Russ Long
Time to Go – The Music
of Russ Long
Passit RL 1106
Personnel, all tracks except “Never Was Love”: Russ Long, piano, vocal; Gerald Spaits, bass; Ray DeMarchi, drums; Charles Perkins, alto saxophone, bass clarinet, flute; David Chael, tenor saxophone; Stan Kessler, trumpet; Paul McKee, trombone. On “Never Was Love”:
Pat Metheny, guitar. Arrangements by Gerald Spaits and
Russ Long.

Tracks: Woodland Park; Seranade; Time to Go; Meatloaf; E-Train; S’miles; Never Was Love; Slidin’; Can City; Spider; Shoemaker; I Don’t Care Who; Parallel; You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To.

Recorded, mixed, and mastered at Soundtrek Studios, Kansas City, Missouri. Engineers: Grant Schainost, Jeff Schiller, and Ron Ubel. Mixed by Gerald Spaits and Stan Kessler.

This recording thankfully evolved from a tribute assembled for Russ Long at Jardine’s in August. Gerald Spaits arranged a number of Russ’ compositions for that most incredible evening of music.

After a short introduction, in which Russ tells us that he never set out to be a piano player, the band kicks in with “Woodland Park”, with a straight four-four rhythm and Stan Kessler’s horn leading the ensemble through the melody. Paul McKee and Kessler solo—listen to Russ’ chords behind Stan—before a piano solo. Ray DeMarchi is right there throughout, and those familiar with
Ray’s style know just what I’m saying: he knows where to add the punctuation marks.

The easy four of “Seranade” starts with Charles Perkins unaccompanied on bass clarinet. The melody has some nice counterpoint with McKee. This track has a vaguely 1920s rhythmic feel to it.

The arrangements often have a West Coast small band sound a la Frank Strazzeri’s Woodwinds West band from a few years back, and “Time to Go” is a good example of that. This is a nice
moderate four with close chord voicings from the horns. “Meatloaf” is an older Long tune, from 1959, and based on “Rhythm changes”. If someone stuck a gun at me and made me select some perfect Long piano playing, it might be here behind McKee’s solo. That West Coast feel is on this one, too.

Hopping on the “E-Train”, a blues set up with an effective call-and-response between the ensemble and Kessler is not unlike a “Mode for Joe”. It then kicks into a medium-tempo blues, with the rhythm section doing remarkable things behind solos by Perkins (on alto), McKee, and Chael. First, you have the Spaits walking bass, which I urge you to just concentrate on once for his inventiveness here. And Russ’ sparseness keeps the scene very open. He is also fairly sparse in his first solo chorus before
digging in on his second.

“S’miles” just might have some “Milestones” roots. Nice flute solo by Perkins, followed by a Stan Kessler flight and some Chael and McKee. Fine blowing all around.

Pat Metheny played with Russ when he was a teen, and contributed a solo “Never Was Love” to the recording. How Pat gets that bass line, someone will have to explain to me. The song has an appealing bossa nova rhythm, and has a resigned sadness. A beautiful rendition of a great Russ Long tune.

“Slidin’” has that great horn voicing once again.“Etude” is a waltz that could have been built upon a piano exercise. McKee’s trombone is the voice on top of the piano. “Can City” was on Russ’ Never Let Me Go CD (as was “Meatloaf”), and could have
worked in the Jazz Messengers or a Benny Golson band. There is a nice lope to “Spider”, and its descending modulations could be that spider. Spaits and DeMarchi get a great groove here. Kessler’s horn leads the ensemble on “Shoemaker” and is the
lead horn. Chael is reminiscent of Hank Mobley on his solo, a classic hard-bop tenor tone. “Parallel” is a ballad with Russ adding color below the repeated ensemble line.

A Russ Long set without his voice just wouldn’t be right, and so the CD finishes with a Russ Long vocal on “You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To”. It’s just the rhythm section here. Russ even scats a little to get his piano solo going.

It pretty much all works for me here: varied original composition, wonderful playing by all involved, and arrangements that enhance the material. Add a surprise guest appearance from an old friend, and you have a showcase for the immense talents of one of Kansas City’s treasures, Russ Long.

