Robert Glasper’s

EXPERIMENT
www.jazziz.com NOVEMBER 2013
Digital Edition
 30 Playing Both Sides
Robert Glasper is finding success
in R&B circles, but he has no plans
november 2013 to abandon jazz. By Ted Panken

40 The Surreal Life

Laura Mvula goes down the rabbit
hole. By Kara Manning

6 november 2013 jazziz Cover and this page photos by Janette Beckman
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 George Duke has gathered a myriad of
funk, jazz, gospel and R&B talents on
DreamWeaver. Guests include Christian
20-Time GRAMMY® winner Chick Corea
McBride, Rachelle Ferrell, Lalah Hathaway,
returns with his highly anticipated new band.
Jeffrey Osborne, BeBe Winans, and Perri’s Lori
The Vigil also features guest appearances
Perry, among others. “Ball & Chain,” features
by Stanley Clarke and Ravi Coltrane.
a duet with Duke accompanying the late R&B
singer Teena Marie – one of the last tracks she
recorded.

The Line contains explosive rock

Jeff Lorber, heralded as “one of the founding energy paralleled with high-level nuanced
fathers of fusion” (Keyboard), returns with chamber ensemble playing, highly
GRAMMY® nominated power trio the Jeff wrought compositions that are balanced
Lorber Fusion, featuring bassist/ co- with adventurous no-holds-barred
producer Jimmy Haslip and saxophonist Eric improvising. This project explodes with
Marienthal. Hacienda spotlights eleven rock and jazz influences through engrossing
tracks, including a brilliant take on the Frank improvisational instrumentals, includes 12
Zappa composition “King Kong.” original compositions and contributions from
various members of the group.

Master guitarist Earl Klugh has been lauded

Yo is a finely crafted blend of traditional as a prodigy, groundbreaker, and one of
acoustic instruments with elements of the true statesmen of contemporary jazz.
cutting-edge electronica – a mesmerizing Klugh’s highly-anticipated Concord debut,
musical alchemy that pays homage to Cuba’s HandPicked, is a self-produced solo
African roots. album with guests Bill Frisell, Vince Gill and
Jake Shimabukuro.

Available at

Amazon, Amazon.com and the Amazon.com logo are

registered trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.
©2013 U.S. Postal Service, Photo ©MEPHISTO

www.raycharles.com www.concordmusicgroup.com
 Dave Douglas

Prelude 16
Randy Brecker gets the band
back together; Dave Douglas
celebrates 50; Vijay Iyer and
friends address war in Iraq and
Afghanistan; and Jimi Hendrix
rises in Miami.

Auditions 48
Reviewed: Stefano Bollani and
Hamilton de Holanda, Kneebody,
Janis Siegel, Ralph Alessi, Alexis
Cuadrado and Warren Wolf.

10 november 2013 jazziz Photo by Austin Nelson

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Prelude

The
Things
They
Carry

18 november 2013 jazziz

 As anyone who reads pianist Vijay Iyer’s Twitter
feed knows, he’s an incisive and outspoken observer
of social and political topics. That activism often
extends into his music. His previous collaborations
with poet and hip-hop artist Mike Ladd — 2004’s In
What Language and 2007’s Still Life With Commentator
— amounted to what he calls “life since 9/11 from a
black and brown perspective in America.”
Nonetheless, the duo hadn’t tackled the wars in
Afghanistan and Iraq directly. But they address those
conflicts squarely with their latest disc, the power-
ful Holding It Down: The Veterans’ Dreams Project
(Pi Recordings). “It felt like a moral imperative to
collaborate with veterans,” Iyer says. “To look at what
they have had to look at, examine what it is that they
carry in their daily lives.”
The project was commissioned by New York’s
Harlem Stage, where it premiered in 2012. Ladd and
theater director Patricia McGregor interviewed
scores of veterans. Ladd adapted their stories and
recites several of them on the record, as do military
veterans Maurice Decaul and Lynn Hill. Iyer’s music
combines elements of jazz, rock and electronic
music. Depending on the context, it’s alternately
haunting, hypnotic and disorienting. But, as Iyer
points out, it’s always in support of the stories. “It’s
not about me, it’s not about virtuosity or about
being awesome,” he says. “It’s about storytelling
and literally supporting people. It’s about creating a
space where someone can be heard.”
Creating that space has already paid dividends.
“Lynn had left the Air Force six years earlier, and
she had been having nightmares, been in therapy,
and having suicidal thoughts,” Iyer says. “After
doing this project, that all stopped. She was able to
get married and start a family. She has a baby now.
I don’t know if you can call that political work, but
it feels like good work to me. That’s maybe the best
review I’ve ever gotten.”
Part of the album’s proceeds benefit Student
Veterans of America, which assists veterans in higher
education programs. For Iyer, who was recently
named a MacArthur Fellow, this project came out of a
sense of personal responsibility.
“Any of us can say we’re antiwar, and on
another day I might say that,” he says. “But today
what I can say is that my tax dollars that I gave
to the government paid for both of these wars. So
whatever the veterans carry within them is partly
my fault. We’re all implicated in this. So let’s look
these folks in the eye, let’s listen to them, let’s
embrace them as part of our family, because that’s
what they are.” —John Frederick Moore

Photo by Jimmy Katz

Taking Stock
Understandably, the concept of time has been very much on
Dave Douglas’ mind lately. For one thing, the trumpeter/
composer turned 50 in March, a milestone that’s naturally
prompted a good deal of reflection and contemplation. He also
lost his mother in 2011 to ovarian cancer (his father died in a
2003 car accident), and he recently stepped down from his posi-
tion as director of the Banff Centre’s International Workshop in
Jazz and Creative Music, which he had held for a decade.
All of those factors weighed into the decision to title his recent
album Time Travel, which, Douglas says, also refers to the fact that
“we’re all hurtling through space together on a small orb.” The
title is inspired by the idea of musical time, as well, something
that Douglas has been considering in conjunction with his new
quintet. “I think of it in terms of the music, what’s happening
from one moment to the next and how the passing of time
changes our perception of what’s going on. The way that we’re
playing in this new quintet is very much about a dialogue and a
kind of freedom within the flow of time.”
Time Travel is one of three recently released albums collected
in the new box set DD|50, which commemorates Douglas’ 50th
birthday while summing up the fruits of his recent transitional
20 november 2013 jazziz
period. The set also includes Be Still, a quintet outing recorded
in 2012; Pathways, a new suite for sextet written as a farewell
gesture to Banff; and a DVD featuring in-studio performances
and videos directed by Christoph Green, co-owner of Washington
D.C.-based production company Trixie.
The new quintet, featuring saxophonist Jon Irabagon, pianist
Matt Mitchell, bassist Linda Oh and drummer Rudy Royston, is a
complete reinvention of Douglas’ longtime core group, and sur-
rounds the trumpeter with musicians from a younger generation.
“It’s an incredible opportunity to have a steady band on the road,
especially these days,” Douglas says. “There’s a freedom that we get
to in the music because these guys are bringing in new stuff that I
don’t know about. I’m incredibly blessed because I learn something
new every night on the bandstand from the four of them.”
In honor of his birthday, Douglas plans to perform with his
band in all 50 states. “It’s been a wonderful experience so far
to discover new parts of the country where I’d never been and
never played,” he says. “This shouldn’t be such a radical idea.
We should all be playing across the country and developing
these tours where the music can be represented in places where
it normally isn’t.” —Shaun Brady
Photo by Austin Nelson
The New Jazz Culture
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Vital
Experience
Were he still alive — had he not passed away 43
years ago — Jimi Hendrix would now be 70 years
old. In recognition, if not exactly celebration,
of that milestone birthday (Hendrix was born on
November 27, 1942), Experience Hendrix LLC and
Legacy Recordings are set to release a two-hour docu-
mentary about the rock icon, along with a previously
unreleased recording of the Jimi Hendrix Experience
performing at the Miami Pop Festival in May 1968.
Jimi Hendrix: Hear My Train a Comin’, part of
PBS’s “American Masters” series, premiers nation-
wide on November 5. Set to drop on the same day,
the expanded home version of that documentary
includes previously unreleased film footage of
Hendrix at the Miami Pop Festival, as well as at the
New York Pop Festival (July 1970) and the Love &
Peace Festival at the Isle of Fehmarn, in Germany
(September 1970) — the final performance by the
Jimi Hendrix Experience. Available on both DVD
and Blu-ray, Hear My Train chronicles Hendrix’s
rise to prominence in the mid- to late-1960s, and
features commentary from a range of friends
and admirers, including Paul McCartney, Steve
Winwood and Experience band mates Noel
Redding and Mitch Mitchell.
Jimi Hendrix Experience: Miami Pop Festival,
also set for a November 5 release on a single CD
and on 12-inch audiophile vinyl, features the
first recorded stage performances of “Hear My
Train a Comin” and “Tax Free,” while showcas-
ing live takes of such classics as “Hey Joe,” “Fire”
and “Purple Haze.” The package also includes a
selection of illuminating, previously unpublished
photos taken at the festival and an essay written
by accomplished rock scribe Bob Santelli.
For Hendrix fans and other interested people,
these are important documents that add color and
detail to our understanding of a significant artist
who, to borrow a fitting cliché, died too soon. Few
sensations in the realms of rock and blues equal the
pleasure of hearing the soft-spoken Hendrix live,
roaring through a set of music in the full bloom of
his own eternal youth. One can only imagine where
Hendrix and his music might’ve gone had he lived
longer. We’ll never know, of course, but we can at
least be thankful for the fascinating body of work
he produced while he was here. —DP

