Grist for the Groove

Jazz looks in fine shape as the end of the millennium approaches. And the best evidence, to use an anachronistic phrase, is “in the grooves.” Predictably, 1999 saw an unusually large number of collections, reissues and summing-up compilations, and the Duke Ellington centennial generated a nonstop flow of material related to the great jazz master. But there was plenty of fine new recording being done as well. Here’s a cross-section sampling of some of 1999’s more impressive outings.

*** 1/2 THE CLAYTON-HAMILTON JAZZ ORCHESTRA WITH MILT JACKSON, “Explosive!,” Qwest/Warner Bros. Arranger and co-leader John Clayton’s arrangements frame Jackson’s vibes in settings--especially Jackson’s own classic “Bags’ Groove” and the lovely standard “The Nearness of You”--that provide rhythmic drive supplemented with lush but never intrusive harmonic surroundings. And Jackson, despite the fact that he was suffering from liver cancer (he died in October), is in peak form, playing with his characteristically rhythmic elegance.

*** 1/2 ERIC DOLPHY, “Eric Dolphy: The Illinois Concert,” Blue Note. Recorded at the University of Illinois in 1963 and never released, this is a superb example of the multi-instrumentalist, who died prematurely in 1964 at the age of 36. The album is a quick-take survey of Dolphy’s remarkable skills, with his affecting bass clarinet work on “God Bless the Child” contrasting dramatically with his edgier alto saxophone and flute work on other tracks.

**** DUKE ELLINGTON, “The Duke Ellington Centennial Edition,” RCA Victor. Can a 24-CD boxed set encompass all of Ellingtonia? