JAM: October/November 2007 Issue: For the Record

Gary Foster and Putter Smith
Perfect Circularity
AJI Records

Personnel: Gary Foster, reeds; Putter Smith, bass .

Tracks: Teef, The Peacocks, Dream Stepper, Tonggeret, Bach Siciliano, For Us, Jam for Your Bread, You Must Believe in Spring, Oleo, I Remember You, In Praise of Malcolm X, Blue Hodge, Relaxin' at Camarillo.

Producers: Mark Masters, Ron Teeples -- Gould Center for Humanistic Studies, Claremont - McKenna College . Recorded at Firehouse Studios, Pasadena , CA. Engineer: Ed Woolley.

Sit down and give a listen to this. It's an excursion into rarely visited realms - unusual harmonies, some exotica, even Bach - yet laced throughout with familiar jazz riffs and moods. The selections include standards, visits incognito to standards, and originals. For example, “Dream Stepper” is Lee Konitz' take on “You Stepped Out of a Dream.” But how much of it is Konitz, and how much is Foster & Smith? Who can say? Who cares?

Bassists provide two originals: from Putter, “For Us” and “In Praise of Malcolm X” and from the late Red Mitchell, “Jam for Your Bread.” Gary seems to play Jimmy Rowles' “The Peacocks,” on every gig, and repeatedly re-records it.

And what of the title, “Perfect Circularity”? I haven't the foggiest, and I haven't yet asked. Do they mean to riff on T.S. Eliot's line in “The Four Quartets” – “In my end is my beginning” ? Why not? In jazz as in life, what goes around comes around – thank goodness.

And who is Putter Smith? You should be ashamed to ask. I was. Here are some items from Wikipedia, and from his own website, which you can Google: California jazz bassist and actor, born 1941, played Mr. Kidd in the James Bond film “Diamonds are Forever”; studio , TV and recording work with Ellington, Percy Faith Orchestra, Manhattan Transfer, Jackie Cain and Roy Kral, Art Farmer, Depeche Mode, Frank Sinatra, Bill Berry, Dave Frishberg, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Gerry Mulligan…

Let's hope there will be more musical offerings from the firm of Foster & Smith.

—Charlton Price

Mike Ning and Sherry Jones
Ellington, Evans, and Monk (tributes by Sherry Jones and Mike Ning, their family, and friends)

Personnel: Mike Ning, piano; Billy Ning, Tim Ning, Fender bass; James Albright, acoustic bass; Mike Szczgiel, Ryan Dowell, trumpets; Carlos Aguero, trombone; Tony DiBenedetto, Bud Haley, Tren Lewis, reeds; Victor Perelmuter, drums; Sherry Jones, Mike Ning, Angelica Willey, vocals.

Tracks: In a Mellotone, Lush Life, I'm Beginning to See the Light, Sophisticated Lady, Perdido, Prelude to a Kiss, Satin Doll, Caravan, Bill Evans Medley (dedicated to Dick Wright): Waltz for Debby, How My Heart Sings, Very Early, Letter to Evan, Maxine, Turn Out the Stars, Goodbye Mr. Evans; The Ballad of Thelonious Monk (dedicated to Greta Price), Straight No Chaser, ‘Round Midnight, Well You Needn't (It's Over Now).

Ning Dynasty Productions (Sherry Jones, Mike and Jimmy Ning). Recorded at Soundtrek Studios, Kansas City . Engineer: Ron Ubel.

This is a three-generation family affair –the Nings, but also friends and schoolmates. Mike and Sherry wanted to honor three of their musical heroes and departed friends by reprising tunes most requested of them over the years and all around town, such as on many memorable nights at the Sunset Grill on State Line. Mike's brother Jimmy offered to co-produce. They recruited Tim (Mike and Sherry's son), Billy (Mike's son), and Tim's schoolmates Tren, Ryan, and Angelica. Add in old (relatively) friends Carlos, Tony, Bud and Mike S. (Because I've now swallowed most of the “review” space for this review, you'll have to get the CD to discover who's on which tracks.)

