Vince Mendoza: Nights on Earth (2011)

It's been 13 years since Vince Mendoza last released an album of all-original music with Epiphany (Zebra, 1999); but it's not as if he hasn't been busy. He's a first-call arranger for high profile jazzers, working on guitarist John Scofield's 54 (EmArcy, 2010), now-deceased keyboard giant Joe Zawinul's Brown Street (Heads Up, 2007), and über-trumpeter Randy Brecker's Some Skunk Funk (Telarc, 2006). He's lived in the pop world with Björk, Elvis Costello and Joni Mitchell, and participated in concept projects like Blauklang (ACT , 2008) and the flamenco-driven El Viento (ACT, 2009). Clearly, for Mendoza, there're only so many hours in a day. Which makes Nights on Earth all the more cause for celebration. Early albums like Start Here (World Pacific, 1990) utilized a relatively large cast of characters and were broad in scope, but here Mendoza achieves a new plateau with a panoramic world view bringing together musical friends, old and new. Mendoza has recruited five different guitarists alone, each for their individual strengths, whether it's a blues-tinged Scofield on the elegiac "Gracias," Nguyên Lê's electrified Orient-icities on the percussion-driven "Shekere," or John Abercrombie's narrative weaving through "Poem of the Moon," which also features rising star trumpeter, Ambrose Akinmusire, and whose dark beginnings gradually pick up steam, all the while retaining the harmonic ambiguity that makes it feel constantly on the edge of a precipice.

A consolidation of sorts, Mendoza culls from his flamenco experience on "Otoño," though its breezy, Mediterranean opening gradually evolves into something more complex, with Lê's scored melody the perfect transition to organist Larry Goldings' solo, which impressively and effortlessly winds its way through Mendoza's constantly shifting harmonic backdrop.

Mendoza's tremendous attention to detail is amongst the many reasons that musicians are drawn to his music. This is challenging music to play; even more challenging music through which to solo. Only four of Night on Earth's dozen tracks crack the six-minute mark, but there's an under-the-sheets complexity that still manages to feel natural—inevitable, even. Whether it's Mendoza's string-driven feature for bandoneonist Hector del Curto ("Addio), the composer's similarly symphonic but more expansive piece for pianist Kenny Werner and saxophonist Joe Lovano ("Beauty and Sadness"), or his polyrhythmic but backbeat-driven work that brings together a largely west coast group, including pianist Alan Pasqua, bassist Jimmy Johnson, and drummer Peter Erskine, with steel drummer Andy Narell and soprano saxophonist Stéphane Guillaume, who soars over the second half of the tune ("Conchita"), it's impossible to pick a highlight on Nights on Earth because every track is filled with them.

With a release schedule so busy that it's easy to miss projects like Fast City: A Tribute to Joe Zawinul (BHM, 2010), it's no surprise Mendoza took so long to get to Nights on Earth. His significance may not be reflected with a household name, but there's little doubt that, amongst musicians, he's a key figure. With 39 performers (excluding Metropole's 30 participants), Nights on Earth is another watershed, representing Mendoza's current position along an evolving path, where profound compositional depth and simple beauty find a rare meeting point.

Tracklist:

01. Otono
02. Poem of the Moon
03. Ao Mar
04. Conchita
05. The Stars You Saw
06. Addio
07. Shekere
08. Beauty and Sadness
09. The Night We Met
10. Gracias
11. Everything is You
12. Lullaby

Personnel:

Vince Mendoza: composer, conductor, arranger, keyboards (7, 9);
Lorraine Perry: vocals (10);
Luciana Souza: vocals (3);
Tom Diakite: kora and vocals (7);
Jim Walker: flute (2, 11);
Joe Lovano: tenor saxophone (5, 8);
Bob Mintzer: tenor saxophone and bass clarinet (3, 11);
Stephane Guillaume: tenor and soprano saxophone (4, 7);
Ambrose Akinmusire: trumpet (3);
Rick Todd: french horn (1, 4, 11);
Jim Self: tuba (1, 4);
John Abercrombie: electric guitar (2, 5, 8);
John Scofield: electric guitar (3, 10);
Nguyen Le: electric guitar (1, 4, 7);
Romero Lubambo: acoustic guitar (3);
Louis Winsberg: acoustic guitar (1);
Alan Pasqua: piano (1, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11);
Kenny Werner: piano (2, 5, 8);
Larry Goldings: organ (1, 4, 10);
Michel Alibo: electric bass (7);
Jimmy Johnson: electric bass (1, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11);
Christian McBride: acoustic bass (2, 5, 8);
Peter Erskine: drums (1, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11);
Greg Hutchinson: drums (2, 5, 8);
Karim Ziad: drums (7);
Alex Acuna: percussion (1, 3, 11);
Luis Conte: percussion (4, 9, 10);
Christo Cortez: palmas (1);
Rhani Krija: percussion ( 7);
Miguel Sanchez: palmas and cajon (1);
Hector del Curto: bandoneon (6, 9, 12);
Marcia Dickstein: harp (2, 11);
Andy Narrell: steel drums (4);
Jesse Mills: violin (6, 9);
Arnaud Sussman: violin (6, 9);
Dov Sheindlin: viola (6, 9);
Fred Sherry: cello (6, 9, 12);
Gregg August: contrabass (6, 9);
Judd Miller: synthesizer programming (7, 9);
Sarah Koch: concert master (2, 3, 5, 7, 8);
Erica Korthals Altes: violin (2, 3, 5, 7, 8);
David Peijnenborgh: violin (2, 3, 5, 7, 8);
Pauline Terlouw: violin (2, 3, 5, 7, 8);
Giles Francis: violin (2, 3, 5, 7, 8);
Petra Griffioen: violin (2, 3, 5, 7, 8);
Doesjka de Leu: violin (2, 3, 5, 7, 8);
Seija Teeuwen: violin (2, 3, 5, 7, 8);
Merijn Rombout: violin (2, 3, 5, 7, 8);
Herman van Haaren: violin (2, 3, 5, 7, 8);
Lucja Domski: violin (2, 3, 5, 7, 8);
Wim Kok: violin (2, 3, 5, 7, 8);
Elizabeth Liefkes-Cats: violin (2, 3, 5, 7, 8);
Marianne van den Heuvel: violin (2, 3, 5, 7, 8);
Laurie Vreeken-Bos: violin (2, 3, 5, 7, 8);
Mieke Honingh: viola (2, 3, 5, 7, 8);
Norman Jansen: viola (2, 3, 5, 7, 8);
Julia Jowet: viola (2, 3, 5, 7, 8);
Isabella Petersen: viola (2, 3, 5, 7, 8);
Alex Welch: viola (2, 3, 5, 7, 8);
Bastiaan van der Werf: cello (2, 3, 5, 7, 8);
Maarten Jansen: cello (2, 3, 5, 7, 8);
Wim Grin: cello (2, 3, 5, 7, 8);
Annie Tangberg: cello (2, 3, 5, 7, 8);
Erik Winkelmann: contrabass (2, 3, 5, 7, 8);
Arend Liefkes: contrabass (2, 3, 5, 7, 8);
Tjerk de Vos: contrabass (2, 3, 5, 7, 8);
Eddy Koopman: percussion (2, 3, 5, 7, 8);
Joke Schonewille: harp (2, 3, 5, 7, 8);
Hans Vroomans: piano (2, 3, 5, 7, 8)

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Bob Mintzer: Canyon Cove (2010)

Between a bevy of sideman dates, longstanding gigs with Yellowjackets and his own big band, and periodic small ensemble recordings like the unassuming and heartfelt In the Moment (Art of Life, 2007), Bob Mintzer has remained one of the busiest woodwind multi-instrumentalists in jazz for nearly four decades, since first cutting his teeth as youngster with drum legend/mentor Buddy Rich. Largely focusing on the rich bebop tradition and its various offshoots, Mintzer has always managed to remain relevant by placing himself into a multiplicity of contexts. Mintzer visits the organ trio tradition on Canyon Cove, with a set of largely original material alongside one reworked standard and three free improvisations.

