BILLY BANG

Sweet Space/Untitled Gift
8th Harmonic Breakdown HB 8005/6

Fusion of two Billy Bang LPs originally issued on the Anima label plus four previously unreleased tracks, this two-CD set proves once again that a lot of excellent, advanced music was being made out of the media spotlight in the late 1970s/early 1980s.

While the focus then may have been on the discredited jazz-rock movement and emerging Young Lions, Free Jazz/Loft Movement veterans like Bang and crew were obstinately cutting out-of-the-ordinary sessions that, like Julius Hemphill and David Murray’s records of the time, contained basic swing roots fused with atonal solos.

Backing came from musicians who had been and would be influential into the 21st century. SWEET SPACE features pianist Curtis Clark, now an expatriate in the Netherlands; early Art Ensemble associate drummer Steve McCall (1933-1989); plus then cornetist, and later conductionist Butch Morris, and his late (1937-2002) brother, bassist Wilber. Sax duties are divided between altoist Luther Thomas formerly of the Black Arts Group (BAG) in St. Louis, now another European expatriate, and Memphis-born tenorman Frank Lowe, who co-led the Jazz Doctors band with Bang before his death in 2003.

UNTITLED GIFT features only Bang, bassist Morris, drummer Dennis Charles (1933-1998), a Free Jazz pioneer who played with Cecil Taylor around the same time in the 1950s when the quartet’s final member, Don Cherry (1936-1995) on pocket trumpet, flute and bells, first became a member of Ornette Coleman’s legendary group.

Find of the session is SWEET SPACE’s four additional tracks, which boost the first disc to nearly 76 minutes. More historical than musically interesting -- although they do add to Thomas and Lowe’s relatively sparse discography -- they’re alternate versions of the issued tracks with slightly different solos. You can note the relative position of the Free Jazzers compared to the major label-associated fusioneers and neo-cons, though. Sound on this session, recorded live in 1979 at NYU’s student center, is somewhat wonky compared to what big time labels provided. Both versions of “A Pebble is a Small Rock” and “Loweski for Frank” feature off-mic saxophone solos that are almost obliterated by Charles’ booming drums in the foreground.

That shouldn’t discourage listeners though, since the first piece, a sort of New Thing rondo has one of the catchiest heads you’ll hear outside of a late night session of Kansas City jazz, while the second highlight’s Butch Morris’ burgeoning skill as an arranger.

Following a dedicated preamble by Wilber Morris that feeds into a Swing piano line, the initially released version of “A Pebble” introduces the riffing theme with triple counterpoint from saxes, cornet and violin. As the piece unrolls in both versions, the lines keep circling back to the initial contrapuntal theme. With Clark comping behind him, Bang’s first solo quickly evolves from floating, legato to syncopated ponticello lines. Thomas than provides his variations, all irregular altissimo timbres, and before Lowe’s impressive, but distantly recorded string of highly arpeggiated screeches and slurs, Clark appends dynamics with a light touch. Bisecting each solo is a return to tremolo variations on the theme. The main difference between this one and the previously unreleased version is a shot postlude consisting of a bass and drums shuffle and a lyrical piano interlude.

Harsh counterpoint from the front line above bass and drum riffs make an even closer connection between the unreleased version of “Pebble” and some of BAG founder Hemphill’s compositions that are atonal, yet bluesy. Lowe’s honks and whistling smears are more pronounced, if no louder here, as are abstract, locked-hand patterns from Clark. Ending with a final, foot-tapping reprise of the theme, atonal polyphony from all hands, leads to protracted audience applause.

Both versions of the title track mate wah-wah cornet lines with mosquito-droning jettes from the violin that presage ferocious, overblown sax solos with hocketing strings and background militaristic drumbeats. As Bang foreshortens his upper partials for timbres that sound like duck quacks, Lowe peeps out split tones. Morris’ rippling muted brass squeaks are more prominent on the previously released version of the tune as are Bang’s double stops. There are times, in fact, when the orchestration resembles the violinist’s “Outline No. 12”, recorded in 1982 with a 12-piece ensemble including Lowe, Murray and the two Morrises. That composition’s repetitive motif, which may have had its genesis in this piece, also heralded Anthony Braxton’s later series of Ghost Trance compositions.

Twenty or so years ago however, Morris was more of a player than a conductor as he demonstrates on the two versions of “Loweski for Frank”. His high-pitched solos include descending triplets and whinnies, not to mention points where his open horn lead could take its place in a Dixieland ensemble. Bang double and triple stops with a syncopated undercurrent, sort of like a modern version of his early idol Stuff Smith, while the rhythm section vamps like updated Count Basie small group.

