Quotation of the Week: Rabindranath Tagore

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“The world speaks to me in colors, my soul answers in music.”

Rabindranath Tagore

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Live Jazz: The Laurence Hobgood Trio at Cafe Metropole

By Michael Katz

Laurence Hobgood provided a perfect antidote to a rainy weekend at Café Metropole Friday evening, displaying his panoply of talents as musician, composer and arranger over two sets of intriguing and engaging music. Hobgood is best known as pianist and arranger for Kurt Elling; his presence in LA over the past two weekends was centered around the Grammy awards. Elling’s Dedicated To You won for Best Jazz Vocal, and Hobgood was nominated for his superb arrangements on that album. Ably abetted by two outstanding young musicians, bassist Hamilton Price and drummer Kevin Kanner, Hobgood presented a program almost entirely of his own compositions.

“When The Heart Dances,” the title song from his most recent CD, started as an elegy, reminiscent briefly of Bill Evans, though Hobgood’s playing isn’t clearly derivitive of anyone. He weaves rich chordal structures into his pieces, dashing off   archipeggios and then folding them back into the lyrical structure. Hamilton Price had a crisp bass solo in the opening number, and Kevin Kanner established himself as the   composition picked up pace.

Hobgood transitioned into his only borrowed tune of the set, a brooding, off-minor interpretation of the fifties’ hit song, “Que Sera, Sera.” Hobgood’s soulful playing fit snugly into the surroundings of Café Metropole’s spare brick backdrop, with comic book and cartoon art on the walls suggesting a touch of whimsy.

Hobgood followed with two more originals, “The Princess and the Gentle Giant,” a piece from the ‘80s, and “Sanctuary” from the new CD. It’s worth noting that composition on the jazz spectrum can run anywhere from a single infectious line surrounded by a combo’s solo flights to the complex orchestrations of an Ellington or Mingus. Hobgood’s music, taking full advantage of the trio format, is richly complex, launching his listeners on a journey, keeping them rapt as he moves from dark, percussive beginnings, sliding into bright side canyons like a rafter searching for a line through tumultuous rapids. “Sanctuary” was done as a solo piece on the new album, but as Hobgood noted, working  with the trio gave him the opportunity to explore the piece in a fresh way.

The second set, all original compositions except “Esperanza” by Vince Mendoza, featured mostly tunes from a less recent CD, Crazy World. The opening number, “Window Man,” began quietly, ballad-like, simmering into a more percussive tone and  proceeding into dynamic interplay with bassist Price. “Prayer For The Enemy” was a waltz that segued into a bluesy tone.

Bassist Price and drummer Kanner were sparkling throughout. Having had only one previous set to work out these lengthy, layered compositions with Hobgood, they were remarkably efficient and creative in their own soloing. Price, particularly as the second set continued,  exhibited a tone and dexterity that recalled Eddie Gomez, excelled in the playful “Smuggler,” named for a mountain bike trail in Aspen.  Kanner contributed his own bright rhythms, with creative use of brushes in the sets’ quieter moments.

With the continuing success of Kurt Elling, Laurence Hobgood will clearly have plenty of challenging work in front of him. But audiences should leap at the chance to hear him leading a trio in these richly engaging compositions. He’ll continue tonight at Café Metropole with special guest Ernie Watts.

World Music CD: Lawson Rollins “Espirito”

Lawson Rollins

Espirito (Infinita)

By Devon Wendell

Guitarist Lawson Rollins’ music has been spanning the globe and exploring many diverse musical traditions, tones, and textures for more than a decade.  (His remarkable, fast fingered “Fire Cadenza” has already received over 2 ½ million YouTube views.)

On this latest album, Rollins continues to apply his prodigious technique to a far-reaching collection of material.  Espirito reaches beyond the familiar areas of Latin jazz with some adventurous compositions and stirring solos. On “Ramba del Sol” there are daring improvisational exchanges between Lawson, bassist Randy Tico, percussionist Dave Bryant, and violinist Charlie Bisharat. The horns (Jeff Elliot, trumpet and Justin Claveria, tenor sax) are most impressive on “Havana Heat,” featuring Elliot’s subtle yet sleek and funky horn arrangements.  Rollins’s attack on this number dives right into the soul of the blues with fast minor pentatonic trills and slow string bends.