Photo © Authentic Hendrix LLC

Once More, With Feeling
The passing of Michael Brecker in 2007, following a lengthy
illness, stunned the jazz world. Along with big brother and
renowned trumpeter Randy, the mighty saxophonist fronted a num-
ber of potent early-’70s bands — including Horace Silver’s quintet
for a year — before the two formed The Brecker Brothers band in
1974. Together they blazed an indelible funk-fusion trail, scoring
hits along the way with 1975’s “Sneakin’ Up Behind You” and 1979’s
“East River,” before disbanding in 1982. The group reunited in 1992 for
the hard-hitting Return of the Brecker Brothers and 1994’s Grammy-
winning follow-up, Out of the Loop. After focusing on their respective
solo careers for the next nine years, the brothers reunited again for
2003’s Some Skunk Funk: Live at Leverkusener Jazztage, which included
expanded Vince Mendoza arrangements of classic Brecker Brothers
tunes performed by the WDR Big Band Koln.
Now the spirit of the Brecker Brothers band has again been
rekindled by Randy with The Brecker Brothers Band Reunion
(Piloo Records), a CD/DVD set documenting an all-star engage-
ment at Manhattan’s Blue Note nightclub. Joining the trumpeter
on the bandstand are original band alumni Will Lee (bass) and
David Sanborn (alto sax), and such ’90s-era Brecker Brothers
veterans as guitarists Mike Stern, Dean Brown and Mitch Stein,
drummers Dave Weckl and Rodney Holmes, keyboardist George
26 november 2013 jazziz
Whitty and bassist Chris Minh Doky. Filling the large shoes of
the late Michael is Randy’s wife, tenor saxophonist Ada Rovatti
(whom he introduces onstage as “the lady in the hot seat”). “We
kept it in the family, and she does her own thing without trying
to sound like Mike,” says Randy.
Tracks on the set include Brecker Brothers classics “Some Skunk
Funk,” “Straphangin’” and “Inside Out” alongside new tunes such
as Randy’s samba-flavored “Adina,” the beautiful “Stellina” (penned
for Randy and Ada’s 4-year-old daughter, Stella) and the evocative
“Elegy for Mike.” Of the latter song, Randy says, “It was nice to have
a tune with Mike in mind. I hadn’t written a tune in honor of his
passing, and this piece just kind of fell into place.”
In addition to his brother, Randy also dedicates the CD/
DVD set to fallen comrades and Brecker Brothers alumni Don
Grolnick, Hiram Bullock, Luther Vandross, Ralph MacDonald,
Don Alias, Mark Grey and Barry Rogers.
“At first I wasn’t crazy about the idea,” Randy says of re-
creating the group’s influential sound yet again. “But the club
billed it as a Brecker Brothers band reunion, and it became an
event. The week was sold out and the fans loved hearing the old
tunes along with the new ones. And during that week I realized
that this band was my legacy.” —Bill Milkowski
 IMPORTED FROM
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OnDisc
OnDisc
For more information regarding this and more than 100 other JAZZIZ discs available for purchase, go to
Acoustic-guitar virtuoso Earl Klugh
once again show-
cases his warm
tone and ar-
ticulate fingering
on HandPicked
(Heads Up), a
quietly radiant
set of jazz and
pop gems played solo and in collabora-
tion with guests. Duet partners include
fellow six-stringer Bill Frisell, ukulele
ace Jake Shimabukuro and guitarist
and vocalist Vince Gill. In a career
spanning more than 40 years, Klugh
has recorded with the likes of George
Benson, Return to Forever and Bob
James. Besides his dazzling technique,
the Detroit-born guitar great is known
for his interpretations of melodies from
the jazz and pop worlds, even as he’s
established himself as a fine song-
JAZZIZ ON DISC is a 2-CD music compilation from the artists of yesterday, today and tomorrow, bundled in the subscriber copies
of the print editions of JAZZIZ Magazine. For this issue, we’ve made Disc One a compilation of music by artists who have appeared at
JAZZIZ Nightlife, this magazine’s sister nightclub, in Boca Raton, Florida. Disc Two features fresh jazz from a diverse range of artists.
32 fall 2013 jazziz
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smith in his own right. For HandPicked,
Klugh, who turns 60 in September, dips
into the songbooks of The Beatles, The
Eagles and The Everly Brothers, as well
as Thelonious Monk, Vince Guaraldi
and Rodgers and Hart. He also penned
three tunes for the session, including
the sprightly “In Six,” included here.
Klugh conjures the shimmer of moon-
light, as his fingers deftly dance to the
rhythms he pulls from his strings.
Costa Rica has been much in the public
eye these days,
its burgeon-
ing economy
acknowledged
by a visit from
President Obama
earlier this year.
More evidence
that the verdant nation is growing in so-
Earl Klugh
www.jazziz.com
phistication is the increased prominence
of its Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional. In
March of this year, 72 members of the
symphony collaborated with a contin-
gent of South Florida jazz musicians
on Bossa Nova Sinfónico: Recordando a
Antonio C. Jobim, which captured their
performance at the Teatro Nacional in
San José. Pianist Michael Orta, bassist
Jamie Ousley and drummer Carlomagno
Araya form a core rhythm section
behind vocalist Rose Max and guitarist
Ramatis Moraes, the South Floridians
teaming up with the Costa Rican orches-
tra on a set of standards by Brazilian
maestro Jobim. Conductor and arranger
Jeremy Fox assures that the intimate
acoustic music is never overpowered by
the orchestra. Rather, brass, strings and
woodwinds add color, texture and cin-
ematic sweep to Jobim gems. The group
borrows a Claus Ogerman arrangement
Photo by Tanner Photography
LISTEN
Following her 2009 Burt Bacharach Songbook
CD, vocalist Carol
Duboc returns to
music of her own de-
vising on Smile (Gold
Note). The Kansas
City, Missouri, native
first established
herself as a composer,
penning songs for R&B singers Patti Labelle,
Chante Moore and Stephanie Mills, but
revealed jazz roots on her own 2001 release
With All That I Am. On Smile, Duboc displays
her prowess in the contemporary-jazz idiom.
Well-crafted original material draws from
bossa nova and samba rhythms in a way that
will sound familiar to fans of Michael Franks
or Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen. And she’s
certainly in great company here. Duboc once
again calls on flutist Hubert Laws, who ac-
companied her on her Bacharach CD, and re-
cruits top session players including keyboard-
ist Jeff Lorber, bassists Brian Bromberg and
Jimmy Haslip, drummer Vinnie Colaiuta and
percussionist Luis Conte. The singer’s cool,
understated vocals deftly ride the swaying
rhythms of the clever “Elephant.” Included
here, the song makes use of the “pachyderm-
in-the-room” metaphor to describe a couple’s
unaddressed difficulties.
for their read of “Wave,” included here.
Moraes’ and Orta’s sparkling opening
statements ride Ousley’s and Araya’s
insistent groove, while Rose Max’s velvety
vocals effortlessly surf the rhythmic tide
and gentle swells of brass and strings.
Contemporary-jazz guitarist Chieli
Minucci recently
celebrated his
30th anniversary
recording under the
Special EFX rubric.
As evidenced by his
latest CD, Genesis
(Shanachie), the
group has undergone significant person-
nel changes over the decades, having
started out as Minucci’s duo with percus-
If you purchased this magazine without the CDs or would like additional copies, e-mail service@jazziz.com
or log onto www.jazziz.com.
SHARE
sionist George Jinda. The pair have long
since parted, but Minucci recruited
A-list players including keyboardist Jay
Rowe, bassist Jerry Brooks and drum-
mer Lionel Cordrew. All are on hand
for the new release, which spotlights
Minucci’s often-exotic compositions
and remarkable playing. Minucci also
features standout contributions by
violinist Karen Brigg, pianist Lao Tizer
and vocalist Xu Feiyu. On “Till the End of
Time,” our selection, the guitarist offers
some intriguingly bent, bluesy notes, as
well as agile lead lines that call to mind
Wes Montgomery. Brooks and drum-
mer Omar Hakim maintain a slinky
backbeat, and saxophonist David Mann
blows unison lines and a fiery, albeit
too-brief solo to close out the tune.
WATCH
JAZZIZ OnDisc FALL 2013
FALL 2013
Fall Into JAZZIZ Nightlife
Disc 1
 Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Costa Rica
 Chieli Minucci and Special EFX  Earl Klugh
Victor Espinola  Nanami Morikawa and Phillip Strange
Andrew Neu  Palo! Jeff Lorber Fusion
 Patrick Lamb  Bikini Jazz
 Eric Hansen  Carol Duboc
 Randy Brecker/Włodek Pawlik
Disc 1
 Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Costa Rica
“Wave” Bossa Nova Sinfónico: Recordando a
Antonio C. Jobim [Centro Nacional de la Musica]
 Chieli Minucci and Special EFX
“Till The End of Time” Genesis [Shanachie]
 Earl Klugh “In Six” HandPicked [Heads Up]
 Victor Espinola
“Somewhere in Mediterranea”
Army of Angels [Harpara Music]
 Nanami Morikawa and Phillip Strange
“UMMG” Open Spaces [New Truth]
 Andrew Neu “Date Night”
Everything Happens for a Reason [CGN]
 Palo! “Tabaco y Ron Pa’ Mi Santa”
This Is Afro-Cuban Funk [Rolling Pin Music]
 Jeff Lorber Fusion “Corinaldo”
Hacienda [Heads Up]
 Patrick Lamb “Sweet Tea”
It’s All Right Now [Patrick Lamb Productions]
 Bikini Jazz “No Se Puede Vivir sin Coger”
La Receta de la Felicidad [self-released]
 Eric Hansen “Back in the Groove”
String Theory [Hansenhaus]
 Carol Duboc “Elephant”
Smile [Gold Note Music]
 Randy Brecker/Włodek Pawlik
“Night in Calisia” Night in Calisia [Summit]
Mastered by Tod Levine at Magnetic North Studio, NY
jazziz fall 2013 33
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 Playing
Both Sides
Robert Glasper is finding success in R&B
circles, but he has no plans to abandon jazz.