Partnered with a completely different pocket trumpet man on UNTITLED GIFT, who also plays yokube flute, congas and bells, Bang reveals a hitherto unacknowledged folkloric bent. Of course by 1982, Cherry had spent at least a decade attuning himself to different world musics, and this unaltered reissued CD reflects that. As nods to both Cherry’s past and present the disc include two Coleman tunes, two by Bang and one by the brassman himself.

Instructively, Cherry’s effort, “The Kora Song” sounds no more or less ethnic than anything else on the CD. Plus Bang and Morris’ combined eight strings are still 13 short of the harp-like kora -- although between the fiddler’s gentle, yet distinctive jettes and the bassist’s rhythmic strength they easily approximate the African harp’s intricate style. At the same time, Cherry’s flattish, wavering tremolo-tongued lead owes more to the trumpeter’s Los Angles upbringing than Lagos griots.

Despite Charles’ Virgin Island birth and fondness for traditional Caribbean melodies, his work throughout, especially in his introductory solo on Bang’s nearly 12-minute “Maat”, is strictly improv. On that cut, his snare’s rolls and rebound plus bass drum pressure that uses positioned foot pedals is this side of hard bop, while Morris adds a walking bass line. Breaking out from initial front-line tremolo multiphonics -- with double and triple stopped staccato syncopation -- Cherry follows with triplet bounces and echoes, then plays a bebop riff that’s picked up and mutated with plucked lower-pitched variations by the bassist. Rim shot action and a drum tattoo from Charles softens into unison trumpet and violin harmonics that reprise the theme.

Oddly, it’s Bang’s transparently titled “Echovamp 1678” that sounds most like so-called World Music. Marked by an almost danceable beat, plus miscellaneous bells and percussion echoes, the tune evolves from a prelude of unison screeching multiphonics to arching wiggling triplets from the fiddler. Soon exotic, bird-whistling counter harmonies arise from Cherry to meet Bang’s solo that’s more dulcet than usual. That doesn’t last long since the slurred, metallic string clips he produces make it appear as if he’s playing the erhu or two-stringed Chinese fiddle. When Bang completes his constriction of the scale, the tune slows down to moderato, with the quartet cooperation suggesting Cherry’s tenure with Coleman -- with the violinist in the Coleman role.

Bang’s violin playing would never be confused for Ornette’s though, as he proves on those two Coleman tunes, using extra bow pressure to stretch the partials.

At the same time, these short, but respectful run-throughs aren’t the be-all and end-all of the session as they would be on many discs by Young Lions that appeared during that time.

In contrast to those, SWEET SPACE/UNTITLED GIFT proves once again that you may have to hunt to hear the best music. Since these sorts of sounds stands the test of time, sessions like these can also be appreciated years after they were made.

-- Ken Waxman

Track Listing: Sweet Space: 1. Previously Unreleased Version of A Pebble is a Small Rock 2. Previously Unreleased Version of Sweet Space 3. Previously Unreleased Version of Loweski for Frank (T.F.R.) 4. Previously Unreleased Version of Music For The Love of It 5. A Pebble is a Small Rock 6. Sweet Space 7. Loweski for Frank (T.F.R.) 8. Music For The Love of It

Track Listing: Untitled Gift: 1. Echovamp 1678 2. The Kora Song 3. Maat 4. Levitation for Santana 5. Focus on Sanity

Personnel: Sweet Space: Butch Morris (cornet); Luther Thomas (alto saxophone); Frank Lowe (tenor saxophone); Billy Bang (violin); Curtis Clark (piano); Wilber Morris (bass); Steve McCall (drums)

Personnel: Untitled Gift: Don Cherry (pocket trumpet, flute and bells); Billy Bang (violin, yokube flute, congas and bells); Wilber Morris (bass); Dennis Charles (drums)

March 7, 2005

POSITIVE KNOWLEDGE

Live In New York
Edgetone Records EDT 4018

KEVIN NORTON’S METAPHOR QUARTET
Not Only in That Golden Tree…
Clean Feed CF011CD

The latter half of 2002 wasn’t a particularly good year for improvising double bass players. Not only did German bass master Peter Kowald fall victim to a heart attack at 58 in September, but 64-year-old New Yorker Wilber Morris also died of lymphoma in early August.

Kowald’s spectacular work has been justly celebrated, as he was one of the primary European innovators from the 1960s on. But Morris, backbone of many bands from Manhattan’s Lower East Side was often undervalued, in part because of the number of other first-rate bassists around, and by the mere fact of being conductionist Butch Morris’ older brother.

Even in a sector as egalitarian as jazz/improvised music, the achievements of one family member often overshadow the other sibling’s achievement -- recall the situation of pianist Buddy Montgomery and cornetist Nat Adderley to take two examples. Yet most people could tell you that Buddy was almost as fine a blues and ballad player as his guitarist brother Wes; and Nat was not only as voluble and impressively funky in his soloing as alto saxophonist brother Cannonball, but he wrote jazz standards like “Work Song”.

