Saxophonist/Composer Russ Nolan to Release
"Call It What You Want,"
His 5th Rhinoceruss Music Album in 10 Years,
March 31
Featuring Pianist Mike Eckroth,
Bassist Dan Foose, Drummer Brian Fishler,
& Percussionists Yasuyo Kimura, Victor Rendon
CD Release Shows Include Stops in Chicago
(Green Mill 4/3-4)
& Toronto
(Rex Hotel 4/29-30, Musideum 5/1)
March 6, 2015 
Reflecting his fluency
in the post-bop vocabulary and Latin rhythmic idioms, it's an approach
quite distinct from what used to be called Latin jazz, like a good deal
of the most stimulating jazz coming out of New York in recent years. Not
surprisingly, Nolan has collaborated with some of the Latin musicians
in the vanguard of this movement, like the brilliant Cuban pianist
Manuel Valera (who played on Nolan's previous release, 2013's critically
hailed Relentless).
"I hope I'm part of
this larger conversation," Nolan says. "I didn't grow up in Cuba or with
this music, but I've really connected with these rhythms through a lot
of study. You can't throw out all the rules, but you take the tradition
and honor it by being rebels in your own time. You take what you've
absorbed and make it your own."
Nolan's striking arrangement of "My Ship,"
for instance, is set to an Afro-Peruvian Lando rhythm and finished in a
Coltrane-style modal vamp. His varied originals include "Mi Remedio," a cha-cha written for his wife Luz; "Canción Sabrosa," a mambo in rhumba clave; and "Las Teclas Negras,"
an E-flat minor blues played as a medium-tempo mambo in 7/4. "This
recording is another chapter in my study of Latin rhythms and their
application to the modern jazz harmony I enjoy writing," says the
leader.
Brian Fishler, who's played on Nolan's last three albums, is "one of the most versatile drummers in town," says the saxophonist. Bassist Daniel Foose,
a more recent member of the fold, is a highly assured player who lives
across the street from Nolan in Sunnyside, Queens, and shares his
University of North Texas affiliation. Far more than a master
percussionist, Victor Rendon is also an essential mentor for Nolan who has helped inculcate his deep knowledge of Cuban rhythms. "He and Yasuyo [Kimura] are an amazing team," Nolan says. "I met them on a salsa gig, and she played on three tracks on Relentless."
Nolan's concern with rhythm began coming into clear focus in the late 1990s, when he was living in Chicago. Saxophonist Chris Potter
came through town with Dave Holland's band and gave Nolan the first of
what would become many lessons. "He could have talked to me about scales
and harmony and all this other stuff," Nolan recalls, "but he really
impressed upon me that the horn player has to have the same mastery of
time as the rhythm section and can't rely on them to carry him along."
Nolan had moved to Chicago after graduating from North Texas State and studied with local saxophonist Rich Corpolongo as well as with visiting New Yorkers Dave Liebman and Kenny Werner. In 2000, pianist Werner convinced Nolan to move to New York City -- and would play on the saxophonist's 2008 CD With You in Mind (Nolan's debut recording was 2004's Two Colors).
Introduced to clave by
his interest in dance (he's an accomplished salsa dancer), Nolan has
connected with the burgeoning pan-American scene in New York. For the
past two years he's led a salsa band that performs for dancers.
"There are all the
different nationalities in New York -- Peruvian, Panamanian, Cuban --
and the deeper I got the more I liked it," Nolan says. "There's so much
information here. For the past year I've been studying percussion with
Victor Rendon, so I can take these Cuban rhythms and apply them to jazz
harmonies I studied with Kenny Werner. It's just another chapter in my
rhythmic exploration."
CD release shows for Call It What You Want:
4/2 Jazz Estate, Milwaukee
(Jim Trompeter, p; Clay Schaub, b; Devin Drobka, d)
4/3-4 Green Mill, Chicago
(Jim Trompeter, p; Larry Gray, b; Ernie Adams, d)
4/16 Terraza 7, Elmhurst, Queens, NY
(Mike Eckroth, p; Daniel Foose, b; Ronen Itzik, d)
4/17 Jazz at the Kitano, NYC
(same personnel as Terraza 7 date)
4/29-30 Rex Hotel, Toronto
(Jeremy Ledbetter, p; Jesse Dietschi, b; Daniel Barnes, d)
5/1 Musideum, Toronto
(same personnel as Rex Hotel dates)
5/8 Firehouse 12, New Haven, CT -- live recording
(Mike Eckroth, p; Daniel Foose, b; Brian Fishler, d)
Photography: John Abbott
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