Chants Craig Taborn Trio (ECM) by John Sharpe For anyone who has witnessed the excitement and cohesion of pianist Craig Taborn’s trio live, it will be hard to comprehend the 12-year gap in documentation since 2001’s Light Made Lighter (Thirsty Ear). One easy explanation would be the thickness of the Minneapolisnative’s bulging sideman portfolio, which includes stints with saxophonists Tim Berne and Chris Potter, bassist Michael Formanek and trumpeter Tomasz Stanko, just to pick out some of the most recent collaborations. Whatever the reason for the hiatus, the appearance of Chants, following up Taborn’s acclaimed 2011 solo outing and ECM leader debut Avenging Angel, demands attention. Retained from the earlier disc, drummer Gerald Cleaver has been one of Taborn’s closest collaborators over the decades. Their almost telepathic understanding forms the bedrock of the loose yet complex interplay so prevalent here. Even newcomer Thomas Morgan has filled the bass chair for eight years now and consequently has firmly carved out his niche in the ensemble. The band’s strong suit comprises those dazzling headlong passages of interlocking patterns that open and close the disc, where Taborn lays down an insistent substructure with his left hand, embellished by bass and drums while expounding sparkling contrapuntal runs with his right. Elsewhere his themes are often merely sketched, haikus upon which the ensemble can meditate in egalitarian exchange. Cleaver revels in elaborate crossrhythms overlain with asymmetric cymbal coloration while Morgan is as likely to be the melodic lead as the pianist. One exception is “Cracking Hearts”, where the drummer’s rustle and clatter form the central narrative thread around which piano and bass drape a darkly brooding lyricism. Only the extended “All True Night/ Future Perfect” contains the limpid piano reverie that listeners might associate with the ECM sound, but even here it is transcended by the subsequent galloping excursion and engaging interaction. Taborn has fashioned a thoroughly compelling statement, which gets better on each listen and one that will surely fuel even more thrills in concert. For more information, visit ecmrecords.com. This trio is at Roulette May 6th. See Calendar. San Sebastian Ron Carter Golden Striker Trio (In+Out) by Alex Henderson In 2003, acoustic bassist Ron Carter joined forces with pianist Mulgrew Miller and guitarist Russell Malone and formed the Golden Striker Trio, which recorded an album for Blue Note. The group’s unusual combination of instruments (acoustic piano, hollowbody guitar and upright bass with no drums) was the same combination 28 May 2013 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD of instruments that the Nat King Cole Trio embraced in the ‘40s. But unlike Cole’s swing-oriented threesome, the Golden Striker Trio has favored an introspective, classical-influenced approach, which has a lot more in common with the chamber jazz of the Modern Jazz Quartet (MJQ). In fact, Carter’s trio named itself after MJQ pianist John Lewis’ “The Golden Striker”, made famous by MJQ in 1957. This CD/DVD spotlights a July 2010 appearance at the Jazzaldia Festival in San Sebastian, Spain, where Carter, Miller and Malone played for an audience of more than 2,000 people. The most exuberant moments come on an inspired performance of “The Golden Striker”, which isn’t quite as restrained as the MJQ’s classic recording. Nonetheless, the MJQ influence is hard to miss and the polish, sophistication and refinement that the Golden Striker Trio brings to Carter’s “Candle Light”, the Rodgers-Hart standard “My Funny Valentine” and two Brazilian jazz performances (Luiz Bonfá’s “Samba de Orfeu” and Carter’s “Saudade”) clearly recalls the MJQ’s chamber jazz performances of the ‘50s-60s. Like the MJQ, the Golden Striker Trio know how to express their appreciation of European chamber music while remaining faithful to the soulful, improvisatory spirit of classic jazz. The 55-minute CD and the DVD are the same material, although the latter contains a laid-back 18-minute performance of Oscar Pettiford’s “Laverne Walk”. There’s no reason why it had to be omitted from the CD; it would have fit and makes no sense not to include it on both discs. But apart from that flaw, San Sebastian is a rewarding