of ideas and turning the melody and harmony inside
out and on its head. She builds into a playful climax.
ERICA LINDSAY AND
SUMI TONOOKA
INITIATION—Artist Recording Collective
ARC2000. Web: www.artistsrecordingcollective.
info. Mari; Mingus Mood; South Street; Initiation;
Serpent’s Tale; In The Void; Somewhere Near Heaven;
Black Urgency; The Gift; Yes
PERSONNEL: Erica Lindsay, tenor saxophone;
Sumi Tonooka, piano; Bob Braye, drums; Rufus
Reid, bass
By Cathy Gruenfelder
Initiation features ten original tunes split be-
tween pianist Sumi Tonooka and saxophonist Erica
Lindsay. Joining them are bassist Rufus Reid and
drummer Bob Braye.
The CD begins with Lindsay’s “Mari” and lis-
teners will be immediately struck by her relaxed and
feel-good delivery, a cool an easy sense of swing, lay-
ing slightly behind the beat in a way that puts a smile
on your face.
“Mingus Mood” is a tune by Tonooka that fea-
tures a beautiful dark and emotional melody with a
blues inflection that is delivered by Lindsay with an
understated aching. Tonooka comps on the first beat
and the ‘&’ of the second beat over this slow tempo
ballad, as Rufus Reid takes a gorgeous solo. Tonooka
follows him, and the immediate impression is one of
infinite space and possibility. She takes her time,
ruminating over the feeling and letting it guide her
to different places within the song’s landscape. Bob
Braye is all support, guiding things along, and add-
ing some peaks with his snare when it’s called for.
The third tune, “South Street,” is also a To-
nooka original. It is more of a modal piece with its
vamping bass line over a single chord for eight mea-
sures before changing. It starts with a more circular
and open feeling with Tonooka/Braye/Reid remind-
ing me of Tyner/Jones/Garrison. Soon it settles into
a walking swing. Tonooka and Lindsay both display
this quiet confidence in their playing—something
that develops with experience and these two have
plenty of that.
The title track is fourth on the disc, written by
Tonooka. This is an exciting tune that will stimulate
the body and mind. I couldn’t help but dance in my
seat as I was counting, trying to figure out the meter.
There are two sections—one in 4/4 that sounds like
it’s in 7/4, 6/8 and 4/4 at the same time and then a
section that’s in 6/8. Tonooka’s solo on this piece is
funky and intelligent at the same time—she really
plays with the rhythmic possibilities, while sound-
ing like a composer as she improvises, building off
To Advertise CALL: 215.887.8880
from emotional ballads, to spiritual quests, to quirky
blues, to deep swing and beyond. Lindsay and To-
She finds all sorts of interesting ways for her two
hands to work together.
“Serpent’s Tale” begins with a simultaneous
improvisation between Lindsay and Reid. Lindsay
reminds me of Joe Lovano on this introspective
tune. Her ability to be free-thinking and somewhat
‘out’, yet totally swinging and ‘in the tune’ at the
same time is something she shares with that tenor
legend. Again, her easy confidence and un-egoic self-
assurance, combined with all her talent and chops
leads to a very compelling performance here and
throughout the album.
“In The Void” sounds like something Th-
elonious Monk would have written with its quirky
melody and arrangement. Tonooka offers up very
Monkish comping as well—sparse and highly syn-
copated with striking dissonances that make you
smile. Her solo follows suit, showing another side
of her playing. Braye and Reid also show off their
talents, climaxing in an extended bass solo with all
parties playing simultaneously as the tune comes to
an abrupt close.
“Somewhere Near Heaven,” a Lindsay original,
creates an elusive beauty. It ponders and contem-
plates something not quite clear. It is near heaven,
but not quite there, how could it be? It can only
speculate, and that is what it does in such a beautiful
way. Lindsay really brings the listener on a journey
and the band is her vessel. Tonooka follows her with
her own compelling improvisation.
