especially considering that it has longbeen unavailable.

Issued in limited editions of 5000, thisrecording is available solely throughMosaic Records; 35 Melrose Place;Stamford, CT. 06902; (203) 327-7111.

Check out the Mosaic website atwww.mosaicrecords.com for more infor-mation. Chris Hovan

ALBERT COLLINSThe Iceman at Mount Fuji

FUEL 2000 DVDFew blues guitarists enjoyed the

“second life” of rock-era adulation to theextent that the late Albert Collins did. Astrong draw at concerts and clubs fromthe 70’s until his demise, no one evershook as much blues out of half a fret-board, and the edge and intensity of theIceman’s play clicked in a big way withrock listeners. This disc sets Collins onthe stage of the 1992 Mount Fuji JazzFestival with a solid Icebreakers line-upand a songlist of favorites including “If YouLove Me Like You Say”, “Lights Are OnBut Nobody’s Home” and the Collins clas-sic “Frosty”.

Originally a production for NipponTelevision, the style is predictably (for theJapanese) straightforward and thankfully

November • December 2003 • Issue 265 Jazz & Blues ReportPAGE EIGHT

non-“conceptual”. Collins is strongthroughout and quite congenial to an (alsopredictably) reserved but appreciativeJapanese jazz audience. Sound quality isexcellent and fans of the Iceman shouldnot be without this. Those who didn’t getto catch his act would also be well servedto check it out. Duane Verh

MILES DAVISThe Complete Jack Johnson

SessionsCOLUMBIA/LEGACY BOXED SET

The Complete Jack Johnson Sessionsis exactly as advertised, the operative beingcomplete. With warts and all, this is a 5-CD,42 track collection of jams and grooves,sometimes organized, other times roughand experimental but always inspired.

The original Jack Johnson Sessionswas a pinnacle record in many musicians’musical development and introduced manyof us to fusion music. So with 34 previouslyunreleased tracks and the remaining 8including the two from the original 1970release “Right Off” and “Yesternow”, thiscompilation offers us up a real peek behindthe Miles Davis magical musical curtain andcreative process.

The program is organized in such away that you get 3 to 4 versions of eachtune next to each other, allowing you tohear the many wide variations on eachtheme. Then, you put it into the context ofthe time period and figure that most ofthese guys were in their early to mid20’s–Chick Corea was 28, John Mclaughlin27 and the youthful Billy Cobham at 24. Sofrom an historical music perspective, yearsbefore Return To Forever, MahahvishnuOrchestra etc., you can clearly hear thegenesis of the whole genre, plus, in somemusical interludes you get a glimpse offuture tunes. Then there’s the selection ofmusical talent...though many of them werealready established and notable, but werefar from the heights they would eventuallyreach...again illustrating the genius andinsight of Miles.

The only thing I would have liked tohear, if it had it been available, is some ofthe between track banter between themusicians to get the feel of the sessions,how they were setting up the tunes, andsome of the working atmosphere.

In addition to the original lineup of BillyCobham, Steve Grossman, HerbieHancock, Michael Henderson and JohnMcLaughlin, also on hand is Ron Carter,Chick Corea, Jack DeJohnette, DaveHolland, Keith Jarrett, Bennie Maupin, AirtoMoreira, Hermeto Pascoal, Gene Perla,Sonny Sharrock, Wayne Shorter, and LennyWhite . And, oh yes, Miles...not a lot elsereally needs to be said. Jim Martin

ALAN LOMAXAlan Lomax: Blues Songbook

ROUNDER RECORDS 2-CD SETThis double cd is a jewel! The per-

formers include Mississippi FredMcDonald with Fanny David and MilesPratcher; Roselle Hill; Jack Owens & BudSpirals; Howlin’ Wolf, Hubert Sumlin, andEddie Shaw; Boy Blue, Joe Lee, andDarnel Williams; Lucious Curtis & WillieFord; Cecil Augusta; David ‘Honeyboy”Edwards; Son House; Walter ‘Tangle Eye”Jackson; Vera Ward Hall & Dock Reed;Sonny Terry; Bessie Jones; GabrielBrown; Dock Boggs; Skip James; JellyRoll Morton; Pete Johnson; The MemphisJug Band, and Memphis Slim, Sonny BoyWilliamson, and Big Bill Broonzy. The sec-ond disc performers are some of thesame, plus Blind Willie McTell; ElinorBoyer; Canray Fontenot & Bois SecArdoin; Ozella Jones; Muddy Waters; R.L.Burnside; Lead Belly; Albert Ammons;Sam Chatmon; Smith Casey; Hattie Ellis& Cowboy Jack Ramsey; Ed Young &Hobart Smith; Bob Pratcher; and BrownieMcGhee. These discs frame blues menand women who normally would not get aspin. Juke joints and front porches keptthe blues alive, still do.

Kudos for Rounders and the family ofAlan Lomax. Mark A. Cole

THE MARSALIS FAMILYA Jazz Celebration

MARSALIS MUSIC/ROUNDER DVDFilmed at the University of New

Orleans on August 4, 2001, the Marsalisfamily comes together in concert for thefirst time ever on the occasion of the retire-ment of faculty member Ellis Marsalis.