Initially from Los Angeles, the Morris brothers arrived in New York in the 1970s. Butch soon moved beyond cornet playing to conducting saxophonist David Murray’s large group projects and to the creation of improvised conduction. Intuitive and versatile, Wilber was able to play with proto-boppers like drummer Charlie Persip and singer Abbey Lincoln as easily as he fit in with such outcats as Murray, violinist Billy Bang and trombonist Steve Swell. He was the sort of sure accompanist that everyone wanted, whether officially, as a member of percussionist Kevin Norton’s Metaphor Quartet, or in a pick-up situation, as when he joined West Coast visitors, multi-reedman Oluyemi Thomas and his wife, spoken work artist Ijeoma Thomas on a New York gig.

That 2001 gig captured on LIVE IN NEW YORK finds him and percussionist Michael Wimberly fusing as if they always were the Thomas’ rhythm partners, though only the drummer and woodwind player had worked together before, as the last two tracks recorded in 1999 demonstrate.

Throughout the seven tunes recorded at that year’s Vision Festival, Morris’ strong, unspectacular bass lines hold the ensemble together, mostly keeping the melody line firm and straightforward and occasionally letting loose with some arco inventions. Even on “Mother Africa”, which is dedicated to him, the emphasis is on subtlety not showiness. Andante, his solo includes a straightahead walking intro, largo double stopping and the sort of skillful mindset that causes him to measure each string for its possible sound overtones before striking it. He may upend the bass to stroke its strings with his bow, but again his natural reticence takes over, so that what would be a tour de force in another’s hand in his becomes a prelude to fading back into the rhythm section.

That’s precisely what he does here. Considering the front line, it’s no surprise he and the drummer seem to be taking figurative back seats. With a vocal exposition that’s part arousing and part acrimonious, Ijeoma Thomas’ lyrics range from descriptions of the poetic process itself, to celebrations of heroes and heroines associated with creative Black music. Frequently mere words aren’t enough and she turns to a variation of scat singing, more often than not blending her vocal secretions with the tones from Oluyemi Thomas’ mouth instruments.

If anyone doesn’t remember that some of the major New Thing figures such as Eric Dolphy, Dewey Redman and Pharoah Sanders were either Californians or spent considerable time there, Thomas’ playing will prompt you. Don’t forget that some of John Coltrane’s most mystical albums, such as LIVE IN SEATTLE and OM, were recorded in the West as well.

On bass clarinet, Thomas’ low-pitched exposition and gospelly turns relates back to Dolphy, a supposition confirmed when his wife joins her wordless tones to his to give the bass reed added resonance. On flute and musette his approach is definitely West African like Redman’s and Sanders’, bringing forth the subcontinent properties of the instruments that presage their Arab usage. This becomes especially apparent when the axes are singly or together paired with rhythm makers like shaken maracas or the unique scratching sound of the elongated guiro, which was used by the Bantu people before becoming a fixture in Afro-Cuban bands.

In his duets with Wimberly and other times on the disc, Thomas uses these instruments to sound out primitivist sound shards and complement the drummer’s more modern percussion asides and Ijeoma Thomas’ evocative lyrics with bell shaking and other percussion forays. Additionally, while he might best express himself on the primitive C-melody as well as the soprano sax, his output is pure Sanders-Coltrane, alive with reed-biting trills, honking and squealing lines, exaggerated bent notes and irregular vibrations that are more expressions of emotion than pure composition.

More sophisticated in conception, the pieces Norton wrote for the Metaphor Quartet affirm their individuality through the members’ instrumental virtuosity, and his combination of narrative, through-composed structures with more typical jazz forms.

Best known for a seven-year association with composer Anthony Braxton’s more difficult projects, Norton has also worked with a cross section of other musicians. He and Morris clicked rhythmically in bands led by saxophonist Alfred Harth and Swell, among others. Japanese trombonist Masahiko Kono, who often alters his sound with sampling also worked with the bassist and drummer in the past and has also played with stylists ranging from trumpeter Toshinori Kondo to bassists Kowald and William Parker.

Originally from Nagoya, Japan, vibist Hitomi Tono’oka, Metaphor's youngest member, was a student of Norton’s at William Paterson University, following her homeland degree in percussion studies. She is also a member of saxophonist Fred Ho’s Afro Asian Music Ensemble.

Interesting enough, although the sympathies of the quartet members are definitely POMO, the blend of vibes and ‘bone that characterize these compositions recall progressive hard bop from the 1950s which would find trombonist J. J. Johnson and vibist Milt Jackson on the same date. With Kono often relying on cushiony pedal tones and Tono’oka using four mallets to slide over her bars, it’s again up to Morris to steady the course, especially when Norton solos.

