Cherry Ripe

NPR's All Songs Considered is not the place I usually go for news about jazz.  It's not that Bob Boilen and his crew are neglectful, let alone disrespectful of jazz; they do occasionally review jazz recordings.  It's just on the periphery of their musical interests.  ASC is where I go to find out what Jack White is up to.  

Today, however, I listened to one from a few weeks ago and they played a cut from an album called The Cherry Thing.  I ran to the laptop and spent some eMusic credits on it.  The Cherry is Neneh Cherry, stepdaughter of the great avant garde trumpet player, Don Cherry.  The Thing is Mats Gustafsson (saxes, organ, and electronics), Ingebrigt Haker Flaten (bass), Paal Nilssen-Love (drums).  The Trio is a hard driving avant garde instrument in the style of Ken Vandermark.  The combo reminds me less of other attempts to blend rap and jazz and more of the Steve Lacy cuts that include vocals, such as 'Inside My Head' on The Holy La. 

The album includes original compositions as well as interpretations of punk, hard rock, and rap numbers.  It also has one composition by Ornette Coleman and one by Don Cherry.  I am playing the latter "Golden Heart', and  'Sudden Moment' by Gustafsson.  

This is an album worth listening to.  Don Cherry is by far the biggest gravitational force in the music.  At times, Gustafsson seems to be channeling him.  Give it a try. 

A Visit to the Jazz Record Mart

I recently enjoyed a visit to Chicago and, of course, a trip to the Jazz Record Mart.  This little gem is at 27  East Illinois St., just a little North of the River and West of Michigan Ave.  Right next to it, I will mention before I forget, is a wonderful Thai restaurant, The Star of Siam.  

The JRM is a wonderful place to find just what you are looking for, especially if you are looking for jazz that has a Chicago connection.  I walked out with six recordings, a couple of which I couldn't find online. 

Ken Vandermark's Sound in Action Trio is something special: Vandermark on tenor sax and clarinet, with Robert Barry and Tim Mulvenna, both on drums.  The album is Design in Time (1999).  I am playing the first cut, Ornette Coleman's 'Law Years' and Albert Ayler's 'Angels'.  I also nailed Dual Pleasure, with Vandermark and Paal Nilssen-Love on drums.  I am playing 'Anno 1240'.  Both albums are superb. Vandermark is one of the most brilliant horn players of the current age.  He is endlessly inventive, with that hard edge and reverence for musical history that defines Chicago avant garde. The trio album is more accessible, mostly because Vandermark is covering other composers.  

Trio 3 with Geri Allen, At This Time (2009), features: 

• Alto Saxophone, Cover – Oliver Lake
• Bass – Reggie Workman
• Drums – Andrew Cyrille
• Piano – Geri Allen

This is an easy album to warm up to.  I have a special fondness for Cyrille.  I am playing 'Swamini', an Allen composition in honor of Alice Coltrane.  


The late Fred Anderson is another Chicago AG stalwart.  I picked up his Blue Winter, a two disc CD with William Parker on bass and Hamid Drake on drums.  The first disc is a long rambling blues.  I am playing the last cut, 'IV', from the second disc.  There is power in that there trio!  


I also picked up The All-Star Game I, with 

• Alto Saxophone – Marshall Allen
• Bass– Alan Silva, William Parker
• Drums– Hamid Drake
• Tenor Saxophone– Kidd Jordan

This is avant garde.  

Finally, I purchased The Matthew Shipp Trio-The Multiplication Table (1998). 

• Double Bass – William Parker
• Drums – Susie Ibarra
• Piano – Matthew Shipp

This is also very avant garde, with a mix of easily accessible piano work and some very challenging deconstructions of 'Autumn Leaves' and 'Take the A Train'.  I am playing 'The New Fact'.

That was my trip to the record store.  Oh,  and the Thai food was excellent.