Before an audience of a couple thou-sand fans, pianist Ellis, sons Branford(tenor & soprano saxes), Wynton (trum-pet), Delfeayo (trombone) and Jason(drums) show what’s made them such aprominent family of jazz. Bassist RolandGuerin rounds out the core band andpianist Harry Connick Jr (who studied withEllis Marsalis) and Lucien Barbarin (trom-bone) make guest appearances. In forma-tions from trio to sextet, these musiciansdeliver around 80 minutes of solid music,12 tunes that give everyone peakmoments in the spotlight. Branford andWynton front a pianoless quartet on theBlakeyish-sounding Branford composition,“Cain and Abel.” A two-piano performance(7:33) of Duke Ellington’s “Caravan” findsHarry and Ellis at their best. Connick singsand plays a sultry duet with Barbarin onthe New Orleans classic, “St. JamesInfirmary.” In sextet formation, the bandpays tribute to Louie Armstrong with a 10-

minute version of the crowd favorite,“Struttin’ With Some Barbeque.” EllisMarsalis contributes three originals“Swinging at the Haven” featuring a three-man front line, the ballad “NostalgicImpressions” capturing Branford on sopra-no sax, and a lively sextet version of“Twelve’s It,” with Connick taking overbriefly at the piano near the end.Apparently an encore, Ellis plays solo on“The Party’s Over.”

Representing a history of jazz fromthe 1930s to the present, the concert (orig-inally broadcast as a PBS special) is a raretreat with many highlights. Camera work isfirst-rate. The DVD adds bonus tracksover the CD release in February 2003 andincludes excerpts from post-concert inter-views with the Marsalis family membersand Connick that shed light on how theMarsalis boys were raised, their musicalstrengths and more. Nancy Ann Lee

JIMI HENDRIXJimi Plays Berkeley

EXPERIENCE HENDRIX/UNIVERSALMCA DVD & 2-CD SET

This live video recording comes fromtwo concerts at the Berkeley CommunityTheatre in Berkeley, California on May 30,1970. The documentary film, previouslyavailable on VHS and now on DVD for thefirst time, shows the political unrest of thattime, with footage of protesters being teargassed by police and National Guardtroops interspersed with the Hendrixband’s concert at the theatre.

Hendrix, drummer Mitch Mitchell andbassist Billy Cox were filmed performing(in order) “Johnny B. Good,” “Hear MyTrain A Comin’,” Star Spangled Banner,”“Purple Haze,” I Don’t Live Today,” “HeyBaby (New Rising Sun),” Lover Man,”Machine Gun,” and closes with a 10-minute version of “Voodoo Child (Slight

PAGE NINEJazz & Blues Report November • December 2003 • Issue 265

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Return),” during which Hendrix wows thegirls in the front row playing the guitar withhis teeth.

A bonus included on the disc are theaudio-only tunes from the two concertswhich were not included in the film docu-mentary. In other words, pretty much ver-sions of the same songs, different show.There are some that were not in the videoat all though, like “Hey Joe” and “StoneFree.” Another bonus is a 12-page book-let with an essay by John McDermott - atouch that is missing from so many musicDVDs.

There are some exceptionalmoments here from Hendrix for sure.Although there are some minor flaws(after all-it was 1970), his fans will notwant to miss out on this one, completewith the digital picture transfer and thenewly remixed sound in stereo and Dolby5.1 surround sound. There is also a com-panion double CD which was released atthe same time for those who would ratherlisten in their car, or whatever. Great giftideas. Bill Wahl

COUNT BASIEORCHESTRA

America’s #1 BandCOLUMBIA/LEGACY BOXED SET

World War II, two recording bansimposed by the musicians’ unions, andthe rapid growth of radio impacted uponthe recording careers of many jazz musi-cians and William “Count” Basie (1904-1984) was no exception. Thus, this four-disc, 90-tune compilation—the first collec-tion to include 1936-1951 Vocalion,Columbia and Okeh recordings by theCount Basie Orchestra and smallgroups—has some gaps which certainlydon’t detract from fetching tunes that cap-ture William Basie (1904–1984) and hisswinging bands during their rise to inter-

national prominence.Original producer John Hammond

heard Basie’s nine piece band broadcast-ing on radio from Kansas City’s RenoClub in 1936 and promptly traveled thereto sign Basie to Columbia. Unfortunately,Hammond’s raves in an article alertedrival label, Decca, whose scouts beatHammond to it. But Basie switched in1939 to Columbia.

When we think today of Count Basie,we tend to focus on his role as big bandleader and sometimes forget that he wasan accomplished swing pianist. This factis instantly evident when you hear theDisc 1 small group recordings made inChicago on November 9, 1936 by Jones-Smith, Inc., a Basie-led group featuringCarl “Tatti” Smith on trumpet, tenor saxo-phonist Lester Young, Walter Page, bass,and Jo Jones, drums. Jimmy Rushingsings on two of the four tracks by thisband. Vintage recordings by Basie’s BadBoys, Count Basie’s Kansas City Seven,Count Basie and His All-AmericanRhythm Section, and Count Basie Octetare included in Disc One’s 22 tracks andfeature ace soloists who later enjoyedsolo recording careers. Among the tracksare Basie originals such as “BoogieWoogie (I May Be Wrong),” “Goin’ ToChicago Blues,” “Bugle Blues,” “CaféSociety Blues,” and more.