By Ted Panken • Photos by Janette Beckman

jazziz november 2013 31

In late September, Robert Glasper, his appetite restored after
coming home from China the week before with stomach flu,
tucked into a plate of South African-style wings at Madiba, a
restaurant in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Fort Greene.
“I met T-Pain last week at a party,” Glasper remarked
offhandedly after making inroads into his plate. He ex-
cused himself to look at drawings of angry monsters by his
4-year-old son, Riley, sitting beside him. “You draw so good,
Boogie!” Glasper said, punctuating his praise with a kiss and
fist bump. Resuming, he pinpointed his encounter with the
twice-Grammy-awarded rapper in Shanghai, where — after an
eight-day run in Japan that concluded at the Tokyo Blue Note
— the Robert Glasper Experiment had performed on a program
with singer-emcee Mos Def, for whom, during the past decade,
Glasper has frequently served as music director.
“Mos Def told him, ‘I’m about to do an album with my man,
Robert; it has a lot of hip-hop and jazz influence,’” Glasper said.
“T-Pain was like, ‘I would love to be part of that. Please take me out
of this R&B-hip-hop game.’”
Whether that proposed collaboration will happen is
unclear. But if it does, T-Pain will join a cohort of high-profile
performers looking for a piece of the sui generis sound that the
Experiment revealed on Black Radio, which, upon its February
2012 release, debuted at No. 4 on Billboard’s “Hip-Hop and
R&B” chart, No. 1 on its “Jazz” chart and No. 10 on its “Overall
Albums” chart. The disc went on to earn a 2013 Grammy for
Best R&B album, and has sold, to date, 200,000 units. As the
flow unfolds over the course of a leisurely hour, ranging from
hip-hop to pop to R&B to straight-up soul, the Experiment —
pianist and keyboardist Glasper, singer (through a vocoder)
and alto saxophonist Casey Benjamin, electric bassist Derrick
Hodge and drummer Chris Dave — complements hit-makers
Erykah Badu, Mint Condition vocalist Stokley Williams,
Lupe Fiasco and Musiq Soulchild, along with “underground
soul heroes” (Glasper’s phrase) like Mos Def, Ledesi, Lalah
Hathaway, Meshell Ndegeocello and Bilal Oliver. RGE’s idiom-
atic backgrounds and creative interjections impart the feeling
of a cohesive body of work rather than a cobbled-together
collection of tracks.
“I expected Black Radio to be an underground sensation, with-
out getting much mainstream attention,” Glasper said. “But from
the beginning, it did things I wasn’t expecting. We self-promoted
big-time, doing Twitter and Facebook while we were making
it, and people got excited. I think it’s another cycle for R&B, the
epitome of crossing over hip-hop and jazz. Since you can only pick
one slot for the Grammy, I put everything in R&B; I felt the R&B
community understood it better than a lot of the jazz people.
“Remember when the neo-soul movement got big around ’99
or 2000, when D’Angelo’s Voodoo and Common’s Like Water for
Chocolate and Bilal came out, and everybody was like, ‘Whoa,
what’s happening?’ This is like a second coming of that wave
— maybe a little different. That wave signified an opening to
do music that didn’t sound factory-made or cookie-cutterish. In
that era, being a real musician was cool and good, and you got a
lot of work. The music felt good, and you could talk about more
than one or two subjects. Since we won the Grammy, I think it’s
opened the doors for many artists.”
Riley’s stomach hurt, and Glasper persuaded him to rest his head
on Papa’s shoulder. As he dozed, Glasper discussed the recently re-
leased Black Radio 2 (Blue Note), whose participants include Brandy,
Anthony Hamilton, Norah Jones, Jill Scott, Faith Evans, Common
and Snoop Dogg. “My goal was to not make the same album twice,
especially when everyone was wondering how I’d beat the first
Black Radio,” he said. “So I decided to do just an R&B-soul album, less
jazz-infused, not as loose. On the first record, I didn’t think at all. We
just played and did it, and it became what it was. Here I did more
thinking and processing and figuring things out.”
Although the feel on Black Radio 2 is less freewheeling, the
playing is vivid and alive. Glasper wrote songs for each vocal-
ist, sometimes collaborating with professional songwriters,
sometimes eliciting lyrics from the singers. “I wanted either
to put them in a place they’ve never been, or bring them back
to their early stuff that everyone loves,” he said. The latter
imperative was operative on the insouciant “Calls,” on which
Glasper created for Jill Scott — whose forthcoming album he
produced — “her sound when she first came out.” As examples
of the former, the leader offers “Let It Ride,” on which label
mate Norah Jones renders the lyric with an intense, growly
purr before murmuring wordlessly over Glasper’s whirling
piano figures, and “What Are We Doing,” which frames Brandy
with stripped-down Rhodes-bass-drums instrumentation that
Glasper describes as “a progressive, D’Angelo Voodoo vibe.”
Closer to the informality of Black Radio is “I Stand Alone,”
which begins with original verses by Common — a Glasper
employer and collaborator since the late ’90s — and ends with
a paean to individualism delivered by sociologist Michael Eric
Dyson. A few hours before recording that track, a guest-free RGE
cut a version of Bill Withers’ “Lovely Day,” vocoder-crooned by
Benjamin. A friend of Withers who was present connected the
songwriter and Glasper on his cell phone for a brief conversation.
“When Common arrived, we played him ‘I Stand Alone,’”
Glasper recalled. “He walked around, rhyming from scratch, but
midway through the second verse he got writer’s block. We were
chillin’ in the kitchen, and Bill Withers walked in. He talked to
