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Los Angeles Jazz Scene - CD Reviews
June 2011

Lee Konitz/Peter Ind
A Sixty-Year Reunion...How Cool Is That?
(Wave)

Veteran bassist Peter Ind first played with altoist Lee Konitz in 1950 as part of a group led by pianist-teacher Lennie
Tristano. Ind, who was born in England where he began his musical career as a pianist before switching to bass,
spent the 1950s and '60s in the U.S. In addition to his work with Tristano and Konitz, he kept quite busy playing
with Coleman Hawkins, Roy Eldridge, Buddy Rich and many other Americans. He moved back to the United
Kingdom in the 1970s where he has since worked with Stephane Grappelli, Martin Taylor, Louis Stewart and his
own groups. In addition Ind has run two jazz clubs, and been an author, a painter, an educator, and the head of his
own Wave label. In recent times he has released and reissued an impressive assortment of high quality recordings
on Wave.

A Sixty-Year Reunion was recorded in 2010 and teams Ind with Konitz and drummer Rod Youngs. In some ways the
music is typical of that played by Tristano and Konitz with familiar swing era chord changes often being performed
without the original melody and with new titles. “Destandardising Everything” is “All The Things You Are,”
“Homage To Johnny Green” is Green's “Body And Soul” and “All Of Us” is “All Of Me.” While the lengthy melodic
lines played by Konitz are similar to what one might expect on a Tristano performance, different are the
assertiveness from Youngs on drums and the fluency and freedom displayed by Ind.

The music is quite enjoyable and swings hard, with Peter Ind's solos being consistently impressive. Both he and
Konitz, who are now in their eighties, sound ageless, enthusiastic and continuously creative. This set is easily
recommended. The Wave label (available from www.peterind.com) is worth a thorough exploration for it contains
quite a bit of rewarding music.

Chris Coulter
Back In Your Own Backyard
(Watch Hill)

Based in Connecticut and the Northeast, Chris Coulter plays tenor and soprano sax in addition to being an
educator. Although he started out listening to more recent saxophonists, when he discovered Lester Young, it made
a strong impression on his playing.

On Back In Your Own Backyard, which started out as a Lester Young tribute project before expanding a bit, Coulter
recalls Young's laidback style, ability to float over bar lines, and relaxed approach while infusing the music with
his own personality. With fine support from pianist Pete Malinverni, bassist Lee Hudson and drummer Tom Melito,
Coulter explores eight standards, splitting his time between tenor and soprano and taking likable vocals on “I'm
Confessin'” and “Almost Like Being In Love.”.

During a set that ranges from “You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To” and the title cut to “Easy Living” and “The
Squirrel,” Chris Coulter is in excellent form. Fans of the Four Brothers style of saxophone and of thoughtful straight
ahead jazz will enjoy this fine CD which is available from www.chriscoultermusic.com.

Lalo Schifrin
Invocations: Jazz Meets The Symphony #7
(Aleph)

Lalo Schifrin, who was a well respected studio musician in his native Argentina even before he moved to the United
States, gained strong recognition in the jazz world as the pianist-composer with the Dizzy Gillespie Quintet of the
early 1960s. While he became famous a few years later as a film and television composer (he wrote the “Mission
Impossible” theme), Schifrin never lost his love for jazz and the music of Dizzy Gillespie. During the past decade, his
“Jazz Meets The Symphony” series has found him writing and performing memorable music that usually blends
together a jazz combo with a large classical orchestra.

Invocations has Schifrin utilizing the Czech National Symphony Orchestra with a jazz trio and the remarkable
James Morrison. Morrison can play any brass instrument in any jazz style. On this recording, he is featured on
trumpet, trombone, flugelhorn and one number on piccolo trumpet, mostly sticking to bebop. His wide range and
witty personality are in evidence as is his high musicianship.

Schifrin's inventive and enthusiastic piano solos are also heard throughout a program that includes “Trombone
Fantasy,” “Groovin' High,” Debussy's “Reverie,” the Gillespie blues “Here 'Tis” and the 16-minute “Etude In
Rhythm” among the selections. The orchestra displays plenty of spirit, Morrison's playing is a consistent joy, and
Lalo Schifrin sounds at his prime throughout, smiling through his music.

This highly recommended set is available from www.alephrecords.com, along with the six previous releases in the
Jazz Meets The Symphony series.