—Roger Atkinson

The Kerry Strayer Orchestra
Christmas in Kansas
City: Music from
the Plaza Lighting
Ceremony
Kerry Strayer – 2006
Personnel: Gary Foster, alto sax, sop sax, flute; Gregg Briggs, alto sax, flute; Bill Caldwell, tenor sax, flute, clarinet; Mark Cohick, tenor sax, flute; Kerry Strayer, baritone sax, bass clarinet; Barry Springer, trumpet, flugelhorn; Bob Harvey, trumpet, flugelhorn; Joe Parisi, trumpet, flugelhorn; Al Pearson, trumpet, flugelhorn; Jeff Hamer, trombone; Paul McKee, trombone; Earlie Braggs, trombone; Bob Koester, bass trombone; Jake Blanton, guitar; Wayne Hawkins, piano, keyboard; Craig Akin, bass; Tim Cambron, drums.

Tracks 1, 5, and 10: Lisa Henry (vocals); Tracks 2, 7, and 8: Kevin Mahogany (vocals); Tracks 3, 6, 11, and 12: Ron Gutierrez (vocals); Track 4: Kelley Hunt (vocals); Tracks 5 and 10: Lisa Henry (vocals); Track 13: Hunt (vocals and piano); Track 14: The John Knox Presbyterian Kirk Choir (vocals).

Tracks: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year; Santa Claus is Coming to Town; Christmas Time is Here; Merry Christmas Baby; The Christmas Song; Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!; I’ll be Home for Christmas; Sleigh Ride; Jingle-Bell Rock; Christmas Comes but Once a Year; White Christmas; This Christmas; Go Tell it on the Mountain; We Wish You a Merry Christmas; Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.

Tracks Mastered by Jeff Schiller and engineered by Schiller, Ron Ubel, and Grant Schainost at Soundtrek Studios in Kansas City, MO. Produced: Kerry Strayer, Keith Park, and Kim Park. Arranged and directed by Kerry Strayer.

The Plaza Lighting Ceremony. Need I really say more? It evokes memories we all have and love about Kansas City: brisk walks, large crowds, bright lights, Christmas displays in store windows,
horse drawn carriages…. I could go on, but you know the scene. Now, let’s talk jazz. It’s been called America’s music and the art form will forever be entwined with Kansas City. Jazz can take a traditional song, performed numerous times over decades or
centuries, and completely turn it on its ear. Now, let’s take jazz and mix it in with the famed Plaza Lighting Ceremony. What you have is an unforgettable scene with memories that will last a lifetime and a soundtrack with mesmerizing performances. What you have is Christmas in Kansas City.

The lighting of stores on the Country Club Plaza began in 1926, the year the Plaza stores opened to the public, with a single strand of lights over one business’ doorway. The following year
a few more businesses followed suit and in 1929 the first official Plaza Lighting Ceremony was held. Now, more than 80 miles of lights are strung throughout the Plaza and the event has grown to
become internationally acclaimed. In 1990, a largescale musical program was added to the mix and, since 1996, Kerry Strayer has worked with Plaza staff and Lighting Ceremony producers to present a program showcasing Kansas City’s musical heritage.

Christmas in Kansas City gets hoppin’ right off the bat and doesn’t let the ice melt until the very end. Strayer’s orchestra is great and his handpicked soloists couldn’t be better. Plus, it’s always great to get a chance to meet back up with great Kansas City vocalists (past and present) Ron Gutierrez, Lisa Henry, Kelley Hunt, and Kevin Mahogany. This recording has something for everyone: the traditionalist (“Go Tell it on the Mountain,” with great vocals and a piano solo by Kelley Hunt, and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” featuring The John Knox Presbyterian Kirk Choir); those wanting the tunes from the rebirth of Christmas music (“The Christmas Song,” “Christmas Time is Here,” and
“Jingle-Bell Rock”).

Regardless of your chances to make it to this year’s Plaza Lighting Ceremony, you need to pick up this recording. Jazz and the Plaza Lights are as Kansas City as you come and there is no better way to mix the two than this CD. Now if Strayer can
only think of a way to package the CD with some BBQ…

—Tristan Smith

Bob Brookmeyer New Art Orchestra
Spirit Music
ArtistShare AS0050
Personnel: Bob Brookmeyer, conductor and valve trombone; Marko Lackner, Oliver Leicht, Nils van Haften, Matthias Erlewein, Edgar Herzog, reeds; Thomas Benkenstein, Sebastian Strempel, Torsten Maa�, Ekhard
Baur, Ruud Brells, trumpet; Dominik Stoger, Christian Jaksjo, Anders Wiborg, Ed Parytka, trombone; Kris Goessens, piano; Hendrik Soll, synthesizer; Ingmar Heller, bass; John Hollenbeck, drums; Kirsty Wilson,
English horn soloist.

