Live review: Claudia Quintet at REDCAT

 
The accordion isn't exactly one of the more common instruments in jazz. Yet in the context of the genre-shifting mix of New York's Claudia Quintet, the accordion sounded so natural at REDCAT on Wednesday night that it's fair to start questioning just why it doesn't make an appearance more often.

Of course, the same can be asked of the quintet. Composed of veterans from New York City's jazz scene, the Claudia Quintet doesn't make its way west very often. But the audience  of CalArts students and older jazz heads were treated to an evening with a versatile band that deserves mention among the top ensembles in jazz today.

Led by wily, sharp-dressed drummer John Hollenbeck, the quintet operated as a democratic platform, with each of its members given ample opportunity to shine. Ted Reichman was seated at the center of the stage,  and his accordion often led the group but rarely drifted into a conventional, Eastern European sort of sound, particularly when tangling with free-flowing vibraphonist Matt Moran on the swirling melody of the night's opener, "Sphinx."

Live review: Béla Fleck, Edgar Meyer and Zakir Hussain at Royce Hall

 
The jokes came quickly at Royce Hall on Thursday night as UCLA Live director David Sefton introduced the trio of virtuoso musicians about to take the stage. With Béla Fleck on banjo, Edgar Meyer on double-bass and tabla master Zakir Hussain, where exactly does one categorize such a seemingly bizarre mix of bluegrass, classical and Indian music?

Despite each musician's diverse background, this wasn't an evening defined by jarring, chocolate-in-my-peanut-butter genre mash-ups. In fact, what left the biggest impression was how seamlessly the three principals' seemingly disparate sounds meshed.

Of course, it's not as if the musicians had just met. Equally comfortable with pianist Emanuel Ax as he is recording with mandolinist Chris Thile from Nickel Creek, Meyer has worked with "new-grass" standard-bearer Fleck numerous times, including a Grammy-winning album from 2001, "Perpetual Motion." A collaborator with musicians such as John McLaughlin and the Grateful Dead's Mickey Hart, Hussain teamed with Fleck and Meyer in 2004 for a piece commissioned by the Nashville Symphony, which became the recently released "The Melody of Rhythm."

Backed by an orchestra for that album's three-movement centerpiece, this tour centered on the musicians' delicate and sympathetic interplay.

Album review: Michael Bublé's 'Crazy Love'

In the first three paragraphs of a release introducing Grammy-winning vocalist Michael Bublé's new album, he is mentioned in the same sentence as a choirboy, Elvis and Louis Armstrong. Curious company, but needless to say when an artist sells in the neighborhood of 20 million CDs worldwide, there can be a sense of becoming, from a musical perspective anyway, something akin to all things to all people.

And though it takes a bit of straining to hear all of the above references on the Canadian crooner's latest collection, its mix of brassy standards and tastefully done originals from the world of jazz and pop surely will give those familiar with Bublé's work pretty much exactly what they want.

Which, much like Bublé's spiritual sibling Harry Connick Jr., translates to an assortment of sweeping and tradition-minded love songs, delivered with an assured -- if at times less than understated -- hand.

Things get off to a rocky start with a bombastic take on "Cry Me a River" that opens the record with all the dramatic subtlety of John Barry scoring a James Bond film. Bublé's faithful if vanilla renderings of Van Morrison's "Crazy Love" and the Eagles' "Heartache Tonight" aren't likely to make anyone forget the originals.

But underneath the record's proto-classic sheen, there are some universal pleasures. Soul firecracker Sharon Jones coaxes Bublé's Sinatra-esque pipes into a soulful purr on the duet "Baby (You've Got What It Takes)," and a collaboration with singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith called "Whatever It Takes" recalls the breezy, string-accented balladry of 1970s AM radio gold. Elsewhere, the bouncy, Bob Rock-produced single "Haven't Met You Yet" shows Bublé is entirely comfortable with adult contemporary pop.

The album's polished, middle-of-the-road approach isn't exactly for everyone, but its agreeable heart doesn't hit any sour notes, either.

-- Chris Barton

Michael Bublé
"Crazy Love"
(Reprise)
Two stars (Out of four)

Album review: Vijay Iyer Trio's 'Historicity'

Never let it be said that pianist Vijay Iyer is one to shy away from a challenge. And, frankly, when you've got the chops he has, why would you? Not content to simply be regarded as one of the most promising up-and-coming jazz pianists of his generation, Iyer's latest recording's mix of audacious covers and originals should mark his group as one of the top piano trios in the game.