Eldad Djangirov
Three Stories
(Masterworks Jazz)

Hal Schaefer
Brilliant!
(Summit)

Matthew Shipp
Art Of The Improviser
(Thirsty Ear)

The art of solo piano has grown in many different directions since the heyday of stride pianists when the piano was
considered a potential one-man band. For a time during the bebop era, pianists sounded a bit forlorn if they did not
have the assistance of a bassist and a drummer, but since then pianists have found ways of implying the beat,
filling in for the other absent musicians, and becoming an orchestra without having to stride. This article covers
releases by three very different pianists.

Eldad Djangirov was originally a child prodigy who performed in public when he was nine and appeared on Marian
McPartland's Piano Jazz program when he was just 12. Now 24, he is no longer a child but is still a phenomenon.
His technique is brilliant and he is a masterful improviser yet Eldad also knows how to use space well on ballads,
letting his music breathe. His solo disc, Three Stories, received its name partly because the repertoire draws its
songs from standards, originals and classical music. The emphasis, with a few exceptions, is on ballads and slower
tempos on such numbers as an exquisite “I Should Care,” Chick Corea's “Windows” and melodies by Bach and
Scriabin. This set becomes in danger of becoming overly sleepy at a few points. But a 15-minute rendition of
“Rhapsody In Blue,” which alternates between the original written piano music and exciting improvised sections,
wakes everything up and is a classic version that rewards repeated listenings. The set concludes with an uptempo
“Donna Lee.” While there are quite a few fine moments to found on Three Stories (available from sonymasterworks.
com), the reason to go out of one's way to acquire it is Eldar's memorable reshaping of “Rhapsody In Blue.”

Hal Schaefer, who turns 86 this year, has had a wide ranging career. As a teenager (70 years ago), he was Duke
Ellington's protege. He worked with Benny Carter when he was 18, with the big bands of Boyd Raeburn and Harry
James, led his own jazz albums, and was a vocal coach in Hollywood for Marilyn Monroe, Jane Russell and Barbra
Streisand. Although not that well publicized in the jazz world, he has consistently performed, written and recorded
excellent music. Brilliant! is his third solo piano CD for Summit and it features him at the peak of his powers.
Schaefer, who actually does not sound at all like Ellington, has his own adventurous style which is full of subtlety
and always keeps the melody nearby. His performances are mostly concise and he fits personal interpretations of
16 selections on his CD including “Pennies From Heaven,” “What Is This Thing Called Love,” “Almost Like Being In
Love” and live versions of his own “Strange As It Seems” and “The Lord's Prayer.” All of the music is quite
rewarding with Hal Schaefer sounding quite masterful while leaving the audience wanting more. For those who
are not familiar with him, Brilliant! serves as a superior introduction; it is available from www.summitrecords.
com.

Matthew Shipp is a master of avant-garde jazz, not following his historic predecessors as much as learning from
them and coming up with his own singular path. Art Of The Improviser is a two-CD set with one disc being solo
while the other features Shipp in a trio with bassist Michael Bisio and drummer Whit Dickey. Both of the CDs, while
containing 11 individual selections, are essentially lengthy suites. Shipp often uses repetition very effectively, his
rumbling in the lower register is quite personal, and his music always has a forward momentum while remaining
unpredictable. The trio's five selections includes a recognizable but abstract “Take The 'A' Train” while his solo
improvisations include a difficult-to-spot “Fly Me To The Moon.” Shipp's playing is intriguing and often fascinating
on this two-fer, and his ideas are very much his own. Art Of The Improviser (available from www.thirstyear.com)
is one of his finest sets on record and is well worth exploring.

Bill Dixon
Intents And Purposes
(International Phonograph Company)

During 1966-67, trumpeter Bill Dixon made his third recording (after two earlier efforts for Savoy) and one of his
most ambitious albums. An avant-garde classic, the music came out as an RCA Lp and then soon went out of print,
only returning very briefly as Japanese and French reissues. It has been extremely scarce in the United States for
over 40 years.

International Phonograph Inc, under the direction of Jonathan Horwich, has now reissued the set on CD, using the
original packaging and liner notes. The music still sounds adventurous and futuristic and the sound quality is top-
notch. Dixon, an emotional yet often introverted player, long loved interacting with low-pitched instruments..The
main piece of this set, “Metamorphosis 1962-1966,” features his trumpet with altoist Robin Kenyatta, Byard
Lancaster (on bass clarinet and alto), bass trombonist Jimmy Cheatham, English horn, cello, drums, percussion
and two bassists (Reggie Workman and Jimmy Garrison). The individual solos are excellent but it is the arranged
sections and the ensembles that are most memorable and innovative. Dixon should have had many more
opportunities to record in this setting, but at least this piece is now available.

Also on Intents and Purposes are two short atmospheric trumpet-flute duets with George Marge (“Nightfall Pieces I
and II”) and “Voices” which features Dixon in a quintet with bass clarinetist Lancaster, cello, bass and drums. The
trumpeter is particularly inventive throughout, sounding unlike anyone else and blazing a new path for the avant-
garde.

While Bill Dixon would have other opportunities to record during his career before his recent death, Intents And
Purposes was his only opportunity as a leader to make a statement on a major label. Thanks to International
Phonograph (www.internationalphonographinc.com), this very important set is finally available.

Chris Byars Octet
Lucky Strikes Again
(SteepleChase)

One of the great tenor-saxophonists to emerge during the 1940s, Lucky Thompson had an up-and-down career.
Widely recognized by his fellow jazz musicians, he never really had much commercial success. Thompson played
with Count Basie in the mid-1940s, appeared on many sessions in Los Angeles during the second half of the 1940s,
made many records in Europe a decade later, was among the first bop-based players to develop a distinctive voice
on soprano sax, and taught at Dartmouth during 1973-74. Disillusioned with the music business, he stopped
playing altogether by the mid-1970s and, although he lived another 30 years, even becoming homeless and
eventually suffering from mental illness, Lucky Thompson never returned to jazz, a major loss.

Chris Byars (who plays tenor and soprano) has done a magnificent job on Lucky Strikes Again. He transcribed the
arrangements that Thompson utilized on a rare 1961 radio broadcast for a five-horn octet, contributed two
originals, revived a few of Thompson's other pieces, and brought back “Just One More Chance” which Lucky in
1946 had utilized as a ballad feature. Using an octet of his own, he features such mighty players as trumpeter Scott
Wendholt, trombonist John Mosca, altoist Zaid Nasser, pianist Sacha Perry and baritonist Mark Lopeman (who is
particularly impressive) plus himself, bringing back the spirit of Thompson. The arrangements of these pieces
(most of which have not been heard since Thompson actually played them) are especially rewarding, showing that
Thompson was also an underrated arranger-composer.

Lucky Strikes Again (available from www.steeplechase.dk) gives today's listeners an opportunity to discover a full
set of “new” music, and will hopefully lead many to not only appreciate Chris Byars' creativity but to search out
the recordings of the great Lucky Thompson.

Fern Lindzon
Two Kites
(Iatros)

A talented jazz singer-pianist from Toronto, Fern Lindzon has a warm and haunting voice that displays the
influence of both classical and folk music along with excellent technique on the piano and an adventurous spirit.
On Two Kites she is joined by Mike Murley on tenor and soprano, bassist George Koller and drummer Nick Fraser.

The wide ranging program includes an exuberant version of Jobim's “Two Kites,” “My Romance” (which includes
an original “prelude” by Fern called “Moon In The Sky”), an atmospheric version of “Basin Street Blues,” an
instrumental “All Fall Down” which is based on “Autumn Leaves,” and an Eastern European medley (“Yam
Lid/Lustige Chasidm/Balkan Bellabusta”). Despite the diversity, this is a unified set with one piece logically
leading to the next one. Murley's solos and his knack at blending with Fern's voice are major assets as are the
leader's piano playing and the support of Koller and Fraser.

Hopefully Fern Lindzon will play in the United States someday. But for now, Two Kites (available from www.
fernlindzon.com) serves as a particularly strong overview of her talents and it makes for a very enjoyable listen.

Eva Cassidy
Simply Eva
(Blix Street)

Eva Cassidy had a tragically brief life yet her recordings have found unexpected success after her passing. Before
she died in 1996 at the age of 33 from melanoma, she had released just two albums (she had also recorded a third)
and was mostly known regionally in the Washington D.C. area. Cassidy had a beautiful voice and wide interest in
music that included jazz, folk, country, pop and blues. In 2000, four years after her death, her recording of “Over
The Rainbow” became an unexpected sensation on British radio. A compilation album, Songbird, had been
assembled in 1998 and became a major hit two years later, particularly in England. Since then other previously
unreleased material has surfaced, been put out, and sold extremely well. The result is that Eva Cassidy is much
better known today than she was during her lifetime.

The latest batch of “new” Eva Cassidy music is Simply Eva. On 11 of the 12 performances, she is heard
accompanying herself on guitar while the brief “I Know You By Heart” is taken a capella. Dating from 1994-96,
the performances are sparse yet often quite emotional. While she knew how to use subtlety, Cassidy had a strong
and highly expressive voice. Her repertoire is diverse and reflects her wide interest in music. The pieces range from
different versions of “Songbird” and “Over The Rainbow” to “San Francisco Bay Blues,” Cyndi Lauper's “Time After
Time” and a jubilant “Wade In The Water.”

While much of the music falls outside of jazz, listeners who enjoy hearing a strong singer or are intrigued by the
unusual posthumous success of Eva Cassidy will find this CD from Blix Street (www.blixstreet.com) of strong
interest, along with her Songbird album.

Hristo Vitchev Quintet
The Perperikon Suite
(First Orbit Sounds Music)

Bulgarian-born guitarist Hristo Vitchev, who is based in San Francisco, always performs intriguing postbop jazz.
The Perperikon Suite is a seven-piece work that he premiered at the 2010 Monterey Jazz Festival.

The music is inspired by the the ancient Thracian civilization of 5000 B.C. and its city Perperikon. Despite that,
the melodies are not especially exotic or forbidding. However the music is first-class modern jazz with some
haunting themes included in the suite. Vitchev utilizes his regular quartet (which includes pianist Weber Iago,
bassist Dan Robbins and drummer Joe DeRose) plus vibraphonist Christian Tamburr for some stirring ensembles
and fine improvisations. The themes hold together well as a suite and are often cinematic. Tamburr's vibes are a
strong asset to the group, competing with Vitchev and Iago for solo honors.

The Perperikon Suite, which is often quite melodic and wistful, rewards repeated listenings and has many subtle
surprises. It is available from www.hristovitchev.com.

Charley Straight And His Orchestra
That's What I Call Keen, 1926-1928
(Rivermont)

Pianist Charley Straight had a colorful and episodic career in music. He worked during 1909-14 with vaudeville
singer Gene “The Ragtime King” Greene including tours of Europe and recording “King Of The Bungaloos” which
found Greene pioneering scat singing in 1911. Straight became involved in the player piano industry, cutting an
extensive series of piano rolls as early as 1914. In 1922 he formed a big band that was quite popular in Chicago and
lasted until the time of his death in 1940.

Straight's orchestra, which recorded 14 mostly excellent selections in 1923, made 25 recordings during 1926-28.
All of the latter performances, other than alternate takes and one selection (“Minor Gaffe”) that has been reissued
elsewhere, are on That's What I Call Keen.

While the band, which ranged from 9-13 pieces, did not feature any major or famous soloists, its musicianship was
pretty impressive for the period. There are some short solos, but it is the ensemble work that is most memorable,
particularly on such rousing pieces as “Deep Henderson” and “Hobo's Prayer.” The Williams Sisters are featured on
“What A Man” and “Hi-Diddle-Diddle,” banjoist Frank Sylvano has 14 okay vocals, the Keller Sisters sing on two
songs, and a vocal group The Vagabonds are on two others. No one gets hurt along the way, and the band has
plenty of opportunities to be heard.

The extensive liner notes by Bryan Wright are definitive, the sound quality of these performances is excellent, and
this attractive set should be considered a must for 1920s collectors. It is available from www.rivermontrecords.
com.

Al Garcia
All Things Must Converge
(Wandlar Productions)

Fusion lives! Although many nay-sayers have declared the combination of jazz improvisations with the sound and
rhythms of rock to be either a musical aberration or an extinct style since 1980, the music has continued to
prosper (at least artistically) whenever it is explored by creative musicians.

Al Garcia is a very talented musician. On All Things Must Converge he plays all of the instruments via
overdubbing. A rockish guitarist inspired by Allan Holdsworth and Al DiMeola, he is also heard on guitar
synthesizer, bass guitars, drums, congas and percussion. To his great credit, the playing on his eight originals
always sounds as if it is performed by at least three or four musicians, and it is never obvious that it was not
recorded live.

Garcia's eight originals are complex, feature close interplay between his instruments and, even with the heated
guitar and bass solos, it is primarily an ensemble music. The complex yet memorable themes, the high
musicianship, and the constant inventiveness make All Things Must Converge into one of the most stimulating
fusion recordings of the past couple of years. It is easily recommended and available from www.algarciamusic.com.

Doug MacDonald Trio
It's A Blue World
(Blujazz)

Long a reliable fixture in the Los Angeles area, guitarist Doug MacDonald has an attractive tone, is a skilled
improviser in the tradition of Barney Kessel, Kenny Burrell and Tal Farlow (to name three), and always swings.

On It's A Blue World, MacDonald is featured in a sparse pianoless trio with bassist Lou Shoch and drummer Jack
LeCompte. The setting gives the guitarist the maximum amount of freedom within the bebop tradition, and he does
a fine job of contrasting sound with space, and making each note count.

The trio stretches out on a few standards, some obscurities (including Henry Mancini's “Loss Of Love” and “Lollipops
And Roses”) and four of the guitarist's originals. Lou Shoch takes a welcome vocal on “The Masquerade Is Over,”
MacDonald really cooks on an uptempo version of “My Buddy,” he takes “My Ideal” unaccompanied, and Shoch and
LeCompte form a quiet but tight rhythm team on the other selections.

It's A Blue World is a delight and one of Doug MacDonald's best all-round showcases on record. It is available from
www.bluejazz.com.

Brian Carpenter's Ghost Train Orchestra
Hothouse Stomp
(Accurate)

Inspired by such late 1920s/early 1930s arrangers as Don Redman, John Nesbitt, Charlie Johnson and Tiny
Parham along with bandleader Fess Williams, trumpeter Brian Carpenter founded and has led the Ghost Train
Orchestra since 2006. For its recording debut, the ten-piece orchestra (which sounds much larger) performs
Carpenter's arrangements to a set of mostly obscure songs from the era.

Rather than sounding like a repertory band or a mere recreation, the Ghost Train Orchestra not only plays fresh
charts but features colorful and witty solos that owe little to their historic predecessors. Most of the time (with a few
exceptions during the first and last songs), the band sounds like a refugee from 1930. There is a lot of humor in the
music along with first-rate playing, and there are plenty of surprises to be heard along the way. Falling in the
latter area are Carpenter's harmonica on the opening “Ghost Train,” and viola player Jordan Voelker's three
appearance on musical saw which certainly add to the eerie sound of some of the ensembles.

The Ghost Train Orchestra, consisting of five horns, violin, viola, banjo, tuba and drums, includes among its
sidemen trombonist Curtis Hasslebring and altoist Andy Laster. Their interpretations of such songs as John
Nesbitt's “Stop Kidding,” Tiny Parham's “Mojo Strut,” and Fess Williams' “Slide Mr. Jelly Slide” bring back the
adventure and some of the craziness of the era's music. The band succeeds in both capturing the period and not
sounding like any other ensemble. This intriguing release is highly recommended and available from www.
accuraterecords.com.

Byron Morris and Unity
Unity, A Retrospective
(By-Mor Music)

Based in Maryland, Byron Morris is a veteran alto and tenor-saxophonist who has performed a variety of music in
his career, from bop to free. Unity, A Retrospective has previously unreleased performances from the late
1970s/early '80s that feature Morris and his musicians in excellent form.

Most of the selections match Morris with trumpeter Vincent McEwan in a sextet that sometimes also includes
pianist Cedric Lawson. Jay Clayton takes vocals on a straightforward “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” and the adventurous
“ERAA.” While much of the other music could be considered hard bop, including the soulful “Entrenched In The
Blues,” the closing version of Ornette Coleman's “Lonely Woman” features Morris at his freest. On that extended
track he is matched with trumpeter Alonzo Bailey, drummer Abu Sharif and the powerful bassist Hakim Jami for
some explosive explorations.

Considering its many sources, the music on Unity, A Retrospective is well recorded, has a strong unity, is easily
recommended, and is available from bymormusic.com.

Ken Peplowski
In Search Of...
(Capri)

Ken Peplowski has for the past 20 years gained a strong reputation as one of the top clarinetists in swing and trad
jazz in addition to being an excellent tenor-saxophonist. A virtuoso, Peplowski's clarinet work can really dazzle
listeners with its speed, fluency and mastery of the swing vocabulary.

In Search Of... is a bit different. Nine of the dozen selections match Peplowski with pianist Shelly Berg, bassist Tom
Kennedy and drummer Jeff Hamilton. The emphasis is on ballads which are often given haunting renditions, but
not obvious tunes. Some of the songs are recent originals by either Berg or Kennedy while the other numbers
include three that are rarely heard: “When Joanna Loved Me,” “A Ship Without A Sail” and “With Every Breath I
Take.” On most of the selections, Peplowski caresses the melody, the quartet creates a melancholy feel, and the
playing is quite subtle. Berg's “Peps” is an uptempo change of pace but even that does not break the mood.

The final three selections were recorded in 2007 for a project that was never released. “No Regrets” is a duet with
bassist Greg Cohen, Peplowski is joined by Cohen, vibraphonist Chuck Redd and Joe Ascione on percussion for the
George Harrison song “Within You And Without You,” and duets with drummer Ascione during an unusual version
of “Rum And Coca Cola.”

Throughout In Search Of..., Ken Peplowski shows that he is a masterful ballad player and an even more versatile
soloist than one would think from his impressive career. This fine CD is available from www.caprirecords.com.