The solo piano Bill Evans medley is Mike's tribute to Dick Wright, a leading jazz educator at the University of Kansas and longtime impresario of The Jazz Scene on Kansas Pubic Radio. Their adding in “The Ballad of Thelonious Monk,” of course knocked me out – Mike and Sherry included it to honor my late wife Greta, as well as our friendship with and love for the composer, Jimmy Rowles. This CD reminds us how long and how well Mike and Sherry have been a prominent, influential, and enjoyable presence on the local musical scene.

Alaadeen
And the Beauty of it All
ASR Records -- 2007

Personnel: Ahmad Alaadeen, tenor and soprano saxophone; Harold O'Neal, piano; Seth Lee, bass; Brandon Draper, drums; Ray Stewart, percussion.

Tracks: The Summer Knows, And the Beauty of it All, Dearly Beloved; When Love Has, Free Man, Detour Ahead, They Say it's Wonderful.

Tracks produced by Fandeen Publishing Co., Kansas City, MO. Mastered by Mark Wilder at Sony Music Studios, New York, NY. All music recorded (May 21, 22 and 24, 2007) and mixed by Don Miller at Airborne Audio Productions, Kansas City , MO.

If one were to write about Alaadeen, his past would fill hundreds of pages of hard-to-put-down biography. His work with Jay McShann, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, the Count Basie Orchestra, Gladys Knight, Smokey Robinson, the Temptations, Sam Cooke; his studies at the Kansas City Conservatory of Music; and his time with the 4 th Army Band barely scrape the surface. Alaadeen brings with him an extremely impressive resume and this only grows each time he releases a new album.

However it's not this work in the past that will likely go down in the history books. His legacy will likely be cemented with his current work with young jazz musicians. For over a decade now, Alaadeen has not only played music locally but has become an important and influential educator, teaching jazz in both the public and private school systems. However, even though his influence was felt throughout the jazz scene, Alaadeen remained unsigned by a music label. In order to document his music, Alaadeen started the ASR label. Each of the CDs he has released through ASR features him with some of Kansas City 's top young jazz players. On And the Beauty of it All , it has Alaadeen leading a quintet that includes drummer Brandon Draper, percussionist Ray Stewart, pianist Harold O'Neal and bassist Seth Lee. Both O'Neal and Lee were students of Alaadeens when they were in high school. Each brings a unique sound to the release.

I came across a quote Alaadeen had about his most recent release. He said about And the Beauty of it All that it was not “a CD for critics to pick apart or one that is exclusively for the musicians. It is for the everyday person to listen to and enjoy. I emphasize the melodies and…there is a lot of feeling in it.” After sitting down to listen to Alaadeen's newest release I would have to agree. There is a lot of feeling in it and anyone picking up this release will likely enjoy each of the tracks.

And the Beauty of it All is a release that contains both original ballads smattered with a few standards. Alaadeen has placed the emphasis this go-round on the ballads, but the listener will find a few of the tracks holding a medium-tempo pace. This includes the opening track, “The Summer Knows”. Alaadeen gives Michel Legrand's tune an impassioned soprano solo. On the next, and title, cut Alaadeen lends a bit of John Coltrane to his original tune while he and Harold O'Neal update the Jerome Kern and Johnny Mercer standard “Dearly Beloved”.

“When Love Has” takes a bit of a downward turn and will leave the listener feeling a bit blue, but all is well; isn't that what jazz is supposed to do? Tug a little on the heartstrings and evoke emotion? “Free Man” comes up next and is another original ballad; this one written specifically for O'Neal, a native of Nigeria . Two smooth tunes close out this release, giving you the feeling as though Alaadeen has just grabbed you up in a big old bear-hug. “Detour Ahead”, a song made famous by Billie Holiday, is a duet between Alaadeen on tenor sax and O'Neal and the Irving Berlin classic and Alaadeen solo “They Say it's Wonderful”.

Now 73, it seems as though Alaadeen is exhibiting no signs of moving out of his musical prime. In just the past couple of years, the praise has been heaped upon this elder statesman of Kansas City jazz; he has been the recipient of the Missouri Humanities Council's Community Heritage Award, the Jazz Heritage Award, and the Missouri Arts Award. All this, and in 2006, he was presented Kansas City 's “Lifetime Achievement Award.” With a strong musical legacy of his own and his work with younger generations of jazz musicians, Alaadeen will be a name synonymous with jazz for years to come. Grab his latest release as soon as you can.

