RON MILES QUARTET

Laughing Barrel
Sterling Circle SC 1219

LUIGI MARTINALE
Urka
DDQ 128053-2

Trumpet, a chordal instrument, bass and drums: what could be a simpler configuration for improvised music? Very little, in fact, but it’s a testimony to the imagination and talents of the two quartets represented on these discs that they sound so distinct.

By the same token, while both revolve around the song form, it appears that Italian pianist Luigi Martinale’s disc, featuring trumpeter Fabrizio Bosso, comes across with more vitality than American trumpeter Ron Miles’ CD, which features guitarist Brandon Ross.

Unpretentious, Martinale’s session frankly sets out to be an individual take on post-bop jazz and succeeds admirably at that lesser goal. Miles, on the other hand, tries to blend POMO touches with Americana in his all-original program. His ambitions are admirable, but the program ends up being too folksy and overly tasteful to not drag in places.

Denver-based Miles apprenticed with Mercer Ellington’s orchestra and local tenor man Fred Hess’s bands. Teaching music at the college level, he’s also widely recognized for his playing, composing and arranging skills utilized by, among others, former Cream drummer Ginger Baker, clarinetist Don Byron and guitarist Bill Frisell. Earlier discs with the likes of Frisell have been quiet and intimate, and it seems that he tried to beef up his vitality with this quartet. Comparisons with flugelhornist Art Farmer’s 1960s combo with guitarist Jim Hall, bassist Steve Swallow and drummer Walter Perkins have been made, but his associates here are less attached to hard-core jazz than Farmer’s crew was.

Ross, who plays with Miles in his own Harriet Tubman band, is best known as singer Cassandra Wilson’s musical director. He also works in bands headed by pianist Myra Melford, reedist Henry Threadgill and conduction pioneer Butch Morris. Anthony Coleman, arguably the hippest bassist to come out of Minneapolis, has worked with saxophonists Joe Lovano, Dewey Redman and Steve Lacy. Another Denverite, drummer Rudy Royston, has been playing with Miles since college, has experience with Hess and Frisell, is a music teacher and director of Denver’s Citywide Marching Band.

Ross’s near-country-style finger-picking used to such effect by singer Wilson on her sessions, also gets a workout on the mostly slow-moving Miles originals that make up this set. Trouble is, most of the time his restrained chording and comping sounds not so much like Hall’s inventiveness, but like the more restrained, cautious Swing Era beat of say, George Barnes or Carl Kress. Similarly, the trumpeter who seems happiest when he’s muted or using half-valve effects, appears to be measuring every note he plays. If Farmer was tasteful in his soloing, then Miles is positively decorous, often sounding more toned down than such mellifluous stylists as Barnes’ old partner Ruby Braff, Charlie Shavers or Bobby Hackett. He doesn’t alter this stance even for a piece that purports to honor saxophonist Wayne Shorter.

On “Jesus Loves Me”, which he also performed with Baker, the vamp sounds as bossa novaish as it does bluesy, especially when Miles plays backing arpeggios to Ross’s slightly accented, finger-picking fret work. As measured as Cox’s bass solo may be, it does stir the trumpet to produce half-valve glisses, short shakes and mouthpiece squeals and smears. But this doesn’t disrupt the carefully measured proceedings as much as Royston’s extended, near psychedelic percussion feints do.

“Psychedelic Black Man”, on the other hand, with near-Hawaiian vibrato and wah-wah effects from Ross, shows that he can almost make his guitar “talk” when given half a chance. Royston is plays powerfully here as well, but the theme is practically nursery rhyme-like. Like the final number “Fairy Court” [!!], that involves counterpoint from the guitar and gritty-sounding echoing trumpet overtones, the overall musical definition appears to be more adult-album-radio-oriented than anything funkier.

If there’s a way of being too refined, Miles and his men seem to have found it.

Turin-based Martinale is a melodist as well, as benefits someone who studied with Italian jazz pianist Enrico Pieranunzi, who get a “hidden dedication” on one track here. But he’s also a member of the Trane’s Memory Quartet and has recorded other inside/outside discs, like last year’s SWEET MARTA (DDQ 128043-2), a trio session with American bassist Drew Gress.

Brassman Bosso, who teaches and leads his own quintet, has also been a member of Pieranunzi’s quintet as well as other small groups, big bands and broadcast orchestras. Out-and-out swinger, bassist Nicola Muresu, who is a member of American saxophonist Steve Grossman’s European Quartet, actually played with Art Farmer [!], while drummer Alessandro Minetto is a young veteran of a clutch of combos.

This combination gives a much harder cast to URKA than Miles’s disc. Not that the Italian trumpeter isn’t tasteful and refined as well. But his constant cadenza of notes coupled with the pianist’s two-handed style brings brio to tunes like the melodic and finger-snapping “Unexpected News” and produce a whole different feel. If we’re still making comparisons with Farmer, then this CD can be heard as Farmer sitting in with Hank Jones or Cedar Walton; he recorded in a quartet setting with both.

Martinale’s originals include a bouncy blues in 7/4, a balladic dedication to the mountainous region of his native Piedmont, and one tune that seems to subtly shift in and out of waltz time. Influenced by bossa nova, “Changing Pictures” shows that this band is somewhat like the combos lead by altoist Paul Desmond -- usually featuring guitarist Hall, incidentally -- that managed to be airy and relaxing, but not saccharine -- and that showed you could swing at muted mid-tempos.

There’s “We Need a Medium” a medium -- no surprise -- tempo bounce number, which, though lighter than air, does feature the pianist building his solo from block chords and creating sympathetic fills behind Bosso’s measured, allegro lines. Eventually the trumpeter reprises the theme in different registers before the fade out.

Two versions of “Yes I Have”, based on Rogers and Hart’s “Have You Met Miss Jones”, highlight the band’s teamwork. On the first, Muresu’s bass solo is clearly heard despite Bosso’s biting, controlled vibrato that suggests the go-for-broke excitement of Roy Eldridge. The second, taken at a faster tempo is soufflé light, probably because of Minetto’s brushwork. It combines Dixieland-style breaks from Bosso -- after he’s begun his solo with a quote from Denzil Best’s “Move” -- with pregnant POMO pauses in Martinale’s accompaniment.

“Back To The Roots” also shows that the pianist knows his Americana -- at least in the jazz sense -- as well as Denver trumpeter Miles does. Offering a bit of playful stride piano, Martinale triple times with his left hand in the manner of James P. Johnson, while Bosso’s syncopated, triple tonguing with plunger and cup mute resemble the tone of Johnson associate Frankie Newton. Minetto contributes some Charleston-style brushwork and the whole piece ends precisely not on a present day dime, but on a pre-Second World War penny. A long pause is then followed by a three-second quadruple time reprise of the theme.

Good fun and fine playing, URKA gets the nod because it manages to achieve everything it sets out to do. LAUGHING BARREL may be more of a contemplative statement, but the overlong tunes and overly muted delivery sabotaged its intentions.

-- Ken Waxman

Track Listing: Laughing: 1. Parade 2. New Breed Leader 3. Psychedelic Black Man 4. Still Small Voice 5. Jesus Loves Me 6. Sunday Best 7. Fairy Court

Personnel: Laughing: Ron Miles (trumpet); Brandon Ross (guitar) Anthony Cox (bass); Rudy Royston (drums)

Track Listing: Urka: 1. Urka 2. Unexpected News 3. Yes I Have 4. New From The Pier 5. Crooked Blues 6. Open Space 7. The Ring 8. We Need A Medium 9. Changing Pictures 10. Yes I Have (Take 2) 11. Nothing Is Wrong 12. Back To The Roots

Personnel: Urka: Fabrizio Bosso (trumpet); Luigi Martinale (piano); Nicola Muresu (bass); Alessandro Minetto (drums)

April 28, 2003

HENRY THREADGILL & MAKE A MOVE

Everybodys Mouth’s A Book
PI Recordings PI01

HENRY THREADGILL’S ZOOID
Up Popped The Two Lips
PI Recordings PI02

Five years after his unsatisfactory major label dalliance ended, composer/saxophonist Henry Threadgill is back with not one, but two new CDs on a brand-new label. Showcasing one quintet and an almost wholly different sextet performing new Threadgill’s pieces, the sessions are exhilarating and comfortable at the same time. That’s because the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM)’s most iconoclastic writer is still finding new ways to express himself while staying faithful to the jaunty compositional system he developed as long ago as the early 1990s.