No time keeper, when the percussionist is given his head as on the almost 20 minute “Missed You in Coutances, Babe”, he goes Buddy Rich one better, turning from allegro rumble and thump to faster and faster snare, tom and cymbal showcases. In a change from his steady walking, Morris is almost swaggering in his solo. Guitar-like strumming his strings, he puts more torque into his output, double stopping, slowing down and speeding up his lines, the better to meet Norton’s anything-but-traditional accompaniment. The climax is reached when slurred ascending trombone sounds meld with silvery vibe tinkles.

Freebop to the Nth degree, the appropriately named “Walking The Dogma”, is so traditional with its trombone and vibe blend and walking bass, that it resembles Herbie Mann’s 1960s’ hit “Comin’ Home Baby”. It is modern enough though, that Kondo gets a chance to expressively peck out some slide positions and Tono’oka varies her output from that of a chiming glockenspiel with expansive slides across the bars. Electronics from the ‘bone man and a wooden Bobby Hutcherson marimba-type attack characterize “It Must Be”, with Norton churning out drags and rolls on his skins and Morris again almost selflessly modulating the rhythm.

As a matter of fact, the only tune that seems almost somnolent is the final one, where rolling ride cymbal whacks and largo, almost bounce-less trombone and vibe connections make the composition seem slower than it actually is. Morris’ rhythmic thrust seems less lively and more melancholy than elsewhere. Considering that it was recorded about 18 months after the first three selections and six months before the bassist died, you wonder if intimations of his mortality was affecting him and the other band members as well.

Despite this, either CD -- not to mention many, many others -- stand as impressive testimony to the underappreciated skills of Wilber Morris.

-- Ken Waxman

Track Listing: Live: 1. Proofs (for Alan Silva) 2. Secrets of Imperfection 3. The Upper Chamber House of Prayer 4. Righteous Intent 5. Ask Eric/Iron Soul (for Eric Dolphy) 6. Mother Africa (for Wilber Morris) 7. In One Heart (for Jeanne Lee) 8. Direct Focus* 9. Beauty is Hidden*

Personnel: Live: Oluyemi Thomas (bass clarinet, c-melody sax, flute, musette, percussion); Wilber Morris (bass [except*]); Michael Wimberly (drums, percussion); Ijeoma Thomas (spoken word, percussion [except*])

Track Listing: Tree: 1. Missed You in Coutances, Babe 2. Walking The Dogma 3. It Must Be 4. Not Drunk, But Stunned

Personnel: Tree: Masahiko Kono (trombone and electronics); Hitomi Tono’oka (vibraphone); Wilber Morris (bass); Kevin Norton (drums and percussion)

August 25, 2003

BOBBY FEW

Continental Jazz Express
Boxholder 026

BOBBY FEW/AVRAM FEFER/WILBER MORRIS
Few and Far Between: Live at Tonic
Boxholder 029

Realistic as well as descriptive, the titles of Bobby Few’s two new discs succinctly sum up his position in the jazz firmament.

Although the Cleveland, Ohio-born pianist initially made his name recording with childhood friend Albert Ayler as well as other less experimental types like saxophonists Booker Ervin and Rahsaan Roland Kirk, lack of work for progressive stylists convinced him to move to Paris in 1969. Since then, his visits stateside have been “few and far between”. Furthermore, his long-time association with the bands of fellow American expats, first in a co-op band with saxophonists Frank Wright and Noah Howard, then for more than a decade with soprano saxist Steve Lacy, meant that he has long known the ins-and-outs of express train traveling on the Continent.

The two CDs offer two complimentary views of the now 67-year-old keyboardist’s talents. CONTINENTAL JAZZ EXPRESS preserves his triumphant solo piano recital at New York’s Vision Festival in 2000, while the other disc was recorded eight days later on a club date, featuring the pianist and two Americans who have Continental experience as well: tenor saxophonist Avram Fefer and the late bassist Wilber Morris.

On the whole, the solo disc is a stronger statement, simply because the years have allowed Few to polish the parts of this -- his major compositional statement -- to a high sheen -- on the CD. Throughout Few’s references seem to be both pre-modern and post-modern, with blues, gospel, Free Jazz and mainstream romanticism making their presence felt.

Reminiscent from the beginning of the relentless steam engine ostinato of performances like boogie-woogie specialist Meade Lux Lewis’ “Honky Tonk Train”, this tune soon picks up the syncopated beat of early gospel numbers like “This Train”. Not that rhythm is the only construct of the tune however. Train movement or not, when Few solos he sounds a bit like a less aggressive and more conventional Cecil Taylor, heavy on the right hand trills, or when his cascading waterfalls of notes tend to get out of hand, like an overly decorative Art Tatum. Perhaps because of his semi-mainstream background, and long European sojourn, Few seems most comfortable when he’s least avant --whatever that term means today. In fact, on “En Route”, he seems determined not too neglect any of the keys or pedals, as his output moves from Tatumesque decorations to romantic 19th century impressionism to harp-like glissandos and to embellishments that seem to be leaning into the pop instrumental territory of Roger Williams or Frank Mills.