Disc 2 continues with Count BasieOctet recordings and introduces BasieOrchestra tracks from 1939. Included onthis disc are classics such as “OneO’Clock Jump,” “Tootie,” head arrange-ments of “Miss Thing” (Parts 1 and 2), andmore, featuring star soloists such as ClarkTerry, Buddy DeFranco, Wardell Gray,Buck Clayton, Harry “Sweets” Edison,Buddy Tate, and others.

Recordings made in New York Citybetween 1940–1951 by Count Basie andHis Orchestra are featured on Disc 3.Except for two tracks issued on a 1964Columbia album, the 22 tunes on DiscFour, which originated from 1939 and1941 radio broadcasts, have had no pre-vious authorized release and will surelyinvite older fans to reminisce.

This reissue compilation, meticulous-ly produced by Orrin Keepnews, is aBasie Band lover’s treasure and provideshours of pleasureful listening to classictunes, spectacular arrangements, pulsing(danceable) swing and celebratedsoloists. Along with the four-discs is a 90-page booklet containing photos, band his-tories and extensive annotation abouteach track written by Loren Schoenberg,a former saxophonist and now executivedirector of The Jazz Museum in Harlem.

Nancy Ann Lee

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JONI MITCHELLShadows And LightSHOUT! FACTORY DVD

Back around ‘79 or ‘80 I attended myfirst Joni Mitchell concert. It was at BlossomMusic Center on a beautiful summerevening. I had never seen Mitchell, andalthough I enjoyed her recordings-the realreason I went to the show was becauseECM Records, not Asylum which wasJoni’s label, had given me tickets becauseone of their artists was in her band. Yousee, her band was not exactly just somegood musicians she had picked up for thetour. Her sidemen here consisted ofMichael Brecker/tenor sax, PatMetheny/guitar, Lyle Mays/piano, JacoPastorius/bass and Don Alias/drums. Thisparticular tour was in support of her Mingusalbum, but the concert at Blossom, like theone on this DVD shot at the Santa BarbaraCounty Bowl (also an outdoor venue), con-tained many of her finest songs.

The 75-minute set contains prettymuch the same material heard on herShadows & Light 2-LP and now 2 CD liveconcert recording from the same evening,with a few exceptions where the DVD hassongs the LP/CD does not, and visa versa.Some of her famous pieces you’ll hear are“Edith and the King Pin,” “Coyote,” “FreeMan In Paris,” “Amelia,” “Hejira,” “BlackCrow,” and “Furry Songs The Blues.” Fromthe Mingus album is “Goodbye Pork PieHat.” The DVD also includes an incredible

solo bass performance from Pastorius,doing “The High and the Mighty” and “ThirdStone from the Sun,” which was not on theCD version. The only bonus material here isa tour photo diary of 48 pictures by tourphotographer Joel Bernstein hand pickedby Mitchell.

While she always surrounded herselfwith top flight musicians, I don’t have to tellanyone familiar with Metheny, Brecker,Pastorius, Mays and Alias that the musichere kicks ass. Mitchell is in top form aswell. Throw the acappella group ThePersuasions into the mix singing with heron “Why Do Fools Fall In Love” and“Shadows And Light,” and you have a con-cert video that you can enjoy over and over,and play for most of your friends as well.Another great gift idea for Joni Mitchell orPat Metheny fans...or Jaco as well for thatmatter...or...just people. Bill Wahl

LED ZEPPELINDVD

ATLANTIC/WSM DVDThere is no doubt that for many

boomer folks, their first introduction to theblues was through Led Zeppelin. I know alot of them. In fact, I too declared Zeppelinto be “heavy” back in ‘69 when their firstalbum came out. This DVD will serve as anostalgia trip for those who were intothem back then, as well as serve up anenjoyable meal for young folks today wholisten to Zeppelin. There has also got to

be a large group of people who may haveseen a Zeppelin concert 30 years ago but,for some strange reason, can’t rememberit. Actually, I say that because I saw themsomewhere down south in ‘70 or ‘71, butdon’t recall much except that I am quitesure I was there. This is because I tookpictures and they remind me of the show.They are bad pictures, but it is definitelyZeppelin, and no one could take picturesthat bad unless their vision was temporar-ily impaired, or something. Oh well,enough of that.

DVD One contains 12 songs from aconcert at the Royal Albert Hall in Londonon 1970. Among them are “I Can’t QuitYou Baby,” “Dazed And Confused,” and“Whole Lotta Love.” DVD Two hasfootage from concerts ranging from 1972through 1979 and includes “ImmigrantSong,” “Since I’ve Been Loving You,”“Stairway To Heaven,” “Kashmir,” andanother version of “Whole Lotta Love.”Both DVDs contain bonus extras, includ-ing interviews, promos and performances,including “Traveling Riverside Blues.”

The video and sound quality get bet-ter as the years pass, due to advances intechnology. That’s to be expected. It getspretty good with the later material.

A final note: after doing some search-ing I found out that the memory problem Imentioned above is today calledF.H.M.L.S. (Former Hippie Memory LossSyndrome.) Back then they called itsomething else. Bill Wahl

NOVEMBERWed. 5. Paul Reddick & The

Sidemen • Cavaliers home opener

Fri. 7Eddie Shaw & The Wolfgang fea-turing Van Shaw on guitar—ex-saxman for Howlin Wolf and his son put

on a fiery Chicago Blues show. Sat. 8 Blue Lunch

Alligator’s slide guitarist masterFri. 14 Son Seals

The best in Chicago Blues Sat. 15 Thornetta Davis—A bluessinger whose voice is strong, com-

manding, melodic, and smooth. Shebelts, she cries, telling her stories

with incredible delivery. Fri. 21 Grupo Iluxion—The finestin Bachata music from the Caribbean.Free Bachata dance lessons at 9 p.m.,

music starts at 10:30Sat. 22 Skerik’s Syncopated

Taint Septet—Skerik is the formersax player for Les Claypool.