There are some changes however. With Zooid for instance, he has added an oud -- played by Tarik Benbrahim -- to what now seems to be standard Threadgill instrumentation of acoustic guitar (played by Liberty Ellman), cello (Dana Leong), tuba (Jose Davila), drums (Dafnis Prieto) and his own alto saxophone and flute. Make A Move -- which has existed for some time -- may have Threadgill and the same drummer on board, but the band is filled out by Bryan Carrott’s vibes or marimba, Brandon Ross’s guitars and Stomu Takeishi’s basses.

Threadgill has been quoted as saying that while his music may be “radically different” most listeners don’t cotton on to that “because the difference in approach doesn’t sound radical”. Without construing this as a put down, you can say that he writes easy listening atonal music. Both these CDs reflect the sum total of the reedman’s musical experience. This includes improvisations with his own combos such as Air and Very, Very Circus, stints playing in marching and army bands while in the military, and sounds created when he was jobbing in show bands, pit bands and even funeral bands.

Well, actually, except for the underpinning of a couple of sorrowful ballads, there’s a lot less of the last type of music than any other -- most of the compositions seem pretty upbeat. Plus like Ornette Coleman, Julius Hemphill and other canny creators of his generation, Threadgill knows that most folks will accept all sorts of deviance in the front line just as long as there’s a steady beat in the background.

Cuban drummer Prieto obviously fits the bill as beat master and the only holdover on both discs. And he justifies this faith with the subtle use of Latin accents from his cowbells and wood blocks. The electric pulse of Takeishi’s basses adds to the drum cushion in Make A Move, while Davila near-unvarying brass bottom linked to Prieto’s percussion pushes does the same for Zooid.

Make A Move also gets its shape from Ross’s guitars. A long-time associate of the saxophonist, his bluesy, rock-inflected, definitely electric guitar runs or racing car quick nylon string strums define each composition on which they’re featured. When his electric machine intertwines with Threadgill’s straightforward, miasmic flute it brings to mind those years Sonny Sharrock powered Herbie Mann’s combo. This impression is reinforced when Carrott’s fleet, dancing mallet work partners with Prieto’s tougher approach. Imagine Milt Jackson recording with Pretty Purdie.

Only in existence since 2000, Zooid appears to take variations of Make A Move’s jaunty themes to a Greek wedding through Benbrahim’s oud and Ellman’s nylon string guitar. Of course it’s not a traditional Hellenic celebration, since the overtones that blast out of Davila’s brass beast are heavy enough to accompany themselves. At times, as on “Calm Down” which couples them with the rat-tat-tat of the snare drum, you figure this must be military nuptials.

On the other hand, can “Do The Needful” be a POMO salute to some of those dance tunes like “Walkin’ The Dog”, “Twine Time” or “Do The Funky Chicken” that Threadgill would have had to accompany in a pit band? Certainly there’s potential for some fancy footwork here as motifs are tossed back and forth from reverberating tuba and the cat gut slides of the cello. The saxist even unveils his fruity, vibrato-laden alto sonority that appears to be one part King Curtis to two parts Ornette Coleman.

The only criticism that can be leveled at both discs is the intermediate length of a couple of slower tunes. Had they been cut off after the initial theme statement or left to gather steam at greater length they would have been more effective.

All and all, though, this is a minor caveat. Think of these as quietly subversive CDs that could as easily impress a newbie who thinks jazz began with Medeski, Martin & Wood as a sophisticate who appreciate Threadgill and the AACM’s entire history.

-- Ken Waxman

Track Listing: Everybody: 1. Platinum Inside Straight 2. Don’t Turn Around 3. Biggest Crumb 4. Burnt Til Recognition 5. Where Coconuts Fall 6. Pink Water Pink Airplane 7. Shake It Off 8. What To Do,What To Do

Personnel: Everybody: Henry Threadgill (alto saxophone, flute); Bryan Carrott (vibraphone, marimba); Brandon Ross (electric guitar, acoustic guitar); Stomu Takeishi (electric bass and acoustic bass guitar); Dafnis Prieto (drums)

Track Listing: Popped: 1.Tickled Pink 2. Dark Black 3. Look 4. Around My Goose 5. Calm Down 6. Did You See That 7. Do The Needful

Personnel: Popped: Henry Threadgill (alto saxophone, flute); Liberty Ellman (acoustic guitar); Tarik Benbrahim (oud); Dana Leong (cello); Jose Davila (tuba); Dafnis Prieto (drums)

January 24, 2002