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Lynne Arriale
Nuance
MOTÉMA 00022
AAAA
Over the last 15
years, Lynne Arriale
has made a case for
herself as a top-rank
jazz pianist through
her recordings. If any
doubt existed that
she can run with the
big boys, this release
dispels it. She stands
toe-to-toe with trumpeter Randy Brecker in a
stunning and affirmative collaboration. Their
rapport is lucid, and their spontaneous
exchanges often offer jewels of invention and
exchange.
Sting’s “Wrapped Around Your Finger”
crackles with passion and dynamism, without
resorting to exhibitionism. In deference to the
piano, Brecker might not play forte, but holds
nothing back. He has a heartbreakingly beautiful
flugelhorn feature on Arriale’s elegiac
“Longing.” His lyricism is wistful yet aching,
real holding-back-the-tears stuff.
Few pianists have such a spectrum of dynamics
at their disposal as Arriale. She may whisper
or attack, but never pounds. Her melodic improvisation
on “Ballad Of The Sad Young Men” is
crystalline and touching. Her playing features
spiky treble statements that press the beat.
Drummer Anthony Pinciotti seems to know
Teddy Charles
Dances With Bulls
SMALLS 0038
AAA 1 /2
It’s amazing that Dances
With Bulls is vibraphonist
Teddy Charles’ first
studio recording since
the early 1960s. Perhaps
even more amazing is
how good he sounds
after all these years.
Much credit must go
to Chris Byars, as the alto saxophonist has
helped energize Charles into getting back in
action after decades away from jazz working as
a sea captain. Byars generously brings his own
quartet to the table, and they form the nucleus of
this formidable ensemble. He also arranged all
the tunes.
The other key player drafted here is old-hand
pianist Harold Danko, who helps bridge the gap
between Byars’ younger group and Charles’
vintage approach. A veteran of countless recording
sessions and a member of Charles Mingus’
band in the mid-1950s, Charles is a steady, confident
bandleader, a smart, nuanced composer,
what she’s going to
play before Arriale
does, and he’s right
under her when he
needs to be. Bassist
George Mraz is the
model of tasteful support
and strong rhythmic
input. Rhythm isn’t
Arriale’s strong suit,
and Mraz and Pinciotti
buoy her admirably.
The CD includes a
DVD of a live recital of
the same program. The
players seem a little more playful with the material.
Arriale’s classical depth makes her virtuosic
uptempo flight on “La Noche” a mini tour-deforce.
Mraz, an ensemble player on the CD, gets
a couple of solos on the DVD: pithy yet understated
on “Young Men,” and nimble and articulate
on “Gumbo.” “I Hear A Rhapsody” is a
noticeably more adventurous—almost deconstructed—exploration.
The rubato journey hangs
together precariously, yet hangs just the same.
—Kirk Silsbee
Nuance: CD—Wrapped Around Your Finger; I Mean You;
Longing; Crawfish And Gumbo; Ballad Of The Sad Young Men;
Carry On; La Noche; Yada Yada Yada; I Hear A Rhapsody; A Night
In Tunisia; A Gentle Soul. (55:04) DVD—Wrapped Around Your
Finger; I Mean You; Carry On; Longing; La Noche; Ballad Of The
Sad Young Men; I Hear A Rhapsody; Crawfish And Gumbo; Yada
Yada Yada; A Night In Tunisia; A Gentle Soul. (86:20)
Personnel: Lynne Arriale, piano; Randy Brecker, trumpet, flugelhorn;
George Mraz, bass; Anthony Pinciotti, drums.
»
Ordering info: motema.com
and an excellent soloist.
The band’s 14-minute
odyssey into Mingus’
“Nostalgia In Times
Square” is an obvious
highlight, and Charles’
obtuse soloing is colorful
and melodic. The band
hits a laid-back groove,
and Byars shows multiple
talents on alto and flute.
Danko’s playing is
clean and intelligent, and
the relaxed atmosphere is
one byproduct of the collected players’ steady
confluence. John Mosca is ebullient on trombone,
drummer Stefan Schatz swings outright,
and bassist Ari Roland plucks and bows with
equal skill. Let’s hope that Charles’ return continues
with more solid recordings like this.
—Mitch Myers
Dances With Bulls: Dances With Bulls; Nostalgia In Times
Square; No More Nights; Bunni; Arlene; Blues Without Woe.
(53:53)
Personnel: Teddy Charles, vibraphone; Chris Byars, alto saxophone,
flute; John Mosca, trombone; Harold Danko, piano; Ari
Roland, bass; Stefan Schatz, drums.
Clayton Brothers
Brother To Brother
ARTISTSHARE 0085
AAAA
Known professionally as the Clayton Brothers
on their not-infrequent pairings since 1977, alto
saxophonist Jeff Clayton and bassist John
Clayton are one of the few brother combinations
in jazz history able to transcend the pitfalls of
sibling rivalry and sustain a long-haul musical
partnership. Perhaps that explains the ebullient
optimism that suffuses Brother To Brother. This
accomplished, idiosyncratic paean to the joys of
filial jazz-making is primarily dedicated to the
brothers Jones (Hank, Thad and Elvin) and
Adderley (Cannonball and Nat), who each
receive a pair of non-formulaic tone-parallels
from the co-leaders plus a subtly subversive
reworking of “Jive Samba” by John Clayton’s
son, pianist Gerald Clayton.
Four of these lead off the program. The
ambiance is explosive, propelled by young
drummer Obed Calvaire’s idiomatic shuffles,
funk, swing and Elvin-esque 6/8 grooves. John
Clayton offers authoritative bass lines and resonant
tone. Jeff Clayton and Terell Stafford provide
crisp, one-breath front-line blowing and
forceful solos. The mood mellows on tunes five
through seven—Gerald Clayton navigates
Kenny Burrell’s slithery “Bass Face,” written for
his father’s mentor, Ray Brown, with a greasy
sophistication rarely heard in pianists born in the
’80s. He also engages in a trio dialogue with his
father (arco) and uncle on the yearning melody
of “Where Is Love” from the 1960s musical
Oliver.
Indeed, Brother To Brother connects to the
hip populism that marked the best mainstream
jazz of the ’60s, and articulates it in a fresh manner,
as though picking up loose threads. With the
exception of one selection—Keter Betts’ Oscar
Brownish “Walking Bass”—the music is entirely
in the moment.
—Ted Panken
Brother To Brother: Wild Man; Still More Work; Jive Samba;
Big Daddy Adderleys; Bass Face; Walking Bass; Where Is
Love; The Jones Brothers. (63:34)
Personnel: John Clayton, bass; Jeff Clayton, alto saxophone;
Gerald Clayton, piano; Terell Stafford, trumpet; Obed Calvaire,
drums.
» Ordering info: smallsrecords.com
» Ordering info: artistshare.com
60 DOWNBEAT June 2009