document of the Golden Striker Trio’s continued collaboration. For more information, visit inandout-records.com. Carter is at Tribeca Performing Arts Center May 9th as part of the Highlights in Jazz Salute to George Wein, Blue Note May 16th and Dizzy’s Club May 28th-Jun. 2nd with Bill Charlap. See Calendar. Absolute Zero Jon Irabagon/Hernani Faustino/Gabriel Ferrandini (Not Two) by Stuart Broomer Jon Irabagon’s membership in Mostly Other People Do the Killing should testify to the saxophonist’s unpredictability and considerable flexibility of style, but it may not quite cover all that he was up to in 2009. It was the year he made his most conservative CD, The Observer, for Concord, part of his reward for winning the 2008 Thelonious Monk Saxophone Competition. It was a solid mainstream modern session with Kenny Barron, Rufus Reid and Victor Lewis providing allstar support. A few months later in Lisbon, Irabagon went into a recording studio with bassist Hernâni Faustino and drummer Gabriel Ferrandini and recorded Absolute Zero, an hour-long set of seven pieces, each attributed to the three musicians and accordingly sounding like free improvisation. It’s likely Irabagon’s most demanding set to date, even when one considers the 78-minute tenor extravaganza Foxy. Irabagon sticks to his alto here and plays within a very specific lineage of the instrument in free jazz: the corrosive. It’s the one that begins with Jackie McLean (most specifically of Let Freedom Ring vintage, where the slightly-out-of-tune hard-edged McLean sound is complemented by the upper register squeal); continues with Giuseppi Logan and early Charles Tyler; is complemented by the Sun Ra alto saxophonists Danny Davis and Marshall Allen; then jumps ahead to a recent pinnacle with Jean-Luc Guionnet on recordings like Bird Dies. Irabagon’s notes are often yips and cries and they’re always bending away from anything that might suggest concert pitch. The melodies he constructs are often just a few notes, microscopic, fragmentary phrases that are repeated and contorted, bending out of shape in the same gesture that repeats them, sometimes with circular breathing to keep the process of disintegration continuing further. The trio couldn’t be better matched. Faustino and Ferrandini are capable of an infernal power, since evidenced by their work in RED Trio and great invention, apparent particularly in RED Trio collaborations with John Butcher and Nate Wooley. From the opening phrases of “States of Matter”, with Faustino bowing a complementary circular pattern, the entire movement of the music appears to be going backwards, as if it must insist from the outset that its movement will be eccentric or will not be at all. That sense of insistence may change direction, but it’s always apparent in one form or another, even when things slow down to what might be called a ballad tempo. By the end of it all on “Spacetime”, Irabagon’s elemental trills and triplet rhythms are still etching themselves indelibly, the trio delineating a terrain that is at once oddly toxic and strangely refreshing. For more information, visit nottwo.com. Irabagon is at ShapeShifter Lab May 8th with Mostly Other People Do the Killing, Bar Next Door May 14th, Cornelia Street Café May 16th, Greenwich House Music School May 22nd with Mike Pride, Somethin’ Jazz Club May 27th with Bob Gingery and ShapeShifter Lab May 30th with Dave Douglas. See Calendar.
Celebrating 20 Years: Jazz Festival July 26 Celebration. The Foundation of Jazz. Luis Perdomo, piano / Luciana Souza: The Book of Chet and Brazilian Duos July 27 All Day. Expression. The Language of Virtuosity. Adam Makowicz Trio / Charles Tolliver Big Band / Vijay Iyer / Benito Gonzalez / Delfeayo Marsalis presents the Uptown Jazz Orchestra July 28 All Day. Freedom. The Lifeblood of Jazz. Elio Villafranca & The Jass Syncopators / Lionel Loueke Trio / Jason Marsalis Vibes Quartet / James Carter Organ Trio / The Genius of Mingus 1963: 50th Anniversary Concert Just for Jazz: Great Performances will offer a variety of grilled items such as chicken, burgers and hotdogs, in addition to their sandwiches, salads and snacks available at the concession stands. (Saturday and Sunday only) Tickets & Info caramoor.org 914.232.1252
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