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Blindfold Test
By Ted Panken
Pianist Kenny Werner boasts more than two dozen leader dates, documenting
his formidable skills on a series of solo, duo and trio recordings.
His in-the-moment sensibility was on full display on his first
“Blindfold Test.”
Tigran Hamasyan
“Well, You Needn’t” (from New Era, Nocturne, 2008) Hamasyan, piano;
François Moutin, bass; Louis Moutin, drums.
Ethan Iverson Jason Moran Danilo Pérez Jason’s known for an
impressive angularity and rhythm, so I thought of him. Ethan can play in
any situation. Danilo doesn’t have to play like a player from a Latin
country—at any time his interpretation can surprise you. Now that I’ve
heard the blowing, I wouldn’t guess any of them. It’s well-played. I’d
love to hear somebody do a Thelonious Monk record playing like Bill
Evans, or do a Bill Evans record playing like Monk. 3 stars.
Michael Weiss
“La Ventana” (from Soul Journey, Sintra, 2003) Weiss, piano; Steve Wilson,
alto saxophone; Ryan Kisor, trumpet; Steve Davis, trombone; Paul Gill, bass;
Joe Farnsworth, drums; Daniel Sadownick, percussion.
The writing is beautiful, a standard, Latin-influenced jazz front-line type
of tune, what would often be the first tune on a CD. It’s number eight
I’m glad to be surprised. I think the pianist is American—he’s playing
well, but I can’t identify him from the solo. The vocabulary crosses a bit
of Chick Corea, a bit of bebop. It could be someone like Kenny Barron,
who has all the different languages, and plays it seamlessly. I call this a
good-soldier jazz tune—in the box, but a lovely tune in the box. 4 stars.
Manuel Valera
“A La Interperie” (from Vientos, Anzic, 2007) Valera, piano; Joel Frahm,
soprano saxophone; James Genus, bass; Ernesto Simpson, drums; Anat
Cohen, clarinet; Anne Drummond, flute; Aaron Heick, oboe, English horn;
Charles Pillow, bass clarinet; Michael Rabinowitz, bassoon.
A bit of piano soloing at the beginning, and the horns sound ghostly.
That already has my attention. Five or six horns Seven! I like the way
the leader has them playing—a smooth sound. Let’s see if the composition
holds the same interest. Sometimes the best part of a composition is
the first 16 bars. (during solo) I’m afraid that I was right, the most interesting
part was the first 16 bars or so. I can’t tell you anything distinctive
about the soloing. The changes are pretty, vaguely modal. McCoy Tyner
was what they called “modal” in the ’70s. This is coming out of a
warmer modalism, with different chords, that came along in the ’80s.
It’s doing what I thought it would do. 3 stars.
Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin
“Modul 42” (from Holon, ECM, 2008) Bärtsch, piano; Sha, alto saxophone;
Björn Meyer, bass; Kaspar Rast, drums; Andi Pupato, percussion.
A dramatic start. I don’t know where this is going to go. It starts with a
vacuum, which draws me in. We’re now two-and-a-half minutes into it,
and it still hasn’t broken out of that mood and decayed into a jazz composition.
Now the pianist is playing the same motif on the strings, but
taking the sounds another level into, shall we say, the distempered
clavier. The drummer has changed his approach. This isn’t a jazz trio.
They’re playing music—it could be a movie soundtrack. There was no
solo, which is profound in this period—solos are a myopic and narcissistic
approach to jazz. 5 stars.
Gonzalo Rubalcaba
“Looking In Retrospective” (from Avatar, Blue Note, 2008) Rubalcaba, piano;
Yosvany Terry, alto saxophone; Michael Rodriguez, trumpet; Matt Brewer,
bass; Marcus Gilmore, drums.
Paul Bley It’s spacious. Again, this piece pays attention to dramatic
Kenny
Werner
effect. Oh, that was an intro—the drums just hit. I never would have
expected that. It’s well played, still in the head. Now, it has that jazz
tune feeling, but I need to listen a lot longer to figure out the rhythmic
component. The composition is excellent. The intro is done, and now
they’re playing out, which is a surprise. This solo now is far-out. There’s
enough surprise that I haven’t figured it out and moved on. 5 stars.
Taylor Eigsti
“Fever Pitch” (from Let It Come To You, Concord Jazz, 2008) Eigsti, piano;
Edmar Castaneda, harp; Julian Lage, guitar; Reuben Rogers, bass; Eric
Harland, drums.
There are a few astounding young Cuban players on the scene. I
couldn’t tell you which one this is. Some guys have a Latin vernacular,
but their harmony is more developed than it was back in the day. It’s not
a Cuban Well, so much for that. I cannot tell who this is. The playing is
brilliant. The harp he’s playing with is a surprising sound. They’re
improvising freely, but with a great rhythm. 5 stars.
E.S.T.
“Tuesday Wonderland” (from Tuesday Wonderland, EmArcy, 2006) Esbjörn
Svensson, piano, keyboards; Dan Berglund, bass; Magnus Öström, drums.
Geoff Keezer. No It’s someone with beautiful technique, strong time.
He’s playing a bass thing in the left hand and playing over it in the right
hand, which is impressive. He introduced some electronics, which I
wasn’t expecting. His attack made me think I was going to hear something
chop-busting. It’s not quite that, but well-played. On a lot of jazz records,
people go for some mystery in the intro, but don’t follow up. 3 1 /2 stars. DB
The “Blindfold Test” is a listening test that challenges the featured artist to discuss and identify
the music and musicians who performed on selected recordings. The artist is then asked
to rate each tune using a 5-star system. No information is given to the artist prior to the test.
JACK VARTOOGIAN/FRONTROWPHOTOS
114 DOWNBEAT June 2009