Mark Keresman, July 2014

Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers ★★★★

Emergency Situation

Blind Pig

Harmonica guy/singer Rod Piazza has been at it since the mid-1960s, first with The Dirty Blues Band (ah, the ‘60s) and on through the now. Piazza has a unique sound on the mouth harp, a virtual cross between a saxophone, an accordion, and a chainsaw. “Serrated” and “scorching” can be used to ill
ustrate his tone. As a singer, Piazza is no Bobby “Blue” Bland but he has the barroom plainspoken-ness of Little Walter and Fats Domino, and his Mighty Flyers are a crackin’-good combo. All this could mean naught if the songs weren’t there—fortunately they are, being a dandy mix of cry-in-your-beer and rollicking blues-chasers. The clincher: While the lads’ approach is based in the dark-of-night Chicago school, there’s substantial presence of jump blues (the swing-charged style that eventually evolved into rhythm & blues), N’awlins R&B (Lee Dorsey’s fun-silly “Ya-Ya”), and the suave, cooler, more good-time-y horn-inflected West Coast blues (think Lowell Fulson and Amos Miburn, whose “Milk and Water” gets covered herein). Harmonica fans, take note—the flames of Walter, James Cotton, Paul Butterfield, etc. is in such good hands. In these troubled times Situation is a tonic. (11 tracks, 48 min.) blindpigrecords.com


Melissa Aldana & Crash Trio ★★★★

Melissa Aldana & Crash Trio

Concord

For some listeners (me) saxophone trios—a lineup of sax, bass, and drums—can be a bit…problematic. With no chordal instrument (piano or guitar) or other horn, the results can seem a bit too stiff or austere. Not so with Melissa Aldana & Crash Trio, the Concord Records debut of Chile-born te
nor saxophonist Aldana. While she’s, uh, young (26), she’s got plenty of suss ‘n’ moxie. Aldana has a big, shiny, resolute tone in the manner(s) of Sonny Rollins and George Coleman, and while the spotlight is obviously on her, she doesn’t hog it. Rollins made some fine recordings with Thelonious Monk, and the Monk seems to be an influence as well, never playing a barrage of notes when some sleek, well-chosen phrases will do nicely. Her bass and drums team—Pablo Menares and Francisco Mela, respectively—play up an interactive storm, never cluttering, giving this set of brainy post bop a somewhat “full” sound. Plus Aldana has that sometimes rare quality of true swing, even at her most pensive. If you dig sax-gods Rollins, Coleman, and (Joe) Lovano, you must hear Aldana. (10 tracks, 53 min.) concordmusicgroup.com


Glenn Tilbrook ★★★★

Happy Ending

Anchor and Hope

Why oh why wasn’t UK combo Squeeze more popular in America in their 1980s heyday? Maybe they were too good for their own good—at their best Squeeze approached the level(s) of classy three-minute pop/rock perfection established by Lennon & McCartney in their prime. While Squeeze has re-formed on an on/off basis, front person Glenn Tilbrook continues his solo career and his latest oft-approaches the swell-ness of Squeeze circa East Side Story/Sweets From a Stranger. Tilbrook’s singing still resembles young John Lennon with a touch of old-school sweet soul and that’s still a good thing.  Happy Ending is predominantly an acoustic effort loaded with engagingly bittersweet reflections on barroom loneliness (“Hello There”), mega-businesses and their intemperance (“Everybody Sometimes” and “Rupert,” as in Murdock), and underrated Beach Boys member Dennis Wilson (“Dennis”—for a slice of pop near-perfection, hear Wilson’s Pacific Ocean Blue). While there’s nothing joyously manic as “Another Nail in My Heart,” this platter sounds like a folkier, somewhat stripped-down version of Squeeze in the early ‘80s—also a darn good thing, don’cha know. (12 tracks, 36 min.) GlennTilbrook.com


Cowboy Jack Clement ★★★★★

For Once and For All

IRS Records Nashville

“Cowboy” Jack Clement (1931-2013) is a music industry MVP yet he’s certainly no household name…or is he? In his career as producer and recording engineer Clement worked with Johnny Cash, Townes Van Zandt, Doc Watson, and U2, his songs performed by Ray Charles, Elvis P, and George Jones. But he only did three albums himself and For Once… is his last testament. Oh, it features guest shots from John Prine, Emmylou Harris, Vince Gill, and The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, but they’re just the icing on the tasty gravy. Clement is technically not a “great” singer but his voice is raw, warm, and honest, comfortable as that tattered pair of jeans or bathrobe you can’t bear to “retire.” Stylistically, Once is traditional country music (pre-Nash Vegas, without that sterile gloss) with strong acoustic folk overtones, the songs about trains, murder, feelings ‘n’ stuff, delivered with homespun élan. Clement could probably sing Nashville building codes and it’d be worth hearing—fortunately Once has so much more. Thanks, Mr. C. (12 tracks, 33 min.) irsnashville.com


Raoul Björkenheim ★★★1/2

Ecstasy

Cuneiform

Finnish guitarist Raoul Björkenheim’s last platter Blixt was something of a (joyous, scary) blow-out, but this time around things be a lil’ different. He’s got a new band named the title of this album, and they play “out” jazz with lots of sass and vigor. Ecstasy recalls the thornier side of the ECM Records catalog, especially the works of fellow Scandinavians Edward Vesala and Terje Rypdal. Björkenheim attacks the guitar the way the late great Sonny Sharrock did—like Coltrane and Ayler “attacked” their saxophones (mad-fierce abandon)—yet blues is never very far away. There’s also the chunky focus of pre-Mahavishnu John McLaughlin and the searing wit of Frank Zappa. The way RB cross-pollinates between jazz and rock recalls fellow traveler Nels Cline, and the results are similar: Oblique swing, gnarly noise, predictably unpredictable, swell.  (9 tracks, 46 min.) cuneiformrecords.com



Carlos Franzetti ★★★★1/2

In The Key of Tango

Sunnyside

Paul Bley ★★★★

Play Blue – Oslo Concert

ECM

Sometimes you just got to have it simple—but not Lady Gaga simple, dig? Here are two gents at the 88s, solo piano all the way. Argentinean Carlos Franzetti has composed symphonies, big band jazz, and film scores (The Mambo Kings). Here, he has a go at the tangos of his native land. This isn’t “dance” tango—but one can easily imagine the most elegant of ballets to this: It’s Nuevo tango in the vein of Astor Piazzolla, two of whose tunes are herein. Simply put, this is gorgeous music—unabashedly romantic, melodic in a manner that’s cordial and mysterious, full-bodied, poised, and invigorating. Imagine Keith Jarrett in his most rhapsodic moments playing Ravel—yep. (15 tracks, 55 min.)  sunnysidecrecords.com

Now, on the other hand, Canadian jazz pianist Paul Bley has the rep for being a “cerebral” player. True, he has a generally spare, ruminative style and goes atonal occasionally. But at 75, Bley still surprises—while he’s been “avant-garde” he’s also played with Sonny Rollins and Chet Baker, and Play Blue subtly brings both spheres together. While this program has a “ramble-y” ambiance, it’s exquisite rambling, abidingly lyrical in a manner evoking Bill Evans (albeit more abstractly), and swing (also abstractly) is there. (5 tracks, 57 min.) ecmrecords.com