Recent Releases from Posi-Tone, part 1: Ralph Bowen

Marc Free’s Posi-tone Records is one of a handful of labels that churns out a significant number of quality albums on a regular basis.  In the past couple of months the label has sent numerous new releases my way, so today I’m hitting you with a multi-part rundown of some of my favorites.

I reviewed tenor saxophonist Ralph Bowen’s last album, Power Play, in Downbeat.  In that review I compared Bowen’s sick chops and certain stylistic elements to Brecker, and thought his soprano approach was slightly reminiscent of Branford – comparisons which earned me a reaming out in a letter to the editor, even though it was a positive review.  Bowen’s followup to that album is Total Eclipse, which features Posi-tone mainstay Jared Gold on organ, guitarist Mike Moreno, and drummer Rudy Royston.  While I stand by my review of Power Play, I find Bowen’s playing on Total Eclipse (whether on tenor or soprano) to be extremely focused, sharp, swinging and reminding me of only one player: Ralph Bowen.

Bowen penned all nine of the hour long album’s tracks.  The title track opens the album in an easy, swinging fashion, with Bowen mixing up phrase lengths, rhythms and articulation and accent patterns – slinking, sliding, and winding his way through his solo.  On his brief solo Gold mixes a slightly percussive phrases based on short note values with  longer and more held out phrases, building upon Bowen’s statement nicely.  “The Dowsing Rod” features Bowen on soprano and is one metrically tricky trip, having sections in 10, in 3 and in 4.  Moreno sounds particularly good on this track, letting his slightly reverby sound and relaxed phrasing glide over Gold and Roysten.  The penultimate cut, “Hip Check,” is a rowdy and rocking showcase for Bowen’s aggressive tenor.  Royston holds things down with a slight backbeat and forward driving cymbals and Gold backs up Bowen’s solo by mixing up long sustained chords with quick jabs.  Moreno’s solo, supported by a very active Royston, is for the most part quite understated, providing a nice contrast to Bowen’s fire.

Overall Total Eclipse is an excellent outing that displays tight group playing, swinging charts containing a ton of craft and subtle hipness, and soloists who bring a firey intensity and creativity.  If you dig other releases on Posi-tone, or are a Ralph Bowen fan, then definitely check this CD out.  And if you’re not familiar with either, this album would be a great place to start.

Edmar Castaneda’s Double Portion is an Instant Classic

Lets get right down to it: harpist Edmar Castaneda’s Double Portion is an early contender for record of the year.

If your only experiences with the harp are undulating and shimmering glissandos in movie soundtracks or perhaps hearing a harpist at a wedding playing transcriptions of Bach, then Castaneda’s playing will more than likely come as a revelation.  Double Portion opens up a whole new world of the harp’s possibilities.

Dorothy Ashby’s music is hip, and she did some great things in both more straight ahead and soul jazz veins.  Alice Coltrane was certainly an innovative force on the instrument and produced several classic free jazz performances.  On Double Portion Castaneda is in a completely different bag than Ashby and Coltrane, and brings a level of creativity and virtuosity that is on par, if not exceeding his harp predecessors.

Whereas Coltrane often favored idiomatic glissandos to create waves of sound, Castaneda takes an approach that almost sounds guitar-like.  In fact his harp, especially the Colombian harp, often sounds like a large guitar, which is very apparent on the five solo cuts.

To see where Castaneda is coming from and to get his approach directly from the source, watch the EPK video below, where he describes how his music is a mixture between Colombia and New York and how he uses the harp in a new way: namely by playing the bass and the melody at the same time.

Castaneda wrote nine of the album’s ten compositions – the only cover being Astor Piazolla’s “Libertango,” which features Hamilton de Holanda on mandolina.

Joining Castaneda on two tracks is pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba (who has also recently released an excellent solo album).  Rubalcaba and Castaneda double the melody of the title track, which opens the album, creating timbres rarely heard.  Castaneda supports Rubalcaba’s solo with strong bass lines, the resonance and sonic heft of which left me stunned upon first hearing them.  The interplay between both musicians is excellent, and the line between soloist and accompanist is often blurred, if not erased altogether.  The other Castaneda/Rubalcaba duet, “Quitapesares,” is also excellent, and contains several different rhythmic feels and grooves.  The final flourish is quite impressive, with both men repeating developing short, punctuated statements that grow in energy, intensity and volume.

MacArthur Genius award winning alto saxophonist Miguel Zenon is also a guest, and his collaboration with Castaneda on “A la Tierra” is one of the album’s high points.  Here Castaneda plays bass lines while his other hand intertwines with Zenon, who is his usual impassioned and inspired self.  After Zenon finishes his solo Castaneda plays an angular bass line and predominantly single note melody lines – which is a nice contrast to the thicker textures earlier in the tune.  Zenon enters, accompanying Castaneda, who ratchets up the tension with tight and percussive notes and chords that increase in intensity and agitation before resolving, concluding the piece with a brief, but calm and ethereal coda.

Double Portion is a blend of musical styles, of cultures, and is a thoroughly original, ingenious and moving album that will leave you simultaneously bopping your head in time and shaking it in amazement.  If any of the above piques your interest in checking out Castaneda’s Double Portion, then do yourself a favor and buy the album, and listen to it again, and again, and again.

Lookout for Gilad Hekselman

Based on his new album Hearts Wide Open, guitarist Gilad Hekselman is a player and composer to be on the constant lookout for.  Joining Heksleman on this consistently engaging album are bassist Joe Martin and drummer Marcus Gilmore.  Tenor saxophonist Mark Turner is featured on four of the album’s ten tracks.