Sun. 23 Global Funk Council

DECEMBERThurs. 4 Michael Kantz + Guest

Fri. 5 The Sauce Boss Sat. 6

The Local Girls w/Phil Baron andthe Bopkats featuring Mimi Hart

Thurs. 11 Anthony Gomes

Fri. 12 Sugar Ray & the Bluetones

Fri. 19 The Kinsey Report featuring Donald

Kinsey, formerly of Bob Marley’s bandSat. 20 Clarence Bucaro - Local

prodigy on national labelFri. 26 Blues on Purpose

Sat. January 17 Darrell Nulisch

PAGE ELEVEN

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Jazz & Blues Report November • December 2003 • Issue 265

Weekend Shows @ 9:30/Weekdays @8:30

CHICAGOThe Box

RHINO BOXED CD SETA&E-Live By Request

RHINO DVD If you are one of those folks who eased

into jazz via Chicago (many too came viaBlood, Sweat & Tears), then you might beinterested in this brand new 5 CD and 1DVD boxed set retrospective of their longcareer. Over 100 tracks are included here,beginning with their 1969 debut albumChicago Transit Authority throughChicago 22. While only what was deemedas their best tracks were picked from manyof the albums, Chicago Transit Authorityand Chicago, their best complete albums,are presented here in their entirety–a goodmove.

While many positions in the bans haveseen different players occupying the spots,the most important ingredients still remaintoday from the beginning. They are RobertLamm/vocals and keyboards, and theentire horn section which give the band itssound-Lee Loughnane/trumpet & flugel-horn, James Pankow/trombone, and WalterParazaider/saxophones & flute. Perhapsthis is why the band has enjoyed suchlongevity. Those who go to a Chicago con-cert are able to hear the old tunes by themain musicians who created them. Let’sface it-all the other positions in this band areeasily replaced. The package also containsa 62-page book loaded with color photos,poster minis and all the discographicalinformation you, or whoever you might wantto give this to, should need. Also included isa DVD with live performances from 1972and a promo film made for Chicago 13.

Rhino has also released a DVD ofChicago performing at the A&E Network’sLive By Request. Broadcast live on A&E in2002, they run through 14 songs requestedby fans either by phone or email. Some ofthose are “Beginnings,” “Does AnybodyReally Know What Time It Is?,” “Color MyWorld” and “Make Me Smile.” Also includedare two bonus performances from the sameevening. Nicely filmed and good sound.

Bill Wahl

TALKING HEADSOnce In A Lifetime

WARNER ARCHIVES/WSM BOXED SETNo, I’m not going to mention that

many folks got into jazz or blues viaTalking Heads. That’s absurd.Instead, I’lltell you that Talking Heads remains on mylist of favorite rock bands due to their cre-ative approach and exceptionally uniquesound. I also like to dance, and T.H. canget that happening anytime, anywhere.

David Byrne, Chris Frantz, TinaWeymouth and Jerry Harrison (the firstthree met at Rhode Island School ofDesign) took the New York punk sceneby storm in the mid seventies, and rose to

MARTIN SCORSESE PRESENTSThe Blues

A Musical JourneyCOLUMBIA/LEGACY BOXED 7-DVD SET

Just released on October 28, this setarrived literally as we went to press.Hence, I have very limited space. Here itis in a nutshell.

This release covers the blues serieswhich just ran on PBS, all brought togeth-er together in a 7-DVD boxed set with a12-page booklet. The Blues is a collectionof 7 feature length films by 7 of todaysfilmmakers-Scorcese, Charles Burnett,Clint Eastwood, Mike Figgis, Marc Levin,Richard Pearce and Wim Wenders. Eachof these contains newly filmed perform-ances along with color and black & whitearchival footage of blues greats (manylong passed on), live action scenes, doc-umentary footage and artist’s remarksand thoughts.

Six of the DVDs contain between 1and 7 bonus performances not seen in thePBS broadcast. The list of artists seenand heard here is far too long for thespace I have to fit this in to. But anyonewho really enjoyed this series on PBSwould no doubt be thrilled to get this setas a gift. And, it is for that reason that itwas imperative that I somehow squeezethis into this issue. Quite a set. You shouldbe able to get more info by logging on tow w w . s o n y m u s i c s t o r e . c o m

Bill Wahl

PAGE TWELVE Jazz & Blues ReportNovember • December 2003 • Issue 265

the top of this country’s popular bands. In11 years they recorded 10 albums, two ofwhich went gold, one platinum, and twodouble-platinum. These albums containeda mass quantity of hits, such as “BurningDown The House,” “Psycho Killer,” “TakeMe To The River,” “Life During Wartime.”and “Once In A Lifetime.” These songsand many others are neatly contained inthis 3-CD and 1-DVD set. Included are 5previously unreleased alternate tracksand another not heard since their live dou-ble LP from ‘82.

The included DVD disc is an expan-sion of the ‘88 VHS video StorytellingGiant, adding three more videos whichmakes this the first complete collection ofTalking Heads’ videos.