Even in the last section, before formally reprises the main theme -- it was referred to obliquely several times during the other sections -- his random-note playing and seemingly “outside” efforts soon begin building towards a semi-classical, pedal-heavy sound. You can even hear a bit of Leonard Bernstein’s “Maria” in there.

Overall the piece, despite what he may think, confirms his very Americanism. His “Beautiful Africa” section relates little to that continent’s sounds. It’s really nothing more than him vocalizing that phrase a few times. As well, unfortunately, his very brief (1:24 minutes) “China” skirts racism, with him emphasizing the sort of cliched repetitive notes in the treble clef that are supposed to sound “Chinese” to Occidental ears. In truth, the music is about as Oriental as Hoagy Carmichael’s “Hong Kong Blues”. Luckily his legitimate American roots sensibility soon saves him.

A fine achievement, you can also tell by its breakneck speed that the railway honored is no Amtrak or Via Rail special. It’s certainly a lot closer to a speedy TGV journey.

In a way, the other CD is partially a Greatest Hits collection. Not only does Few reprise “Continental Jazz Express” once more, but Morris contributes his “Chazz”, first recorded by the composer in 1988 with David Murray on tenor saxophone and Dave Burrell on piano, and Fefer weighs in with “Loss (for Flo)”, which he not recorded with his trio in 1999, but would record again in early 2001 in a quartet featuring Morris. The only composition not from a band member is Charles Mingus’ “Nostalgia In Times Square,” which ends up being the most problematic number anyhow.

Each of the originals is blusey and has a strong melodic component, so much so that each could seduce those mainstream fans that claim to abhor non-traditional jazz. “Chazz”, for instance has a lazy, loping theme that’s first stated and then embellished by Fever at a pitch that’s as often in mid-range Ben Webster-Sonny Rollins territory, as it is emphasizing multiphonics. During their turns in the spotlight both Few and Morris also emphasize the line’s bedrock bluesiness.

“Loss (for Flo)”, the longest piece at almost 20½ minute, is a modal number that, in truth, almost wears out its welcome at about seven minutes in as Fefer spins out seemingly endless variations of the main theme. Thankfully Morris interposes a new beat at about that time, giving the saxophonist some leeway to add some foghorn-style tones. With Few too holding to giusto tempo, only some spectacular note bending and bodywork from the bassist keeps things on proper rhythmic keel until the hornman takes the tune out.

Unison playing by Few and Fefer differentiate the pianist’s tune here from other versions. Again though, Few’s basic conservatism prevents the saxist’s experiments with glossolalia and overblowing to go too far. When the reedman begins to develop a slower counter melody with Trane-like honks and smears, the pianist’s basic blues and gospel orientation leads him back to theme restatement at the end.

That end should have come at lot sooner on the Mingus tune, which featured tenor man Booker Ervin and pianist Richard Wylands in its most famous version in 1959. Sounding more disorganized than Mingus -- a man who knew a lot about bass and piano playing, and frightening tenor players -- would have allowed, the piece is as about twice as long as it should be. Fefer’s double-tonguing and honking overtone, Morris’ bass-vocalizing and Few’s modest thematic embellishments could have made this a fine nine-minute version. Unfortunately all three musicians seem compelled to try out what they probably imagine are avant-garde experiments for almost another 10 minutes. Few exploring the insides of the piano is in variance with his circular, romantic playing elsewhere; as are Morris’ high-pitched screeches and Fefer’s sax neighing. Let’s just say that the three are lucky that the famously bellicose Mingus is no longer alive to see what they did with his composition.

A few fanatics -- or followers of the players -- may want to use the program function of their CD players to eliminate this miscue, for the rest of the disc offers up some pretty good music. But for the best example of the pianist’s art, the solo CD is preferable.

-- Ken Waxman

Track Listing: Continental: 1. Continental Jazz Express 2. Beautiful Africa 3. China 4. The Journey Continues 5. Like A Waterfall 6. En Route 7. Continental Jazz Express

Personnel: Continental: Bobby Few (piano)

Track Listing: Few: 1. Continental Jazz Express 2. Chazz 3. Loss (for Flo) 4. Nostalgia in Times Square

Personnel: Few: Avram Fefer (tenor saxophone); Bobby Few (piano); Wilber Morris (bass)

September 2, 2002

TRIO VIRIDITAS

waxwebwind@ebroadway
Clean Feed CF 003 CD

As first-generation European Energy players reach middle age and beyond it’s interesting to see them adopt strategems already tried by their American counterparts. Most commonly, they seem to be pacing themselves, preserving their strength for distinctive showcases. As well, there appears to be a new interest in ballad playing. Underneath it all, though, whether the musician in question is Archie Shepp, Cecil Taylor Peter Brötzmann, or in this case Alfred Harth, proficiency wins out in the end.

