YELLOW JACKETS GOING STRONG

I have gone over “Timeline” with a fine tooth comb. Nothing is wrong with it. How did you all make a flawless album without compromising the band’s taste? Was drummer Will Kennedy’s participation key? The group has always successfully mixed musical genres. Each member is a card-carrying jazz disciple at heart. Or, did you all want the group's first outing for Mack Avenue Records to be unforgettable? The bands jazz roots are intact and on full display from start to finish here. I am partial to the up-tempo cuts such as “Why Is It” and “Tenacity”. Both embodies a smooth jazz glow. Saxophonist Bob Minzter snowplows through the songs while pianist Russell Ferrante brings up the rear, tossing notes around like rock salt on a slippery surface. The slow tempo material such as “A Single Step” and “My Soliloquy” are intended for grown folks ears. The title track “Timeline” captures the Yellow Jackets' go-for-broke mindset. The key is special guest guitarist Robben Ford. He strums as though he has sin in his fingers. Fellows, this recording is perfect and a fitting celebration of the Yellow Jackets’ thirty years of service in the music biz.

I MISS DONALD

I dreamt about you last night. This morning after I ate breakfast and read my emails, I played “A Monk and A Mingus Among Us,” my favorite Donald Walden album. It’s playing as I write this. In the dream, we discussed music in your living room. The scene was similar to the very first time I interviewed you in 1996, a few months after Arts Midwest named you a jazz master. You took the honor in stride. You claimed other musicians such as your teacher Barry Harris deserved the recognition more. You were being too modest.

We talked about Harris being a taskmaster. You also revealed once you quit playing and sold your sax. Work for jazz musicians was scarce. You took a job delivering milk. I always considered you a hipster. I found it unbelievable you used to be a milk man. Thankfully, the job was short lived and you resumed playing.

In the dream, we sat on a black leather sectional sofa. You were dressed impeccably in a gray silk shirt, and black wool slacks. Your tenor sax rested on your lap and a flute on the glass coffee table next a bottle of red wine. Our conversation was lighthearted. I asked about some technical stuff such as changes, chord progressions, and if the cadenzas some saxophonists play at the end of some tunes was improvised.

Saxophonist Donald Walden 

You even played the changes to John Coltrane’s “Naima”. Then you did a few slick things with the melody. I asked you to play a few choruses of the ballad “Rudy My Dear” the same way you did on “A Monk and A Mingus Among Us”. Years ago, in real life, I requested you play the ballad on several occasions. You always said no but explained once, during a set at Bert’s Market Place, the bassist was unfamiliar with the tune. Anyway, in the dream, you were ready to play the ballad, but I woke up. Initially, I was upset.

Strangely, the dream made me feel good as if we had fixed our friendship. You stopped talking to me for a few years because of the story I wrote about drummer Roy Brooks, your friend. The Metrotimes published the article. I quoted you and later you swore up and down you spoke off the record. I hated that you passed away before I made things right. However, in the dream we were friends again.

I have thought about you often and I wondered how your pals Teddy Harris, George Goldsmith and Harold McKinney are doing up there in heaven. I bet God is always late performing miracles because he’s up late listening to you all jam.Tell the fellows everything is going well on the Detroit jazz scene. The current crop of jazz musicians are kicking butt. Musicians such as Robert Hurst, Geri Allen and Rodney Whitaker have continued the legacy of mentorship you all started.

I heard two lads perform with Hurst last Friday at the Virgil Carr Center. Pianist Ian Finklestein studies with Geri Allen at the University of Michigan and saxophonist Marcus Miller is in the jazz program at Michigan State University.

Finklestein reminded me of a young Herbie Hancock. Finklestein has a strong right hand and an imaginative left. Imagine what a great improviser he will be once Allen has finished schooling him.

 Miller is a little dude with  giant chops. He is the splitting image of Johnny Griffin. I believe Miller is under the watch of saxophonist Diego Rivera. The saxophonist is in the luxury class of contemporary tenor saxophonists. Finklestein and Miller will be jazz stars.

