November: John Abercombie

November marks a turning point in the recording career of John Abercrombie. His previous style of fluid guitar lines with a fusion-esque feel are replaced by an altogether more intimate style, bare fingers on the strings, plucked as opposed to struck chords. It signals a maturity in his style and an evolution in the musical ideas he would explore in coming albums.

For this recording he assembles a group of highly regarded musicians. Marc Johnson on bass, Peter Erskine, percussion and John Surman with sax and clarinet. A mouth-watering prospect for any familiar with their work.

The album comprises tracks of guitar – bass – percussion, and guitar – bass – percussion with added wind instruments. In style it is a mix of free jazz and a song-like exploration of rhythm and melody. A major contribution to this outing is the work of John Surman, providing some excellent saxophone, (baritone/soprano), and clarinet play.

In fact it is the tracks on which he contributes that leave the most lasting impression. ‘JS’ a beautiful, blue, see-saw of a song, ‘Rise and Fall’, the sax searching out lines, one moment in free fall, skirting around the lower registers, then rising while the guitar lightly steps up and down the fretboard. ‘Ogeda’ a melancholy and searching piece of music. ‘To Be’ a haunting composition, featuring some deliciously moving clarinet and subtle percussion, showcasing the unique lyrical and imaginative nature of John Abercrombie’s fret work. The opening track, the aptly titled, ‘The Cat’s Back’ is an successful exploration of the possibilities of free-jazz, guitar and bass trading lines over a driving percussion while the clarinet skits in and out of the spaces they open up.

Other notable tracks are ‘John’s Waltz’ a track that seems almost to whisper its intimacy, bass and guitar weaving in an out and off each other. ‘Prelude’ delightfully thoughtful, ‘November’ the title track, an edgy number, the guitar very much to the fore here, harsh at times, raw and yet drifting away as though into a mist, some excellent compelling drum and brush work.

The overall feel of this album is melancholy and intimate. It is a jazz that is at once free and yet not unfocused. Its lyricism is muted, hidden away at times, tempting to you come and look for it. Inviting rather than demanding. An excellent work.

Copyright (C) Peter Hodgins Nov 2007

John Abercombie: November. BUY.

Open Land: John Abercrombie


Every now and then comes a release you purchase without giving a second thought. John Abercrombie has long had my respect. His lyrical style and, it would seem, propensity for exploring music not popularity have perhaps deprived him of the celebrity status of a Pat Metheny or John Scofield. He is, nevertheless, an excellent and innovative guitarist and is a wonderful and imaginative musician to boot.

Open Land released in 1999 on ECM, is one of those works that just grow and grow on the listener. With an impressive line-up, Kenny Wheeler, (flugelhorn), Joe Lovano, (tenor sax), Mark Feldman, (violin) added to John’s usual sidemen, Adam Nussbaum, (percussion) and Dan Wall, (organ) Open Land is a feast of musical ideas and contemporary jazz. From the opening bars of “Just in Tune” the scene is set. Guitar, drums and organ step in with the grace of a cat. Putting in place a laid-back rhythm over which the trumpet finds a warm and burnished melody. The album grows from there, exploring free jazz, (“Open Land” and “Free Piece Suite (E)”), a tribute to trumpeter Booker Little, ("Little Booker") and some fine lyrical pieces, notably “Spring Song”. The playing is excellent throughout. Thoughtful and never overbearing, each musician contributing ideas, warming the texture, providing support, improvising when called on and generally lifting the quality of musicianship. Yet the real force is John Abercrombie himself. Something not immediately apparent. At times he stands back in the mix. His fret-playing it would seem content just to suggest ideas, avenues to explore. But it is this very subtlety that gives the album its strength. For the guitar is always there. Working away. Never letting the music flag. On “Spring Song” first impressions are the violin of Mark Feldman. Showboating a little, to be sure, playing long and plaintive lines; wringing, it would seem, as much feeling as possible from his instrument. Yet the guitar is ever present. Adding touches and direction. Its fingered tone, commanding attention when soloing. Bringing the melody back to ground, back to where it should be. On “Speak Easy” John provides a wonderful commentary on Kenny Wheeler’s climbing and dipping trumpet lines. On “Gimme Five”, he combines with the organ to set the swing, playing off, first the violin, then the trumpet, then leading both before coming back to play an almost percussive role. And on ‘That’s for Sure’ his guitar drives the music from below, pushing the other instruments on. Giving them the freedom to play. He finishes with some string bending and nicely plucked chords.

With the exception of “Free Piece Suite (E)” (a combined effort), all compositions are by John Abercrombie. It is too his credit that there are no ‘filler’ tracks here. Each composition stands on its own. It is also to his credit that the guitar never dominates. Each track is built from a musical idea and is not simply a vehicle for virtuosity.