The release date on this one isNovember 18. A great gift for a TalkingHeads fan. Bill Wahl

We Only Bring You The Cream of the Crop

GENUINE HOUSE-ROCKIN’ CHRISTMAS

ALLIGATORTrimming the tree, wrapping presents,

a few friends over for some cheer, a full-blown Yuletide bash- what could enhance ablues lover’s holiday scene more thantracks from a tough roster of artists?Originals, for one thing. With a couple ofexceptions, the fare on GenuineHouserockin’ Christmas is self-penned bythe respective artists and reflects the char-acter of each. It lays out like this- deep dou-ble-entendre from Little Ed & The BluesImperials, innocently titled “ChristmasTime”, sassy seduction from ShemekiaCopeland, “Stay A Little Longer, Santa”,rocking harp courtesy of Carey Bell’s“Christmas Train”, bayou variations cour-tesy of C.J. Chenier and Marcia Ball,moody swing by way of Roomful Of Blues.If you know the artists, you get the idea.The originality and the strength of the tunesmake this a disc that can take over aChristmas playlist. Any Alligator artists notmentioned so far are most likely here too.Blues people, this is holiday cash wellspent. Duane Verh

PONCHO SANCHEZOut of Sight!

CONCORD PICANTEWhen conga drummer Poncho

Sanchez was coming up in the 1960s, heexperimented with blending Afro-Cubanrhythms and R&B tunes in the developingboogaloo style and that’s become anincreasingly important part of his reper-toire. On this outing, he uses mostly a sonmontuno rhythm–a cross between a cha-cha and a son–and gives his danceablemusic a funky twist tinged with R&B andsoul. There’s not a dull tune in the bunch.

Crowned last year by JazzTimesmagazine as the “The New King of LatinJazz,” Sanchez gets deeper into his R&Broots on this ten-tune disc, which featuresHammond B-3 embellishments fromDavid Torres or guest organist BillyPreston. Sanchez’s regular band is hot butit’s his illustrious guests who add fetching-ly to this top-notch session. Ray Charlessings on two tracks, Sam Moore on one.Pee Wee Ellis enhances five tracks with histenor saxisms and Dale Spalding graces“Mary Ann” with his bluesy harmonicaimprovs. In his early career, Sanchez wasa singer and he trades off with Moore onthe catchy “Hitch It To the Horse,” anupbeat funky number spiked with ScottMartin’s bari sax riffs and Ellis’ tenorisms.The minor-key melody of “El Tambor DelMongo” spotlights guest artist FranciscoAguabella on bata drums in 6/8 time.

Sanchez has recorded 21 albums asleader, 19 of them for Concord Picante.This disc ranks among his best. There aresufficient Afro-Cuban roots rhythms to thrillLatin jazz lovers and enough boogalo beatsto entice soul-jazz fans. Nancy Ann Lee

BIG DAVE MCLEANBlues from the Middle STONY PLAIN RECORDS

Blues from the Middle is a mélange ofprairie blues anthems and swampy songs.More road warrior than recording artist,after 30 years travelling the road and onlythree previous albums under his musicalbelt, Big Dave McLean is a Canadian blueslegend. This country’s answer to MuddyWaters.

Based in Winnipeg, Manitoba,McLean is the granddaddy of the Westernprairie blues, having influenced the likes ofColin James and Wide Mouth Mason.

Armed with an electric guitar, man-dolin, a smoky deep-set voice, and a killerharmonica, McLean blazes through nineoriginal offerings and several more covers

that could easily have been born down atthe Crossroads following lessons fromRobert Johnson. Guest musicians includeSue Foley, Graham Guest, and DukeRobillard.

The disc opens with the blistering“Ooh Wee” featuring some hard-corehonky-tonk piano and Big Dave’s deepbaritone growl. “B Meets Po” is a sizzling,smoky blues instrumental whereRobillard’s rocking guitar battles withMcLean’s grinding guitar.

“Johnny Tornado” is a country-bluesduet with Juno-Award winner Foley thatshows Big Dave’s versatility, and Foley’sphenomenal vocal range.

McLean pays homage to his chiefinfluence, Muddy Waters, in the 11-minute-plus blues jam, “Muddy Waters forPresident,” – a song Waters had intendedto record just before he passed away. Here,McLean slows things down.

From up-tempo honky-tonk bluessongs like “Lowdown Dirty Rotten Blues”to the mellower stripped-down cover ofearly blues pioneer Bukka White’s “Fix’n toDie,” Blues from the Middle offers a wide-range of first-class compositions for bluesaficionados of all types. David McPherson

PEE WEE RUSSELL Ask Me Now!

IMPULSE RECORDS By the mid-60’s, the Impulse label

had muscled its way to the foreground ofthe jazz scene, thanks to the mercurialpresence of John Coltrane and the younglions – Shepp, Sanders, Ayler – who fol-lowed in his footsteps. During these turbu-lent years, however, some of the mostcompelling music to bear the black andorange imprint came from an unexpectedsource: 57-year old clarinetist Pee WeeRussell.

In his liner notes to 1963’s Ask MeNow!, Nat Hentoff mentions the exasper-ation Russell felt over the Dixieland tag heseemed unable to shed. From its exclam-atory title to its bold musical program, thealbum is as close as he would come todrafting a modernist manifesto.