I am still on the Detroit scene writing about the local cats. These days, I rarely get the chance to write about nationally known jazz musicians. Last year, I did interviewed drummer Roy Haynes and pianist Barry Harry. That was exciting. So far, I interviewed Horace Silver, Wayne Shorter, Richard Davis, Sonny Rollins, TS Monk, Gary Burton, Joe Lovano, Kenny Garrett and Regina Carter. Not to shabby for a cat with only a high diploma.

Financially, things are tough, but I am hopeful that will change this year. Donald, I just wanted to share my little dream with you. “A Monk and A Mingus Among Us” is still playing in the background and “Ruby My Dear” has just started. I want to hear it again, so I will talk to you again soon, hopefully.

BOB'S BRAND NEW BAND

Bassist Robert Hurst III

Bob, I planned to drop you a note Saturday, the day after you unveiled your new band the Robert Hurst Group at the Virgil Carr Center, but I was sidetracked. Both sets were awesome, and the students you hired pianist Ian Finklestein and saxophonist Marcus Miller handled themselves like worldly professionals. There not much I can say about your drummer Karriem Riggins. Everybody familiar with his chops knows he’s a superb jazz drummer, and he adds something special to the bands he plays with. So I will focus on Finklestein and Miller.

They are fortunate to be under your watch at such an impressionable age. I predict-given the level of swing both displayed Friday night-they will be huge jazz stars soon. Miller is well on his way. For a little guy he has a heavy sound on the tenor sax a la the late Johnny Griffin. I wonder if Griffin is one of his influences. Bob, I think the Detroit jazz scene is going back to the Detroit Way, the matter in which seasoned jazz musicians mentored up and comers.

Things changed for a while after jazz masters Harold McKinney, Teddy Harris, and Donald Walden died. They had a strict way of mentoring young talent. When the youngsters graduated college, they could further their musical education under the care of those established musicians. However, after they passed away, nobody carried on the mentorship. Instead of serving an apprenticeship, the youngsters formed bands.

Anyway, your sets were wonderful, and people yet to hear your new albums “UNREHURST Volume 2” and “Bob Ya Head”, got a chance to hear selections from those discs, and several cuts from your first record “Robert Hurst Presents, Robert Hurst”. Finklestein and Miller soloed brilliantly as if they wrote “Incognergo,” and “Detroit Red,” two of your well-known originals.

And kicking off the second set with a medley of Thelonious Monk favorites was slick. I wonder if you’re trying to trip up Finklestein and Miller. If so, you failed because both knew the material like a baseball fan knows his favorite player’s career statistics. You tested the youngsters during both sets. They never lost their composure.

Their inexperience show on the ballad “Joyce Faye”, but once they have collected more life experiences they will be better equipped to play ballads. The Robert Hurst Group is a fine new band of up and coming and seasoned pros, and I hope you band plans to stay around for many years.

IS ESPERANZA SPALDING THE REAL DEAL?

A few days, after you won the Grammy for best new artist, I had a debate with several jazz musicians and respected jazz authorities on facebook. Esperanza, we agreed you are a wonderful bassist with a promising future, but we disagreed when I commented you are not a jazz musician. That sparked the debate. The pointed I tried to convey was you did not deserve the Grammy because you have been on the music scene since 2006, and you have released three albums “Junjo,” “Esperanza,” and “Chamber Music Society”. None of which are jazz albums.

Esperanza Spalding

During the discussion, your supporters overlooked those points. They focused on my questioning you. Some cited your work as a side-woman with saxophonist Joe Lovano proves you are the real deal. One musician stated Lovano hired you because you are a great jazz bassist. I countered the saxophonist hired you simply because you are a competent bass player. Many jazz fans were hyped when Herbie Hancock's album "River: The Joni Letters" won the Grammy for album of the year.

They believed Hancock winning the Grammy was good for jazz. Believing that was silly. Although the album was flawless, it was not a jazz album, and Hancock given his crossover track record is no long regarded a jazz musician. Years before he won that Grammy, many record companies closed their jazz division, leaving many jazz musicians without deals. 

Because Hancock won the coveted award did not alter how the music industry treats jazz. Those record companies never reopened their jazz divisions or resigned the jazz musicians they fired. Jazz is still viewed as the bastard child of the music industry.

