USA: JAZZ LEGENDS FOR DISABILITY PRIDE FUNDRAISER

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JAPAN/USA: Satoko Fujii & Joe Fonda-“Duet” (Long Song Records 2016)

Great improvisers reveal a lifetime of experience and artistry in every note. For both pianist Satoko Fujii and bassist Joe Fonda, that brings to bear an estimable history of collaboration with some of the music’s greatest practitioners and travel that spans the globe. It also means that despite the fact that their winding paths had never previously crossed, they immediately tapped a rich vein of musical understanding during their first-ever performances together.

On Duet, a live recording of their second concert in November 2015, they share a seemingly telepathic link that makes the music intimate and mercurial. It’s an adventurous musical exchange that features some of their best playing on record.

USA: John Lindberg Raptor Trio, “Western Edges” (Clean Feed 2016)

“Western Edges” follows a principle: «Music is mystery. To be left unsolved, yet fully absorbed.» Inspired by nature, double bassist and composer John Lindberg and his two companions in the Raptor Trio, Pablo Calogero and Joe LaBarbera, manage to bend the sounds at their will, being the extraordinary musicians they are, but keeping the music mysterious from start to finish, letting it emanate entirely «from the heart» and making the point to play it in a «visceral manner», while «engendering flights into the ether and that which is beyond all understanding», as Lindberg himself writes in the liner notes of the CD. You don’t usually associate a strong emotional drive to the West Coast sound adopted in this recording, but John Lindberg never does what is expected of any format he happens to choose. That’s why he’s such a singular musician on the scene – he keeps surprising us, opening new doors, «riding the thermals, unimpeded, free and majestic». A must have, must listen opus, once again.

USA: BassDrumBone, “The Long Road” (Auricle 2016)

"The story keeps unfolding for this fabled trio that released its first outing in 1978. With rest stops along the way, the musicians' synergy remains as a source of amazement, coupled with their perpetual creative sparks that sculpt a route embedded with fresh concepts and supreme musicianship." Glenn Astarita (JazzReview.com)

“The Long Road” presents a double CD of new compositions of BassDrumBone on the eve of their 40th anniversary as a collective trio. In celebration of this landmark occasion this recording also includes something the trio has never done before. Two special guests and friends of BassDrumBone, saxophonist Joe Lovano and pianist Jason Moran were invited to join the trio on the recording, each for three pieces in quartet arrangements of new and previous works of Mark Helias, Gerry Hemingway and Ray Anderson.

Most bands require a bandleader, whose musical sensibility shapes the sound. Each member of BassDrumBone have spent years leading their own bands. A true musical collective is a rare and usually short-lived phenomenon. The democracy often frays under pressures of career and artistic ambition. But BassDrumBone has endured and thrived on this long road. They have become a musical family, surviving the many twists and difficult turns in each of our personal lives, while still digging to find new riches, further possibilities, and the continued deep joy of making music together.

BassDrumBone is a trio that has wedded the uniqueness of it's instrumentation with the singular personality of it's three members. A true collective, their music combines three distinct compositional and improvisational approaches with an exceptional musical rapport.

Mark Helias, Gerry Hemingway and Ray Anderson began performing as a trio in the fall of 1977. Their first record, "Oahspe", was released in 1979 on the Auricle Record label (the same label that is releasing “The Long Road”). Bob Rusch in his review of the record, wrote: "Exceptionally good music, fearlessly played and tightly coordinated. Recommended."

In 1984 "Right Down your Alley" was released on Soul Note Records of Italy and in the beginning of 1986 "You Be" was released on the Minor Music label of Germany. Both records received acclaim from the European and American press including a five star review in Downbeat magazine for "You Be".

Next in 1988 came "Wooferlo" which was released on the Soul Note label. Ben Watson of Wire Magazine commented: "Each musician has a story to tell, the solos are stuffed with event and happenstance".

After 1988 the group went into a temporary dormancy while all three of its members pursued their own individual groups. In the fall of 1993 BassDrumBone became active again for a tour in Europe. A tour in 1996 yielded "Hence the Reason”on Enja Records and in March of 1999 BDB released some archival material from 1986-97 on an Auricle Records cd entitled "Cooked to Perfection". BassDrumBone celebrated its 25th year together with the release of "March of Dimes" on the Dutch label Data.On the eve of our 30th anniversary, Clean Feed released "The Line Up". Followed by "The Other Parade" also on Clean Feed in 2009.

And now on November 15, 2016 comes this very special double CD on the eve of their 40th anniversary in 2017.

USA: Wadada Leo Smith, “America’s National Parks” (Cuneiform 2016)

DD

USA: Alto Saxophonist Mark Lewis's "The New York Session" to Be Released by Audio Daddio, Jan. 27

 

Alto Saxophonist & Flutist Mark Lewis's
"The New York Session"
To Be Released by Audio Daddio
January 27

George Cables, Essiet Essiet, & Victor Lewis
Lend Inspired Support
In a Program of Originals by the
Seattle-Area Leader   

 

December 16, 2016

  

As well-traveled and widely recorded as alto saxophonist Mark Lewis has been over the past four decades, his new CD The New York Session is likely to be the album that helps rectify his current under-the-radar reputation. Recorded last year in Brooklyn with a world-class rhythm section -- pianist George Cables, bassist Essiet Essiet, and drummer Victor Lewis -- the new disc will be released by Lewis's Audio Daddio label on January 27. It's the work of an artist clearly reveling in the company of fellow masters making the most of his tasty compositions.

