In mid-December, the volume level of advertising rises to a collective howl. Whether you are celebrating the winter solstice, Hanukah, the end of the semester, Christmas, Kwanzaa, or something else, you’re encircled by guilt-inducing ads for “that special someone.” Bathrobes. Scarves. Pears in tissue paper.
I’ve never done a JAZZ LIVES holiday list, but six CDs I admire greatly are in view, so here is my brief Gift Guide for people who thrive on inventive heartfelt music. Alphabetical order, no ranking.
JOSH COLLAZO’S JAZZBOREE — “a band of merry players”!
I know Josh as a wonderful swinging drummer, a warm-hearted team player, and an engaging intuitive composer of hummable songs. His original compositions are full of small surprises, and they stick very comfortably in the mental jukebox. JAZZBOREE is his new band, and this CD shows off some truly inventive players: Marc Caparone, Nate Ketner, Riley Baker, Carl Sonny Leyland, Sam Rocha, and Josh.
Here’s CAROUSEL, which to me is ten pounds of groove in a sandwich-size Ziplock. Available as CD, “vinyl,” or download at bandcamp.com.
Colin Hancock’s Jazz Hounds featuring Catherine Russell, CAT & THE HOUNDS (Turtle Bay Records)
Colin and Catherine take us on a brightly-colored tour of the Black music of the Twenties: dance numbers, saucy vaudeville routines, sly love songs, and the occasional downhearted lament. It’s a wholly entertaining pageant of sounds and feelings, and their effort to reset the compass, to return the music to its authentic selves. (Brilliant deep notes by Colin.) The rousing band is, along with Colin and Catherine, Dion Tucker, Evan Christopher, Jerron Paxton, Jon Thomas, Ahmad Johnson, Kerry Lewis, and Vince Giordano. For her part, Catherine could sing the menu at the local Chinese takeout and we would order everything, enchanted. Here’s YOU’VE GOT EVERYTHING A SWEET MAMA NEEDS BUT ME. I delight in imagining ELEVATOR PAPA, SWITCHBOARD MAMA as an essential addition to the holiday soundtrack. Available in the three forms above at turtlebayrecords.com or bandcamp.com.
LIVE AT BIRDLAND: THE HIGH SOCIETY NEW ORLEANS JAZZ BAND (Turtle Bay Records)
This is a lively cohesive unit, everyone deeply aware of each song’s background and performance conventions. But they don’t “play old records live”; rather they are enthusiastic individualists. They are having fun and their audiences at Birdland (where they have a steady weekly gig and where this CD was recorded) are also. This single disc shows off the depth of their repertoire: Jelly Roll Morton, Freddie Keppard, a New Orleans funeral, venerable pop tunes, dance hall standards, a nod to San Francisco jazz, and more. HERE COMES THE HOT TAMALE MAN is properly spicy, and the band passes my test for this number when we hear, “Red hot!” “That’s what!” If band members don’t know to do that, send them back to the woodshed. These inspired musicians are Simon Wettenhall, Conal Fowkes, Harvey Tibbs, Tom Abbott, Josh Dunn, Brian Nalepka, and Kevin Dorn. Get it at bandcamp.com.
INVISIBILITY: NEAL MINER, CHRIS BYARS, JASON TIEMANN (Cellar Music)
The word I have for double bassist-composer Neal Miner is eloquent, although he is cheerfully modest and self-deprecating. But a Miner solo often reminds me of Churchill inspiring the British on BBC in 1940. Not loud or oratorical, but focused and deeply communicative. And his compositions have some of the same quality. INVISIBILITY is his seventh CD as a leader, the latest in that consistently rewarding series. Chris Byars and Jason Tiemann offer contrapuntal frolics, lullabies, midnight introspections, strolls and saunters, soundtracks for a yet-unshot film noir, love songs, conversations overheard at the diner, and more. The session has some of the playful seriousness I associate with chamber-jazz recordings by Lucky Thompson, Sonny Rollins, and Oscar Pettiford. Here’s one of my favorites, BLUE VIEW — to my ears, as if Strayhorn and Monk had collaborated. Find this disc at bandcamp.com.
RED ON MAROON: JORGE ROSSY & MICHAEL KANAN (Underpool)
Michael Kanan always offers deep emotion that murmurs. He has made a number of resonant sessions with his long-time colleague, vibraphonist Jorge Rossy, another quiet melodic engine, but this is their first recorded duet, a meeting of kindred souls. SOMEWHERE is a lovely example of what these two masters of emotion do: for those who know WEST SIDE STORY, this performance so deeply evokes hope with an undercurrent of melancholy. I selected that track because I had made my own rule: only one performance per disc, but I played all of RED ON MAROON with awe, wanting to post every note, and finally resigning myself to the final track. Tony and Maria agreed. Incidentally, the elegantly vibrating cover art is by the splendid double bassist Stephanie Greig. This session is available at bandcamp.com.
Last in our alphabet:
IN THE WONDER OF THE NIGHT: ANGELA VERBRUGGE AND RAY GALLON
Angela’s singing always feels so unaffected; each song feels like an unexpected phone call from a dear faraway friend. Tenderness is her native soundtrack, but on some performances she sounds as if she is about to burst into laughter and is containing it, barely, until the last note is sounded. Pianist Ray Gallon is a superb accompanist in the great line of Ellis Larkins and John Lewis: I found myself playing performances a second time, attempting to ignore Angela (nearly impossible) to concentrate on Ray’s dancing but never obtrusive lines. Of the eleven performances here, slightly less than half are her originals, which stand up solidly next to the great standards. Hear I’M 99% SURE OF YOU (co-written with Cathy Gyorgy) — honest and hilarious in the best Frishberg manner. I regret that AM radio and television variety shows have vanished: these performances would be pop hits, and that is not faint praise. Streaming in the expected places, and it can be purchased at Angela’s website.
If the list seems too short, here are four marvels I’ve already rhapsodized over: two books, two discs.
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It IS an attractive bathrobe, but I will bet that it will be on sale after December 26. So be patient and buy a CD or a book while you wait.
May your happiness increase!
JAZZ LIVES 