German saxophonist Harth, who was working with such driving players as Brötzmann, pianist Heiner Goebbels, British vocalist Phil Minton and the Swedish percussionist Sven Åke Johansson as long ago as the early 1970s, was often described as having a tone like Archie Shepp’s. And there are times at the beginning of this disc recorded with Trio Viriodtas, a co-op filled out by Americans, bassist Wilber Morris and percussionist Kevin Norton, that Harth’s low key balladic tone makes you wonder if, like Shepp, he’s trying to cover up a loss of lip.

The program picks up considerably as the 12 selections over almost 68 minutes unreel. By the end of the disc you wonder what those initial concerns were. Harth, who has also composed music for films and theatre productions, recorded this CD on New York’s East Broadway and most of the tunes seem to reflect his outsider’s view of he city’s Lower East Side, especially it’s restaurants.

For the first five numbers, Harth exhibits a deep, breathy tenor saxophone tone that suggests Shepp’s recasting of Ben Webster’s, which when paired with Norton’s vibes also brings to mind BAGS & TRANE, John Coltrane’s mainstream meeting with Milt Jackson. Throughout, Morris takes so much of the weight on his shoulders --and bass -- that you don’t even notice the lack of steady drumming.

Even here, though, the reedist is no Old Lion. On saxophone he introduces a bit of reed-biting, slap-tonguing and even some percussive spetrofluctuation to make his sound bigger. On clarinet, his trills and air hisses are a perhaps-unintentional tribute to Jimmy Giuffre, who proved in the early 1960s that a clarinet could produce advanced music without being shrill.

Eye-opening and longest tune, “Interstice” written by Morris, finds the composer plucking the taunt strings beneath his instrument’s bridge while Norton creates percussion sounds that resemble sand rustling in a foil plate, and Harth wiggles lines from his clarinet. On tenor saxophone, he then creates enough intense, weeping multiphonics that the piece starts to resemble one of those John Coltrane-Pharoah Sanders freak outs of the 1960s, as Norton gets into the mood by smashing his cymabls and battering away on the toms and snares. Eventually, the horn climbs to the altissimo range as Morris (probably) begins wordlessly vocalizing along with the strong thrusting bow work, again suggesting the chants that enlivened some of Trane’s compositions at the time. Finally, the storm subsides, the percussionist goes back to panning gold with his auciliary instruments, the bass sounds an occasional tone and the saxophone quietly growls.

Things pick up from then on. For example, “Age pl @ mandarin court” -- initiated by a visit to a Chinese restaurant perhaps -- finds press rolls introducing a hearty Oriental imperial court march from the saxophone, then relaxes into click-clacks of stick percussive that in the right hands could be crated by chopsticks. Following a stop-time tenor excursion that gets louder and wilder, Morris reintroduces the theme with string patterns that could come from a pipa, the four-stringed traditional Chinese lute.

“Cue (ball) #1” uses the thump of the bass and flams and paradiddles of the snares and sticks to recreate the balls-and-table atmosphere of a pool hall. But should we hear the whiny scratch of a bow on a cymbal as a stick being tempered? Plus what about the unaccompanied clarinet solo followed by silence. Did someone miss the pocket?

On the other hand, the liquid multiphonics spilling from Harth’s clarinet on “Major Airports” recalls Eric Dolphy’s dissonance a lot more than flight plans. Plus the bending of clarinet and bowed bass on “Fur die katz’s dell (ght)” has a distinct Mingus sound about it, which might only be explained by the late bassist/composer’s large capacity for food. That would definitely be satisfied at cavernous Katz’s Deli on Houston, honored by this composition of Harth.

Trying to interpret the CD as program music is probably reductive though. Suffice it to say that with everyone pulling his weight Trio Viriditas come across as an exceptional debut session by three fine musicians. Listen to it and you’ll probably want to sample it again.

-- Ken Waxman

Track Listing:1. From The North 2. Braggadoclo 3. Auda-city 5. Starbucks 6. Interstice 7. Fur die katz’s dell(ght) 8. Cue(ball) #1 9. Age pl @ mandarin court 10. Route 23 11. Starbucks variation 12. Major airports

Personnel: Alfred Harth (tenor saxophone, clarinet); Wilber Morris (bass); Kevin Norton (drums, vibraphone, percussion)

August 5, 2002

AVRAM FEFER

Calling All Spirits
Cadence Jazz Records CJR 1123

AVRAM FEFER
Lucille’s Gemini Dream
CIMP #237

Seattle-born, Boston-trained, a resident of Paris in the early 1990s and since then a Manhattanite, saxophonist Avram Fefer is one of the new breed of peripatetic musicians.