"There's so much to savor and admire here," writes critic Ted Gioia, a self-professed Mark Lewis fan who contributed the CD booklet notes. "Lewis's musicality, his inventiveness, his humor, his ability to immerse himself in the soundscape of the performance with total emotional commitment -- these all stand out here in track after track."

L. to r.: Victor Lewis, Essiet Essiet, George Cables, Mark Lewis.

Whether he's inviting his listeners to a carnival on "Boberto's Magical World" or waxing philosophical on the introspective "Not As Beautiful As You," Lewis displays an utterly personal mix of authority, playfulness, and interactive immediacy. He's at home in the blues, playing with relaxed soul on the strolling, minor key "DL Blues," and draws on his deep love of African music for several pieces, most obviously on the lilting "Sierra Leone" and the boisterous 12/8 closer "Roll 'Em Joe."

 

Legally blind, Lewis hasn't let his disability slow him down, traveling the world and establishing deep creative bonds wherever he's landed. But not being able to assess a colleague's immediate reaction to his music may shape his approach to recording.  

 

"I don't see well enough to see facial expressions," Lewis says. "I used simple compositions because I didn't want to clutter the purity of the sound we were trying to get. I think pieces of music are like places or rooms. You play in those spaces as a musician, in those settings, and they'll make you into slightly different people doing different things, which I think is good."

 

Born in Tacoma (in 1958) and raised on a farm outside of nearby Gig Harbor, Mark Lewis absorbed music from both sides of his family. A standout player in middle school, he formed his first band at 14. By high school, Lewis's waking hours were filled with music as he played lead alto in the stage band and clarinet in the concert band. Leading several bands around the region, he supported himself while studying composition, flute, electronic music, and piano at Western Washington University and the Cornish Institute of Allied Arts.

 

Settling in Seattle, Lewis started performing regularly at Norm Bobrow's Jazz at the Cirque showcase and quickly found invaluable mentors amongst resident masters. Drummer Otis "Candy" Finch, who'd moved to Seattle after a sterling New York career, recognized Lewis's budding talent and took him under his wing. He also encouraged him to get out of town, and in 1978 the 20-year-old saxophonist flew to Europe with a one-way ticket, his alto sax, and virtually no contacts.

 

He ended up making Rotterdam his homebase for the next 14 years, and established himself as a vital force on the international jazz scene as a player, label owner, and producer. Building an extensive network of musical peers amongst Dutch players and American ex-pats ("Johnny Griffin got me my first gig in Europe," Lewis recalls), he maintained three working Dutch groups.

 

Lewis's record company Audio Daddio became one of the era's essential outlets, releasing recordings by Art Foxall, Vonne Griffin, Al Hood, Art Lande, and David Friesen. The label's last European recording The Rotterdam Session features tenor saxophonist Clifford Jordan, who brought his ambitious "Presidential Suite" to the studio, and legendary jazz drummer Philly Joe Jones, in one of his last recordings. Lewis also maintained a strong presence back in the States, spending several long stints in the Bay Area in the 1980s. He gained a considerable following with a quartet featuring drum maestro Eddie Moore, pianist Mark Levine, and a brilliant young bassist named Larry Grenadier (the group featured on most of his critically hailed 1988 album In the Spirit on Quartet Records). 

 

Now based in Bremerton, a small city west of Seattle on the Puget Sound where he returned to be close to his family, Lewis maintains a busy schedule that includes teaching private students and college clinics. He continues to expand his daunting book of compositions, which number over 1,700. Though he's recorded more than 20 albums, only a fraction of his compositions have been documented on record, another reason why The New York Session is a particularly important release. The discovery of a master improviser is always thrilling, but finding a player/composer at the peak of his powers is a rare occurrence indeed. Though fully aware of his accomplishments, Lewis sees himself as part of a modern jazz continuum. "I try to approach each composition, each performance, with knowledge and technique from studying the masters who came before and also the innocence of a child," he says. "I hope it keeps the music authentic and genuine."   *

 

 

Mark Lewis Quartet on Tour:

 

Wed. 1/4 Lighthouse Café, Hermosa Beach, CA, 6-9 pm

with Ron Kobayahi, p; Baba Elefante, b; Steve Dixon, d.

Thurs. 1/5 Jazz at the Merc, The Mercantile, Temecula, CA, 7:30-9:30 pm

with Ron Kobayahi, p; Baba Elefante, p; Steve Dixon, d.

Thurs. 1/12 Sacred Grounds Jazz Coffeehouse, Scottsdale, AZ, 7:30-9:30 pm

with Nick Manson, p; Jack Radavich, b; John Lewis, d.

Thurs. 1/19 Café Stritch, San Jose, CA, 8:30-11:55 pm

with Eddie Mendenhall, p; John Wiitala, b; Jason Lewis, d.

 

Photography: Rhonda Stewart

 

Web Site: marklewismusic.com

USA: Henry Threadgill’s Ensemble - Double Up, Old Locks and Irregular Verbs (Pi 2016)

Henry Threadgill - composition
Jason Moran - piano
David Virelles - piano
Roman Filiu - alto saxophone
Curtis Macdonald - alto saxophone
Christopher Hoffman - cello
Jose Davila - tuba
Craig Weinrib - drums