us for about three hours. We recorded everything. Common used
some of his lines to finish his rhyme.”
At this point, Riley declared he was feeling better. “I’m going
to draw,” he said, asking for a piece of paper. “Now we’re talking,”
Glasper answered, delivering another kiss and fist bump before
offering a back story for “Persevere,” with Snoop Dogg, Lupe
Fiasco and Luke James. His friend Terrace Martin, the rapper-
producer, “called to say Snoop loved Black Radio and wanted to
talk to me,” Glasper said. “When I went to L.A., Terrace took me to
a rehearsal, and Snoop and I talked about jazz for an hour. So I hit
him up to be on Black Radio 2.
“Terrace got Snoop involved in a record Quincy Jones is doing
with Clark Terry. They got in a private jet and went to Clark’s
house in Arkansas. They hook up this equipment by Clark’s
bedside, and Clark and Snoop Dogg are scatting, trading on the
blues. I’ve seen the footage with my own eyes.”
jazziz november 2013 33
 Toward the end of the Experiment’s
set at the Detroit Jazz Festival on Labor
Day, Wallace Roney — who had hired
Glasper for a 2005 tour, soon after he’d
signed with Blue Note — sat in on “All
Matter,” a Bilal Oliver song that, says
Glasper, “is just F-minor; you don’t have
to know it to play it.” Propelled by Derrick
Hodge’s surging bass lines and Mark
Colenburg’s inflamed refractions of Tony
Williams, Roney, standing stage right,
assumed an implacably take-no-prisoners
persona, posing a series of “let’s see what
you’ve got” challenges to Benjamin,
who rose to the occasion, delivering his
responses with a dark, glowering tone
that displayed his assimilation of alto
saxophone vocabulary from Charlie

Man on Bass Parker to Kenny Garrett.

Two months before, at a midnight
In the manner of Black Radio, on which the Robert Glasper Experiment stamps concert before a full house of cheering,
its collective personality on the flow of a recital comprising diverse musical arm-waving 20-somethings at Perugia’s
personalities and sounds, RGE electric bassist Derrick Hodge’s leader debut for Blue Morlacchi Theater, Glasper drew upon his
Note, Live Today, reveals the thought process of an informed musical polylinguist. own considerable command of modern
“I made it a melting pot of ideas intentionally,” says Hodge (pictured above), jazz piano language on an extended
who composed 13 of the CD’s 14 selections. “I decided not to go a selfish route and preface to Benjamin’s vocodered reading
make the statement of soloing on the bass on every song, but instead to be honest of Radiohead’s “Packt Like Sardines in
and raw on my take on music at any given moment. I wanted the album’s process a Crushd Tin Box.” After a Coltrane-ish
to mimic snapshots of how I’m feeling on any given day.” alto solo, on which Benjamin modified
The end product is a kaleidoscopic journey through an array of grooves and styles the pitch with foot pedals, Hodge segued
spanning soul, hip-hop, fusion, odd-meter jazz, hymns and praise song. There are to a Spanish-tinged statement on “No
references to Brazilian music and the Euro-classical canon, as well, and everything is Church In the Wild,” the Kanye West-Jay
held together by Hodge’s compositional intelligence, production skills and improvi- Z hit. While delivering the lyric of Sade’s
sational derring-do. “The instrumentation varies from song to song,” Hodge remarks. “Cherish the Day,” Benjamin manipulated
“Nothing was really spontaneous. Even the improvisation was designed to happen his voice with sound effects triggered
around the musicians I thought of for each track.” in real-time on a keyboard synth, then
Among the participants are drum wizards Chris Dave and Mark Colenburg, both counterstated with an intense saxophone
partners in RGE; trumpeter Keyon Harrold, Hodge’s colleague in the touring band declamation on which he built tension
of R&B singer Maxwell, for whom Hodge serves as music director; soulful organ- with fresh, electronically modified
ist Travis Sayles; and pianist Aaron Parks, the leader’s rhythm section partner in shapes and swoops. Colenburg embel-
Terence Blanchard’s units during most of the 2000s. lished and subdivided the pulse like a hu-
“Derrick has an innate ability to adapt to any musical situation,” Blanchard says. man robot, coordinating into the grooves
“He understands what the situation needs, can give you what you need, and always slaps and claps generated by his drum
makes it better by being the stabilizing force, if necessary; by being the inventive, pad on covers of “Smells Like Teen Spirit,”
creative mind, if necessary; or by being the melodic engine behind it, if necessary.” “Get Lucky” and “Time After Time.”
Hodge’s prowess on both electric and acoustic basses (he played the latter instru- Throughout both concerts — and
ment with Blanchard and for seven years in Mulgrew Miller’s trio) places him among a dozen-plus performances posted on
such elite double-threat bassists as John Patitucci and Christian McBride. The latter YouTube — the Experiment’s telepathic
met Hodge as a Temple University senior with consequential experience as a church ability to reach emotional agreement was
and rhythm-and-blues musician, and became a mentor. palpable. One factor influencing their
“Doing session work while I was in college gave me the experience of functioning mutual intuition is long acquaintance.
in situations where all that matters is making a song feel a certain way,” Hodge says. (Glasper, Benjamin and Colenburg have
“So I realized early that doing this means getting out of thinking about the instru- played together since they attended
ment so much, and just letting the music speak.” —TP Manhattan’s New School during the late
’90s, while Hodge joined a year after the

