Jaden Evans: Evans On Evans (Shamus Records)
Jaden Evans is only 16 as I write this, and he has done his own trio date with two leading players. As he’s Bill Evans’ grandson perhaps that’s not so surprising. Nor is it surprising it that he is a skilled pianist with a light touch. Here he glides through a programme of music written by or associated with his grandad.
Most of these tracks will be familiar to Evans enthusiasts and the young pianist plays sensitively and lightly on such as Peri’s Scope and Re: Person I Knew. For Nenette is given a slow, lyrical reading. Waltz For Debby is taken slightly slower than Bill usually played it but inventively. Young Evans plays Peace Piece with all the intensity that Bill brought to it.
So, this is basically a run through popular Bill Evans territory, played with love and respect by the pianist, with strong support from bass and drums. Listeners may well feel they are back in 1959, although a first recording of a famous pianist’s most loved pieces by his grandson is surely not a bad idea. Jaden is likely to develop a more personal approach and style in future. It should be interesting to watch him develop.
Kalya Ramu: Trio (kalyaramu.ca)
A simple card-slipcase, dark photography and a singer with just two rhythm instruments. But don’t mistake this for a lightweight release though. Kalya’s voice is soft, lyrical and her jazz phrasing is spot on. Tackling mostly good standards – well used but always fresh in the right hands – she sings jazz with just Julien Bradley-Combs on guitar and Duncan Hopkins on double bass. These two are ideal both in backing her warm voice and in their short, telling instrumental solos. I’m In The Mood For Love in this version would put most people in it. Out Of Nowhere in this reading is original – and that’s not easy with really old warhorses.
I haven’t heard anything quite like this since Julie London linked with Barney Kessel and bassist Ray Leatherwood for Julie Is Her Name way back in 1956. Laid back yes, but a fresh individual approach to some good old goodies. Try We’ll Be Together Again as a tasty sampler.
Fred Hersch, Steve LaSpina, Jeff Hirshfield: ETC (Red Records 123233-2)
Recorded in May 1988 and first issued in 1990, this could be described as an early reissue in the sense that most tracks are from the 1940s and 50s. The trio is tightly integrated with piano, bass and drums playing closely together. Hersch has a flowing, light-touch approach with LaSpina playing intricate solos on most tracks and Hirshfield contributing strongly on drums. Given this approach and sound, it is almost impossible to avoid a direct comparison with the classic 1959-60 Bill Evans trio. Black Nile, Wayne Shorter’s line, is given a straightahead, lightweight swing with solo contributions from all three men. LaSpina gets most of the solo space on The Dolphin and uses it well. All Blues is mainly an improvised workout from Hersch. Little is heard of the original Davis melody, but it is an original approach. Only the bass line reminds us of the Davis version.
There is a good mix of swingers, Sam Jones’ Unit 7 a good example. Every Time and Easy To Love are slow, lyrical ballads and Frank Foster’s Simone falls somewhere in between. This is well-played trio jazz with plenty of fresh improvisation and overall a good set for relaxed, late-night listening.
Jaden Evans: Evans On Evans (Shamus Records) | Kalya Ramu: Trio (kalyaramu.ca) | Fred Hersch, Steve LaSpina, Jeff Hirshfield: ETC (Red Records 123233-2) | Dann Zinn: Two Roads (Ridgeway Records CD 021) | Donna Brooks: Soft And Slow + I’ll Take Romance (Fresh Sound FSRV 141) | Bill Evans: In Norway – The Kongsberg Concert (Elemental Records 5990547)
Dann Zinn: Two Roads (Ridgeway Records CD 021)
The album cover has a slightly out-of-focus photo of the saxophonist, highly appropriate as this music is out of sync with much of today’s output. The staccato solos of the leader are fierce and furious as he improvises fully on the slim themes. Rachel Z’s piano playing provides a lyrical contrast, especially her rhapsodic introductions. Omar Hakim is a bundle of energy, thrusting the music forward and contributing energetic solos. Some of these tracks have an esoteric sound, mainly due to the use of processed saxophone, whatever that may be, which the leader uses on some pieces. East Bay Punk is punk jazz with electronics and a punk beat. This may not suit traditional jazz folks too well.
The album has its moments and is basically a mixture of punk, fusion and hard bop all mixed in together. The gentle Prayer Again has a delightful piano intro and solo and some persuasive tenor sax. It is the most attractive selection on an interesting album.
Donna Brooks: Soft And Slow + I’ll Take Romance (Fresh Sound FSRV 141)
There are a lot of issues in Fresh Sound’s The Best Voices Time Forgot series, and still they keep coming. The enduring surprise is that the singers featured are all high-quality. The shift in popular taste at the end of the 1950s – principally the advent of rock ’n’ roll – perhaps brought an untimely end to their careers.
Donna trained in opera as a soprano for many years and gained an exceptionally good ear for music. But somehow it just didn’t suit her. Mat Mathews, a musician, introduced her to jazz and away she went. She started to like jazz. “I lowered my range about two octaves, and overnight, I found myself.”
This album of sturdy standards is made up of one EP she made for Bethlehem and an LP for Dawn (there’s a forgotten record company if ever there was one). On I’ll Take Romance, Donna sings with soft focus, ideal phrasing. It is certainly a jazz voice, and she uses it to good effect on 16 standards here. It’s all couched in an intimate style, very well underscored by pianist Alex Smith (her husband) and the bass and drum team. A voice time may have forgotten but she’s back on CD and well worth a listen.
Bill Evans: In Norway – The Kongsberg Concert (Elemental Records 5990547)
A fairly typical Evans live set, from Norway in June 1970. It was left in limbo until discovered by the jazz detectives at Elemental, who negotiated release and remastered a two-LP set. It’s also available on CD if you prefer that format.
Evans is in good mood and playing rather more uptempo than he usually did on many of these selections. The warm lyricism in his solos is there as always but what appears to be an attempt to recreate the original Evans, LaFaro and Motion three-way conversations doesn’t quite come off. It never did, but that didn’t stop Bill trying on most of his trio discs. Gomez is fine in solo in his own way and Marty Morrell, very young at the time, stays mostly in the background although he fits in well overall. He gets a good, long workout on an extended version of Nardis and plays a neatly constructed, well-performed solo. Evans spins out his usual magic on pieces like Gloria’s Step, Nardis and Emily. Some Other Time is the most gentle, pastoral selection here.
Sound quality from the theatre recording is not brilliant but Elemental have done their best with remastering. Evans recorded prolifically and new issues keep surfacing. It is just a matter of finding the best – there are plenty of them.
2024 favourites
Just arrived recently, a previously unissued three-LP set from Resonance, Emily Remler: Cookin’ At Queens, live in Los Vegas in 1984 and 1988. It’s a terrific set with Emily’s personal variations on Wes Montgomery. If Wes was smokin’ at the Half Note, Emily was certainly cooking at Queens. Carson Smith is on bass and Tom Montgomery on drums. Also much enjoyed, Chet Baker: Late Night Jazz, recorded in 1988 by the Norwegian label Hot Club and now reissued on Elemental.