Part Six of a year-end email conversation with Angelika Beener, Aaron Cohen, Joe Tangari and K. Leander Williams. (Jump to: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 )
From: Aaron Cohen
Hi Everyone,
Just wanted to add that reading all the posts here reaffirm how fortunate, and humbled, I am to converse with this group.
I couldn’t agree more with Angelika that Jason Moran’s Kennedy Center appointment can only mean great things for the institution, and for jazz itself. I didn’t know that his family established a scholarship named after him, but it doesn’t surprise me at all. His family has always supported his dreams, and I’m so glad that they’re also supporting the dreams of so many other talented music students. Also, I had forgotten to include Orrin Evans among musicians who give me confident hope for the future — although I just heard his discs, and his part in Bill McHenry’s group and haven’t seen him lead his own band. I’m looking forward to having that opportunity in 2012. I went to his blog posting on Angelika’s recommendation and he also makes astute points about the music business.
What my fellow Midwesterner Joe writes about genre boundaries being ignored among contemporary jazz musicians in Chicago is so true. This was also a big part of Danish scholar Fabian Holt’s book, Genre In Popular Music, a few years ago, where he gave considerable attention to Jeff Parker (pictured at top) and Thrill Jockey. I’d just add that there is a significant history to all of this in Chicago, particularly among musicians and arrangers for Chicago’s classic soul music in the 1960s and 1970s (like jazz arranger Tom Tom Washington, who worked for the Chi-Lites and Earth, Wind and Fire as well as Lionel Hampton). Anyway, that history is, hopefully, part of my next book (knock on wood there).
I had no idea about the Qatar jazz initiative until reading Kelvin’s post — that sure is a world away from what has been happening with the Occupy movement. Definitely all of these political, economic divisions are something to watch in 2012, and if/how these larger issues are reflected in the music. I also hadn’t jumped into the Mary Halvorson fan bus until this summer when I saw her perform an exciting set in a band with Ingrid Laubrock at the Chicago Jazz Festival.
Glad to see Tune-Yards’ Whokill in Nate’s year-end list. There’s another artist who ignores boundaries and is most certainly bringing jazz ideas into her take on what individualistic pop music should be (can’t remember the names of the saxophonists in her band). Anyway, my wife Lavonne and I loved the Tune-Yards show at Chicago’s Lincoln Hall a few months back. It ended with her offering to hug anyone in the audience who would donate at least $5 to African famine relief. Now that is beyond cool!
Part Two of a year-end email conversation with Angelika Beener, Aaron Cohen, Joe Tangari and K. Leander Williams. (Jump to: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5| 6|7 | 8 )
From: Aaron Cohen
Hi Everyone,
First off: thank you, Nate, for inviting me to take part in this roundtable. All of you are writers who I admire a great deal, and I’m humbled to discuss these issues with you.
To tell the truth, I didn’t read Nicholas Payton’s blog postings until you brought it to my attention. I do have trouble keeping up with jazz blogs (except for this one) — editing a jazz magazine all day, you can imagine I’d want to read SOMETHING else by the time I get home. Anyway, his first posting was rather poetic (he clearly thinks about the rhythms of his phrases), but I really don’t get caught up in whether or not jazz is/isn’t dead, whether or not this or that person is/isn’t really a jazz musician. I’ve been hearing all that since I started getting into the music when I was in my teens (back in the 1980s). I just never found that discourse particularly interesting — it never enhanced, nor detracted from, my enjoyment of the music and it never broadened my understanding of the culture surrounding it. I can say that there is a lot of good and great jazz being recorded now — I receive at least 100 CDs a week (of varying quality, to be sure), and with only having room to review around 35 new releases a month, one can imagine all the work that I am unable to adequately cover. Meanwhile, I’m busy catching up with as many live performances as I can. Here in Chicago, I can find something interesting to see and hear at least three nights out of the week. So I didn’t feel that Payton’s postings infuriated or excited me in any way.
Anyway, to get back to the discussion of Esperanza Spalding, she is a great bassist and a talented singer/conceptualist. I wish she would play bass more, as that’s what I feel she is best at, but I’m also aware that had she stuck just to being a bassist, she would not be the crossover star that she is. (Yeah, I would’ve been one of those who would’ve advised Nat “King” Cole to stick the piano, where he was brilliant, rather than sing, since I preferred Billy Eckstine). As far as whether or not her success is because she has transcended jazz, or will bring more attention to jazz, I just hope that whatever attention she does receive will somehow encourage more funding for music education. Glad that she continues working in Joe Lovano’s group. And I also hope that she does collaborate with Janelle Monae (my wife and I love her).