Armed with Iyer's dense rearrangements of songs by titans from the world of avant-jazz, pop and R&B -- including Bernstein, Sondheim and Stevie Wonder -- "Historicity" is a sprawling and invigorating listen, one filled with such imagination that it can't help but be heard as something of a mission statement.

One of the interpretations most likely to turn heads is a driving, bottom-heavy take on M.I.A.'s "Galang" that comes early in the album, and while it makes an instant impression it only hints at the trio's capabilities. The pianist-composer Andrew Hill's "Smoke Stack" features Iyer embarking on a mind-scrambling assortment of keyboard runs atop a percolating foundation from rhythm section Stephan Crump and Marcus Gilmore.

But it's Iyer's own compositional verve, on display with the title track and the meditative, ever-expanding "Trident: 2010" where his gifts shine the brightest. The latter track explores a host of musical worlds before Gilmore closes the song down with a rumbling solo. At times Iyer and his charges exhibit so much virtuosity and skill it's almost overwhelming how quickly ideas rise and fall through a given track, but attempting to parse all this trio is trying to say is well worth the effort.

If you're interested in jazz piano, where it's at and where it can lead, track down this album.

-- Chris Barton

Vijay Iyer Trio
"Historicity"
(The Act Company)
Three and a half stars (Out of four)

Live: Ben Wendel Group at Barnsdall Gallery Theater

For a guy who named his 2009 solo debut "Simple Song," Ben Wendel isn't a musician afraid of complicated situations.

In a Tuesday night show at Barnsdall Gallery Theater, the young saxophonist stepped away from a set list that served him in rooms such as Café Metropol and the Mint and instead presented the L.A. premiere of an as-yet untitled six-part suite, the end result of earning a New Works Grant from Chamber Music America.

Given that his recent track record on the L.A. scene includes founding the genre-hopping funk-jazz group Kneebody and backing underground laptop adventurer Daedelus, Wendel's ambitious turn toward yet another genre shouldn't come as a surprise. But what was a pleasure to discover is how natural his transition sounded.

Looking like a KCRW-ready singer-songwriter in dark jeans and a snug-fitting jacket, Wendel introduced the 65-minute piece as initially inspired by French Baroque dance forms. And while such talk sounds about as far from jazz tradition as one can get, the end result was lush, evocative and deeply rooted in the genre.

Performing on saxophones, bassoon and the occasional melodica, Wendel was a democratic leader through the intricate and harmonically rich suite, offering plenty of room for his crack, six-piece ensemble to shine.

Live review: Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis

If mainstream jazz has what could be considered an ambassador in 2009, it's Wynton Marsalis.

A member of jazz royalty practically from the moment he could hold a horn, Marsalis rolled into the sprawling Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza on Saturday night with his Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, a taut, 15-piece group he's directed since its inception in 1988. (The tour continues to the Orange County Performing Arts Center and Royce Hall later this week.)

While this conjures images of the trumpeter leading from a conductor's podium, Marsalis instead led his charges through brightly swinging arrangements while seated among the orchestra. Positioned in the back near versatile drummer Ali Jackson, the trumpeter was an authoritative but democratic figure as his group flowed through tradition-rich jazz numbers like a wave.

Touching on expert arrangements of classics, including Wayne Shorter's "Free for All" and a swinging take on "Old McDonald Had a Farm," each member of the orchestra was given ample space to shine, with the gifted Marsalis making his presence felt early with alternately soaring and understated solos during Jackie McLean's "Appointment in Ghana."

But this wasn't merely a showcase for the bandleader. Acknowledging that saxophonist Ted Nash's parents were in the audience, Marsalis used the second set to showcase the young composer with a run of arrangements that culminated with Nash's musician father, Dick, joining the band for an elegant trombone solo during the Lee Morgan bossa nova "Ceora."

Live review: Irvine's West Coast Jazz Party and the Angel City Jazz Festival

A pair of festivals mark its legacy, with Irvine's West Coast Jazz Party keeping with tradition while newbie Angel City Jazz Festival in Hollywood explored the music's new trails.

In the wake of another summer of hand-wringing among fans and critics about the future of jazz, Labor Day weekend in Southern California marked a face-off of sorts between festivals celebrating two sides of the genre. One, the West Coast Jazz Party, celebrated its 15th year in Irvine while the other, the second annual Angel City Jazz Festival, expanded to two days at a high-profile new location, the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre in Hollywood.

Spread out over four days and culminating with a Sunday brunch cruise, the West Coast Jazz Party offers a full menu of traditional jazz that falls under the swing and standards-rich category often called "straightahead." With a festival program that features patron obituaries in its back pages, the advancing years of the crowd in the Marriott Ballroom was a hot topic from the floor and the stage. Vocalist Marilyn Maye joked that her nimble young pianist Tedd Firth was perhaps the youngest person in the room at 32, which wasn't far from the truth.