This is a great recording. It will not set your world on fire on first listening. Yet it is music that leaves a deep impression. It challenges at times, but is worth responding to. You’ll find yourself coming back to it again and again. Until it becomes so familiar it feels like an old friend. One that is always welcome and never less than interesting.

Copyright (C) Peter Hodgins Nov 2007

Open Land: John Abercrombie. BUY

Paul Motian Trio: Bill Evans: Tribute to the Great Post-Bop Pianist

Paul Motian has been a constant and essential feature of the American jazz scene for many years. From his early days as drummer with the Bill Evans Trio through to the mid period of his career, as one third of the Paul Motian Trio he has constantly shown touch and perception in his choice of material and playing partners.

This album, Bill Evans: Tribute to the Great Post-Bop Pianist, rereleased in 1990 on Winter & Winter, when he was approaching his sixtieth birthday marks perhaps a highlight in a career that has many highlights. Drawing on the material of the legendary pianist and melodist, Bill Evans, he has, together with his trio partners, Bill Frisell and Joe Lovano plus bassist Marc Johnson created an album that is excellent and at times sublime.

Given the high standards of playing this group of musicians has been responsible for over the years and add to that the unforgettable and haunting melodies of Bill Evans it is hard to see where this recording could have gone wrong. But what is truly remarkable is that all four musicians have found ways of expanding their past powers of interpretation and unearthed in these nine Evans tunes harmonic possibilities, rhythmic interplay and originality of voice that with lesser musicians could have resulted in a more subdued tribute. Perhaps Motian’s personal experience of playing with Evans brought an element to the sessions that prevented it from simply treading water as the work of four fans.

The only real problem must have been deciding on which Evans songs not to include. There are no real highlights here, as each track is played with such excellence and sensitivity they all stand out. It would be better perhaps to name my favourites. An absolute contender has to be ‘Turn out the Stars’, Joe Lovano floating lovely feathery and melancholy tenor sax over Paul Motian’s ever thoughtful drum and brush work - Bill Frisell’s curious, at times bluesy guitar shapes and Marc Johnson’s bass working off the percussion with a bounce and lightness of touch. ‘Time Remembered’ also stands out. The minor figures, the melody’s downward pull being interpreted with emphasis on its spaces, its sense of loss. The drum and brush work adding a fluid, almost liquid quality, a splash of cymbal here, a rhythmic phrase rising like a wave only to subside. A military style tapping out of beat that falls back into reflection. Again Bill Frisell pulls shapes and lines from his fretboard that have a feel of the blues as well as conventional jazz, even at times a hint of country-western. (a field he was later to explore). Marc Johnson walks and steps though the melody, with a solo that finds hidden harmonics. And Lovano’s tenor sax is perfectly pitched, sweet without being saccharine, expressive without being intrusive. There are other wonderful tracks. ‘Re: Person I knew’, (a great title), played with an engaging and wistful nonchalance, ‘Very Early’ that simply swings. ‘Five’ the most experimental, distorted guitar and passages of free-jazz. ’34. Skidoo’, a playful and uplifting number.

This is an excellent and essential recording. It shows four musicians at their best. The level of interplay and communication is never short of exquisite. It is a worthy tribute to a great musician and a worthy example of four great musicians playing music that is unforgettable and inspiring. Highly recommended.

Copyright (C) Peter Hodgins Nov 2007

Paul Motian Trio: Bill Evans: Tribute to the Great Post-Bop Pianist

It Takes Two: Kenny Wheeler

The album, It Takes Two, by Kenny Wheeler has been on general issue now for over a year. It was released in June 2006 by CamJazz, the Italian label launched in 2000.

Kenny Wheeler is such an understated and subtle artist that his music is not something the discerning listener jumps carelessly into. His playing has a way of sneaking up on you. Of winding its way into your consciousness so, only after some time, do you become aware of how good it is, how perfectly crafted and performed. Add this to the fact that on this outing he is accompanied by John Abercrombie, a supremely lyrical and perceptive guitarist and it becomes apparent that time has to pass before a judgement can be made.

Having said that this is the first of his albums to leave me a just little disappointed. That is not to say there is some beautiful music here, some fine playing and performances. A slightly unsatisfying recording would perhaps be the best description. Outside of Kenny’s flugelhorn, there are the contributions of the above mentioned John Abercrombie, John Parricelli – a British guitarist and the Swedish bass player Anders Jormin.

Highlights of the album are My New Hat, a dreamy number that opens with Jormin’s bowed bass striking a distinctly Moorish motif before the two guitars, (electric and acoustic) enter, creating a space over which the flugelhorn floats in its melody. It Takes Two follows - a typical Wheeler piece of music - the horn uncovering hidden harmonic and melodic spaces, then bending into the upper or lower registers in those sudden turns of which he is so capable, while the guitars trade an almost pizzicato style of soloing and accompaniment. But it is on track three, Comba Nr 3, that the combined talents of all four musicians come best together. A beautiful, haunting melody, full of, again, Moorish hints, southern European folkloric motifs and the north American urban landscape. The spacing of the instruments, their timing, their presence and absence at critical points make the track the prefect vehicle for Wheeler’s unique musical sense.

