End of the Tunnel
David Gibson (Posi-Tone)
by Sean O’Connell
Any group that employs an organist, regardless of the
bandleader ’s instrument, becomes an organ band. In a
way that no other instrument can dominate, except
perhaps for a set of bagpipes, the Hammond B3
possesses the power of a freight train that can be hard
to tone down. On his newest album End of the Tunnel
trombonist David Gibson, along with saxophonist
Julius Tolentino and drummer Quincy Davis, give
ample room to organist Jared Gold, who provides two
of his own tunes and plenty of soul.
The album opens with Herbie Hancock’s “Blind
Man, Blind Man”, quickly setting the tone for a
straightforward blowing date with Gibson taking the
first of several gurgling solos. The following track,
“Wasabi”, one of five Gibson compositions on the
album, takes a stylistic Hancock leap ten years forward
with a more Headhunters-ish feel - punctual horn
unisons ride over Davis’ popping drum line. Davis
also carries Gibson’s title track to its abrupt ending,
which features the horns in fluttering harmonies before
they rocket off into a pair of impassioned solos.
Gibson’s “The In-Whim” is decidedly out. What starts
slow and modal grows as Tolentino wails away over
Gold’s sharp chordal jabs, growing more manic with
each passing measure. “Preachin’”, Gold’s bluesinflected contribution, finds Gibson loping through a
building solo while the organist does his best to
summon the spirits of the chicken shack. The last track,
a take on Jackie McLean’s “Blue Rondo”, brings the
album back to where Gibson started: Englewood Cliffs,
1963. The horns exchange 12-bar bouts while Davis’
cymbal drives the battle into a solo of his own.
Over nine tunes Gibson and his cohorts display
their love of a solid groove, rarely straying too far from
the center of the pocket. The soloists swing hard with a
dominating organ presence looming just behind them
at all times. Gibson has taken the classic organ quartet
and injected just enough dissonance to create a fingersnapping dose of 21st century soul-jazz.
For more information, visit posi-tone.com. This group is at
Fat Cat Aug. 26th. See Calendar.
Running Man
Avery Sharpe (JKNM)
by Elliott Simon
Like track and field legend Jesse Owens, from whom
it draws inspiration, bassist Avery Sharpe’s latest
release high-steps its way through an uplifting
program of original modern jazz. Owens’ ethos, who
in cogently summing up his success once remarked, “I
let my feet spend as little time on the ground as
possible” is most in evidence early on. The title and
opening cut starts somewhat leisurely but increases in
intensity as Sharpe combines with drummer Yoron
Israel and pianist Onaje Allan Gumbs to propel the
music forward until lift-off occurs courtesy of Craig
Handy’s soaring soprano sax. “Jump!”, a Gumbspenned tune, follows up and likewise gets its spring
from Handy who, this time on tenor, hurdles the band
through the hardbop burner.
There is also a delicate side to this release. “Breathe
Again”, featuring engagingly honest vocals from his
daughter Maya, has Sharpe combining pathos with
pure innocence for a tender exhortation. The charm of
“Cheri’s Smile” is artistically described and Handy’s
rich tenor joins soulfully with Gumbs’ flowing lines to
illustrate “Her All” while Handy’s soprano sweetly
sings his “Lexi’s Song”. The remaining three cuts form
yet a third, more political aspect of the band’s canon.
“Silent War” combines arco bass with cantorial vocals
for an intense presentation while “Ancestry Delight”
features Sharpe extending his instrument’s upper
register for a guitar-like feel. “Rwandan Escape” uses a
herky-jerky bebop structure that finds freedom through
Israel’s drumming and Handy’s wailing tenor.
Sharpe is a versatile bassist and while these
compositions showcase his and the band’s funkiness
and improvisational skill, they also reveal tenderness
and a surprisingly strong lyrical side. This band can
certainly blow, but Sharpe is a first-class storyteller.
performances with shakuhachi player Kiku Day and
koto player Kanoko Nishi. The trio constructs a delicate
space of inhalation and exhalation, bold strokes and
micro-gestures, melody and tremolo.
The generally acknowledged giant of avant garde
harpdom is Zeena Parkins; in recent performances,
however, her amplified bowing techniques have
pushed the harp far beyond its distinctive sound.
LeBaron’s modifications and deconstructions of her
instrument still retain the notional sound of a harp, its
simultaneously frail and crystalline sonorities opening
onto a world of mystery.
For more information, visit innova.mu
For more information, visit jknmrecords.com. Sharpe is at
Tompkins Square Park Aug. 28th with Archie Shepp as part
of the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival. See Calendar.
1,2,4,3
Anne LeBaron (Innova)
by Seth Watter
“H eat Wave” is an odd title for the composition that
introduces Anne LeBaron’s double-disc opus. While
Martha & the Vandellas could rightly lay claim to such
a phrase, LeBaron’s solo harp performance (mediated
by live electronics) is a cold, icy affair that one might
better associate with the barren plains of Utah, a walk
on the moon or Porky Pig’s first trip to Wackyland. The
composition begins with a repetition of four chords the 1,2,4,3 of the title? - both recognizable and somehow
‘off’, familiar and alien like the American landscape
itself. The artist inhabits her massive instrument as if it
were a continent; she fords its rivers of strings and
discovers new worlds in the crevices of tonality. After
all, a harp is roughly the shape of Idaho.
1,2,4,3 is comprised of recordings made over eight
years, mostly live. The personnel includes, among
others, Wolfgang Fuchs, George Graewe, Earl Howard
and the late Paul Rutherford and Leroy Jenkins. The
tracks with Jenkins’ violin are bittersweet indeed, his
flights of unrestrained lyricism on “Rippling With
Leroy” perfectly complementing LeBaron’s cerebral
explorations until both settle into an almost-bluesy
rhythmic pulse. The trio of songs with Rutherford’s
trombone are a different affair, pure English-style free
improvisation, lots of audible breath, sudden brass
ejaculations, seemingly aimless percussion - it’s all
very nervous and hoarse and brilliant. Whatever its
relation to Deleuzian concepts (as evinced by titles like
“Principles of the Rhizome”), it is clear that both
harpist and philosopher have an interest in geographicgeologic metaphors; LeBaron is a true “stratigrapher”
in her layering of material, where new vistas seem to
unfold endlessly behind others. A more literal sense of
geography is at work on Disc Two, which features five
EVERY MONDAY NIGHT IN 2011 led by award-winning
vibist/composer Karl Berger in the tradition of the legendary
Creative Music Studio. Original compositions, themes by the likes
of Don Cherry, Ornette Coleman, and world musical melodies will
be utilized for orchestral explorations and contrasting
solo/duo/trio flights. This series supports the Creative Music
Studio Archive Project.
Performers include: Art Bailey, Skye Steele, Frederika Krier, Sara
Bernstein, Sylvain Leroux, Miguel Manna, Jorge Sylvester, David
Schnug, Stephen Gauci, Catherine Sikora, Thomas Heberer, Herb
Robertson, Brian Drye, Steve Swell, Bill Wright Dominic Lash,
David Perrott, Adam Lane, Jeremy Carlstedt, David Miller, Harris
Eisenstadt, Philip Foster, Ingrid Sertso, Karl Berger.
All are welcome to the 7:15 rehearsal and 9:00 performance for one
fee of $20 ($10 for students, musicians and seniors)
The Stone is located at the corner of Ave C and E 2nd St, NYC
www.creativemusicstudio.org
THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD | August 2011
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