Eliane Elias: Ao Vivo
Eliane Elias was a precocious talent. Born in São Paulo in 1960, at 17 she performed with singer-songwriter Toquinho, and toured with lyricist Vinicius de Moraes, and singer-songwriter Antônio Carlos Jobim. She moved to New York in 1984, and became established as the leading Brazilian jazz player – that’s someone who is Brazilian, and also plays jazz. At Tallinn’s Jazzkaar Festival in 2001, I interviewed her for Richard Cook’s Jazz Review magazine. She gave a delightful performance in the grim Soviet era concert hall. That’s a long time ago, and I’ve not listened to her enough since.
Her new album was recorded at SFJAZZ’s Miner Auditorium, San Francisco. It features covers, plus Elias’s original At First Sight from her late 80s Blue Note album So Far So Close. Elias’s husband Marc Johnson is on bass, Rafael Barata on percussion and Leandro Pellegrino on guitar. Compared to his role in the Bill Evans trio, Marc Johnson has a service role, but a bassist has to enjoy that more common function.
Elias sings with intimacy and understated lyricism. Her piano playing has pellucid articulation and tightly argued lines. The audience is understandably enthusiastic. The repertoire is all-Brazilian, and includes wonderful interpretations of Jobim classics like A Felicidade, and older material such as Brasil (Aquarela Do Brasil), a samba written by Ary Barroso in 1939.
Elias has moved from Blue Note to Candid, I guess because they let her do what she wants, rather than saddling her with idiotic “guests” – not that the guests are idiotic, but the pairings often make for a pot-pourri. (That said, Nduduzo Makhathini’s The Myth We Choose, reviewed below, works very well.) The album ends with an audience singalong to Só Danço Samba. A wonderful release that shows that Elias has lost none of her power, or allure.
Discography
Brasil (Aquarela Do Brasil); Você; Sambou Sambou; Você E Eu (You And I); Eu Sambo Mesmo (I Really Samba); Bahia Medley: Saudade Da Bahia/Você Já Foi À Bahia; Esta Tarde Vi Llover; At First Sight; A Felicidade; Só Danço Samba (52.00)
Elias (p, v); Marc Johnson (b); Leandro Pellegrino (g); Rafael Barata (d). San Francisco, 21 October 2023.
Candid Records CDCND3396
Nduduzo Makhathini: The Myth We Choose
Produced by Makhathini and his 18-year-old son Thingo, The Myth features bassist Dalisu Ndlazi and drummer Lukmil Perez (on some tracks, Ayanda Sikade). There are guests – usually a bad sign on a major label, but here they’re good. They include multi-instrumentalist Shabaka Hutchings, DJ Black Coffee, trumpeter Robin Fassie, guitarist Keenan Ahrends and vocalist Omagugu, Makhathini’s spouse.
This is the pianist’s fourth album for Blue Note. His great mentor is the late-lamented Bheki Mseleku, one of apartheid’s last tragic musical victims. Other heroes include Coltrane, Tyner and Abdullah Ibrahim. Indeed, I’ve always regarded Makhathini as a Coltrane follower. Clearly his style has broadened, and – Abdullah Ibrahim apart – he must be the greatest living South African jazz musician.
On many visits to South Africa, I’ve witnessed the grace of oppressed peoples, from Mandela downwards. It continues to amaze, but sadly, is still too rarely reciprocated. There’s still a need for “white consciousness” – awareness by whites of their privileged position – especially among apartheid supporters. Makhathini’s new album expresses that grace. With its spoken/sung invocations, Imvunge KaNtu is a tribute to African wisdom, and throughout, the album is conscious that English or Afrikaans must no longer be the languages of privilege.
Kuzodlula is the opener, with the leader singing in Zulu with its remarkable clicks – a challenge to those trying to master the language. There’s one English-language performance, the ballad What People Say, which features Omagugu. The neo-soul Tethered features vocalist Thando Zide, while Zimthilili has the pianist’s own hypnotic vocals. Unembeza is a wonderfully lyrical Abdullah Ibrahim-style ballad. Liyoze Line Nangakithi features Shabaka on flute and Dalisu Ndlazi on bass. Makhathini contributes electronics and programming. Musicologist Chris Ballantine says “Some listeners are bothered by Nduduzo’s use of Zulu linguistic and cultural idioms, finding in them a leaning towards African essentialism.” That’s something to ponder on. This album is still a major label pot-pourri, but a delightful one.
Discography
Kuzodlula; Imvunge KaNtu; Kwamabili; Unembeza; Liyoze Line Nangakithi; What People Say; Primordial Egg; Ekuqaleni; Ḽiṅwalo ḽa Mubebi; Umbono; Ḽiṅwalo ḽa Mubebi (reprise); Tethered; Ongaphesheya; What People Say (reprise); Kuzodlula (reprise); Zimthilili (64.00)
Selected personnel: Nduduzo Makhathini (p, elec, v); Dalisu Ndlazi (b); Lukmil Perez, Ayanda Sikade (d); Robin Fassie (t); Shabaka Hutchings (ts, f); Keenan Ahrends (g); Black Coffee (DJ); Omagugu (v). [nd]
Blue Note Records 5743108
Insufficient Funs: Chunk
It seems that I’m now the bass-saxophone expert at Jazz Journal – hence this review of Insufficient Funs. It’s the debut album of avant-jazz/improv duo Matthew Jacobson (drums) and Sam Comerford (bass saxophone). They released their eponymous EP 10 years ago, and now the Ireland and Belgium-based pair appear on Dublin’s Diatribe Records.
Jacobson and Comerford are doyens of the Irish improv scene, and rightly feel that there’s a shortage of fun in the musical eco-system. The publicity compares them ambitiously with Ed Blackwell/Don Cherry, Autechre, Nirvana and Radiohead, but the model must be the first two. This is essentially a jazz duo of sax and drums, with the most unusual feature that the saxophone is the lowest of the low. I talked in a recent review of the idiosyncrasies of the bass saxophone, but Sam Comerford must be one of its most mobile proponents.
It’s a thoroughly entertaining and engrossing release, that makes me want to hear more from these musicians. All compositions are by Jacobson except The Song Is You (Jerome Kern) and Tea For Two (Vincent Youmans). The originals are impressive, and the album well conceived. Highly recommended.
Discography
Worn Key; If Not; Chunk; Tea For Two; RoJa; Steamm Thaw; And Much; The Song Is You; Cicaplast (55.38)
Matthew Jacobson (d); Sam Comerford (bss). Dublin, 27-28 August 2025.
Diatribe Records DIADI054