34 november 2013 jazziz Photo by Chris Baldwin

Experiment’s formative sessions at the
Knitting Factory in 2005.) The band has
also spent a lot of time on the road togeth-
er — eight months in 2013 — since Black
Radio’s release. Furthermore, everyone has
experience performing and conducting in
the upper echelons of pop and hardcore
jazz. Glasper, Hodge and Colenburg all cut
their teeth as church musicians, learning
to follow the arc of a sermon, to play for
different guests, to illuminate different
stages of the service and to address the
unpredictable elements that differentiate
one Sunday from the next.
“Coming up in church, you learn
by ear,” Colenburg says. “There are no
boundaries, no formulas telling you
something has to be done a certain way.
That helps with creativity. But knowing
jazz means that you learn your instru-
ment more thoroughly than in any other
genre, so you understand how to have a
voice in different genres.”
“Jazz is the spine of what we do,” says
Benjamin, a native of Jamaica, Queens,
whose c.v. includes work with Stefon
Harris and Buster Williams. “Even on the
PorterGlasper_Jazziz_Outlined.indd 1
biggest pop stage, we try to find some
way of sticking in the jazz message.” As
vocal influences, Benjamin cites Betty
Carter for her “patience” on a ballad, Ron
Isley for his phrasing and Withers for
“his presentation, where it seems he’s
just talking to you with the melody.” He
credits Herbie Hancock’s phrasing and
timbre on the 1978 LP Sunlight as the pri-
mary inspiration for his vocoder concept
and Pat Metheny’s guitar-synth-playing
on “Are You Going To Go with Me” for
kindling the notion to electronically
process his saxophone.
“You’d think Casey is the leader,
because he’s singing the songs,” Glasper
says. “I’ve never felt comfortable playing
in the middle, unless it’s late-night TV,
when the world has to know who I am
pretty fast. Other than the songs we’re
playing, everything is literally made
up on the spot, but we come together so
quickly that it seems things are arranged.
There are no real roles. Everyone has the
baton and can make something shift.
“Each of these cats can out-chop most
people on their instrument, but they
don’t let that override what needs to
happen at a given time. I respect that
so much. It’s harder to express yourself
fully but honestly, and not feel you have
to do certain things to please. They’re my
favorite musicians in the world.”
However collective RGE’s orienta-
tion is when performing, the members
acknowledge that Glasper sets the tone.
“Black Radio was designed to mimic how
the Experiment works,” Hodge says. “It’s
a testament to Rob for being confident
enough not to clench up in the studio.
We came in laughing, cracking jokes,
and then, ‘Oh, shoot, we’ve got to record
something.’ Then we’d record it and
before you know it, the album is done.”
“This baby was built because of my 11-
12 years in the game,” Glasper says flatly.
“Blue Note signed me. Also, I’ve taken
my falls. Sometimes your band members
make more than you, because you have to
make things happen for your career. You
have to be seen at a certain festival, no
matter what it pays. I used to pay for the
hotels and travel, and I wouldn’t make
money, but the guys had to be paid. If you
8/6/13 10:17 AM
jazziz november 2013 35
don’t have my liability, if you’re not losing what I would lose,
then you can’t gain what I gain.
“Black Radio 2 is for me to have longevity in this mainstream
R&B game,” he continues. “I want to establish myself, like
George Duke and Quincy Jones. I’m a jazz cat at heart, but I
want an R&B bank account. I have a son. Living in Brooklyn
ain’t cheap. I honestly don’t see myself doing the same jazz
festival 50 times, and having to do them to make money to
keep afloat.”
Financial considerations aside, Glasper has no intention of
eliminating hardcore jazz expression from his musical produc-
tion. “I love playing acoustic jazz, and I think my jazz lovers are
missing it, even though I’ve only been gone for one album,” he
says, referring to the Blue Note trio albums — Canvas, In My
Element and the first half of Double Booked — that established
his bona fides. “When I go back to jazz, I’ll do trio for sure,
36 november 2013 jazziz
maybe live. I need to do a Village Vanguard album.”
Another possibility is a Black Radio gospel project. “It would
bring everything back to the beginning,” Glasper says. “Most of the
people I work with grew up in church, so there could also be people
from the secular world — R&B or even jazz — as well as gospel.”
He recalls an end-of-April conversation with Herbie Hancock
and the late George Duke at the United Nations International
Jazz Day festivities in Turkey. “I asked Herbie’s advice, and he
said, ‘Don’t stop anything you do. Do them all at the same
time.’ I like where I am, because I feel I’m serving a bigger
purpose than I could with just straight-up jazz stuff. Jazz trio is
my favorite group to play in, but I don’t feel like I’m changing
anything — though my version brings in a newer audience.
But in the larger scheme, I can only go so far with it. To be able
to live in both worlds, to understand both worlds, to be sought
after in both worlds — that’s my whole thing. That I love.” s
 The Surreal Life
Laura Mvula goes down the rabbit hole.
By Kara Manning
Laura Mvula is dressed too warmly for this blazing-hot
September day, as if guarding herself against whatever draft
might issue from the air-conditioning unit rattling feebly in
her small, stark midtown Manhattan hotel room. The 26-year-
old singer and songwriter is sprawled, exhausted, across the
bed, wrapped in a snug, black motorcycle jacket and baggy
drawstring pants, an ebony do-rag hugging her close-cropped
hair. As another journalist bumbles into the room, a weary
Mvula stirs and, with professional alacrity, gets to her feet. Her
eyes are hooded with fatigue, false eyelashes and dramatically
applied eyeliner. She politely extends her hand, a petite English
Cleopatra desperately in need of a nap.
From that small frame emanates one of the most distinctive
new voices in contemporary music. On her debut album, Sing to the
Moon, released this past spring, Mvula unfurls a genre-blurring,
intimate collection of a dozen songs that elbow aside conventional
expectations, eloquently embellishing a pop and soul vocabulary
with the refined architecture of classical music. Although Mvula
balks at comparisons to Nina Simone, there is also a faint ripple
of jazz to her aesthetic, perhaps partly attributable to her father,
a jazz enthusiast. Mvula’s genius comes from a very simple
maneuver: She has deftly folded her heart, intuition and years of
sedulous classical study into her music. On the gossamer-spun “I
Don’t Know What the Weather Will Be,” the lushly polyrhythmic
“Green Gardens” or the jazz-flecked “She,” Mvula forges her songs
with an intricate latticework of cascading vocal arrangements. By
Photo by Josh Shinner
multi-tracking her own yearning, mellifluous voice, she creates a
heavenly choir, floating from song to song with bruised vulnerabil-
ity and subdued defiance.
It is the eve of the Barclaycard Mercury Prize nominations —
arguably Britain and Ireland’s most coveted prize for an album
— and Mvula has been an early favorite for the shortlist of 12.
Although she can’t officially tell anyone beyond her closest circle,
she’s already been notified about her nomination — thrust into the
spotlight with fellow nominees like David Bowie, Laura Marling
and Arctic Monkeys. When asked about the import of the prize,
Mvula is circumspect, but reveals her secret not with words, but a
self-conscious, dazzling smile. “I try to stop myself from thinking
about it,” she says, eyes drifting downward. “It really is about the
body of work, about the album, and it acknowledges the whole
process. Past winners, nominees and panel people are all people
who I really respect and admire.”
Fame, with all of its disconcerting trappings, arrived for
Mvula with staggering velocity. Based solely on her first single,
“She,” released in November 2012, several months ahead of Sing
to the Moon, she was tapped as a finalist for BBC’s Sound of
2013 and nominated for the Brit Awards Critic’s Choice prize,
given to promising newcomers. Signed to Columbia Records
in the States, Mvula is making an impact on this side of the