Proficient on all the saxophones and clarinets as well as flute, he’s a straightforward, straightahead player, most comfortable in what should be deemed the post-bop mainstream, if the neo-cons hadn’t forced much of jazz forward to the past at the end of last century. Both of his discs, recorded 13 months apart, offer a cross section of soloing from all concerned that’s never less than accomplished. But with each reprising three of his compositions, it could be that Fefer’s future achievements could rest in composition rather than improvisation.

Each of the tunes -- “African Interlude”, “Going Nowhere Fast” and “Loss [for Flo]”-- and some of his other originals here are rollicking, rhythm riffs that lope along at accelerated paces and sound instantly familiar after you’ve heard them once. In the halcyon days of working groups, it’s a good chance that one or all of them would have joined lines by Gigi Gryce, Benny Golson and the like in every freebopper’s repertoire. Even today, they should seriously be considered as add-ons by other musicians. Until that happens, we have to rely on Fefer’s own interpretations.

Most interesting is “Loss”, which is worked on by a trio of Fefer, bassist Eric Revis and drummer Igal Foni on SPIRITS and inflated to nearly twice that length when trombonist Steve Swell and bassist Wilber Morris join the saxophonist and drummer on LUCILLE’S.

Although responsibility for its shape and elaboration rest mostly on the saxophonist’s shoulders -- or more accurately his powerful, Sonny Rollins-inflected tenor work -- on the Cadence disc, it’s the bass playing of Revis, who has worked with tenor saxophonist Billy Harper, that emphasizes its foottapping qualities. Here and elsewhere Foni impresses as well, mixing steady timekeeping with virtuosity on what sounds at times like an anachronistic riveted sizzle cymbal

Cast in a free context, without losing its inherent funkiness the “Loss” of starts with offside altissimo variations from Fefer and low pitches from Swell until they mesh. Foni relies more on rim shots here than on the other disc, but throughout the entire CD, poor Morris certainly lacks the presence of Revis. Due to CIMP’s no-mixing-no-compression-live-to-two tracks policy, he and most other bassists recorded by the label are usually inaudible, unless you enjoy cranking up the volume for their solos then whipping it south again for louder instruments.

Despite its title, “Going” works up quite a head of steam on the trio session, with the saxophonist in full, speedy Pharoach Sanders mould and the drummer hitting everything within reach. Taken at a slower pace by the quartet, Fefer offers up the same reed-biting dynamics, while Foni plays a variation on Sunny Murray to the saxman’s Albert Ayler. Echoing extended, well-modulated passages within his bell, Swell provides the deviations to Fefer’s reading of the theme. Here and elsewhere the unison voicings recall the work done by trombonist Roswell Rudd, an avowed Swell influence, as part of the band of saxophonist Archie Shepp, with whom Fefer played in Paris.

A highly rhythmic piece, which appears to centre around pedal point, as do other Fefer lines, “African” was recorded by a popular six-piece acid jazz he was a member of, while the saxist was in Paris. Both American versions have certainly lost the “acid jazz” context -- whatever that means -- with the CIMP recording possessing a slight edge. Foni gets to exercise his miscellaneous percussion at the top, as a Dixieland feel sneaks in, advanced by Fefer’s fluid clarinet work buffeted on all sides by Swell’s reverberating trombone slurs.

From beginning to end of the CIMP disc, this mixture of trombone and saxophones brings to mind a sound midway between some of bassist Charles Mingus’ smaller combos and Chicago’s Ethnic Herritage Ensemble as well as the Shepp-Rudd partnership. Ironically “Orange Was The Color Of her Dress Than Blue Silk”, the only real Mingus tune, is performed with the trio.

That cover, plus versions of pieces by Ornette Coleman and Don Cherry distinguish the trio session. So does Fefer’s noteworthy interlocking sounds on overdubbed bass clarinet and tenor saxophone on “Calling All Spirits, Calling All Poets”, where he improvises so cleanly you wonder which track actually came first. Mechanical manipulation of that sort is anathema to CIMP, so the originals -- all by Fefer, except for one by Swell -- are heard pristinely, with the sound at the mercy of the instrument’s position and dynamics.

There’s lot of like in both these sessions, with the Cadence, with its direct tributes, more of an apprenticeship disc, and CIMP, stuffed with originals, more of an artist’s statement. But be fully aware that later label’s quirky and opinionated engineering reduces some of its impact.