“Black Urgency” begins with an interesting
bass introduction where Reid sounds like he is play-
ing the same note in two different parts of his bass,
creating a cool effect. Suddenly, the flood gates open
and the tune comes in full force. It has a modal sec-
tion in 12/4 and a swing section in 4/4. It is a great
vehicle to blow over and Lindsay and Tonooka take
full advantage.
“The Gift” is the fifth contribution from To-
nooka and it’s a gorgeous ballad. The melody is
sparse, but meaningful. Each note is given plenty of
space, making each more significant. The mix and
sound throughout the album are especially notewor-
thy. Lindsay’s sax has a beautiful natural reverb, To-
nooka’s piano microphones pick up all of the beauti-
ful overtones, Reid’s bass is focused and detailed and
not at all boomy, and Braye’s drums and symbols
wash through the mix in an unobtrusive way. Every-
thing is crystal clear and well balanced.
The album closes with “Yes,” a burner with a
cool and funky introduction between Lindsay and
Braye. Lindsay plays a free improvisation before pre-
senting a groovy melody line which may or may not
have been written. Suddenly all parties commence
and the tune is set ablaze. Lindsay doesn’t break a
sweat, staying as cool and composed as ever. Sud-
denly it’s Tonooka and Reid by themselves playing a
spirited free improvisation devoid of meter and key,
before returning to the speedy swing—only to take
it out again!
This album will take you on quite a journey,
January 2010 U Jazz Inside™ Monthly U www.jazzinsidemagazine.com
nooka make a great pair and they chose a superb
rhythm section to join them. Prepare to be initiated
into the Sumi Tonooka/Erica Lindsay fan club!
GERALD WILSON
ORCHESTRA
DETROIT: Mack Avenue Records MAC 1049
www.mackavenue.com. Blues on Belle Isle; Cass Av-
enue; Detroit; Miss Gretchen; Before Motown; The
Detroit River; Everywhere; Aram.
PERSONNEL: Gerald Wilson, conductor; Los
Angeles Band: Ron Barrows, contractor, trum-
pet; Brian O’Rourke, piano; Mel Lee, drums; Trey
Henry, bass; Carl Randall, tenor sax; Jackie Kelso,
alto& soprano sax; Kamasi Washington, tenor sax;
Louis Van Taylor, baritone & tenor sax; Randall
Willis, alto sax & flute; Terry Landry, baritone sax;
Bobby Rodriguez, trumpet; Jeff Kaye, trumpet;
Rick Baptist, trumpet; Winston Byrd, trumpet;
Eric Jorgensen, trombone; Les Benedict, trombone;
Mike Wimberly, trombone; Shaunte Palmer, trom-
bone; Yvette Devereaux, violin; Guests: Sean Jones,
trumpet & flugelhorn; Anthony Wilson, guitar.
New York Band: Jon Faddis, contractor, trumpet,
flugelhorn; Lewis Nash, drums; Renee Rosnes,
piano; Peter Washington, bass; Anthony Wilson,
guitar; Todd Coolman, bass; Steve Wilson, alto &
soprano sax, flute; Antonio Hart, alto & soprano
sax, flute; Ron Blake, tenor sax; Kamasi Washing-
ton, tenor sax; Ronnie Cuber, baritone sax; Frank
Greene, trumpet & flugelhorn; Sean Jones, trumpet
& flugelhorn; Jimmy Owens, trumpet & flugelhorn;
Terrell Stafford, trumpet & flugelhorn; Dennis Wil-
son, trombone; Luis Bonilla, trombone; Jay Ashby,
trombone; Douglas Purviance, bass trombone;
Guest: Hubert Laws, flute.
By Eric Harabadian
Composer/arranger Gerald Wilson has been
involved in the jazz world working with some of the
greatest names in music like Duke Ellington, Count
Basie, Nancy Wilson, Ray Charles and Ben Webster,
to name a few. He played with Jimmy Lunceford’s
band in the ‘40s and is still going strong at the age
of 90.
Wilson was commissioned to compose a piece
to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Detroit In-
ternational Jazz Festival this past September 6, 2009
and he complied with this beautiful six-part suite
simply called Detroit. In recent interviews Wilson
has claimed to be a romantic and one of the objec-
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