A very brief prologue and epilogue bookend the album, which both feature Hekselman whistling (I assume he’s whistling) a short and catchy melody played over folk-like acoustic finger-picking.

The compositions, all penned by Hekselman, are very tuneful, subtle and nuanced, as is his playing.  The ten minute “One More Song,” which is the album’s highlight for me, has Turner playing an extremely catchy hook at the end of each phrase.   The tune is in six, but Martin and Gilmore lay it down in a way where it is not immediately obvious – not quite to the extreme way Paul Motian refused to give a downbeat on those classic Bill Evans records – but the effect of Martin and Gilmore’s approach subtly drives the band with plenty of light forward motion – the tune glides.  Turner’s soloing is particularly inspired, and it’s some of my favorite playing of his I’ve heard.

In general, Hekselman’s playing is measured, extremely melodic, and he holds back in a way where it makes the listener want to hear more, even on the more uptempo “Bucket Kicker” (it certainly isn’t bebop burning speed).  He rarely, if at all, goes into overdrive, which is a trap less mature players can fall into, making for tired ears. “Flower” manages to be catchy and particularly subdued and gorgeous at the same time.

“Understanding,” the album’s other ten minute piece is another of the disc’s highlights.  It is also in six, begins as a slow and sparse ballad, but as Hekselman solos he methodically picks up the intensity, as does Gilmore, who adds a backbeat-like snare on beat four and becomes more active.  When Hekselman gives way to Turner the band drops down again and slowly builds again – this double arch narrative form is extremely effective.

“Will You Let It?” has a similar vibe to the Motian/Lovano/Frisell group. Hekselman plays a folk like rubato melody that floats over Gilmore’s busy drums, which are for color rather than time.  Martin adds texture and depth with long held bowed notes.

The group never shoots off pyrotechnics or virtuosity just for virtuosity’s sake – everything is done in service of the music and Hekselman’s vision.  Hearts Wide Open is a stellar new album from an up and coming guitarist and writer who has surrounded himself with a great band who is right in line with his aesthetic and viewpoint.

Definitely check this record out – it gets better with each listen.

RIP Adam Yauch, aka MCA

As you have probably heard, Adam Yauch, aka MCA of the Beastie Boys just passed away from cancer at the age of 47.  As soon as the news broke my facebook feed blew up with posts about his passing, favorite Beastie Boys lines, youtube clips of favorite videos, etc.  While I have already put up two such posts, I figured I’d link to the video from my favorite Beastie Boys song: “Sabotage.”  Besides the song, which is great, and the amazing costumes and fake mustaches, I will never forget it because in high school debate we had a prepared disad (word up to all my cross ex readers out there) that was called Sabotage, and had the lyrics to the song written in the margins.  It goes without saying that this disad was pretty kick ass, and I never failed to put it into use when it seemed appropriate. Unfortunately I could not find a version that didn’t have the f word edited out or a terrible Justin Bieber ad at the beginning – because people looking for “Sabotage” are just gonna go buy a Biebs CD. Oh well. The song and video is still killer. 

“Listen all a y’all it’s a sabotage”

 

How I Get Down on May Day: Rzewski’s “The People United Will Never Be Defeated”

Tomorrow is May Day folks, and for those who know me well they know that on May Day there’s one thing I always do to celebrate: I put on Frederic Rzewski’s “The People United Will Never Be Defeated” and blast it from my speakers (for you piano nerds out there I get down to Hamelin’s recording).  If you’re not familiar with the 1975 piece, it’s an epic theme and variations (36 variations in all) on the Chilean revolutionary song by Sergio Ortega.

Musicologist and composer Kyle Gann call’s Rzewski’s composition “one of the great works of the American piano literature, and probably the most popular piano work the 1970s produced . . . This is despite, if not because of, a complexly intellectual structure and a range of styles that encompasses jazz, modal quasi-improvisation, serialist fragmentation, minimalist patterns, Romantic climaxes, and Ivesian texture layering.”  Gann also notes that “like Beethoven’s “Hammerklavier” and Op. 111 Sonatas, ‘The People United’ has become one of the piano works pianists venture as a way of proving their mastery in the most technically and emotionally challenging large forms.  In it, Rzewski proved that music could be complex in structure and still win over enthusiastic audiences time and again.” (Gann, American Music in the 20th Century, 236-237, 239)

Now if that description and the fact that tomorrow is May Day makes you interested in checking out the work, dig the you tube video below, which is a recording of Yuji Takahashi’s performance of the piece in 1978.  Enjoy.

KC Jazz/Int’l Workers Day Fans: People’s Lib Big Band & Battleship Potempkin

Attn: Kansas City jazz and/or International Workers Day fans.  The People’s Liberation Big Band will perform its original music to the Soviet film Battleship Potemkin on Tuesday, May 1 (May Day) at 6:30 pm at the Plaza Branch of the Kansas City Public Library. The PLBB rarely performs the score along with the movie in its entirety, so go and  have a good time rooting on the mutiny.

Click here for more details.  I’ll be there, you should too.

Addendum to How to Make a Record Cover Art Flowchart

If you’ve checked out my “how to make a record cover art flowchart” (if you’ve come across my blog recently I’m sure you have, as it has been my most popular post since it appeared), then here’s an addition to that flow chart:

You should ask yourself: “self, is my instrument on fire?”

The next step in the editing of your cover art should be apparent.