Sunshine
of My Soul Jaki
Byard HighNote
Records HCD 7169
Why
don't I just cut to the chase and suggest that you go out and buy this
CD. If
you are an aspiring young musician, or simply a receptive listener,
here is a
short journey through the history of piano jazz by one of the great
players,
sadly, to a large extent lost in today's shuffle. Jaki (John) Byard
(June 15,
1922 – February 11, 1999) was a true jazz player and composer with an
eclectic
approach incorporating everything from ragtime and stride to free jazz.
All the
ingredients are there - a mastery of all the styles with the
understanding and
technique combined with a wicked sense of humour which gave him a sound
that
was completely his own. Incidentally, he also played trumpet and
saxophone and
I have a lasting memory of him playing piano and saxophone
simultaneously
during a broadcast of "Toronto Alive". But
here it is all solo piano with a choice of material which reflects his
catholic
taste - originals like the opener, Tribute To The Ticklers
which
acknowledges the great stride players, an atmospheric Hazy Eve
and European
Episodes, a tour-de-force which closes the CD. There are seven
originals
interspersed with a grab bag of material ranging from an esoteric Besame
Mucho to the Blood, Sweat And Tears hit Spinning Wheel via
a Charles
Mingus medley! This
is a masterful programme of music played by a giant of jazz. Jim
Galloway
Zoot
Suite Zoot
Sims HighNote
Records HCD 7170
The
release of this 1973 private recording – thought to come from an
appearance in
the Caribbean – was approved by Zoot Sims’ widow who claimed this to be
her
late husband’s favourite band. Jimmy Rowles is on piano, with George
Mraz,
bass, and Mousey Alexander, drums. Be warned though, the recording is
far from
professional. Producer Joe Fields openly admits that it “requires a bit
of
patience by the listener”, but he’s also absolutely correct when he
says “the
quality of the music and its historic significance far outweigh any
sonic
limitations.” Sims, one of the most swinging of tenor saxophonists, is
totally
at ease here, and once you adjust your ears to the less than perfect
balance
(the piano’s off-mike and the drums too up-front) it’s easy to become
seduced
by his ultra-relaxed storytelling ability. Few
listeners seem to realize that Zoot’s earliest influence was Ben
Webster, not
Lester Young. Three of the set’s four Ellington titles give Zoot a
chance to
pay tribute to his early mentor. On Rockin’ in Rhythm he
switches to
soprano, an appropriate choice for this vintage number. And the group
has great
fun with a couple of Fats Waller classics, Jimmy Rowles really knocking
Zoot
out with his work on Honeysuckle Rose. On Tickletoe,
Zoot salutes
his second great influence, Lester Young. A gorgeous interpretation of My
Old Flame and an extended blues wrap things up nicely. Fine music
trumps
poor sound. Don
Brown
A
prime example of what could be called POMO Romanticism, the French
octet New
Lousadzak – distinctly named with an anagram of the members’ names –
has
created a notable CD with “Human Songs”. An ensemble formed in 1994,
the band’s
expansive instrumental prowess and pan-tonal sound textures manage to
meld
total improvisation with lyrical, sometimes vocalized dynamics that in
the
Gallic style reference traditionalism as much as experimentation. Médéric
Collignon gives voice to much of this, since, when he’s not spiking
triplets
with his pocket trumpet, he’s scatting or yodeling nonsense syllables
over
contrapuntal vamps from saxophonists Daunik Lazro and Lionel Garcin,
plus the
steadying pedal point of tuba player Daniel Malavergne. If Collignon
provides
the rustic melodiousness for the two suites that make up the session,
then
atonal slurs and irregular pitches mark the sax solos. With their
distorted,
highly electronic note sprays, guitarists Rémi Charmasson and
Raymond Boni add
unexpected contrapuntal dynamics to many tracks already bursting with
polyphonic extensions; so do the wailing Balkan harmonies from Claude
Tchamitchian’s bass and the concussive scrapes and ratcheting of Ramon
Lopez’s
oddball percussion. Still,
the humanistic balancing act is maintained throughout. Often, if it
appears
that extended instrumental techniques are going to push tunes into the
miasma
of rubato atonality, a vocal chorus or a powerful ostinato from
Malavergne,
Tchamitchian and Lopez shove the music back to a march tempo that would
have
been familiar on a Napoleonic parade ground. (Video of the band
performing live
also is embedded on the disc.) Ken Waxman
