Listening Booth, week 35, pt. 2: F*cked Up

• Fucked Up: David Comes to Life (Matador, 2011) - The basics of this record, the whirlwind guitars, the propulsive rhythm section and Pink Eyes' growling vocal, have been there for a while. It seems that their decision to write an opera of sorts -- which story you'll need a lyric sheet to follow -- has helped them to focus those elements into catchier, more purposeful tunes while at the same time expanding their palette sonically. As a lyrics person, vocals such as Pink Eyes' could be a barrier, as one may only catch the odd phrase here and there. Sometimes that's enough, of course, but one may tire over several songs. Here, the music kept dragging me back and demanded my attention for sustained listening. I'm glad it did, and I'm glad I have the lyrics too. Hardcore doesn't come much more ambitious than this without losing its intended punch. Some have compared the music on David... to Hüsker Dü, and although only "A Slanted Tone" sounds like it could be a Hüskers song, in terms of sweeping, big, emotionally engaging punk rock, the analogy is appropriate. 8*
  
  * Grades are tentative, based on three or four listens, though quite often a few more. Much of the writing is done during listens, and should be considered notes rather than final reviews.

Listening Booth, week 35: Avram Fefer Trio

• Avram Fefer / Eriv Revis / Chad Taylor: Eliyahu (Not Two, 2011) - Even though I've known of these guys for a while, I somehow missed their previous album Ritual on Clean Feed (2009), and so I came almost unprepared for this gem of a record. Well, not entirely. Saxophonist Avram Fefer has played with several heavy hitters over the years, but I became especially curious after his work on Adam Lane's fantastic Ashcan Rantings (also Clean Feed) from last year. Eric Revis has played bass with the likes of Branford Marsalis and J.D. Allen, but has lately popped up in ensembles that lean even more towards the rampant sides of jazz, having played a central role in Tarbaby as well as backing up Peter Brötzmann during this year's Vision Fest. Drummer Chad Taylor is perhaps the one I know best of these three, as he has worked with several Chicago musicians of note, and particularly the ever interesting trio Digital Primitves, with Cooper-Moore and Assif Tsahar. The music Fefer, Revis and Taylor has created together on Eliyahu is enthralling, lithe yet groovy, bouncy and emotionally rich. Much of the material here is based around seemingly simple melodic lines, themes or rhythmic patterns that they expand upon, usually while at least one of the trio keeps the originally stated theme going, with the others joining in again later on. The opening, Taylor penned "Song For Dyani", for example, centers around Revis' repeated, fleet-footed melodic bass pattern, a pattern he sustains throughout the tune, and plays with such effortlessness that you cannot but admire his stamina, technique and wonderful sense of rhythm. Taylor's drumming supports the groove, but also adds a bit of punch. Fefer starts the tune with a different melodic line on top of Revis', occasionally dropping in on a note or two, but generally staking out his own course, until towards the end, when Taylor starts to accentuate Revis' bass line, and Fefer joins in. "Song For Dyani" is among the fastest pieces on the album, only the rough 'n' tumble of "City Life" is more energetic. The rest of the material flows at significantly slower tempo, but remains true to it's emotional scope. There is a quality to this music -- the combination of flexibility, groove, keen sense of melody and musical interaction -- that reminds a bit of Air. That's high praise coming from me. When you add that they have some lovely melodic material at the center of things, this has the makings of becoming one of the highlights of the year. 9*

* Grades are tentative, based on three or four listens, though quite often a few more. Much of the writing is done during listens, and should be considered notes rather than final reviews.

Eliyahu is available at SquidCo (link) and other well stock jazz merchants.

Writing about jazz (I'm a dying breed, not likely to be missed, it seems)

There was a panel discussion during the recent Oslo Jazzfestival concerning the stat of jazz journalism, in Norway in particular ('though, there were representatives from abroad on the panel too). I was prevented from participating, but from what I've heard, most, if not all, were seemingly of the view that jazz journalism was in dire straits, some even going as far as saying it was redundant.