Artistically, Ask Me Now! is a tri-umph, showcasing the clarinetist’s uncan-ny rapport with the works of Monk,Coltrane and even Ornette Coleman. Inspite of his unorthodox phrasing and noteselection, Russell was also a supremelylyrical player, and his take on Ellington’sPrelude To A Kiss yields a performance onpar with anything Johnny Hodges record-ed.

But the album’s true revelation is Pee

PAGE THIRTEENNovember • December 2003 • Issue 265Jazz & Blues Report

A Smooth Jazz Christmas

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Wee’s interaction with trombonist Marshall Brown, whose arrange-ments and sympathetic accompaniment more than make up forthe absence of piano. On Angel Eyes, Brown gets his reward, witha solo evoking the desperate beauty of the more famous Sinatra-Riddle rendition.

In the realm of pianoless quartets, Ask Me Now! owes as muchto the early Ornette-Don Cherry telepathy as to the contrapuntalelegance of the Mulligan-Baker combo. By making the most of thispalette, Russell created a seductive form of chamber jazz, which hasaged better than many of the era’s oft-debated “third stream” exper-iments. Dominique Denis

PAT MARTINOThink TankBLUE NOTE

I have to admit that I had not explored the music of PatMartino as much as I should have previously. So when his latestrelease Think Tank was placed on my desk I wasn’t sure if I wasthe guy for the job.

The album, although not conceived as such, evolved into atribute to John Coltrane. And you can’t help not noticing that fromthe get go. On track 1, “Phineas Trane”, written as a dedication topianist Phineas Newborn Jr. by Harold Mabern, you clearly feel theColtrane presence. Not just in the phrasing of the head or thetremendously tight unison lines between Pat Martino and JoeLovano, but in the over all felling, Trane is there. This continuesthroughout the entire album.

Guys known as technical players as such, and things builtaround the Bop structures can often times leave me cold andseem almost mechanical or accurate to a fault. But this haswarmth, the warmth of those old Coltrane records that havealways touched me. Also intermixed there are elements of funk,and all built with the underpinnings of modal music, bringing tomind “A Love Supreme” and “Equinox.”

This is also a thinking man–in my research I have discovereda very interesting person behind the music. Deliberate, focused

CHUCHO VALDESNew Conceptions

BLUE NOTEOne of the most imaginative pianists on the scene, Cuban

pianist and composer Chucho Valdes adeptly merges Afro-Cubanrhythms with jazz. Returning to his roots music after his 2002 fallrelease which explored his Classical chops, Valdes kicks off thisseven-track session with one of his favorites, a lively danzon inter-pretation of Ernesto Lecuona’s “La Comparsa” featuring flutistJoaquin Olivero.

Supported by six percussionists and four guest soloists,Valdes mixes it up between Afro-Cuban flavored originals andstandards by Miles Davis (“Solar”) and Duke Ellington (a medleythat features “Satin Doll,” “In A Sentimental Mood,” and“Caravan”). He also gives the Gene DePaul/Don Raye tune “YouDon’t Know What Love Is” tempo-switching flair and grandiosechordal touches as he generates power-packed excitement.

On his original, “Los Guiros,” Valdes mixes swinging piano-bass statements with Yoruban clave. Other originals include theromantic ballad “Nanu” and the bop-blues-bolero number, “SinClave Pero Con Swing,” which literally translated means “withoutclave but with swing.”

Valdes intertwines jazz, blues, funk, pop, classical and Afro-Cuban rituals. As performer AND composer, his creativity andvirtuosity shine through on every track. Nancy Ann Lee

TONI LYNN WASHINGTONBeen So Long

NORTHERNBLUES MUSICAlthough she’s been a gypsy of sorts over the years, Toni Lynn

Washington moved to Boston around 20 years ago and finally founda place to put down roots. Her latest release, Been So Long, is likethat too, as it explores the sources of R&B, blues and jazz, recallingsingers like Bessie Smith, Etta James and Dinah Washington.

Produced by Bruce Bears and Duke Robillard, the latter’s guitarappears on a number of cuts including the remake of Bessie Smith’s“Back Water Blues” and R&B soaked gem “It’s Love Baby (24 HoursA Day),” the last tune hitting #4 on the R&B charts in 1955 for RuthBrown. Washington does a ton of re-makes here, including the 1956Buddy Johnson funhouse romp,

“I Don’t Want Nobody (To Have My Love But You)” that the hornsection of sax men Doug James and Gordon Beadle and trumpeterScott Aruda get their time to shine, plus two extended pieces, theclassic “Willow Weep For Me” and “Angel Eyes.” Both songs lay ajazz foundation for the band to go after and clock in over 7 minuteseach, so solos abound for all on the bandstand.

Most of the tunes are close to Toni Lynn Washington’s heart,which is why she recorded them; still the one that’ll touch the mosthearts will be William Bell’s “Everyday Will Be Like A Holiday,” awoman’s hope after being separated from her man. It may have

been written during another war in 1968, yet strikes a chord asold as yesterday’s news.

If you like any of the aforementioned female vocalists, thenBeen So Long will be a perfect addition to your music collection.

Peanuts

PAGE FOURTEEN Jazz & Blues ReportNovember • December 2003 • Issue 265

and structured. There are many layers tothis music, and may facets to the musicmakers making the listening experiencecerebral and emotional at the same time. Inaddition to former Clevelander Joe Lavono,bassist Christian Mcbride, drummer LewisNash and pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba allturn in exceptional work.