Maybe for best effect, Fefer should record another session in a non-CIMP studio with Swell. There’s probably a notebook full of memorable compositions the reedman could also bring along.

-- Ken Waxman

Track Listing: Calling: 1. Orange Was The Color Of her Dress Than Blue Silk 2. African Interlude 3. Mothers of the Veil 4. Guinea 5. Going Nowhere Fast 6. Loss [for Flo] 7. Calling All Spirits, Calling All Poets

Personnel: Calling: Avram Fefer (tenor, soprano and alto saxophones, clarinet); Eric Revis (bass); Igal Foni (drums)

Track Listing: Lucille: 1. Loss [for Flo] 2. Ripple 3.Cycle of Fits 4. Lucille’s Gemini Dream 5. Going Nowhere Fast 6. Heavenly Places 7. African Interlude

Personnel: Lucille: Steve Swell (trombone); Avram Fefer (tenor, soprano and alto saxophones, clarinet); Wilber Morris (bass); Igal Foni (drums)

March 15, 2002

ROY CAMPBELL

It's Krunch Time
Thirsty Ear THI 57107.2

In jazz a new form of purported fellow traveler has emerged. Fellow travelers were folks persecuted by venomous right wingers like Senator Joe McCarthy in the 1950s not because they were so-called Reds -- a dubious proposition at best -- but because they moved in the same circles as suspected communists.

For this association, rather than ideology, many people suddenly had to struggle for work. It appears that jazz's neo-con cabal would like to practice their own brand of repressive McCarthyism on musicians who move in certain circles.

Take Roy Campbell, for instance. The New York-based trumpeter/flugelhornist has long been confined to the so-called avant garde ghetto because of his association with such certified free players as bassist/organizer William Parker, with whom he's shared the leadership of a couple of bands.

In truth, Campbell's playing, like that of his Chicago counterpart Malachi Thompson, shines in that narrow area of freebop which takes its shape as much from hard bop as energy music. It's certainly not radical when compared to the sound of out-and-out brass explorers like Berlin's Alex Dörner or Vermont's Bill Dixon.

Ignoring labels, Campbell continues to turn out fine work on his own and with others, no matter their stylistic leanings. Perhaps, however, this capable session will raise his profile higher.

Two of his compatriots here -- vibist Khan Jamal and bassist Wilber Morris -- occupy the same avant garde fellow traveler limbo as Campbell. Conversely, drummer Guillermo E. Brown, is younger, is making his name with David S. Ware's quartet, and mostly sticks to the background anyways.

More to the point, if anyone deserves kudos, its Philadelphia-based Khan, who too is only deemed an avant gardist by fraternization. Another grievously underrecorded freebopper, he long ago made his unique low-key accommodation with the modal vibes styles of Milt Jackson and Bobby Hutcherson.

Using little vibrato and concentrating on the metallic tones of his instrument, Jamal is unsurprisingly featured most prominently on "Khanducting". Anything but abstract, his solos here flash by with a speed too swift for echoing reverberation, and are often blended with lascivious smeared notes from Campbell's trumpet.

This duetting continues on "The Opening", which despite its title is the penultimate track of the disc. Appearing to want to resolve itself as a familiar ballad, the tune instead seems to circle around itself with the trumpeter double timing his lines and the vibist creating counter melodies.

Perhaps the three veteran's clearest intentions appear on "Ode for Mr. D.C.", honoring another long time inside-outside player, the late drummer Denis Charles. No dirge, the tune is instead a lively celebration of life that utilizes the sort of West Indian lilt at which Charles excelled. It allows a muted Campbell to expose his linkage to protobopper Lee Morgan at length, gives space to Khan for a speedy 1960s Blue Note style solo and is held together by a strong, unassuming, repeated bass pattern from Morris.

Overall, what's been created here is a disc of strong, modern music, with sounds that are only tenuously linked to the so-called avant garde. Heck, the band even does a version of "Bemsha Swing" by Thelonious Monk, who appears to have posthumously passed the neo-con loyalty oath to earn iconic status.

Of course, the dictatorial types who realize the talents of Campbell and those of his sidemen are anything but frightening, may then turn against him for his socio-political views. "New Groes (sic) for the New Millennium", for instance, says Campbell, is for people "who refute history … and act like nothing happened before they came on the scene", while his solo, sour-note-studded recasting of "Star Spangled Banner" is dedicated to "president select (sic) George Bush".

-- Ken Waxman

Track Listing: 1. Tenderness of Spring 2. It's Krunch Time 3. Bemsha Swing 4. New Groes for the New Millennium 5. Ode for Mr. DC 6. Khanducting 7. The Opening 8. Star Spangled Banner

Personnel: Roy Campbell (trumpet); Khan Jamal (vibes); Wilber Morris (bass); Guillermo E. Brown (drums)

October 1, 2001