Other high points are Love Theme from Spartacus, just the two guitars with fingers sliding and the occasional sigh or grunt delightfully adding to its immediacy. One of Many, a lovely flowing piece which John Abercrombie augments with his clear, singing guitar lines. And, Fanfare, an overdubbed horn piece that brings to mind the Gil Evans – Miles Davis collaboration of Sketches of Spain. The two improvised pieces, no 1 and no 2, are interesting but strictly just that, improvisations, that tempt but do not completely convince of their necessity.

Despite this the album leaves me a little wanting. It seems at times to float away, to become so understated in intent that you find your mind wandering and not wandering as it should into places the music brings it. Nevertheless, such has been Kenny Wheeler’s credibility over the years that it may be it just requires more listening time. That it needs to sink in a little more before the entirety of its musical ideas, its palette becomes apparent.

However in the overall scheme of things these are minor quibbles. This is still an excellent and commendable work. An essential for those who lean to chamber jazz. For those who prefer the subtly of a Cézanne over the boldness of a Picasso.

Copyright (C) Peter Hodgins Nov 2007

Kenny Wheeler: It Takes Two. BUY

Herbie Hancock: River:The Joni Letters



Lovers of jazz will need no introduction to Herbie Hancock. Maverick pianist from the days of the Miles Davis quintet, preferred keyboardist of the Davis fusion years and central energy of the seminal funk-jazz crossover album Head Hunters. Herbie Hancock has never been afraid to experiment with forms and genres, to explore the possibilities inherent in different musics. However fans of Joni Mitchell may not be so well acquainted with his work. Though Joni has never been an artist to shy away from incorporating elements of jazz into her folk and rock idiom she has never quite made the step from those idioms to jazz.. All of which makes the new Herbie Hancock recording, River: The Joni Letters an intriguing listen.

For this album Herbie Hancock has assembled an eclectic mix of musicians. Saxophonist Wayne Shorter, his fellow traveller from the fusion years, bassist Dave Holland, drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, and west-African guitarist Lionel Loueke. There are also appearances by a number of leading luminaries, Tina Turner, Corinne Bailey Rae, Luciana Souza, Norah Jones and Leonard Cohen. Mitchell herself guests on a track.

Projects like this can go astray, fall between the contrasting drives of their respective genres. Yet it is to Hancock’s credit that this album delivers. It manages an adroit balance between accessibility and improvisation without sacrificing musical integrity. It plays with Hancock’s jazzier instincts and the limitations of the rock and folk idiom. It elaborates on the subtlety of Joni Mitchell’s melodies and provides a sophisticated setting for her often quite excellent lyrics. It manages to be neither a Joni Mitchell album nor a Herbie Hancock album. Instead it occupies a space somewhere between the two.

That is not to say it is without flaws. The title track, The River, comes over a little too sweet. Punching under its weight. Corrine Bailey Rae’s vocals sound to my ears somewhat girlish, smothering the ironical longing of the lyrics; Also, Norah Jones’s vocals on the opening track, Court and the Spark, appear at times to get lost, to sink below the music. And the final track, one of two bonus tracks, A Case of You, while infectious and cross referencing Afro-Pop, folk and R&B could be considered superfluous.

Stand-out tracks are Nefertiti, (a classic Wayne Shorter piece), Luciana Souza’s reading of Amelia, (melancholy, rich and warm all at once), All I Want, (performed as a true jazz-spiritual), Edith and the Kingpin, (Tina Turner on a song that lets her voice show its range and capabilities), and Joni Mitchell herself on The Tea-Leaf Prophecy. Special mention should be made of Leonard Cohen’s reading the of The Jungle Line. I approached this with trepidation having read that Cohen did not sing but recite the lyrics. However, despite his gravely, melancholy delivery, this track works very well. Just voice and piano, the piano returning again and again to the lower registers in an almost delta blues manner, and the voice, as would befit a man who is a published poet, ringing the nuances and levels of meaning from of the words.

This is not a jazz album in the purist sense. Neither is it a rock or folk album. What it is, is an album of contemporary adult music. Performed skilfully, with elegance and in a spirit of exploration. Those who criticise Herbie Hancock’s flirtations with popular music should consider that in many ways he is being true to the roots of jazz. A music that, (before it entered the universities and museums) was a popular music and never denied its relationship with popular forms of self-expression.

This is an interesting and successful recording. It begs the question what further such projects could produce. A collaboration with Tina Turner, Luciana Souza or even Leonard Cohen?

River: The Joni Letters, is well worth having. A enjoyable addition to any collection for those who love music.

Copyright (C) Peter Hodgins Nov 2007

Herbie Hancock: River: The Joni Letters BUY