Tone and presence is key in music thattends to move me. Each note of theMartino guitar sound, exacting and preciseas it is, penetrates your body like little par-ticles of energy. This was all beautifully cap-tured over three days in Studio A at SonyStudios in New York. It was engineered andmixed by another former Clevelander andold friend Kirk Yano at his New York record-ing studio, Planet 2, using an Otari Radar 2hard disk system, Blue Sky Speakers andthe OMNIA 6 processor, which is made inCleveland. It was then mastered at SterlingSound by Chris Athens, all making a com-pact disc that sounds like a record.

I know my CD library will be expand-ing very soon and Think Tank is a goodplace to start. Jim Martin

DR. JOHNAll By Hisself: Live At The Lonestar

SKINJI BRIM/HYENADr. John’s first release for his own

label lays out the pattern for what toexpect from this venture- live recordingsfrom the New Orleans r&b veteran & mojoman culled from two decades plus of con-cert gigs. The CD half of this double-discset is a solo set from 1986 featuring thegood Doctor (a/k/a Mac Rebennack)bangin’ on a electric piano, maxing out it’s“wood” piano potential. The set is large onNew Orleans chestnuts such as “JuncoPartner” and “Something You Got”, with acouple hits- Right Place, Wrong Time”,“Such A Night”- thrown in.

The DVD half is a interview andimpromptu tutorial on the New Orleanssound with Rebennack and future releas-es from the label are promised to followthis two-fer format. The ultimate producthere, however, is a nearly nonstop feast ofenergized and personalized piano boogie.Nice stuff. Duane Verh

JAY MCSHANN Goin’ To Kansas City

MC RECORDS/STONY PLAIN Whoever said that familiarity breeds

contempt had obviously never listened toJay McShann.

Synonymous with the two-fistedKansas City school of piano, the manknown as Hootie is still going strong at87, some 65 years after putting downsome irrepressible proto-R&B with a littlebig band in which a young Charlie Parkerhoned his skills.

Even within the confines of his rec-ognizable formula, there are differenttypes of Jay McShann records. If his pre-vious outing, Still Jumpin’ The Blues,seemed to come straight out of a vintagejuxebox, Goin’ To Kansas City captures amore casual after-hours groove, wherepat riffs and brassy arrangements areeschewed in favor of a looser take on theblues.

Recorded on his Midwestern stomp-ing grounds, Goin’ To Kansas City onceagain pairs McShann with guitarist/pro-ducer Duke Robillard, who knows how tobrings out the best in the pianist. For vari-ety’s sake, the album alternates betweenthe small band arrangement of the titletrack, a handful of solo piano ruminations(including “When I Grow Too Old ToDream,” one of Hootie’s perennials), andtwo rollicking duets with old friend – andfan – Johnnie Johnson. True to form,

Maria Muldaur also returns to swap vers-es with Jay on his trademark “Confessin’The Blues.”

Although not as infectious as itspredecessor (and more predictable thanhis superlative work on Sackville), Goin’To Kansas City confirms that not only isHootie’s boogie the recipe for a good time- it just might the elixir of eternal youth.

Dominique Denis

DAVE HOLLANDEXTENDED PLAY: LIVE AT

BIRDLANDECM

On this two-disc, 134-minute set,bassist Dave Holland leads an exhilarat-ing quintet recorded live at Birdland dur-ing November 21-24, 2001.

Right out of the gate on Disc One,Chris Potter (soprano, alto, tenor saxo-phones), Robin Eubanks (trombone),Steve Nelson (vibraphone, marimba),Billy Kilson (drums) and double bassistHolland create a cacophony of free jazzbalanced with straight-ahead stylings onthe 21-minute foray, “The Balance,” anintroduction that sets the tone for theremaining four tunes.

These musicians are all ultra-talent-ed soloists who have recorded as leadersand it’s their creativity when spotlightedthat makes for spectacular listening.Holland’s a melodic player and his solosare always inventive, especially on hislovely original, “Make Believe,” a dreamyballad (the shortest track at 6:42) featur-ing fine frontline teamwork from Potterand Eubanks. Nelson ranks high amongthe best improvisers on his instrumentand his two- and four-mallet support andsolos magnificently enhance the fare.Kilson is a busy trapsman who addsplenty of pyrotechnic spark and expert-ise to energize numbers, yet he alsoknows when to tastefully lay back, asevidenced on his tidy ticking timekeep-ing under Nelson’s bustling solo on “Freefor All.”

Disc Two contains four tracks–threeHolland originals and one byEubanks–ranging from around 12 to 20minutes each and containing more of thesame illustrious interactivity and skillfulsolo work.

With the exception of two tracks onthe set, all are Holland originals that givehis colleagues plenty of room for imagi-native exploration and that’s whatHolland’s groups have always beenabout. This is an A-plus set that shouldsatisfy his fans. Nancy Ann Lee

BRANFORD MARSALISQUARTET

Romare Bearden RevealedMARSALIS MUSIC/ROUNDER Music’s relationship with visual

imagery is a peculiar one, relying as muchon the listener’s imagination as on thecomposer’s gift for evocation.Occasionally – as in Debussy’s TheSunken Cathedral – an image comes alive,partly because it’s so compelling that wewant it to. Most often, though, these refer-ences must be taken as oblique nods tothe musician’s impetus (was orange reallythe colour of her dress, then blue silk? We’lltake Mingus’ word on it).