On “Blue Mountain Bolero,” Rollins infuses his masterful Segovia-like acoustic guitar runs with rock-inspired wah-wah leads by one of the album’s producers, Shahin Shahida.  Equally impressive: Joseph Ehtesham-zedeh’s spaghetti Western slide guitar, eerie keyboard work by the album’s other producer, Dominic Camardella, and the frenetic violin playing of Bisharat.

The ambient vocals delivered by Flora Purin and Diana Booker sound as if they were pushed too far back in the mix on “Moonlight Samba,” “Return To Rio,” and the title track, in a manner that distracts from the outstanding instrumental performances. The only similar number to pull it off effectively is the African inspired Cape Town Sky, in which guitarist Shahida adds colorful vocal flourishes that stay tastefully in context with the song’s theme.

Rollins and company take the listener on a continuous geographical tour of Cuba, Africa, and even the South of France on Cafe La Martinique. The sultry tango swing and brilliant interplay between Richard Hardy on clarinet and flute, Bisharat’s violin, and the psychedelic minor key electric guitar shadings by Shahida make this a standout track.

Rollins’s sense of dynamics and harmony are at the forefront of each track and mixed so that it feels as though all the other band members are dancing around his swift arpeggios, sweet motifs, and layered harmonies.  While some tracks are more successful than others, the album is pieced together with purpose and love of music from all corners of the globe.

Jazz CD: Pat Metheny’s “Orchestrion”

Pat Metheny

Orchestrion (Nonesuch)

By Don Heckman

If we know anything about Pat Metheny, we know that he is an ever-questing musical adventurer.  Yes, he’s also a superb guitarist, a master of his instrument, seemingly becoming more virtuosic with every recording, every performance.  But what’s most fascinating about him is his desire to explore new musical horizons.  A lot of players want to stretch the envelope of a particular genre.  Metheny’s goal seems to be the limitless expansion of his own musical imagination.

Orchestrion is his latest – and, in some respects, most remarkable effort in that direction.  Metheny’s Orchestrion, in the most rudimentary description, is a startlingly contemporary one-man band, – a 21^st century, computer-, solenoid- and pneumatic-driven set of instruments, controlled via software and live triggering.  The instruments, all played in one manner or another by Metheny, include pianos, marimbas, orchestra bells, basses, guitarbots, percussion, cymbals, drums and more.

Metheny’s interest in the concept traces back to his  youthful fascination with his grandfather’s player piano.  The idea of mechanically controlling an acoustic instrument first emerged in the late 19^th century.  Initially applied to the piano, it involved the foot-pumped use of piano rolls which controlled the movement of the keys.  It was later applied to a wide range of instruments – percussion, mallet instruments, even violins and other stringed instruments.  Assembled in groups, they were called orchestrions – one of the primary inspirations for this recording.

Metheny is quick to explain, in his liner notes, that whether they’re “developed and performed acoustically or otherwise, with a ten-dollar instrument or sophisticated computer system, good notes are good notes.”  And that, of course, is the primary way to hear, and to evaluate, the five compositions he has written for his Orchestrion.

The opening, 15+ minute selection, “Orchestrion,” is a kind of display piece – like a concerto for orchestra – presenting the full breadth and range of the collective of sounds at Metheny’s command.  His interspersed solos are – as always, state-of-the-art examples of definitive contemporary jazz guitar.  “Entry Point” is darker, filled with moody, atmospheric sounds and lyrical fragments of melody.  “Expansion” digs into a near-funk groove, filled with life, except for the moments when it verges a bit too close to a contemporary smooth jazz feeling.  “Soul Search” starts as a laid-back ballad, building into a stirring set of double-time choruses from Metheny’s guitar.  And “Spirit of the Air” is structured over an infectious rhythmic ostinato that morphs, halfway through the piece, into a bass and guitar exchange that gradually returns to the original ostinato.