Silver-haired festival-goer Sally Waterman has been coming to the Jazz Party with her husband for 15 years, and also couldn't help noting the effects of time.

"We see a lot of people here every year, and we notice some of them are in walkers now," she said warily.

Live music review: Corea, Clarke and White at the Hollywood Bowl

Ever go to a jazz show and have a pop concert break out? Pardon the reference to the old joke about hockey games and boxing, but that's sort of what happened at Wednesday's Corea, Clarke and White show at the Hollywood Bowl.

At the second reunion in as many years of the original members of '70s fusion favorites Return to Forever (Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke and Lenny White), the group was midway through a Chaka Khan-led cover of the Gershwin standard "I Loves You Porgy" when a black-clad Stevie Wonder was led to the stage.

The crowd erupted as the R&B legend took a place at the mike near Corea's keyboards, his sweet harmonica gliding with Khan into Gershwin's lilting melody. The ovation grew louder as he joined on vocals.

It was a memorable, surprising moment on a night that unfortunately could have used more of them.

Not that the all-star lineup of veteran musicians wasn't game. After guitarist John Scofield led his Piety Street Band through some raucous New Orleans gospel-blues, Corea introduced his trio with a mischievous promise of "illegal melodies [and] illegal chords." The band then embarked on a sprawling acoustic take on "500 Miles High" from Return to Forever's 1972 debut, "Light as a Feather."

Angel City Jazz Festival will make the leap to the Ford Amphitheatre this weekend

In a climate where jazz clubs are closing, reports on jazz's demise are multiplying and a recession has taken a bite out of live music spending, the second annual Angel City Jazz Festival is taking the counter-intuitive approach: It's growing.

Conceived by longtime promoter (and former club owner) Rocco Somazzi, Angel City debuted last year as an all-day smorgasbord of local and out-of-town players from across the jazz spectrum, including Alan Pasqua, Elliott Sharp and Nels Cline. But this weekend's festival has expanded to two days at the historic John Anson Ford Amphitheatre.

From a location perspective, this elevates Angel City to comparable ground with L.A.'s other summer such celebration, the Playboy Jazz Festival. But with a bold tag line of "Rethinking Jazz," the younger upstart carves out an identity of its own by casting a broader yet more narrowly focused net than its friendly rival on the opposite side of the 101.

For instance, what tradition-minded jazz-head wouldn't be excited by the West Coast premiere of clarinetist Bennie Maupin's Dolphyana, a group dedicated to previously unrecorded compositions by the late Eric Dolphy? Or the trio of Scott Amendola, Devin Hoff and Ben Goldberg reworking the songs of Thelonious Monk through clarinet, drum and bass in Plays Monk?

And on the more outside-leaning end of the spectrum, the Nels Cline Singers team with Tortoise's Jeff Parker for a performance that will meld elements of post-rock, jazz and space-bound exploration in a way that should get indie-leaning guitar geeks furiously stroking their chins. And then there's the classical-informed ensembles led by Billy Childs and Wayne Horvitz, or further exploration of jazz's history with the New Orleans tradition of Dave Douglas & Brass Ecstasy and Jesse Sharps' revisiting of Leimert Park's jazz scene with the Gathering.  All in all, Angel City covers a lot of ground for $35 a day, which isn't far from what an evening of jazz goes for at many clubs.

The full festival schedule and lineup is available after the jump along with an e-mail Q&A with Jeff Gauthier and Somazzi on how Angel City came together at its new location and more.

Jazz fans form a (virtual) street team with #jazzlives

Tired of the recent dire reports on jazz's health (particularly among ever-fickle younger audiences), a group of jazz journalists, bloggers and all-around fans have taken to the 140-character-paved streets of Twitter. For the digitally inclined jazz fan, we welcome the conveniently searchable hash tag #jazzlives, which is already getting a fair amount of play on the social networking site (though so far mostly dedicated to encouraging its use).

The rules are simple -- if anyone out there sees a jazz show, tweet the details and follow it up with the hash tag so it all winds up in one place. (Those of you not on Twitter, we apologize for being the umpteeth person to use the cringe-inducing word "tweet," but you can find more information here from organizer and jazz blogger Howard Mandel.)

Fine online outlets such as AccuJazz, All About Jazz and a host of festivals are already onboard, along with yours truly. Time will tell what the end gain will be from this effort, but suffice to say a good cause requires even better organization. This seems to be a fine start.

See you in Twitter-vania.

-- Chris Barton

Photo: Twitter screen shot