On Romare Bearden Revealed,Branford Marsalis has made it easy onhimself by paying homage to an African-American painter who was steeped in thejazz culture. He’s also eased the process forus by providing reproductions of everycanvas from which he drew inspiration.

A child of the Harlem Renaissance,Bearden (1914-1988) had a profoundrelationship with the music, manifest bothin terms of subject matter and technique.The saxophonist presents Revealed as achallenge for “hearers to see the music andviewers to hear the paintings.” Of course,this too is a subjective exercise, andBranford’s joyful yet scholarly take onnegritude is the kind we’ve come to expectfrom the first family of jazz.

When he coaxes a gruff vibrato fromhis soprano sax, Marsalis is invoking the

PAGE FIFTEEN

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Jazz & Blues Report November • December 2003 • Issue 265

spirit of Bechet. Brother Delfeayo’s trom-bone conjures pure Cotton ClubEllingtonia, while “J Mood” (featuringWynton on trumpet) comes straight out ofthe mid-60’s Miles template. As always,these evocations highlight the siblings’chops as well as their sense of history.

Although little more than a sound-track to Bearden’s works, RomareBearden Revealed has one undeniablevirtue: it should enable the painter’s legacyto reach the audience it deserves.

Dominique Denis

JIMMY BURNSBack To The Delta

DELMARKWhen classic blues is done right, it

can absorb rock, jazz, and funk withoutever losing touch with what it really is.Guitarist/vocalist Jimmy Burns’ new setdoes precisely that. While the jacket pho-tos accentuate Burns’ Mississippi roots,Back To The Delta is more a classicChicago session- Delta at its core buturbanized and more than a little assimila-tive. The title track is a lighter shuffle thanthe title might suggest and things get evenjazzier on the Lockwood-like instrumental“Groovin’ With Jimmy”. A primitive funkgroove and some very Muddy Waters-likeslide work propels “I Wanna Kiss You”.Vocally Burns is mostly Chicago, some-times displaying a bit of Otis Rush influ-ence.

The playing, supplied by two differentlineups is strong throughout. KevinShanahan is a capable guitar mate forBurns, and pianist Roosevelt Purifoy is astandout. Based on the evidence here, theChicago/Delta connection is apparentlylive and well. Duane Verh

ABBEY LINCOLNIt’s MeVERVE

On her 10th album for Verve, vocalistAbbey Lincoln weaves special magicaround 11 tunes with a first-rate rhythmsection featuring pianist Kenny Barron,bassist Ray Drummond and drummer JazSawyer. For the first time, Lincoln receivesorchestral backing (seven tracks). Playingon five tracks each, James Spaulding(alto sax, flute) and Julien Lourau (tenorand soprano sax) add nicely to the fare.

The strings-enhanced ballad, “Love IsMade,” featuring Lorau’s smoky solo, isone of the prettiest of Lincoln’s originals.She performs the title tune, a gospel orig-inal, solely with piano backing.Spaulding’s alto sax improvs highlight

Lincoln’s smoky original, “They Call ItJazz,” with orchestral arrangement andconducting by Alan Broadbent.Conductor Laurent Cugny’s orchestralarrangement enriches the lovely BihekiMseleku-Abbey Lincoln tune “ThroughThe Years,” which spotlights Lourau’stenor sax solo and Spaulding’s fluteimprovs. With quartet backing, Lincolnnimbly navigates the standard, “Runnin’Wild,” the briskest number. Co-writtenwith Darryl Wooldridge, Lincoln’s catchyblues-tinged “Can You Dig It” is an upbeatdelight.

While Lincoln doesn’t have whatyou’d call a “pretty” voice, it’s what shedoes with what she has that makes her thesupreme songstress. Her pitch, tonalities,phrasing and emotion make each song atreasure. This is a diverse album that addsnicely to Lincoln’s existing discography.Her fans will not be disappointed.

Nancy Ann Lee

DUKE ROBILLARDExalted Lover

STONY PLAIN RECORDSOn Exalted Lover, the three-time

W.C. Handy Award winning “BluesGuitarist of the Year,” leans more towardsthe country side of the blues with swingysongs like “Down Home Country Girl” anda cover of the James Wayne classic“ T r a v e l i n ’Mood.”

Still, the 10tracks offer arange of musi-cal styles - fromR&B to big bandto the afore-m e n t i o n e dd o w n - h o m ecountry. WhileRobillard’s rivet-ing guitar,accomplishedplaying, anddistinct baritoneleads the bandt h r o u g h o u tExalted Lover,it’s the guestmusicians whomake thisrecord trulymemorable.

“Real LiveWire” is a boun-cy boogiemarked by theh o n k y - t o n k

piano of Matt McCabe. Other unforget-table guests include Pam Tillis and DebbieDavies. Tillis adds her timbre with a dueton the R&B flavored “I’ll Never be Free,”while Davies plays guitar and duets withRobillard on “How Long Has it Been.” Thetitle track is a smoky jazz-influenced songthat features Robillard wailing away onguitar, backed in the bridge by a sexy spo-ken-word performance in French byAimée Hill.

Lovers of the blues in all of its formswill surely fall in love with this recording forits variety of instrumentation and musicalstyles alone. David McPherson

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November • December 2003 • Issue 265PAGE SIXTEEN Jazz & Blues Report