Tracks: The Door; New Love; Dance for Life; Happy Song; Alone; Silver Lining; The End. Recorded January 3-7, 2006, Bauer Studios,
Ludwigsburg, Germany.

Spirit Music is another masterful display of compositional prowess and technique by Kansas City’s beloved Jazz Master, Bob Brookmeyer. I have personally been a devoted fan of Bob Brookmeyer’s music for most of my Jazz life. ABC Blues, Hello and Goodbye and his reworking of Hoagy Carmichael’s classic Skylark immediately sparked my imagination. To my mind Bob Brookmeyer was a wizard, I was impressed with how he could rework a song like that and make it a distinctive new creation. I have always been pleasantly surprised by his expanded sense
of form as well as his dense, yet well organized sonorities. His is a rich and profound palette. At any rate, back to the project at hand. Brookmeyer’s latest effort, Spirit Music recorded by the
New Art Orchestra and guests, has plenty to offer the big band enthusiast, an excellent blend of material with a wide range of timbres, textures and styles.

The CD begins with the solemn opening track, The Door. This brooding piece opens rather ominously and keeps the listener guessing throughout beginning with a pedal on “E” that lasts for almost four minutes. Kirsty Wilson plays a beautiful modal melody on English horn which gives way to some exquisite big band writing, particularly in the brass.

Another favorite of mine on this outing is the fourth track, Happy Song. At times it is reminiscent of Ding Dong Ding from the 1983 Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra album. The dueling keyboard work of Kris Goessens and Hendrik Soll is a lot of fun. This
composition has a Celtic flavor due to the open fifths in the brass. Trumpeter Ruud Brells brings so much energy to this track.

The next track Alone is a haunting blues- tinged ballad and marks the first solo appearance of Mr. Brookmeyer’s famous valve trombone. It is one of my favorite compositions on the CD. It’s just a smidge over twelve minutes but does not seem like it at all. Next - Silver Lining, this is a swinging piece, (sounds strangely familiar, hmmm… could it be based on …Blue Skies?). To my ear this piece pays homage to the Kansas City Big Band sound of Bob Brookmeyer’s youth. Nice solo by clarinetist Oliver Leicht and great drumming by one of my
favorite jazz composers John Hollenbeck another distinguished Brookmeyer protégé and significant talent in his own right.

The concluding composition on this CD, The End, is an introspective tone poem with a playful Mozartean piano interlude bringing the piece to a tranquil conclusion. The musicians on this project are all superb and the love and respect they have
for Bob and his music is evident in both the quality and intensity they bring to this recording. I was fortunate enough to speak briefly with Maestro Brookmeyer this past March while presenting at the International Jazz Composers’ Symposium. He
was very pleased with the way the project was going and he could not say enough wonderful things about the New Art Orchestra and credits them with being the one ensemble that really gets it right. Wonderfully crafted compositions performed by a dedicated ensemble of superb musicians equals an artistic success worthy of your collection. If you have not yet heard this CD what are you waiting for?

Ciao!!

—John Blair

Note: this CD is available from www.bobbrookmeyer.com

Mike Dillon
Battery Milk: Mike
Dillon’s Go-Go Jungle
Personnel: Mike Dillon, vibraphone, tabla, percussion; GoGo Ray, drums; J. J. “Jungle” Richards, bass, vocals; Ron Johnson, bass; Mark Southerland, sax, eight-track, circuit-bent madness.

Tracks: GoGo’s Theme; Broc’s Last Stand; The Blame Game; Robbing the Bank; Your Mother Was My Teacher; The Voyeur; Lunatic Express; Hercules; Lopsided Melon Ball; Stupid Americans; Bad Man; Harris County; Fanfarra (Cabua-Le-Le); Magalenha; Indiado; What is This?; Lua Soberana;
Sambbadouro; Senhoras Do Amazonas; Kalimba. Recorded by Chad Meiss. Mastered by Collin Jordan at Boiler Room Mastering, Chicago, IL. Management: Royal Artist Group. Cover art by Peregrine Honig. Design by Maiko Kuzunishi. Printed by Hammerpress.