Atlantic, too. Since arriving in New York City in the waning
days of late summer, she has appeared on The Today Show and
The Late Show with David Letterman, played sold-out gigs at Le
jazziz november 2013 41
Poisson Rouge and Music Hall of Williamsburg and, earlier this
day, recorded a show for WNYC radio. Ahead, on the West Coast,
were forthcoming appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live and The
Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Another Stateside tour com-
menced in November.
“It’s already been, up to this point, 120 miles an hour,” Mvula
says. “Wonderful occasion after wonderful, shocking event. The
Glastonbury main stage was the first kind of surreal moment. I’ve
found a way of living in what is a very surreal space. I feel like I’ve
gotten used to it … in a weird way.”
At England’s iconic Glastonbury Festival on Worthy Farm in late
June, Mvula strode onto the grand Pyramid Stage on a gloriously
sunny afternoon and was astonished to see such a large crowd
awaiting her arrival. A handful of sets later, an estimated 130,000
fans would see the Rolling Stones storm the very same stage.
“There was this ‘gasp’ moment,” recalls Mvula, admittedly
stage shy, who figured that she’d only be performing for a modest
crowd of a couple of thousand attendees. “I’m a virgin when it
comes to festivals, so I’d made the rookie mistake of turning up
really early, two hours earlier, looked at the [small] crowd and
thought, ‘Oh, this is great.’ But the crowds gather slowly and by
the time it was our set, there were thousands and thousands of
people.” She shakes her head, still dazed by the experience. “I can’t
even remember who performed before me!”
The ascension of this young musician with a passion for
composition, a 2008 graduate of the acclaimed Birmingham
Conservatoire, was not without its travails. For a few years after
leaving the conservatory, Mvula struggled, taking on modest
gigs as director of the Litchfield Community Choir, near her
Birmingham hometown, substitute teaching and working as a
receptionist for the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. All of the
schemes and dreams in her head — the intricate music she was
trying to compose — felt thwarted. As if to highlight that inter-
nal struggle, the first photo she posted on her public Facebook
page, as she finally reached the nascent recording stage of Sing
to the Moon, was of her copy of C.S. Lewis’ 1940 discourse on
suffering, The Problem of Pain.
“Pain was very much the stimulus for this record, which was
accidental,” Mvula explains. “The pain was very real. I knew that I
needed to do something about it. I spent a lot of time on the phone
to friends saying, ‘I don’t really know what I’m doing or where I’m
going.’ If someone said to me, ‘OK, you write music, what does that
mean to you?’ I’d really struggle for an answer.”
Mvula hesitates. “My mum’s friend Eska, who sings and compos-
es in London, said to me, ‘Laura, if you’re still in Birmingham in two
years time, saying the same things, then I’m not sure if it will ever
be different for you.’”
That candid observation, which Mvula didn’t consider harsh,
served as the tough shove she needed. Drawing from the despera-
tion of what she calls a “strange, turbulent time” of extreme highs
— like her marriage to fellow conservatory student and Zambian-
born opera singer Thembe Mvula — and the devastating lows of
her parents’ divorce and estrangement from her father, Mvula
tried to write herself out of that dark, confusing space. She finally
penned the tender “She,” the song that was to alter her life.
42 november 2013 jazziz
Laura Mvula, née Douglas, hails from the West Midlands city
of Birmingham and was raised mostly in the Kings Heath area.
She noticeably brightens at the very mention of her community’s High
Street and grassy park, which inspired “Green Garden.” The eldest of
three musically gifted siblings — her sister Dionne, a violinist, and
brother James, a cellist, tour as part of her backing band — Mvula
began playing piano early in childhood. She describes the family’s first
house as a tiny, terraced abode possessing a grand, mysterious center-
piece in the combination living and dining room: an upright piano.
“I remember the moment that I decided that I really wanted
to play,” she says. “An auntie came around one afternoon, and she
played a really simple piece. I thought, if my auntie can do it, that
means that everybody can! I’d only seen my Dad do it. My parents
said I had to have lessons if I was going to make noise on that thing.”
Mvula loved her lessons, racing through beginner’s books. “I was
hungry for it. It frustrated me that you started playing with one
hand. I wanted to play with two. So I was going to do whatever I
needed to do to play with two hands.” Her parents finally sent their
precocious daughter to a local arts center, where she studied with
an array of student teachers, but became dismayed as her stud-
ies became more difficult. She asked her parents if she could quit
piano. “My parents were having none of it!” Mvula exclaims. “They
said, at the time, that it would be a discipline before it became a
pleasure and that I would have to accept that and trust them.”
Music and creative pursuits were vital in the Douglas household.
Mvula describes her mother, Paula, an English teacher, as a fervent
believer in the arts, constantly encouraging her children to make
jewelry, paint or read a book. Mvula’s aunt, Carol Pemberton, is the
founder and musical director of the acclaimed a cappella group,
Black Voices, which has performed on BBC Radio 2 and has recorded
a half-dozen albums. Mvula has written a handful of compositions,
including “Jazz Suite,” for the group.
Elements of jazz filter strongly through Mvula’s songs, but she
resists claiming the form as any real foundation, although her father’s
love for jazz artists like Miles Davis and Charlie Parker loomed large
in her musical education. Davis, in particular, fascinated the young
Mvula. “I used to laugh at his frankness and detachment,” she explains.
“More than anything, I was captivated by the sound of Davis’ trumpet
playing. I couldn’t understand that something that sounded so ‘out’ to
me, to my Dad sounded heavenly. I once had the courage to say to my
Dad that I thought Davis had just played a wrong note. I’d gotten to
grade-five classical piano, so I thought I was beginning to know stuff.”
Mvula laughs. “I remember my Dad stopped talking to me for the rest of
that day, and I couldn’t understand what I’d said to offend him.”
In hindsight, she understood his frustration that, given her
fiercely opinionated nature, her mind could close off to unfamiliar
or challenging music. Although intent on discovering why Davis’
music so enthralled her father, Mvula was still surprised when a
close cousin, who sang with her in Black Voices, bought a copy of
Kind of Blue in the supermarket and handed it to her. “I must have
been 14 or 15,” Mvula recalls. “I was like, ‘Oh, yeah, the dude that
Dad loves, that’s cool. But since I began listening to that album, I’ve
never put it down. I talked to a lot of jazz musicians who were at the
Conservatoire with me, and they’d say, no, it wasn’t the greatest jazz
album of all time. But I realized that it didn’t matter what anybody
Photo by Tom Oxley
“I’ve found a way
of living in what
is a very surreal
space. I feel like I’ve
gotten used to it
… in a weird way.”
 JAZZ
said about it, whether it was my Dad or my peers — that music
always moved me. More than anything, it’s the sense of space in the
music. It is the most peaceful music I’ve ever listened to.”
Mvula also studied with British classical composer Joe Cutler, Head
of Composition at the Birmingham Conservatoire, who has incorporated
AT T H E B O W L elements of jazz into some of his own compositions. The inventive eclec-
ticism of Cutler’s work and teaching methods, coupled with Mvula’s
fascination with vocal arrangements, drew her away from the piano
and gave her what she feels was a “new freedom.”
AN EVENING WITH “It was in New York, at SUNY Potsdam, where I first sang publicly,”

NATALIE COLE AND ORCHESTRA

says Mvula, who spent a semester in 2006 studying at the university.
“I did it there at the end of my studies because I knew that I’d never
see anybody again! It wasn’t even an original. I had arranged it and

