JAZZ, CLASSICAL AND BEYOND: JOHN STEVENSON’S 30 DISC REVIEW Articles / Reviews Date: Mar 06, 2004 - 04:31 PM JAZZ, CLASSICAL AND BEYOND: JOHN STEVENSON’S 30 DISC REVIEW MARCH 2004 (PART ONE) Branford Marsalis Quartet: Romare Bearden Revealed (Marsalis Music) This disc, comprised of newly recorded music, was produced by Branford Marsalis in celebration of ‘The Art of Romare Bearden’, a major retrospective of the work of the famous Harlem Renaissance painter/collagist/song-writer. The exhibition opened last fall at Washington DC’s National Gallery of Art and travels to museums in 2004 and 2005. Branford Marsalis was keenly aware of jazz-influenced Bearden’s legacy, having owned the artist’s works and met him. The Quartet’s compositions range across several styles of jazz such as stride (“Carolina Shout”), bolero (“Seabreeze”) and a revisitation of brother Wynton’s “J Mood”, the title track of an album for which Bearden painted the front cover. “Romare Bearden Revealed” is a sophisticated aural evocation of the visual, featuring Wynton, pianist Harry Connick Jr and guitarist Doug Wamble. The listener gets to hear another side of BMQ members - drummer Jeff Tain Watts, bassist Eric Revis and pianist Joey Calderazzo - as they assert their artistic nous in the service of jazz and art. Sunny Jain Collective: Mango Festival (Zoho) “Mango Festival” will certainly steal the attention of both critics and cynics. Fronted by the rhythmically gifted Sunny Jain, the collective gets to grips with the sub-continent’s bhajan, bhangra and Punjabi musics, painting a distinct post-bop and neo-rock patina onto these Asian sounds. Jain’s drumming is consistently inventive – deftly deployed shifts and displacements carry the compositions into new melodic zones leaving saffron-coloured vapour trails behind. The collective’s spacey update of “Masqalero” is sure to leave a sardonic smile of Wayne Shorter’s face. Sandra Sealy: Beauty of the Baldhead (Butterfly Creative Productions) Sealy is one of Barbados’s leading poets. Her foray into jazz poetry is nothing short of spectacular as she manages a perfect fit between sensual, dusky delivery, and the rollicking intensity of the crack team of Bajan jazz musicians accompanying her. The title track celebrates her husband’s follicular challenges, and highlights the jolly good riffs of saxophonist Chris Harper. “Sea Jazz” plays cleverly with aquatic metaphors, sailing along with an armada of scat singing, bebop meters and Kerry Mason’s smart keyboard playing. Mimi Fox: She’s the Woman (Favoured Nations) On fast bebop numbers such as “East Coast Attitude”, New York born, Los Angeles based guitarist Fox plays with furious but focused intensity. On ballads such as “Darn that Dream”, she’s gentle and passionate. No one is complaining. It’s all good. This is a great showcase of Fox’s amazing talents as she joins forces with the likes of Ray Drummond, Jon Evans, and Paul van Wageningen. Mia Miata: Urban Arias (Mia Melodic) Out of Maryland comes the refined vocal sophistication of contralto Mia Miata pulling together a distinct operatic sensibility tinged with gospel, funk and hip-hop aspects. What’s refreshing about this disc is that there are positive messages of empowerment (such as “Manchild”), that speak directly to urban conditions whether they be in Baltimore or Brixton. “Jazzy Soul a la Mode” is a fine recipe for the perfect groove, while “Promised Land” is full of spiritual praise. This disc marks the rise and rise of an inner city diva. Nestor Torres: Sin Palabras (Heads Up) Faster than your average vacuum cleaner, nothing sucks energy and raw emotion out of a recording like overly slick production. This is most evidently the case with this recording, which could also read as “Without Spontaneity”. Miami-based Torres is a richly talented flutist who has asserted himself in the Latin jazz arena with previous critical acclaim. On this Heads Up debut, producers Jimmy Haslip, James Lloyd and Carlo Pennisi have put together a radio-friendly, adult contemporary disc only marginally flavoured with Latin, jazz and hip-hop elements. Pablo Aslan: Avantango (Zoho) Acoustic bassist Aslan, following in the tradition of Astor Piazzola, is a proud carrier of the jazz tango flame in New York City. Avantango witnesses him push the genre’s envelope, and features 12 stunning numbers including Piazzola’s “Escualo” and “Verano Porteno”. Aslan has a unique instrumental approach, as he one minute caresses the strings, the next minute tapping out drum patterns on the body of the bass, bowing the strings and then plucking them aggressively as the mood dictates. There is strong support for his efforts in classically-trained diva Roxana Fontan, pianist Gustavo Casanave, and bandoneonist Hector del Cuerto, among others. Handel: Trio Sonatas, Op. 2, Monica Huggett, Sonnerie (Avie) Sonnerie (Huggett, violin; Emilia Benjamin, viola, viola da gamba and violin; Joseph Crouch, cello; and Matthew Hall, keyboards) is one of the foremost and most reespected period instrument ensembles in the world. Based in London, the group has given numerous concerts globally, and at London’s prestigious Wigmore Hall. Handel wrote his Violin Trio Sonatas, Op. 2, under the influence of Arcangello Corelli, following the form of the Italian sonata da chiesa with its grand slow opening movement. However, Sonnerie resurrects Handel’s distinctive compositional voice with great fidelity and obvious enjoyment. Miguel Zenon: Ceremonial (Marsalis Music) Puerto Rican born alto saxophonist Zenon has taken the jazz world by storm with this arresting new disc which includes seven stunning originals, a Silvio Rodriquez composition and the well-known Christian mainstay, “Great is the Faithfulness”. Though this triumphant recording borrows on Latin, rock and straight ahead jazz elements, the 27 year-old’s searing sound and well-put-together technique reflects a deeply-felt spirituality. Venezuelan Luis Perdomo seeks and finds rich chordal territory for perceptive solos. Also providing strong support is Antonio Sanchez on drums and Hans Glawischnig on bass. JA Granelli and Mr. Lucky: Gigantic (Love Slave) Granelli is a groove-savvy bassist with a yen for tried-and-true production values and an affinity for recent nostalgia. It’s all here on “Gigantic” – a trip into the last three decades of the 20th century aboard the good ship that is his creative ensemble. “Merle”, featuring Jamie Saft’s gently percolating organ chords, David Tronzo’s slide guitar and Diego Voglino’s steady shuffle drumming, pushes the 70s door down with sheer rhythmic persuasion, while the title tune rumbles along like the back-beat to a Steely Dan number. Most intriguing is the group’s grasp of reggae essentials as demonstrated on “13.5” and “13.5 (dub)”. This article comes from eJazzNews.com : The Number One Jazz News Resource On The Net http://www.ejazznews.com/ The URL for this story is: http://www.ejazznews.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2813