It's hard for Mintzer to miss with this trio of equally players. He's worked with drummer Peter Erskine countless times over the years, from bassist Jaco Pastorius' Word of Mouth big band to pianist Don Grolnick's overlooked mini-classsic, Weaver of Dreams (Blue Note, 1990) and the all- star Hudson Project (Concord, 2000). Mintzer's relationship with organist Larry Goldings is more recent; Canyon Cove was, in fact, originally intended for another organ great, Joey DeFrancesco. But Goldings is far more than just a sub: with artists ranging from guitarist John Scofield and saxophonist Michael Brecker to piano icon Herbie Hancock— the in-demand keyboardist has traveled the full range of the jazz spectrum and beyond.

All three players have more than enough cred in a range of tradition-centric projects to give Canyon Cove the same ring of truth of Mintzer's piano trio-driven In the Moment, though this time the reedman also includes three spontaneous, numbered improvisations, with guest Judd Miller on EWI, an electronic, wind-driven instrument that triggers sampled sounds and synthesized textures. "Improv #3" runs at a fast clip, with Erskine's delicate ride cymbal driving the pulse, while the drummer's lithe brushwork propels the equally swinging "#2" and those same brushes give the set-closing "#3" its gently funky pulse. All three tracks feel preconceived, despite their in-the-moment nature, and feature Mintzer on bass clarinet, an instrument that he's made definitive in his work over the years.

It's when Mintzer breaks out the longer horn on improvised sections—and on structured material like the ambling but ever-so-slightly outré "Road Well Traveled," and incendiary blues, "Bebop Special" (doubling the latter's head on flute)—that Canyon Cove truly transcends the norm. That said, his tenor work remains impressive on the more modernistic bent of "Somewhere Up There," Latin- esque "Papa Lips" and greasy funk of "Bugaloo to You."

There's even a nod to progressive rockers Emerson, Lake & Palmer on the energetic title track, though Goldings can't help but imbue the music, driven by Erskine's rockier pulse, with considerably more taste and far less excess than Keith Emerson, even at his most understated. It's evidence that even the most committed jazzers listen to music beyond its broadest purview. Still, Canyon Cove is, for the most part, a centrist affair that, like Mintzer's last small group disc, is an honest, unassuming and, consequently, thoroughly enjoyable affair.

Tracklist:

01. Somewhere Up There - Mintzer

02. Bebop Special - Mintzer

03. Papa Lips - Mintzer

04. Bugaloo to You - Mintzer

05. Thaddeus - Mintzer

06. When I Fall in Love - Mintzer, Young

07. Improv No. 3 - Erskine, Goldings, Miller, Mintzer

08. Road Well Traveled - Mintzer

09. Truth - Mintzer

10. Mr. Fonebone - Mintzer

11. Improv No. 2 - Erskine, Goldings, Miller, Mintzer

12. Canyon Cove - Mintzer

13. Improv No. 1 - Erskine, Goldings, Miller, Mintzer

Personnel: Bob Mintzer: tenor saxophone, bass clarinet, flute; Peter Erskine: drums, percussion; Larry Goldings: organ; Judd Miller: EWI (7, 11, 13)

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Chris Minh Doky: Scenes from a Dream (2010)

The new project of Vietnamese-Danish bass player Chris Minh Doky (born 1969) includes Peter Erskine (bass) and Larry Goldings (piano) with Vince Mendoza and The Metropole Orchestra. Mendoza's arrangements for orchestra gives several of the instrumentals a grand American expression - no matter that one of the tracks, the band puts its stamp on American, Danish Peace rests over the country. A few tracks are pure trio numbers, and they exude Nordic melancholy. But whether the constellation of one or the second number is one or the other, says Minh Doky sensual bass playing as central to the album, which as a whole is nice and with compositions such. Arthos II All Is Peace and Rain contains several decidedly profound and beautiful songs.

Tracklist:

01. The Cost Of Living

02. Arthos II
03. Fred Hviler Over Land Og By
04. Rain
05. All Is Peace/Ru Con Mien Bac
06. Vienna Would
07. I Skovens Dybe Stille Ro
08. Julio And Romiet
09. Dear Mom
Scenes from A Dream
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