CHUCHO VALDÉS made sure it was in a key comfortable enough [for me] to sing. It was
significant because up until that point, I never thought I’d do that.”
So did she see herself following a different path? Mvula shakes
her head adamantly. “At that point I didn’t see anything. At that
AUG 14
point I was frustrated that I’d been all the way over to New York and
not really written much music. I was worried to come back home,
SMOOTH SUMMER JAZZ having written only a few songs, which wasn’t the plan.”
Dave Koz & Friends When Mvula finally found herself with a demo of “She” and a
couple of other compositions, she sent a Soundcloud link to 10 people
Summer Horns Tour 2013 with special guests in the music industry, an attachment to an unsolicited email. “Nobody
Mindi Abair, Gerald Albright, Richard Elliot really responded positively,” she says, “except for Steve Brown.”
Morris Day & The Time Like Mvula’s path to singing, Brown’s career as a producer had
Jonathan Butler • Yellowjackets evolved in an unconventional way. He had spent years as a composer
for comedy, television and West End musicals, penning songs for TV
AUG 18 shows like Spitting Image and eventually working with actor Steve
Coogan, in the guise of the awkward, narcissistic announcer Alan

BUDDY GUY
Partridge, on the ’90s BBC chat show parody Knowing Me Knowing You.
In 2007, Brown spotted a young singer named Rumer, mentored her
extensively and eventually produced her 2010 debut album, Seasons of
My Soul — a maiden effort for both singer and producer which ended
QUINN SULLIVAN
WITH SPECIAL GUEST up on a major label and going platinum.
“Steve said in his email that he was excited by what he heard and

FUNKY METERS wanted to know if I had management,” Mvula says. “I didn’t even know
what I’d need management for. He asked if he could share [my songs]
AUG 21 with his colleagues, and I said, ‘Yeah, go ahead.’ Then we became friends.
[I went] to his studio in Acton, London, and he said I should follow my
instincts with writing. And I did. I wasn’t thinking much of it. You meet

WAYNE
Wayne Shorter Quartet with Danilo Pérez,
John Patitucci, Brian Blade and special guest
Herbie Hancock and Imani Winds
someone that you connect with. He generously gave his time and a
mentor-kind-of-attitude, gently encouraging me to be who I was.” By
May 2012, Mvula and Brown got a record deal with RCA in the UK and

SHORTER
ACS: Geri Allen, Terri Lyne Carrington, began work on Sing to the Moon.
Esperanza Spalding Although Mvula does perform an unreleased track in her live sets,
Joe Lovano and Dave Douglas Quintet: “Let Me Fall,” she has no idea what muse will guide her to her second
8 0 T H B I RT H D A Y “Sound Prints” album. “I’m terrified by that, but excited at the same time,” she says.
“Once you’ve done the autobiographical thing, it’s like, OK, what’s
CELEBRATION AUG 28
next? I’m not sure what it will be. Somebody asked Erykah Badu,
‘When is the next album coming?’ and she said, ‘I don’t know. It will be

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Is she satisfied with the voice that she has finally found for herself?
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Alexis Cuadrado

Alexis Cuadrado
A Lorca Soundscape
(Sunnyside)
Bassist, arranger and composer Alexis
Cuadrado takes
his role as a cre-
ative artist quite
seriously. While
utilizing myriad
folkloric references
of his native Spain
as structural and
rhythmic touchstones, every recording is
strikingly different from what preceded
it. On A Lorca Soundscape, Cuadrado pivots
from the fairly conventional ensemble he
utilized on his 2011 release Noneto Ibérico
to a stripped down, vocal-centric quintet
project. Further, his choice of source
material, the poems of Federico García
Lorca, couldn’t be more compelling. The
Spanish poet, playwright and anti-fascist
intellectual, who was executed in 1936 by
agents of dictator Francisco Franco, wrote
Poeta en Nueva York (Poet in New York)
in 1930 during the early days of the Great
Depression. Cuadrado’s A Lorca Soundscape
recasts these poems, which reflect Lorca’s
impassioned perspective on the savagery
of the times, as lyrics to accompany seven
new compositions. They emerge as a brac-
ing new twist on the hallowed tradition of
protest music.
It’s fitting that Chilean vocalist Claudia
Acuña, who spent part of her youth living
under a brutal military dictatorship, was
tapped to interpret Lorca’s verse. Her read-
ings are emotionally taut and hauntingly
raw. On “Danza de la Muerte” (Death Dance),
Cuadrado synchronizes her vocal line with
rapid fire flamenco-style handclaps. “El Rey
de Harlem” (The King of Harlem) has alto
saxophonist Miguel Zenón mirroring Acuña’s
vocal with bittersweet harmonies before
pianist Dan Tepfer, drummer Mark Ferber and
the leader charge off on an extended, hard-
swinging trio foray. The nostalgic “Asesinato”
Auditions
(Assassination) flows between a relaxed,
bolero-style tempo — with Zenón spitting
out quotes from the well-known Latin love
song “Historia de un Amor” (History of a
Love) — and the tension of Acuña’s mournful,
Gypsy-style vocal reading.
For some, the session will be an introduc-
tion to Lorca‘s world, and after experiencing the
magic of Cuadrado’s ambitions and rewarding
sonic adventure, many will be driven to seek
out and explore the English translations of
these provocative works. —Mark Holston
Stefano Bollani and Hamilton de Holanda
O Que Será
(ECM)
In almost half a century of existence,
the ECM label has
only sparingly
involved Brazilian
musicians in its
productions. Multi-
instrumentalist
Egberto Gismonti
and percussionist/
vocalist Naná Vasconcelos made the cut
because of their phenomenal technique,
unbridled creativity and personal styles.
Those same attributes can be claimed
by bandolim (the Portuguese spelling
of mandolin) sensation Hamilton de
Holanda, who joins the ranks of the ECM
elite on a virtuosic duo outing with Italian
pianist Stefano Bollani. The two are a
perfect match. While each has mastered
a clean, flawless technique on his instru-
ment, both are also resourceful and highly
intuitive improvisers.
The best illustration of how their partner-
ship functions is on a rhythmically vigorous
Afro-samba composed in the mid-1960s by
Brazilian guitarist Baden Powell. The album’s
longest track at almost nine minutes, “Canto
de Ossanha” allows each musician to extract
every sonic texture their instrument can pro-
duce while they effortlessly switch between
comping and lead roles. The synergistic
quality of the piece, which extensively
quotes another Powell classic, “Berimbau,”
drove the Antwerp audience into a frenzy
during the recording of this live outing. The
boisterous response serves as testimony to
the magic Bollani and de Holanda can create
in a concert setting.
Only three of the album’s 10 tracks are
of non-Brazilian origin. An Italian tune,
“Guarda Che Luna,” on which Bollani
sings in an uninhibited, rough-hewn
style that’s in stark contrast to his lyrical
and precise pianistics, could be counted
among the session’s few missteps. On the
other hand, Astor Piazzolla’s hauntingly
lovely “Oblivion” is liberated from the
stricture of its customary tango nuevo
form and rendered in an airy, soft-around-
the-edges manner that gives it a fresh
personality. Other tracks include works
by Jobim, Edu Lobo, Chico Buarque and
two composers from previous generations,
Ernesto Nazareth and Pixinguinha. It all
adds up to more than a few truly spine-
tingling moments. —Mark Holston
Kneebody
The Line
(Concord)
The simplest way to describe Kneebody’s
music is either rock-
influenced jazz or
jazz-influenced rock,
depending on your
point of view. But in
the end, those types
of labels don’t mat-
ter, and that’s a big
part of this quintet’s charm. What counts is
that the group creates music that’s unique,
challenging and downright enjoyable.
The group has a distinct sound — edgy
guitars, electric piano-led grooves, high-en-
ergy horn passages. Saxophonist Ben Wendel
and trumpeter Shane Endsley drive the
melodies with stellar unison work. They each
craft economical solos, as well. But Kneebody
jazziz november 2013 49
 is more about the group dynamic than Janis Siegel lates to “screensaver.” Given English lyrics by
individual showcases, which is why the com- Night Songs Siegel and renamed “Love Saves,” the song
bination of Adam Benjamin’s shimmering (Palmetto) is about feeling that a loved one is present
Fender Rhodes, Nate Wood’s skittering drum Throughout her 41 years with the Manhattan during a road trip because his picture is on a
patterns, and Kaveh Rastegar’s thick bass Transfer, Janis Siegel laptop computer. “Slow,” a romantic piece by
lines and piercing guitar shape the group’s has not only consis- Ann Hampton Calloway played as a rhumba,
identity as much as the frontline horns. tently displayed a and the atmospheric “Love and Paris Rain”
The opener, “Lowell,” lays the groundwork beautiful voice and (inspired by Brenda Russell’s version) follow.
for a set of groove-heavy, rock-inspired tunes. exceptionally strong While one would not necessarily consider
But there’s a good amount of diversity in musical skills, but a any of those songs to be jazz, Siegel brings
mood and approach throughout, such as the versatility that has spontaneity and a jazz sensibility to each.
haunting “What Was” and the chamber-like found her excelling The other pieces range from catchy
“Pushed Away.” And the straightforward at swing, pop, Brazilian music and bop. She’s R&B (“Say You’ll Go”) to the bluesy love
momentum of the title track doesn’t prepare also had an active solo career, with Night song “Marie” to fresh versions of such
you for the rhythmic and melodic intricacies Songs being her 10th album as a leader. standards as Jobim’s “If You Never Come To
of “Work Hard, Play Hard, Towel Hard” or the Her latest effort features a typically Me” (with vocalist Peter Eldridge bringing
harmonic intrigue of “Sleeveless.” eclectic variety of songs and styles. Pianist- Dori Caymmi to mind), the swing standard
That the group constantly upends your arranger John di Martino, guitarist Paul “You’re Mine, You” (featuring a wailing tenor
expectations isn’t surprising consider- Meyers, drummer Joel Rosenblatt and solo by Joel Frahm), a relaxed “Lover” and
ing Kneebody’s versatility — it was bassists Martin Wind and Christian McBride particularly expressive versions of “A Flower
nominated for a Grammy in the “Classical are strong assets throughout the project, Is a Lovesome Thing” and “Midnight Sun,”
Crossover Album” category in 2009. So and there are welcome appearances from a the latter of which features some excellent
don’t worry aboutMASB
MAC1076 what to call their
Horizontal number8/19/13
Jazziz ad_02.pdf of guests.2:52:16 PM trumpet playing by Dominick Farinacci.
music or who to compare them with. Just The CD begins with Uruguayan musician Another highpoint is Siegel’s beautiful
enjoy it. —John Frederick Moore Jorge Drexler’s “Salvapantallas,” which trans- singing on the Bob Belden ballad “Sweet