As far as any siege mentality that jazz may be going through, or any sort of issues involving inclusion, exclusion or insularity, I think that may be more of a New York thing. Here in Chicago (where I’ve lived my whole life, except for college in Wisconsin), we tend to feel slighted in general. Really, controversy about [insert name of Manhattan jazz musician or institution here] matters to Chicagoans about as much as New Yorkers care about [insert name of Chicago jazz politics here].
So I’d rather just concentrate on music/musicians who I like, and this year has been filled with great, great stuff. I was fortunate to see Bill McHenry’s quartet at the Village Vanguard a few weeks ago, and they were terrific (though, sadly, that was also when I heard about Paul Motian’s condition, and his death was the worst jazz story of the year). I was also fortunate to see a number of longtime favorites representing different generations throughout 2011: whether it was Sheila Jordan (at Chicago’s Green Mill) or the Jimmy Heath Big Band (at New York’s Blue Note) or Eric Reed (at Chicago’s Jazz Showcase). I also was fortunate to steal away from the DownBeat booth at the Chicago Jazz Festival to catch Trio 3 + Geri Allen. Still and all, best concert I saw this year would’ve been Aretha Franklin’s first full-length post-surgery gig at the Chicago Theater in May. She infused every note with pure joy of being alive.
As I mentioned in the post above, with 100+ records coming in my mailbox each week, there are so many great ones. Let me first mention the current wave of young Chicagoans — Nate’s colleague Ben Ratliff has been giving much deserved attention to vibist Jason Adasiewicz, and his Sun Rooms’ disc, Spacer (Delmark), is inventive and much fun, as is bass clarinetist Jason Stein’s The Story This Time (Delmark), which brings a sense of joy and energy to the otherwise abstract Lee Konitz-Warne Marsh school. Wonderful compositions on Claudia Quintet’s What Is The Beautiful? (Cuneiform). Darius Jones’ Big Gurl (Smell My Dream) and his Cosmic Lieder with Matthew Shipp (both discs on Aum Fidelity) really caught me off guard. And there were a number of solid recordings from so many people I had been unaware of just a few years ago: Walter Smith III’s III (Criss Cross) and Tyshawn Sorey’s Oblique-I (Pi) come immediately to mind. So many musicians I’ve liked for a few years now are still cranking out thoughtful stuff live and on disc: Vijay Iyer, Matana Roberts, Jeff Parker, Russell Malone...
So, it’s all my way of saying, 2011 is ending with jazz in fine shape in terms of its creative end. There are only a few problems that can’t be easily dismissed, and these are economic: the inadequate funding for music education in the public schools is the most difficult. It’s also shameful that cities continue to use public financing to assist politically connected, large-scale, for-profit ventures rather than help make life easier for non-profit arts organizations and smaller scale music venues. This goes on in Chicago, and I’m guessing it’s also true in New York, New Orleans and elsewhere. But I’ll let my co-panelists weigh in here.
Part
Seven of a year-end email conversation with Andrey Henkin, Peter Margasak, Ben
Ratliff and Hank Shteamer. (Jump to: 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8)
From: Peter Margasak
I think that Vijay Iyer quote sorta summed up many of the things I far less articulately attempted to express in my earlier bit. I’d like to think that everyone shares his opinion, but I’m afraid there is a generational schism; I’m sure plenty of folks would agree with his statement in theory, but reality is a different can of worms. Anyway, I think Nate’s point rings true. As the decade comes to a close this openness isn’t such a big deal, and I’m glad that’s the case. Jason Moran does indeed represent this kind of thinking as much as anyone during the previous ten years.
Looking back on the previous exchanges it seems that a few of us really focused on music that was smashing those boundaries at the expense of more traditional practitioners of jazz. I’d say great new records by everyone from Von Freeman (above) to John Hollenbeck to Matt Wilson are all in the tradition -- someone’s tradition, anyway -- and they brought me as much pleasure as any other record this year. Hell, I loved Anthony Coleman’s rather conservative spin through the music of Jelly Roll Morton on Freakish.
And while I big upped Chicago, I think there are fascinating things happening all over the country, and, of course, the globe. My beloved Chicago Reader ran a pretty good piece this week about a Thai pop singer that discusses the futility of year-end lists because there’s always more that we don’t hear. Writer Noah Berlatsky ends the piece with, “Whether or not I download that Yeah Yeah Yeahs album, the world is still going to be bigger than my list. Which is a reassuring thought.” Amen.
