Ted Nash - Healing Power: the Music of Carla Bley

July 5, 2022

Label: Sunnyside Records, 2022

Personnel - Steve Cardenas: guitar; Ben Allison: double bass; Ted Nash: tenor and soprano saxophone, clarinet.

The charming drum-less trio of guitarist Steve Cardenas, bassist Ben Allison, and multi-reedist Ted Nash makes a come back with renditions of tunes by the iconic pianist and composer Carla Bley. The nine-track Healing Power is their third installment, following-up to Quiet Revolution (2016) and Somewhere Else: West Side Story Songs (2019), the first of which, featured compositions by groundbreaking jazz guitarist Jim Hall and clarinetist Jimmy Giuffre, an influential duo that inspires their playing.

“Ida Lupino” opens the program with a sensitive touch, having a cadenced bass consistency undergirding Cardenas and Nash’s soloing efforts. Allison also brings his thoughts to the table, just as well as in “Olhos de Gato”, which, given the wonderful treatment, unfolds with poignancy, enchantment, and mystery.

Nash is heard on clarinet in the latter piece, but it's his tenor that comes to sight during the serpentine “Donkey”, which, revealing thematic clarity, has Cardenas catching the tail of the saxophonist's statement and progressing with aplomb. The final interplay is very natural here and includes taut exchanges.

“And Now the Queen” is a rubato ballad with a contemplative narration, but the impeccable interpretation of “Lawns”, one of Bley’s most endearing tunes, is what got our attention as a result of its jaw-dropping beauty. Both “Ictus” and “King Korn” rely on precise coordination of movements, action-reaction dynamics, and high-class polyphony in the latter track.

“Ad Infinitum” takes the form of a buoyant 3/4 dance, morphing from an Eastern-tinged sumptuosity to a medium swing. It’s filled with blue notes, expedited soprano rides, and bass lines fully immersed in its underlying activity. The album closes eminently bluesy with the title track, a light emitter with skeletal melody, uncluttered surfaces, and purity of sound.

Employing a fascinating assortment of elegant textures and tones, Nash, Cardenas and Allison contribute on equal terms to an album that expresses their respect and love for Bley’s musical artistry.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Donkey ► 05 - Lawns ► 09 - Healing Power

Ben Allison - Moments Inside

November 11, 2021

Label: Sonic Camera Records, 2021

Personnel - Steve Cardenas: electric and acoustic guitar; Chico Pinheiro: electric and acoustic guitar; Ben Allison: acoustic and electric bass; Allan Mednard: drums, percussion.

First-rate bassist/composer Ben Allison consistently makes good records and he’s been doing it since the mid 90s with diverse ensembles (Medicine Wheel, Think Free, Herbie Nichols Project). For this new outing, the founder of the Jazz Composers Collective changed things up, venturing into new sounds inspired by MPB (Popular Brazilian Music) and Tropicalia, an artistic Brazilian movement that took place in the 60s. With those sounds in mind, he enlisted the reliable guitarists Steve Cardenas, a long-time collaborator, and the Brazilian Chico Pinheiro, a new associate that fits here like a glove. Rounding out the group is the drummer Allan Mednard, who had contributed to his previous recording, Layers of the City (Sonic Camera Records, 2017). They work their way through seven Allison originals and a reworking of Herbie Nichols’ “House Party Starting”, which, glimmering with its recognizable haunting melodicism, emerges here coated with a gracious bossanova feel.

“Safe Passage ” opens the album with catchy electric bass and the adroit sound of brushed skins and cymbals for a soft but steady pavement. On top of it, the guitarists control both harmony and melody with such clarity and such generosity, evoking the lyricism of Gilberto Gil and the easygoing fluidity of Os Mutantes.

The rhythmic magnetism keeps pulling us in, albeit from a different angle on “The Chase”, which recalls Edu Lobo yet with a refined jazzified sensibility. This number is marked by a solid electric bass solo and thrilling drumming, with Cardenas and Pinheiro combining their sounds to perfection. The latter’s improvisation on “Milton” - a celebration of the traditional folk trails and specific sonority of Milton Nascimento (the author of the iconic album Clube da Esquina and the noteworthy song “Miracle of the Fishes”) - is a reassuring wonder of well-chosen notes. This tune ends percussively luxuriant.

“Voyage of the Nautilus” also receives an outstanding percussion treatment by Mednard as it keeps grooving in 5/4 time thru a funkified pulse, whereas “Breakfast with Eric” speaks the blues idiom without sacrificing the album’s aesthetic.

Amidst the chaos and sorrow lived at the time he was working on these compositions, Allison came to the conclusion that he penned the music he needed - filled with beauty, optimism and tranquility. Moments Inside provides an awe-inspiring listening experience for everyone with an eclectic ear.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Safe Passage ► 02 - The Chase ► 04 - Voyage of the Nautilus

Ben Allison - Layers of the City

August 7, 2017

Label/Year: Sonic Camera Records, 2017

Lineup – Jeremy Pelt: trumpet; Steve Cardenas: guitar; Frank Kimbrough: piano; Ben Allison: acoustic and electric bass; Allan Mednard: drums.

