"Jazz Speak" Adrian Cunningham; tenor sax, clarinet, and flute

Woodwind master. That describes Adrian Cunningham. And he plays them all with unbridled joy and enthusiasm. I might add that any leader who surrounds himself with Ted Rosenthal piano; John Clayton, bass; and Jeff Hamilton, drums, is assured my attention. It should be clearly noted also that Cunningham can write lilting, varied melodies as well. The opener for example is a spirited, gospel-like entry called "The Source". "Getting Down Uptown" gives us a touch of funk while "Rachel's Dance", a flute feature, is a happy, rollicking, shuffle beat blues. "Appalachia" employs a head-shaking tempo that might be thought of as a jazz version of a bluegrass party. Then there's "Autumn Moon Over The Calm Lake". You'll picture a peaceful Japanese country scene. Standards include dependables like "Let's Fall In Love" and "Mood Indigo", and two rarely heard gems are also great choices: Sidney Bechet's "Petite Fleur" and Bud Powell's "Tempus Fugit" couldn't be more different from each other, but both are album highlights. Cunningham, in this stunning company, sounds as though he was destined to play this style of music. And he does it with blue ribbon results.

Arbors Records; 2017; appx. 62 min.

"For The Love Of You" Jacques Lesure Guitar

In that other world of rock and pop, the guitar long ago became a disrespected bowl of fuzzy electronic mush. With that horror show in mind, it's especially nice to welcome a record like this. Jacques Lesure swings vigorously, plays entirely within a jazz context, and chooses colleagues who share these lofty musical values. Eric Reed, piano; Tony Dumas, bass; and Willie Jones III, drums, are all in-demand pros who complement Lesure's guitar brilliance from note one. The session is made up of seven tunes, three of which will likely be familiar. The opener, "The Lamp Is Low", is taken at a semi-quick tempo and informs us that good things are about to unfold. The two other standards include an appropriately upbeat version of  "Put On A Happy Face"; and a definite album highlight, Cedar Walton's near classic "Holy Land". Lesure's every note is clean, brisk and confident, and Eric Reed contributes solos worthy of his highly admired reputation. There's even a crafty blues here and it's called "That's Mr. Burrell, Thank You". It suggests pretty clearly the source of Mr. Lesure's inspiration!

WJ3 Records; 2017; appx. 38 min.

Four In One; Heads Of State; (a quartet)

Here are four well respected veterans of the jazz life, all of whom have earned the collective name Heads Of State. Gary Bartz, alto sax; Larry Willis, piano; David Williams, bass; and Al Foster, drums, provide an energetic workout on eleven tunes, well balanced between standards and original material. Let's take a look at a few album highlights. The opener, "Four In One", brings some new harmonic luster to the rarely heard Monk tune. "Moose the Mooch" is a Charlie Parker bop classic with wit and fun intact. A couple of tunes "owned" by Miles Davis, his own "Sippin' at Bells" and John Lewis' "Milestones" provide further bop flavor, and Bartz makes sure we get a silvery unaccompanied verse to the Gershwin beauty "Someone To Watch Over Me". "Freedom Jazz Dance", a soulful Eddie Harris piece complete with Al Foster's backbeat, is perhaps the edgiest tune of the set. On all these and a few added originals there's a strong, cohesive feel to this album. One can hear that all the players were "on" for this session. It all comes out in the music.

Smoke Sessions Records; 2017; appx. 73 min.

Woody Shaw "The Tour Vol.2:

The Tour, Vol. 2 - Woody Shaw, trumpet; Louis Hayes, drums

Thankfully, High Note Records seems to find ways to access frequent but previously unreleased live concerts by a variety of jazz stalwarts. This time we go all the way back to 1976 and 1977 for a collection recorded at various locations in Germany and Belgium. For the record, the quintet is co-led by trumpet star Woody Shaw and drummer par excellence Louis Hayes. Shaw was a huge talent, often virtuosic in nature. His trumpet chops were controlled but fiery; his solos both compelling and inventive; and his ballad playing often simply something to behold. His career was cut short by a tragic accident, so he leaves a modest number of recordings. That in part is what makes this CD so welcome. On almost all material, the two co-leaders are joined by Junior Cook, tenor sax; Ronnie Mathews, piano; and Stafford James, bass. The six tunes are evergreens of the art form with titles like "All The Things You Are", "Night In Tunisia", "Invitation", "'Round Midnight" and more. This is heavy duty hard bop and not for the uninitiated or faint of heart. Woody Shaw was a ball of fire. Who knows where a longer life would have taken him? But he sure gave it his all while he was among us.

High Note; 2017; appx. 53 min.

