Brian Woodruff – The Tarrier

Maybe it’s because he’s a drummer.  I can dig drummers.  They’re laid back, organized, with-it types; not reckless spotlight hogs.  The music on The Tarrier feels honest, not forced, not pretentious.   Some of the other jazz I’ve listened to of late has felt bogged down by overachieving geniuses.  I’m not saying Brian Woodruff isn’t accomplished, but it’s music I can identify with at last.

The Tarrier is Woodruff’s first time as a band leader, though he’s been playing for some time.  He effectively guides his ensemble, a sextet.  They all sound comfortable and his music feels simple.  The drumming is punctual, impeccable, crisp;  Matt Clohesy’s bass is beautifully entwined with the drums.  Those two really drive this CD.

“The Tarrier”, a song based on a friendly epithet derived from lingering chess moves.  It’s a blues shuffle and serves its purpose perfectly – it intrigues and introduces.  “Dijon Dance” and “Be Still (While I Remove the Wart)” are next, both inspired by not only the music but the names of a couple of Woodruff’s favorite drummers.   I appreciated his literary motif’s – anagrams, literature, poetry. 

It’s all … normal stuff.  That’s what I really appreciated about this music.  While it is well written, wonderfully performed, it’s all very human, too.   That sets his music apart.

An Interview With Vagabond Opera

Ever read an adulatory description of a band and then listened to their CD and discovered that the description wasn’t completely accurate?  I promise that Vagabond Opera is an exception.  They live up perfectly to the many descriptions and accounts I read about them.  They truly deliver “passionate offerings of Bohemian cabaret for young and old. Paris hot jazz, gut bucket swing, tangos, Ukrainian folk-punk ballads, klezmer and vigorous originals meet a world of riverboat gambling queens, Turkish belly dancers, and the enigmatic Marlene Dietrich.”  Sounds wild, right?  It is – and it’s completely enjoyable.

Their newest CD is The Zeitgeist Beckons, a beautifully produced, magically arranged, boisterously performed excursion into a bizarre musical world that is superbly incandescent and proprietary.  The group boasts an impressive vocabulary, both lyrically and musically.  None of the music is forced, as if they were trying to attain a certain number of tracks for their record.  Each song is its own unique speakeasy show.

Vagabond Opera is comprised of:  Eric Stern, the band’s frontman, lyricist, composer and arranger; Jason Flores, the bassist; Mark Burdon, drummer; Robin Jackson, who plays sax; and Skip vonKuske, the Opera’s cellist.  They were generous enough to answer a few of my questions.  

The Rhythmic Pitch: Consequences – John Escreet

So the newest CD I’ve been listening to is John Escreet’s Consequences.  It’s an eccentric, nearly indescribable, hour of music.  The music is precise; each note is deliberate, every arrangement pointed, all instruments focused.  The …  consequence of this precision?  Hmmm ….

Escreet has been a student of music from a young age.  At age four, he began piano lessons, but also played the cornet, French horn and violin.  By age ten, he was apparently improvinsing his own music.  A decade and a half later, he’s played in London, toured the US, Canada, Europe and Asia.  So, he’s got the skills.  He’s left “normal” music behind and reached a higher plane of musical existence.  Consequences is the product of that higher plane. Without doubt, this music is intelligent, hinting at themes I most likely missed completely. 

The Rhythmic Pitch: Dancando Com Ale by Greg Diamond

Greg Diamond is an adept guitarist.  He also knows how to put together a good band.  The ensemble on Dancando Com Ale established a groove right away and it never left.  They played well together, no one really overstepping the other; it was really a fabulous blend.  Congrats to all.

I was hoping to hear a lot of guitar from Diamond; I mostly remember Arturo Stable and Ferenc Nemeth providing a solid Latin rhythm to the each track.  Their drum and percussion work was alive and added tradition to the recording.  After that, Seamus Blake’s and Brian Hogans’ saxophones stand out.  They had deep, lyrical presence in their appearances.

The Rhythmic Pitch: Mark Rapp

If Mark Rapp is the new voice of jazz, I’m definitely listening.  His debut CD will be out in early 2009 and I would strongly suggest that you check it out.

Rapp was named one of the “top emerging jazz trumpeters” by Downbeat Magazine in 2007; after hearing his work on this CD, tentatively called Token Tales, it’s difficult to disagree.  He plays his instrument with flair, passion and, it seems, a self-assured and downright sarcastic air.  He knows exactly where he’s going with a song and exactly how he wants it to sound.