The latter view seems to stem from a misconception of what writing about music entails. So I stumbled accross this tidbit from Patrick Jarenwattananon on NPR's A Blog Supreme in a piece concerning the question of whether jazz scribes need to know how to play too, but it which fits perfectly into this discussion as well:

‎"[I]t seems as if what is most needed from jazz journalism today is not strictly criticism of sounds themselves, but also explication: gathering context, making connections, lending new perspectives or otherwise giving a "way into" this stuff for the common non-musician. We need to remove the intimidation factor. We need to redefine jazz's connections to the world around it. And we need to render all this artfully."

R.I.P. Jerry Leiber & Nick Ashford

(50 Coastin' Classics, Rhino 71090)

Jerry Leiber, one half of songwriting duo Leiber & Stoller, passed away yesterday. Probably most famous for hits like "Hound Dog", "Jailhouse Rock" and "Stand By Me", I loved him most for his work with The Coasters, for whom Leiber & Stoller wrote clever, playful and often funny tunes with theatric elements, some of which mocked elements of mainstream America's popular culture -- see "Along Came Jones" -- and some that had underlying serious themes; for every "Yakety-Yak" there was a "Shopping For Clothes."

On the same day, Nick Ashford passed away. Ashford, along with partner Valerie Simpson, wrote huge hits for others, such as "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", "You're All I Need To Get By" and "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing". But they also performed as a popular R&B duo, and had hits with such great songs as "Is It Still Good To Ya" and 1984's "Solid".

Listening Booth, week 33, 2011: Planetary Unknown

First installment this fall. Taking things step by step, but I am hoping to step it up a bit from now on.

• David S. Ware, Cooper-Moore, William Parker & Muhammad Ali: Planetary Unknown (AUM Fidelity, 2011) - I initially struggled to write about this. While I found it intriguing from first listen, I had some trouble finding something to hook on to. Even the most raucous of Ware's music tends to build from themes or melodic launch pads, but this sounded tentative at first. Until I realized, that is part of the point. This is exploratory music, and suddenly you notice small patterns emerging within each composition, and the conversation that develops from there: from the hushed to the rowdy, and the sections in between, never staying in the same place for too long. These four wonderful musicians - by now all legends in their own right - have played with each other in various constellations before, but never together as a quartet, to my knowledge. Their understanding of each other's musical language, how they react to what is being "said" by the others and the ideas they develop from there, is part of what makes this a wonderful and very interesting record. 8 *
  

* Grades are tentative, based on three or four listens, though quite often a few more. Much of the writing is done during listens, and should be considered notes rather than final reviews.

PS: Check out the recent Jazz Session interview with the guys in Planetary Unknown.

Please support The Jazz Session

Friends and colleagues. Please give me a moment of your time.

The Jazz Session is a member-supported online interview show focusing on in-depth conversations with jazz musicians, and it is run solely by Jason Crane, jazz aficionado, poet and an all-round terrific guy. Since he started the project in 2007, Jason has interviewed a host of famous and up-and-coming jazz musicians such as Don Byron, Vijay Iyer, Mary Halvorson, Steve Lehman, Cecil McBee, Myra Melford, Jason Moran, William Parker, Matana Roberts, Matthew Shipp, Henry Threadgill, David S. Ware and, most recently, saxophonist Ingid Laubrock and drummer/composer Tyshawn Sorey. And those are only a select few of the many interviews available. My claim is that Jason Crane is doing some of the best work in the field of jazz journalism these days.

However, such work takes time and costs money, and so Jason has set up a membership program in order to keep it going. The goal has been to reach 100 members by the 300th show. The Sorey interview is the 299th, and he needs 20 more members by Thursday, when episode 300 becomes available. I urge you to head over to the Jazz Session site, have a listen or two (or more), and if it's to your taste and interest, become a member. The cheapest option is a mere 10$, which if you live in Norway, is about what two cups of coffee would cost you at a coffee shop. Make your coffee at home instead, donate the money you'd save to The Jazz Session, and we could be lucky and get even more great interviews with some of the best jazz musicians around today.

http://thejazzsession.com

Thanks for your time.

Chris M

NB: A Listening Booth/summer jazz round-up will be posted here in the coming days, and hopefully more regular updates will appear from then on. There seems to be some light at the end of this tunnel, too.