Piano Heros - Bud Powell

Most listeners, writers and musicians consider Bud Powell the father of bebop piano. He was at the very least its most admired pioneer, and his influence upon two generations of players is pervasive. Among hundreds, maybe thousands who owe Powell a strong debt of gratitude are Barry Harris, Tardo Hammer, Alan Broadbent and Pete Malinverni. Powell's brilliance peaked around 1949 or '50 and began to fade as early as 1956. Mental illness plagued him, and by the late '50's his skills began to erode. There were occasional solid moments here and there during his tenure in Europe from 1959 to 1964, the year he returned to the US, nearly forgotten and severely wounded by his emotional travails. He died penniless and homeless in 1966. Bud Powell was only 41. Still, he achieved the loftiest heights of bebop piano.

Five favorite recordings of Bud Powell as sideman, and five as leader:

SIDEMAN:

1. Charlie Parker, alto sax; Live At Birdland 1950 - Cool & Blue

2. Charlie Parker, alto sax; Memorial - Savoy

3. Charlie Parker, alto sax; Summit Meeting At Birdland - CBS

4. Serge Chaloff, baritone sax; Memorial - Cool & Blue

5. Dexter Gordon, tenor sax; Dexter's Mood - Cool & Blue

LEADER:

1. Bud Powell At Birdland 1953 (3 CD's) - ESP

2. The Complete Blue Note And Roost Recordings - Blue Note (4CD's)

3. The Complete Bud Powell On Verve (4 CD's)

4. Spring Broadcasts 1953 - ESP

5. The Bud Powell Trio Plays - Roulette

Piano Heros - Bill Evans

Bill Evans - Sideman

Before the career of Bill Evans was to blossom into stardom he worked in support of more established leaders like Miles Davis, Cannonball Adderley, Chet Baker and Stan Getz. But he also labored in near obscurity for lesser known artists. Here, in alphabetical order is a partial list of ten of his memorable works as a sideman:
1. Eddie Costa, vibes; Guys And Dolls - Costa, who also played piano, stayed with the vibraphone in the company of Evans. He was a promising talent but was lost to us at age 31 in an auto accident.2. Art Farmer; Modern Art - On his only session with Art Farmer and Benny Golson, Evans adds luster to the proceedings on "Fair Weather", "Darn That Dream", "The Touch Of Your Lips", and more.3. Lee Konitz, alto sax, with Warne Marsh, tenor sax; Live At The Half Note - With Lennie Tristano disciples Konitz and Marsh, Bill gets a chance to stretch out on some extended, brilliant solo work. Two CD's make for a lot of high grade listening.4. Michel Legrand, Orchestra leader; Legrand Jazz - Bill lends his talents on four tunes, working with Miles, Coltrane, Paul Chambers, Phil Woods, and other bright lights.5. Mark Murphy, vocals; Rah - After several 1950's high quality pop dates for Decca and Capitol, Mark Murphy found his niche as a jazz singer for Riverside. Bill split piano chores with Wynton Kelly on this winner from 1961.6. Dave Pike, vibes; Pike's Peak - A gifted vibes player, Dave Pike has spent most of his career in Europe. This quartet session, originally on Epic, gives Bill plenty of opportunity to deliver intricate communication with Pike.7. Bill Potts, leader, arranger; The Jazz Soul Of Porgy And Bess - Bill Potts was a highly respected band leader based in Washington, DC. Among the giants heard here are Sweets Edison, Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, Gene Quill, Phil Woods, Art Farmer and of course, Bill Evans.8. George Russell, piano, composer; New York, N.Y. - The Jazz Workshop; Jazz In The Space Age - From 1956 to 1960, Evans recorded a few tunes with avante gardist George Russell. The music ranged from challenging and compelling to egocentric overkill. Still as always, Bill finds a way to stand out with expressive solos.9. Tony Scott, clarinet; The Complete Tony Scott - In 1956 and '57 Bill was cutting standards with Tony Scott on clarinet. His liquid, gorgeous sound never quite caught on in the manner of Goodman and Shaw. Anyway, there's Bill again, with limited but outstanding solos.10. Monica Zetterlund, vocals; Waltz For Debbie - Evans worked with hardly any singers. Only Tony Bennett and Helen Merrill come to mind. Enter Swedish singer Monica Zetterlund whose 1964 session with Bill, Chuck Israels and Larry Bunker, brings us "Waltz For Debbie", "Lucky To Be Me", "Some Other Time", and lots more. 

Grant Stewart "Roll On"

Among the current crop of tenor sax players Grant Stewart is one of my personal faves. He always honors the tradition but at the same time is contemporary and in the pocket. He performs on this CD in a piano-less trio that features Paul Sikivie, and brother Phil Stewart, drums. Tunes range from ancient entries like "Thinking Of You" and "After You've Gone", to Bud Powell's bop anthem "Un Poco Loco". "Here I'll Stay" is an overlooked gem I recall from an old Gerry Mulligan side. On these and others, Stewart and company deliver the goods.

Cellar Live; 2017; appx. 49 min.