—Tristan Smith

Wendy Fopeano
Raining on the Roses

Personnel: Wendy Fopeano: vocals; Marc Sabatella, piano; Jeff Jenkins, piano; Bill Kopper, guitar; Bijoux Barbosa, bass; Jill Fredericksen, drums; with special appearances of Carol Comer on piano and vocals and Art Lande on piano.

Tracks: Morning Song (Murray/Fopeano), Sunshower (Barron, Jarrett), Centerpiece (Edison/Hendricks), Chovendo Na Roseira (Jobim/Lees), Caravan (Ellington/Tizol), A Part Together (Jenkins/Fopeano), Autumn Leaves (Kosma/Mercer/Prevert), Caminhos Cruzados (Jobim/Mendonca), Watermelon Man (Hancock/Hendricks), Thorns (Sabatella/Fopeano), I'm Glad There Is You (Dorsey/Mertz), I'm Old Fashioned (Kern/Mercer)

Produced by Wendy Fopeano, Jeff Jenkins, and Marc Sabatella. Mixed by Jeff Jenkins. Mastered by Scott Griess.

Wendy Fopeano brings us a soulful, energetic new recording made live as part of the Mile High Recording Series at Dazzle jazz club in Denver , featuring her friend and mentor, Kansas City 's Carol Comer , who sings with her on some of the tunes. For instance, on the third track, “Centerpiece” Fopeano and Comer's voices combine in beautiful, bouquet-like duet, in this song's plea for an easier, pastoral life.

One of the obvious strengths of this album is Fopeano's soulful delivery. She has great presence and delivery, and she pulls her audience's heart-strings gently, as if reaching into the piano for once elusive notes, and tugging just the right ones in just the right way.

Fopeano and crew enlarge the regular musical repertoire by beginning “Caravan” with an Eastern Indian introduction, with sitar-like sounds droning and beckoning the tune to begin. Fopeano even chants over this interlude, which seems much like a desert prayer. This Indian element continues throughout the tune, but is most noticeable at the beginning and ending, where there is enough silence and space to hear all of its intricacies. It is novel, and it works, including finger cymbal chirps and gong-like dark splashes of sound. And, of course, there are a great deal of strings warming the room, like a transcendental hive. Bijoux Barbosa's electric bass propels the tune beyond the introduction, and his ornamentation of the bass line is reminiscent of Jaco Pastorius in its blend of seeming simplicity with sophisticated complexity. Fopeano uses part of a chorus to scat, and it is a treat to follow her and enjoy the acrobatics of a singer with an excellent ear. As expected in this tune, the swing-style bridge cooks, but extraordinarily so, highlighting the strong sense of groove and drive the group achieves here. I played this track over and over, and you may, too.

“A Part Together,” with Bill Kopper on guitar, has a slight Pat Metheny feel, especially in terms of phrasing in the introduction, where groups of notes are pushed together, then the last note is held in a mournful way. This tune follows “Caravan” well, and it also emphasizes the breadth of this album in regard to its range of styles and variety of tunes.

“Caminhos Cruzados,” a duet of Fopeano and Kopper, once again reveals Kopper's versatility, while also showcasing Fopeano's knowledge of Portuguese and passionate delivery in the language of Brazil . She truly sells this song, which is at once meditative and romantic. Fopeano gives this quiet, gentle bossa nova gentle wings.

Fopeano and crew follow with the always lively “Watermelon Man,” in which Barbosa starts the solos section with his delivery of a frenzied, multilayered, melodic, syncopated, jaw-dropping solo that for a moment might make one wonder if that's a bass he's playing up there or a guitar. When the tune concludes, Fopeano shifts the mood to a poetic ballad Sabatella and she wrote about how we are sometimes like roses “embracing rain as it falls.” The tune, “Thorns,” highlights Marc Sabatella on piano, in addition to featuring Fopeano's impassioned writing and melodious voice.

Carol Comer and Art Lande provide a bit of a coda to this performance. Comer follows “Thorns” by singing and playing piano on “I'm Glad There Is You.” In a way, it appears as if she is giving her blessing to Fopeano's night of music as well as sharing in it—for a beautiful, brief moment. Lande accompanies Fopeano on piano on the final tune, “I'm Old Fashioned,” and his understated echoes of Fopeano's phrasing are endearing, and witty.