Part Four of a year-end email conversation with Andrey Henkin, Peter Margasak, Ben Ratliff and Hank Shteamer. (Jump to: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 )
From: Andrey Henkin
Dear Nate, Ben, Hank and Peter,
I’m glad I got a later slot in this Algonquin round email. I could simply react to what everyone else has said thus far. I agree wholeheartedly with Peter in his assessment of Chicago. Having made my first trip out there for the Umbrella Music Festival in early November, I was impressed by the sort of community-building that scene of musicians engages in, something I find woefully lacking in New York.
Sure, there are circles of musicians here but I find far too few porous borders (let me book The Stone for a month and I’d bring together some interesting first-time collaborations: Peter Evans/Jeremy Pelt duo, anyone?). That said, since Obama has already displayed a penchant for plugging his adopted home state -- be it through the Olympics debacle or the just-announced plan to move Guantanamo inmates to a Northern Illinois prison -- he should listen to Peter and invite somebody new to play at the White House. My vote? The Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet (above). With Chicagoans, Germans and Scandinavians, it seems a perfect band to reinforce the notion of global engagement. What would Steven Colbert have to say about that, I wonder? (One other note on Chicago: Muhal Richard Abrams/Fred Anderson duo as part of the AACM concert series...one of my gigs of the year.)
And using Umbrella as a jumping-off point, let me also echo praise lavished on Akira Sakata (left). I knew his work through Yosuke Yamashita mainly but had the chance to see him twice this year, once in Sweden in March and then at Umbrella. Both times he played with his trio of bassist Darin Gray and drummer Chris Corsano. Nate mentioned sax trios... this is the best one out there for my money. Playing free jazz well is tapping into something internal and Sakata-san has an unending wellspring.
And Chris Corsano is a drummer exemplifying musicians not limiting themselves to jazz or noise or whatever. Any of us who saw his trio with Evan Parker and Nate Wooley at The Stone in October should agree.
Segueing from Japan to debuts, check out Nobuyasu Furuya’s sax trio on Clean Feed, Bendowa. The Portuguese label releases so much and from so many high-profile artists, a disc like this can get overlooked. Darius Jones’ album was a remarkably mature debut. I forget who described him as coming out “fully formed” but I think that is an accurate assessment. And as Hank mentioned, tapping Cooper-Moore and Rakalam Bob Moses was inspired. So much so that when the band played at the AUM Fidelity showcase at Abrons Arts Center in October, Moses’ absence (replaced by the younger and more frenetic Jason Nazary) was too much for the band to overcome. And lastly on the debut thread, after years of being so impressed by John Hebert’s deliciously open concept of bass playing (learned at the proverbial knee of Andrew Hill), his debut Byzantine Monkey was a dynamic first statement.
Håkon Kornstad is probably the most interesting saxist out there these days in terms of the breadth of his projects. The duo with Ingebrigt Håker Flaten was remarkable and Dwell Time just as much. He recently played that music live at Monkeytown (which is really growing on me as a venue for this kind of music), and I am most captivated by an “avant-garde” saxist who appreciates and strives for beauty above all else:
Not to bring things down, but one instance of the supergroup that disappointed me greatly this year was the Five Peace Band, with Chick Corea and John McLaughlin. I heard the record and wasn’t very impressed and live at Jazz at Lincoln Center in April (a booking nearly as surprising as Ornette Coleman), the band seemed flat in the way only fusion bands can, which is to say, hyperactive yet hypoglycemic. Maybe Corea was tired from non-stop touring for the last couple of years but what’s McLaughlin’s excuse? Why can’t such an amazing player finally find a project that will make everyone forget about the Mahavishnu Orchestra?
As we enter a new decade, I am encouraged by all the labels supporting jazz and “related configurations”, to borrow an WBAI term, like the aforementioned Clean Feed, Intakt, Kadima Collective, No Business and even a resurgent ECM (great albums by Miroslav Vitous, John Surman, Evan Parker) as I am saddened by New York’s demotion in terms of “Jazz Capital of the World.” In January, I am making a trip to Philadelphia to see the Circulasione Totale Orchestra, who are skipping New York on a small tour, as do most traveling musicians. Club bookers either draw from the same pool of musicians or we have the curator model, which is nice but hardly inclusive.
Tonicremains empty and festivals held in small Austrian villages outclass anything we have here. I never have a problem choosing my Shows of the Year but find myself looking forward more and more to trips out of town.
Part Three of a year-end email conversation with Andrey Henkin, Peter Margasak, Ben Ratliff and Hank Shteamer. (Jump to: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 )
From: Peter Margasak
Dear Nate, Ben, Andrey and Hank,
I’ll echo Hank’s delight in engaging in this exchange. Turning back to Nate’s question about Esperanza and Babs... only the former strikes me as truly noteworthy, but I’m disappointed that Obama keeps inviting back the same musician. It’s exciting to see jazz get such a platform, but there are plenty of other worthy (dare I say, far more interesting) folks that should get the call from here on out.