A few weeks ago, pianist Vijay Iyer ended his performance at the Power Center in Ann Arbor, Mi with Michael Jackson’s “Human Nature”. Playing that song did not make Iyer a pop artist. On James Carter’s live date “Out of Nowhere”, Carter and sax man Hamiet Bluiett battled on R. Kelly’s “I Believe I Can Fly”. Doing so did not qualify the saxophonists as R&B artists. Herbie Hancock performed with Christina Aguilera on one of his cross over recordings. That did not make the pop star a jazz vocalist.

 Esperanza, the discussion about you lasted most of the day. We remained at loggerheads. However, I believe you are a dynamic bass player and good vocalist. You are still searching. The music industry and maybe even your handlers want to pawn you off as the next Norah Jones. For the record, Jones is not a jazz musician either.

AN EVENING WITH VIJAY, RUDRESH, & BUNKY

Bunky and Rudresh I was thrilled you guys decided to test-drive your jazz quintet, Apex, in Ann Arbor Saturday evening as part of a double bill with the Vijay Iyer trio. Man, want an inspired night of music. Many jazz aficionados were excited about it. You and Rudresh have similar styles, and I now understand  Bunky’s influence on Rudresh, Greg Osby and Steve Wilson. Their styles are rooted in hard bop with a touch of free jazz. Of the three alto sax players, Rudresh sound has more of a tangible free jazz dynamic.

Rudresh is the first alto saxophonist I’ve heard in a long time who chews up chord changes as greedily as the great Charlie Parker. Saturday evening, he made switching tempos on the spot and playing counter-melodies seems effortless. Moreover, his way of composing is akin to Iyer his musical soul mate of 15 years. The pianist had an awesome opening set.

alto saxophonist Bunky Green and Rudresh Mahanthappa

Did you and Bunky catch Iyer’s take on Michael Jackson’s “Human Nature”? How about the young drummer Marcus Gilmore and his sophisticated phrasing. Also, bassist Stephen Crump gave a solid performance. Crump has a sensual way of handling the bass almost as if he’s seducing it. Rudresh and Iyer have to be the most imaginative jazz composers in the game. Their composing is multi-layered and intricate a la Charles Mingus. Rudresh and Iyer love to load their compositions with an abundance of counter-melodies and tempo alterations.

On Rudresh’s originals, for instance, “Welcome,” The Summit,” and “Playing with Stones” the band made it seem as if they were playing mini-compositions within the main composition. Iyer is guilty of the same on his originals “Cardio,” and “Abundance”. Iyer’s phrasing is gentle, and his fingers seemed to be made from cotton. On medium and quick tempo numbers, he has a rambunctious streak. Bunky, I guessed you and Rudresh were going to open for Iyer, but the pianist played the first set. Iyer explained the trio had to split after the set and the autograph signing. They’re scheduled to perform at the Grammys' pre-show Sunday. Apex had a wonderful piano player as well.

Detroiter Craig Taborn is a quite the jazz rebel. I became a lifelong fan when Taborn was a member of saxophonist James Carter’s band. Apex’s drummer Damion Reid, who Rudresh jokingly referred to as his rhythmic instigator, sounded as if he made his bones in a funk band. He was plenty loud and powerful. At times, he overpowered Taborn because of Reid’s banging and clanging. At 74, Bunky, your sound still has that hard bop grit, and on your signature tune “Little Girl I’ll Miss You”, which the late Abbey Lincoln wrote lyrics for, sounds new every time you perform it.

HIGH WATTAGE

Tain, allow me the opportunity to welcome you to my blog I Dig Jazz, and to congratulate you on becoming the Artist in Residence for the 32nd Detroit International Jazz Festival. I hope you know what you’re in store for. Your predecessors Mulgrew Miller, John Clayton, Christian McBride, and Regina Carter set the bar high. They worked non-stop. I’m not trying to frighten you, Tain, so I’m get to why a invited you over. Last night, at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African-American History, I caught your two-hour concert, and I want to discuss it with you. It ranks as the best concert I’ve attended this year. I know we’re only two months into 2011, and there’s a super concert tonight at the Power Center in Ann Arbor, MI, featuring a double bill with pianist Vijay Iyer’s trio, and alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa’s band. Many regional jazz geeks expect it to be one of the top jazz concerts of the year. I admit I’m excited about it as well.

Drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts

Anyway, your concert last night was the second annual Freedom concert celebrating African-American history month, and it was better than last year’s spectacle at this mega church on the eastside of Detroit. I forgot the name of church. Bassist Christian McBride wrote the music and arrangements, which I thoroughly enjoyed, but there was too much overkill with the big gospel choir and the recitations of excerpts from speeches by Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and Ali. Tain, your gig was small in comparison although I was disappointed you took the least number of solos. The concert was half over before you unleashed your inner swinger. There’re other shortcomings worth mentioning.

I never thought I would write this but the concert had too much music. The second have was unnecessary. Frankly, Tain, it wasn’t as thought out as the first half, the vocalist Mavis Swan Poole had an Erykah Badu vibe, and Poole wasn’t in the same league as the other members of the band pianist Geri Allen, bassist Robert Hurst, trumpeter Nicholas Payton, and alto saxophonist Wessell “Warm Daddy” Anderson. The second have felt rushed and thrown together. However, the highlights outweighed the shortcomings.

Tain, you were right praising Hurst as the top modern jazz bassist. The bassist is the workhorse the rhythm section and responsible for all the grimy chores. The jazz world is overstocked with run-of-the-mill bass players, but Hurst sets himself a part. Anderson earned his keep as well with some pointed soloing on “Return of the Jitney Man” and “Dancing for Chicken”.

Anderson is as one of the top jazz alto saxophonists working. Allen is a great jazz pianist, and she released two fine albums last year, which made many notable jazz critic’s best jazz albums of 2010 list, but last night Allen, a respectable and economical, improvised, was inhibit. I waited and waited for her to let loose of inner swinger. She never did. Nevertheless, there’s a noteworthy moment where you and Allen traded measures like a brother and sister trade insults. The star attraction was Payton. He hit a high note while soloing on with “Dancing for Chicken” that literally lifted the roof off the museum. Payton is from a remarkable lineage of New Orleans trumpet players. They have something special other trumpeters lack. Tain, save for the rushed second set, the concert was a fitting inauguration for your post as Artist in Residence.

FOR MILES

Trumpeter Miles Davis

At Orchestra Hall Friday evening, the lady seated next to me asked midway through the "Four Generations of Miles” concert how I felt about the performance. Drummer Jimmy Cobb not announcing the tunes bothered me. She told me she has attended one of your concerts years ago. To her surprise, you played with your back facing the audience. I explained you did that whenever you chastised your band-mates for messing up. I read that in your autobiography. 

Anyway, Miles, I said the first half of the concert was cool, but it petered near the end. It was impolite the band, which included trumpeter Wallace Roney, bassist Buster Williams, alto saxophonist Sonny Fortune and pianist Larry Willis never acknowledged the audience or announced the tunes they played. The latter did not bother the audience. They knew every selection, so maybe they felt introducing every number was unnecessary.

The band performed songs you immortalized years before you crossed over. Or, as jazz critic, Stanley Crouch, characterized your playing pop music selling out. Labeling you a sell-out was unfair. You had every right to make any kind of music. However, I do agree with Crouch that making big bucks was your real motivation.

For many years, Roney copied your style. I wondered if he would ever find his own voice. Roney is a wonderful trumpeter, and Friday night his soloing was decisive. He can still channel your spirit at will, which he did on “So What”, and “Kind of Blue”. Williams soloing was noteworthy as well.

When jazz journalists and critics talk about great jazz bass players, Williams’ name is rarely mentioned. Williams has always been a superb bassist, and he has played with many jazz great of our time. Friday evening, the man was more than a timekeeper. He was the crowd favorite, handling the upright bass like a masseur a tense body. He carried Willis, who solos were basic at best, the entire night.

Miles, I wondered who assembled the band. Save for Cobb the others only had a passing relationship with you. Fortune played with you a year. I also wondered if the band would have been more exciting with musicians that spent more time with you.