Overall, this is a wonderful live recording, and it makes me wish I were in Denver to hear it live. For the most part, the audience seems breathless, except when they are clapping. You will love it.

— Kevin Rabas

Ron Gutierrez
Live At The Mac Volumes One And Two

Personnel: Ron Gutierrez (vocals); Charles Williams (piano/keyboards); Craig Akin (acoustic and electric bass); Kevin Wickliffe (drums/percussion); Wayne Goins (guitar)

Special Guest Artists: Jim Mair (tenor sax); Rod Fleeman (guitar)

This double CD, recorded last October at the Manhattan (KS) Arts Center is just what you'd expect from seasoned pro, Ron Gutierrez. Several adjectives attach appropriately to his sound: warm, personable, effortless – not to be dismissive of his energy, witness opener “Route 66.” (BTW, although the rhythm section's intro is a clinic in swing, it isn't the singer's key. The transition is a winker – smooth...fun.)

Charles Williams' rhapsodic piano ushers in “Since I Fell for You,” the breathy ballad mostly front-phrased, the second bridge punctuated with facile leaps. Note: Gutierrez has a full complement of vocal tools which he uses discriminately. A “Big Noise...” bass intro punches up “Autumn Leaves,” the introductory chorus featuring voice/bass only. (Ron's phrasing/voicings remind me of Lloyd Schad, one of my all-time favorites.) Akin's stalwart bass fills the donut and Wayne Goins contributes a roarin' guitar solo, the first of many.

“ Georgia ” follows, a l2/8 feel underpinning Gutierrez's savvy tenderness. Another great piano solo – each is praiseworthy – offers a polished excursion through the familiar changes. After mellow bossa “Night and Day,” Akin's bass once more accompanies the reflective baritone's “One For My Baby,” wherein he effectively preaches the bridge, then delivers the outchorus with resolute torment. Nice.

The liner notes refer to a “bonus track” but you'll have to wait a bit for the sound. I thought my player was malfunctioning but after a l-o-n-g pause, a rompin' “Teach Me Tonight” emerged. Gutierrez pulls out his pop chops and sails through this (second) closer with surprise guests Jim Mair (tenor) and Rod Fleeman (guitar) delivering masterful turns. There's also a fine bass solo but the liner notes don't reference the player and Gutierrez's acknowledgement is unintelligible.

Kevin Wickliffe's cadence introduces “Summertime,” Volume Two's funky first cut. Grover Washington 's cyclical “Just the Two of Us” follows, a quasi-rock crowd-pleaser with Goins contributing a brief but nice comp behind the vocal. Gutierrez has impeccable chart-sense, his scatting predictably smooth and clever.

“The Look of Love” is true to the vocal blueprint, also boasting Goins' Benson-like double stops and Williams' passionate keyboard. “When I Fall in Love” is butter-melting tender with only a slight woof: it's “forever” and “never” - but with Gutierrez's sonorous warmth and the ability to utilize grace note attacks and releases at will, who cares? A perfect piano solo – complete command and control guiding the romantic ideation – completes this choice.

The unconventional intervals which characterize Stevie Wonder's “It Knocks Me Off My Feet” are no problem for R.G. and this version provides a major seam for Goins' ravishing guitar solo. Check out this singer's falsetto in “Going in Circles,” the intense (and rangy) ballad made even more special via Akin's pensive bass interlude.

Goins' sassy guitar atop a familiar syncope immediately reveals what's next (and last): Benson's “On Broadway,” nicely covered – and then some – with a fiery scat solo and yet another Goins gem. If it seems I've neglected Kevin Wickliffe's contribution to these discs, it's unintentional. Having once been married to a drummer (the father of my two incredible offspring), I know how they often fail to feel the love. Wickliffe is content to serve as timekeeper, punctilious...pulsating...imaginative (p.r.n.) and – here – delivers an extended duet with Goins, then (briefly) Akin, with time to spare (pun intended). This one wins for distance at 8:03 .

Gutierrez is enchanting, the rhythm section is worth the price alone, and all deserve your attention and support for an ambitious effort fully realized.

—Carol Comer