Through beautiful records such as Buzz and Riding The Nuclear Tiger, American bassist Ben Allison made me aware of the mighty power that a compelling bass groove can infuse on a tune. His creative compositions, carriers of a contagious, nonchalant energy, are penned to set positive vibes on the loose, while the arrangements never feel knotty or forced. In fact, one of his strongest musical features, which I much admire, has to do with this capacity to let the music breathe and flow naturally.

From this breathable articulation comes the empowerment and enchantment of his recent work, Layers of the City, which comprises seven responsible original pieces. To shape them according to his own vision, Allison reunited two frequent collaborators - pianist Frank Kimbrough and guitarist Steve Cardenas, and added a pair of new partners – trumpeter Jeremy Pelt and drummer Allan Mednard.

The opening piece, “Magic Number”, erupts groovily static, obeying to a slow compound meter and featuring brief solos. While Pelt unites relaxation and resolve in his incursions, Cardenas drives his unobstructed lyricism with a lucid sound. This musing posture shifts to a restless, fast walk on “Enter the Dragon”, initially marked by smothered piano notes, and modernly propelled by a singing electric bass and hi-hat rhythmic bites. Assuming a pop/rock core here, the band plunges into experimental waters in a beautiful section that encompasses Kimbrough’s unhesitating breakthroughs, Allison’s jittery bass slides, and Mednard’s cymbal chatters. In turn, Pelt sticks to the main melody, creating unorthodox polyphonies with his mates before the re-establishment of the theme.

Feeling more hypnotic than intimidating, “Ghost Ship” appends a slow bass groove to refined brushed drumming, using Kimbrough’s appealing voicings as conductors. Pelt and Cardenas throw in Eastern-tinged melodies to substantiate the voluptuous distant dance.

Also inviting us to a Turkish-like folk dance, the title track brims with a joyous ecstasy. Even suggesting foreign flavors, this tune may only intend to sonically emulate the rush hours of NYC, where Allison lives. There’s also a delicious shifting passage where the bassist draws a typical hard-rock movement consisting of a repetitive minor third interval that implies power chords. This same approach is repeated on “Get Me Offa This Thing”, but having trumpet and guitar probing a few telepathic vibes sunk in gorgeous sound effects.

Drawing from tradition, but sounding contemporary, “The Detective's Wife” and “Blowback” also contribute to the diversity of the material. The former has an evident Latin touch, falling somewhere between the bolero and the tango, while the latter is a waltz draped with bass staccato moves.

The quintet’s good chemistry is never in question and the music becomes a pure reflection of their cohesive spontaneity. Layers of the City mirrors Allison’s uniquely expressive compositional style with illuminated strokes of genius, becoming an important entry in the bassist’s stupendous discography.

Favorite Tracks:
02 – Enter The Dragon ► 03 – Ghost Ship ► 04 – Layers of the City

Will Bernard - Out & About

January 3, 2017

Will Bernard: guitar; John Ellis: saxophone; Brian Charette: organ; Ben Allison: bass; Allison Miller: drums.

The new material designed by the Brooklyn-based jazz guitarist Will Bernard, a Grammy-award nominated (with Party Hats in 2007), was built up with the esteemed contribution of reliable musicians.
The stylistic openness evinced by Bernard along his career allowed him to work in such a different projects with names like Tom Waits, Jai Uttal, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Charlie Hunter, and Peter Apfelbaum.
Both these experiences, together with his very own personal touch and vision, brought positive effects to his ninth album, Out & About, a solid effort that precisely reveals his broad range of expression.

Nothing better to start than a wha-wha guitar, saturated with soul and funk elements, laid out on a cheerful bass-drums groove. This is what happens in “Happy Belated”, the first track of the album that features fulgurant improvisations by Bernard and Ellis. This pair of ramblers is in evidence again in “Next Guest”, an avant-garde settlement whose head relies on a strong motivic figure.
Rich in tempo variations, “Habenera” changes the mood completely, becoming harmonically oriented by Charette’s organ and perceptively accentuated by the adroit rhythm section.

Typical jazz idioms return in “Redwoods”, an up-tempo, elated tune where all the performers have the opportunity to expand their personal creativity, as well as in “Homeward Bound”, a tune infused with a cool rock atmosphere, and “Homebody”, a sneaky creation of pacific contours.
“Suggested Reading”, a volatile and vagrant ramble ideally conceived for Bernard’s uncompromising explorations, also showcases Ben Allison’s soloing expertise, while “Full Sweep” suggests a Latin feel swept by Ellis’ spontaneity. The album finishes with the elegant title track, holder of a tango-ish sparkle and beautiful melody, but only after “Pan Seared”, a sensitive ballad adorned with Miller’s concise brushwork.

Uncomplicated, agreeable, and passionate, are three adjectives that, applied simultaneously, better define Out & About.