Track 1, “GoGo’s Theme,” is catchy. It’s syncopated, almost hip-hop in its upbeat, danceable, drum-driven approach. Dillon, on the vibes, and Mark Southerland, on sax, lead the melody. The
tune has a full sound, including support on conga, timbale, tabla, and drumset. These drums first provide background support, then later make brief solo entrances, creating a pleasant percussion blend. Although deeply rooted in percussion, the tune
never loses its strong melodic sense. The players return to the catchy melody frequently, a melody which seems to have a sense of humor. The mood and quick pace of the tune seems like it might fit as an alternate (more upbeat) theme for the animae cartoon Cowboy BeBop. As a strictly instrumental
arrangement, this tune shines.

The solo vibe introduction on “The Voyeur,” track 6, is dreamy and sparse. It’s almost space music. However, when the drumset and bass soon enter, and the tune becomes grittier, with a hard 2 and 4 backbeat, hip-hop centered. A voice enters,
chanting ominous angst-laden lines, beginning with, “From a skyscraper in New York City, / got my telescope out, / and you look quite pretty. / I see you in my lens, you’re coming into focus. / Got my magic potion, / hokus pokus. / But we are not unique. / It happens every day of the week / in motels, hotels, condos, backseats /…In fact, I’m a total freak.”

In theme and subject matter, the tune reminds me of Rod Stewart’s 1980s hit “Infatuation,” especially the video version of this hit. The delivery of the lyrics on this song—dark, slow, and melancholic— reminds this listener a little of Leonard Cohen’s voice and style. “The Voyeur” turns dark quickly with the entrance of the voice, and this darker quality seems representative of many other tunes on the album, such as “The Blame Game”
(track 3), “Your Mother Was My Teacher (track 5), and “Robbing the Bank” (track 4). Along with the darkness comes a sharper experimental edge, as these tunes seem to employ more atonal sections.

Taking a different tack, in “Bad Man” (track 11), the voice of George W. Bush is harmonized with the chorus, “He’s a bad man. / He’s a cruel man.” The vibes and bass play an upbeat melody behind the words of the President, creating a darkly humorous pastiche. It is a daring song, a hip protest song with
a funky groove.

In terms of musical execution, this album is first rate. It is clean even when it turns starkly experimental, and it has a strong melodic base. If one listens closely, one can almost always hear
Dillon’s vibes leading and directing his crew, and his rhythmic, melodic flare rises to the surface. Also on this album, Dillon makes uncommon time signatures— such as 7/8—sound natural and easy.

As a percussionist leader, Dillon has been known for more than a decade in Kansas City. With the entrance of his van full of percussion, one knows we are in for a night of uncommon magic
once the music begins. Although this reviewer found the tunes with lyrics weaker than the strictly instrumental tunes, the hard-grooving nature of the remaining tunes, such as “Lopsided Melon Ball” (track 9), seems to make up for some of the experiments that may take a longer, more elliptical orbit,
an orbit some might call too far afield. However, what one listener might call far out another might call just the beginning.
—Kevin Rabas

Perfumed Nightmare
Underpass
Personnel: E. E. Pointer, trumpet; Hunter Long, soprano saxophone; Russell Thorpe, alto saxophone; Brent Bowman, alto saxophone; Jack Blackett, tenor saxophone; Mark Southerland, tenor saxophone; Chris Walker, tenor saxophone; Pat Conway, baritone saxophone; Jeff Harshbarger, bass; Arny Young, drums; Aaron Osborne, tape operator; Bill McKemy, sousaphone, convention, and conduction.

Tracks: The Moon; The Hermit; The Emperor; The Empress; The Devil; Wheel of Fortune; Judgement Engineer: Brad Cox. Recorded at Station 23, April 18, 2006.

If creativity is your thing, this recording has a lot to offer. This saxophone-heavy ensemble is from getting into the sounds. The wall comes down fairly easily here, making for a rewarding listen. The CD is available from www.billmckemy. com.
—Roger Atkinson

 

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