I’m happy that the Lewis went into paperback this year, further extending its impact. As the sole participant here that doesn’t live in New York, I’m always happy to see Chicago get some props, even if Lewis and Threadgill haven’t lived here in decades; the city’s fiercely independent spirit lives on, certainly through the music of Lehman and Iyer (who, along with Threadgill, all landed in my top five albums). While big name organizations in Chicago, from the city-sponsored Jazz Festival to Symphony Center, draw the local media attention, what really matters in this city is increasingly the responsibility of musicians. All but one of the presenters behind Umbrella Music -- a loose constellation of three strong weekly series -- is a musician, and this year they curated their best festival yet, and probably the most exciting week in the city’s adventurous music calendar. These guys know that no one is going to give them anything for nothing, so they tend the garden themselves, and it’s been paying off.
It’s also nice to see some of the best groups from Chicago -- Josh Berman’s Old Idea, Jason Adasiewicz’s Rolldown, James Falzone’s Klang, Mike Reed’s People, Places & Things -- getting noticed by New Yorkers. I’m still thrilled and mildly shocked that Ken Vandermark (right) played some gigs in a quartet with Eric Revis, Jason Moran, and Nasheet Waits a few months back.
I suppose related to the early achievements of the AACM is the continued scrambling and/or disregard to any kind of purity, whether it’s a drummer like Tyshawn Sorey writing post-Feldman guitar music or the wonderfully bizarre amalgam of heavy metal, cracked bluegrass, and shambling funk by the Seabrook Power Plant. Maybe this is an irrelevant point as the present decade comes to its conclusion, but I’m consistently encouraged and excited as the flung open doors are torn off their hinges and the openings keep widening. Why the hell not? The problem with this reality in our profession (knock on wood that I can keep calling it that) is that more and more music falls off the “jazz” map, meaning that the radars of so many writers only go so far -- present company excluded, natch -- so that lots of the most interesting stuff, especially if it’s produced outside of New York, is largely invisible. Most jazz from outside of the US suffers the same problem -- if we don’t hear great music from Germany (Die Enttäuschung, pictured below; Christian Lillinger), Sweden (Jonas Kullhammar, Alberto Pinton) or Japan (Akira Sakata, Otomo Yoshihide) does that mean it doesn’t exist? And that’s always the rub about year-end considerations -- I mostly get frustrated about the music I still haven’t heard rather than rating the records I have.
So many records, so many shows, so many musicians. Although I don’t want to reopen the Terry Teachout jazz is dead can o’ worms, I’ve never seen such a crushing deluge of new music. Yes, much of it is boilerplate, but there are still countless musicians really pushing. I’m still lucky enough to able to buy records at real record stores (Jazz Record Mart, Dusty Groove), but I can’t deny that I’ve taken advantage of downloading to further add to the pile of music. I’ve spent more and more time thinking, “Where do I draw the line?” I take a certain pride in trying to be comprehensive, but it’s getting harder.
I’m not sure if Nate was referring to me when he mentioned Norwegian jazz, but I’ll take the bait. I too love the duo of Håkon Kornstad and Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, but they’ve yet to perform out here. But I also dig Kornstad’s recent solo sax album Dwell Time, and he seems to be getting better at developing an original language through simple looping effects. I had the chance to hear him do the same thing in a gorgeous duet with singer Sidsel Endresen -- a one-time ECM folk-jazz singer who’s experiencing a mid-life radicalism, unleashing incredible, all-improvised vocal performances, both solo and with this saxophonist -- that defied categorization, a quality that so much of the best Norwegian stuff exhibits. Atomic didn’t release a record, but its powerhouse drummer Paal Nilssen-Love blew my mind in a trio called OffOnOff with electric guitarist Terri Ex (of the Ex) and bassist Massimo Pupillo (of Zu) that turned churning free improv/noise and gut-punching grooves into the most physical, fantastically brutal concert I saw all year. They have two good records, but they’re impotent next to the live experience.
I feel like I’m rambling a little, which is an indirect way of writing that I didn’t observe any clear consensus or dominant thread over the last year. I also feel like so much of my favorite music is increasingly genre-averse. I mean, I like and appreciate Eric Alexander as much as the next person, but I get more excited by head scratchers like the Tyondai Braxton solo record, the electro-acoustic improv web that David Sylvian croons through on Manafon, or Vijay Iyer reshaping “Galang,” as shown here:
It may not all be strictly jazz, but it all evolves from a kindred spirit of experimentation, individual voices, and curiosity that’s always characterized much of the best jazz, and lots of musicians seem increasingly fluid in their collaborations and interactions.