It’s all Metheny, and most listeners – uniformed of the way it was made – would view it as one of his better recordings.

But others might detect an occasional lack of the sort of spontaneity and emotional layering that have always made his work so fascinating.  And that would seem to be the price that is paid in the computerized programming that is an essential element in Metheny’s control of this wide array of acoustic instruments.  It’s possible, probably likely, that his compositions include passages in which he can trigger openings in the programming to allow playing that is not locked into the click that unifies all the instruments.

This listener, however, is looking forward to what he hopes will be the next step in the evolution of Metheny’s Orchestrion.  And that will be the inclusion of aspects of artificial intelligence in the software that allow and stimulate interactive responses from the instruments themselves – responses that reflect something like the sort of unpredictable spontaneity that takes place between live players.  It may sound science fictiony, but it’s doable.  And no one could do it with more respect for the inherent creativity of the process than Pat Metheny.

Picks of the Week: Feb. 2 – 7

By Don Heckman

Los Angeles

Anthony Wilson

- Feb. 2. (Tues.)  John Pisano Guitar Night.  With Anthony Wilson.  Guitar Nights are always good.   This should be one of the best.  Guitarist, composer and bandleader Wilson is a stunningly versatile talent.   Vitello’s (818) 769-0905.

- Feb. 4. (Thurs.) Beyond the Pale.  Skirball.  The Canadian band doesn’t hesitate to wrap klezmer around everything from bluegrass and jazz to reggae and funk.  (310) 440-4500.

Estaire Godinez

- Feb. 4. (Thurs.)  Estaire Godinez.  Percussionist/singer Godinez brings passionate intensity to eveerything she sings and plays.   She celebrates the release of her new CD.  Vibrato Grill Jazz… etc.   (310) 474-9400.

- Feb. 5. (Fri.)  Yamaha Piano All Star Review.  A versatile line up of pianists pay tribute to the Yamaha brand with music reaching from romantic classical to straight ahead jazz.  Performers include Anna Grinberg, Danny Holt, Milen Kirov, David Roitstein, David Rosenboom, Juris Vikovs, and Liam Viney.  REDCAT.  (213) 237-2800.

- Feb. 5. (Fri.)  Sony Holland.  Vocalist Holland’s intimate sound and dramatic phrasing find a perfect blend with the Theo Saunders Quartet.  Steamers.  (714) 871-8800.

Dave Liebman

- Feb. 5. (Fri.)  Dave Liebman.  A too-rare Los Angeles appearance by the versatile, veteran saxophonist Liebman, enhanced by the all-star Southland quartet of  Bob Sheppard, bass, John Beasley, piano, Darek Oles, bass and Joe LaBarbera, drums.  Upstairs at Vitellos.  (818) 769-0905.

- Feb. 5. (Fri.)  Laurence Hobgood Trio. Pianist Hobgood has had a lot of visibility as Kurt Elling’s musical associate, but he’s a gifted artist in his own right.  Don’t miss this rare opportunity to hear him in action.  Café Metropol. (310)  613-1537

- Feb. 5. (Fri.)  Jon Mayer Quartet. Pianist Mayer is a bop master, but he crosses comfortably into other mainstream jazz areas as well.  He’s backed by the vertain team of Ernie Watts, tenor saxophone, Chris Conner, bass, Roy McCurdy, drums.  Spazio.   (818) 728-8400.

- Feb. 5 & 6.  (Fri. & Sat.)  Strunz & Farah.  The guitar duo, with roots in Costa Rica and Iran have been stretching the limits of flamenco jazz and fusion since world music was just becoming a genre on its own. Catalina Bar & Grill (323) 466-2210

- Feb. 5 & 6. (Fri. & Sat.)   Sambaguru.  When the super-heated Katia Moraes and her accomplices in Sambaguru hit the stage, the Brazilian rhythmic pyrotechnics never stop.Friday at Culver Club Raddison.  Sat. at Spazio. .   Sambaguru.

