two albums

kids -- hank jones (p), joe lovano (ts). blue note 2007.

there’s a great piece by gary giddens on hank jones in last week’s new yorker. lost track of giddens since the weather bird column in the voice ended. but in a two page spread, he confirms the subtlety of perception, depth of knowledge, and command of language that make him the ace of jazz writing. paragraph two.

‘Jones is perhaps the most venerated of contemporary jazz pianists, and not just because he has outlived so much of the competition. Jazz taste oscillates between decorum and expression, usually favoring the latter. In the years when jazz piano was dominated by obdurate, percussive modernists like Thelonious Monk and Cecil Taylor, Jones was often perceived as a genteel professional, and admired more for the reliability of his technique than for his wit. In today’s more ecumenical musical climate, in which pianists like Bill Charlap and Jason Moran tend to mediate percussive dynamics with lyricism, Jones’s approach seems almost prophetic.’

there’s something really exciting and important about the appearance of the piece. usually at least glance through the new yorker, and can’t remember them running a jazz piece in the culture section, except maybe keith jarrett at carnegie.

it would be a mistake to think that refined nature of hank jones’ playing makes it prim or stuffy. just purchased and spent some time with the recent kids album hank jones did with joe lovano. the album is great. pretty without veering anywhere near sentimental. alternately lyrical and dense, lighthearted and meditative. and very modern beneath the traditionalist veneer. giddens called jones prophetic, and while I don’t feel competent to address his influence on individual players (new york is dominated by piano players right now), jones’ individualism- his sense of style and touch is very now. particularly the combination of historical mastery, harmonic depth, and the inclusion of elements of both harmonic and rhythmic freedom. here evidenced by jones’ percussive left hand clusters, and lovano’s use of harmonics. jones’ sense of rhythm is rooted in the vertical bounce of stride piano (rather than the linear pull of walking bass lines and ride cymbals), but he’s willing to play fast and loose with time. for his part, lovano tends to slur rather than articulate individual notes on his sweeping runs giving the album a sly, slightly unbalanced feel. and both are willing to let fairly straightforward tunes drift towards dense, dark harmonies.

but the album isn’t dark, its masterful with a touch of raucous. aside from the horrendous packaging (illegible scrawl matched to a third rate art fair cover illustration -- really, i’m embarrassed to post it), five stars.

check out the reharmonization of oh what a beautiful morning.


ask the ages -- sonny sharrock (g), elvin jones (d), pharaoh sanders (ts), charnett moffett (b). axiom 1991.

not sure what made me put this disk back in rotation. liked it when I copped it (my copy says j. padro. uh, thanks justin), but a couple of spins and it's been killing me. and also noticed that it was named the best album of the nineties by destination out. sharrock’s tone is big and overdriven with lots of sustain and harmonics. he plays intense, repetitive modal motifs, bopish runs, and noise in equal parts. the tunes tend towards modal vampish things. which is not a bad way to go when you’ve got elvin and charnett moffett holding you down. and the sound is really rounded out and given depth by pharaoh sanders and the guitar overdubs (the album was produced by bill laswell). pharaoh also plays alternately pretty, spiritual and out, and you forget how pretty his tone is until you catch him blending background phrases into the mix. but all of this doesn’t do anything to capture the depth of the album, both in the full recorded tone, and the vibe that these guys have. five stars.

listen to one of the best tracks, as we used to sing.