CM

MY

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K Mack Avenue Records is proud to present the scintillating debut release by its very own
SuperBand, an all-star ensemble comprising many of the label’s most acclaimed artists. Recorded
live at the 2012 Detroit Jazz Festival, it documents the SuperBand’s debut performance.
The SuperBand is Gary Burton, Kevin Eubanks, Tia Fuller, Sean Jones, Cécile McLorin Salvant,
Evan Perri and Alfredo Rodríguez—all supported solidly by the rhythm section of Carl Allen,
Aaron Diehl and Rodney Whitaker.

mackavenue.com
available wherever you like to buy music

50 november 2013 jazziz

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jazziz november 2013 51

September Rain,” an obscurity that deserves
to become a standard. —Scott Yanow
Warren Wolf
Wolfgang
(Mack Avenue)
Since 2007, Warren Wolf has been known best
as the vibraphonist
in some of Christian
McBride’s groups.
While his playing
reveals the influence
of Milt Jackson and
Bobby Hutcherson,
the 33-year-old musi-
cian, who recently became a member of the SF
Jazz Collective, has his own sound and style.
For his second CD as a leader, Wolf is
heard in three different instrumental set-
tings. His regular trio with bassist Kris Funn
and drummer Billy Williams Jr., along with
guest pianist Aaron Goldberg, is featured
on three of Wolf’s original compositions
and on Ivan Lins’ “Setembro.” Their work
on this nine-track set is highlighted by the
atmospheric waltz “Sunrise” and the driv-
ing “Grand Central.” Darryl Tookes adds an
effective, wordless vocal to “Setembro.”
Elsewhere, Wolf teams up with an all-star
group comprised of pianist Benny Green,
bassist Christian McBride and drummer Warren Wolf
Lewis Nash for three numbers. In its soulful
bop style, their rendition of “Frankie and
Johnny” brings Milt Jackison and Ray Brown around the New York scene for over two track, “Chuck Barris,” is more energetic,
to mind. The mellow ballad “Annoyance” decades, collaborat- building up a tough, shuffling groove that
features some nice bowing by McBride and a ing with notable does call to mind the titular 1970s Gong Show
resonant, lyrical statement by Wolf. avant-gardists such host dancing onstage in his sunglasses and
Wolfgang’s third instrumental lineup as Ravi Coltrane, fisherman’s hat. Above the rhythm section’s
finds Wolf and pianist Aaron Diehl perform- Uri Caine and Steve steady roll, Moran and Alessi swoop and dive.
ing a pair of duets. The title track showcases Coleman. He’s On “In-Flight Entertainment,” the band opts
a Bach-inspired melody. At times during the joined on this date, for wildness, with Waits attacking his kit like
piece, Wolf and Diehl bear favorable compari- as he was on 2010’s Tony Williams gone feral as the trumpeter
son to John Lewis and Milt Jackson. On an Cognitive Dissonance, by an impressive band: and pianist shift back and forth between a
unusual version of “Le Carnava de Venise,” pianist Jason Moran, bassist Drew Gress moody melody and passionate eruptions.
Wolf has no difficulty playing the melodic and drummer Nasheet Waits. In a way, this Still, there are too many ballads here
variations that made several cornet players a is two paired duos as much as it’s a quartet and too many pieces that lack rhythmic
sensation more than a century ago. — Alessi’s appeared on Gress’s last three drive, all of which create the inescapable
Throughout this impressive release, Wolf albums (2005’s 7 Black Butterflies, 2008’s The feeling that the music is hovering in place.
shows that he has the potential to be the Irrational Numbers, and 2013’s The Sky Inside); Without the sense that one is being taken
most significant new vibraphonist since meanwhile, Waits has been drumming for somewhere, it’s hard to keep listening. On
Stefon Harris. —Scott Yanow Moran’s Bandwagon trio since the late 1990s. Baida, there are times when it’s possible
Baida opens with the patient, drifting to forget there’s even music playing. This
Ralph Alessi title track, which sounds like a meeting is a problem bigger than any album; it’s
Baida being very slowly called to order. As the endemic in jazz lately, and it’s up to listen-
(ECM) band fills in behind him, Alessi’s trumpet ers to demand more than the auditory
Trumpeter Ralph Alessi has been bouncing phrasing is both sparse and acidic. The next equivalent of Febreze. —Phil Freeman

52 november 2013 jazziz Photo by Jimmy Katz

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