- Feb. 6. (Sat.)  Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey. They’ve gone through several incarnations since their founding in 1994, but JFJO continue to blur the boundaries between jazz, rock, funk and avant-garde.  The Mint.   (323) 954-9400

- Feb. 6. (Sat.) Lanny Morgan.  Another bebopper on the loose, alto saxophonist Morgan is also a lyrical ballad player.  He performs with the John Heard Trio.  Charlie O’s.  (818) 994-3058.

Repast

- Feb. 6. (Sat.)  Repast.   The Baroque instrumental trio — Amelia Roosevelt (baroque violin), John Mark Rozendaal (baroque violoncello and viola da gamba), and Avi Stein (harpsichord) — are joined by baroque violinist Claire Jolivet and soprano Nell Snaidas for an evening of music from Amsterdam.  Th performance complements the Getty’s current exhibit of drawings by Rembrandt and his students.   The Getty.   (310) 440-7300.

- Feb. 6 – 19.  (Sat. – Fri.)  Bob Barry Jazz Photography Exhibit.  Barry’s extensive jazz performance photos are on display as part of the two week Celebration of Jazz at the  Brand Library of Music and Art.   (818) 548-2051

- Feb. 7. (Sun.)  Mike Lang. The ever-versatile, always-swinging pianist appears with the solid backing of bassist Abraham Laboriel, Sr. and drummer Walter Rodriguez.  Catalina Bar & Grill (323) 466-2210.

San Francisco

Paula West

- Feb. 2 – 28.  Paula West.  One of the Bay area’s many fine jazz vocalists, West still hasn’t received the recognition her extraordinary talent deserves.  She sings with the George Mesterhazy Quartet.  The Rrazz Room.   (415) 394-1189.

- Feb. 4. (Thurs.)  John Handy. Educator and long-time cutting-edge alto saxophonist brings his admirable skills to a rare one-nighter. Yoshi’s San Francisco.   (415) 655-5600.

- Feb. 4 – 7. (Thurs. – Sun)  Charisma!: The Music of Lee Morgan.  Selections from the catalog of the great jazz trumpeter are performed by the sterline ensemble of  Benny Maupin, Bill Harper, Eddie Henderson, David Weiss, Geri Allen, Dwayne Burno, Billy Hart.  Yoshi’s Oakland.  (510) 238-9200.

- Feb. 6. (Sat.)  Dionne Warwick.  The iconic hit-maker of the ’60s and ’70s still knows how to bring a song to life — even if it wasn’t written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David.Castro Theatre. (415) 392-4500.

New York

- Feb. 2 & 3.  (Tues. & Wed.)  Dorado Schmitt‘ continues his cross-country celebration of the Django Reinhardt centennial.  This time with special guest Curtis Stigers.  Iridium.   (212) 582-0161.

Gretchen Parlato

- Feb. 2 & 3. (Tues. & Wed.)  Afinidad — the adventurous ensemble formed by Edward Simon and David Binney moves into even more colorful musical territory with special guests Gretchen Parlato, Ben Monder, Rogerio Boccato.  Jazz Standard. (212) 576-2232.

- Feb. 2 – 6. (Tues. – Sat.)  Oregon, the trail-breaking jazz/world music ensemble is still making superb music — forty years after its founding.  With Ralph Towner, guitar, keyboards and trumpet, Paul McCandless, woodwinds, Glen Moore, bass and Mark Walker, drums.  Birdland.  (212) 581-3080.

- Feb. 2 – 7. (Tues. – Sun.)  Jimmy Heath Big Band.  Veteran saxophonist/educator Heath has been leading big bands of one sort or another for most of his long, productive musical life.  And, at 84, he’s still at it.  The Blue Note.   (212) 475-8592.

- Feb. 3. (Wed.)  Mary Foster Conklin.  Somewhere between cabaret and jazz, Mary Foster has found an utterly believable musical home.  She’s always worth hearing, and never more so than at  Café Vivaldi.  (212) 691-7538.

- Feb. 4 – 6. (Thurs. – Sat.)  David Sanchez Group.  Puero Rican tenor saxophonist Sanchez has been honing and shaping his unique musical voice since he arrived on the scene.  And it just keeps getting better.   Jazz Standard. http://www.jazzstandard.com/red/index.html (212) 576-2232.