Ian Shaw: Stephensong
Vocalist Ian Shaw has been regarded as one of the foremost jazz singers in this country for some time but this perhaps overlooks his work as a fine purveyor of show tunes, his stage performances and his role as an activist, all which underlines his versatility.
Here he addresses his admiration for the songs of Stephen Sondheim, from whose huge repertoire he has selected 11 songs in an attempt to show the wide range – a difficult task, although there are certain stylistic similarities in the way they tell a story and make it relevant, accessible and even personal to the listener. Apart from Somewhere, he avoids West Side Story, the launching pad from which Sondheim’s stellar career took off.
Some cover friendships and relationships, their ironies and paradoxes, limitations and commitment, including No One Is Alone, Marry Me A Little, Being Alive and Good Thing Going; others deal with the difficulties of city living, its alienation and isolation, such as Another Hundred People and Take Me To The World. Doing the simplest things in life can pose problems, as Anyone Can Whistle intimates, bringing to mind “You know how to whistle, don’t you Steve? Just put your lips together and blow” (Bacall in To Have And Have Not).
Shaw’s singing closely reflects the content and context of the material, using space, pauses, pace and power to maximum effect in his delivery and interpretation. Pianist Barry Green is the perfect foil, from his Bill Evans-like sensitivity in the introductions and closures to the forceful (where appropriate) peaks and calming descents. An unaffected tribute to the widely appreciated songwriter.
Discography
Everybody Says Don’t; No One Is Alone; Take Me To The World; Marry Me A Little; I Remember; Another Hundred People; Being Alive; Good Thing Going; Anyone Can Whistle; Children Will Listen; Somewhere (39.57)
Shaw (v); Barry Green (p). London, October 2024.
Silent Wish Records SWRCD03
Lena Bloch: Marina
When poetry is set to music it is often the poet themselves reading their work, but here the words of Russian Marina Tsvetaeva are read/performed by Kyoko Kitamura, with saxophonist Lena Bloch providing the music.
Tsvetaeva was born in Tsarist Russia, saw the upheaval of the revolution and subsequent social change. She aligned against the Bolsheviks, her husband an officer with the White Army, and found herself fleeing to live in exile, only later to return. Her writing reflects her experience of life and the turbulent times. Passionate and emotional, full of internalised conflict, Kitamura never holds back in her delivery. Fellow Muscovite, Lena Bloch, translated some of the poetry, relating to aspects of it, particularly those dealing with exile. Interestingly, writer Elaine Feinstein (known for her volume on Bessie Smith) wrote a major translation of Tsvetaeva’s poetry.
Some rail against inequalities of life, with anger, resistance and defiance, the music expressive and explosive (I Refuse); others deal more quietly with endurance and the desire for escape (Tired and Such Tenderness). Bloch’s horn evokes the witching hours of the night on Insomnia, when innermost thoughts and the imagination play tricks. Haunting cries and small sounds give a menacing feel on The Time Will Come, a dramatic and assertive Russian recitation before it becomes a statement about the poet’s intent. The poems are highly personalised, at times self-obsessively so, not least on Marina, a paean to the sea.
As for the music, I found that more interesting than the words. Bloch has a range of tone and style that adjusts effectively to the emotion implicit in the titles, as does pianist Jacob Sacks, who can play quietly with an underlying threat of breaking loose (Tired) or adopt a freer, fragmentary approach (Immeasureable), on which the fast cymbal work of Michael Sarin and walking pulse of Ken Filiano impress. In this way the musicians compellingly interpret the poetry, or their perception of it, through their music.
Discography
I Refuse; Insomnia; Marina; Such Tenderness; Tired; Immeasurable; The Time Will Come. (55.33)
Bloch (ts, ss); Kyoko Kitamura (v); Jacob Sacks (p); Ken Filiano (b); Michael Sarin (d). NY, November 2022.
Fresh Sounds FSR-CD 5137
Charles Mingus: Mingus At Monterey
Not having been available for some time, this live recording at the 1964 Monterey Festival has been remastered and issued by Candid with the original gatefold sleeve. With reproduced news cuttings from New York Times, Herald Tribune, Downbeat and other publications, it has a page of notes by Mingus himself.
After what I feel is a slightly unconvincing introduction by the bass, the music quickly settles into a tribute to Mingus’s primary source of inspiration, Duke Ellington. The quintet plays the first selections of the Ellington Medley and is joined by tenor saxophonist John Handy lll (a late replacement for Booker Ervin) on Take The A Train. They then go into Orange Was The Colour Of Her Dress, Then Blue Silk.
It’s a great musical statement from Mingus that shifts from swing to bebop to abstraction, all facets of the man’s music. It embraces everything that has happened in jazz, including a snippet of stride piano by Jaki Byard, but of all the fine soloists, it’s alto saxophonist Charles McPherson that stands out for me. He’s always been immersed in the bebop idiom, but he has a wide emotional range: lyrical on In A Sentimental Mood, forceful on Take The A Train, and Orange Was The Colour has a clear blues-inflected contribution. He’s in fiery form on Meditations On Integration, during one of the uptempo sections of this long composition, in which there is the additional input of predominantly brass players for the larger ensemble.
Full of mixed time and keys, written sections and improvisations, melody and dissonance, Meditations was described by Mingus as “a prayer of peace, a prayer of love, a prayer for all people … it’s chaos, but organised chaos”. It’s a large conglomeration of intense sound, references and inspiration, which reaches a climactic ending to the appreciation of the enthusiastic audience.
Discography
Duke Ellington Medley: I’ve Got It Bad; In A Sentimental Mood; All Too Soon; Mood Indigo; Sophisticated Lady; A Train Pts 1 & 2; Orange Was The Colour Of Her Dress, Then Blue Silk Pts 1 & 2; Meditations On Integration Pts 1 & 2. (60.24)
Mingus (b); Buddy Collette (as, f, picc); Charles McPherson (as); John Handy lll (ts); Jack Nimitz (bs, bcl); Bobby Bryant, Lonnie Hillyer, Melvin Moore (t); Lou Blackburn (tb); Red Callender (tu); Jaki Byard (p); Dannie Richmond (d). Monterey, 20 September 1964.
Candid 33601
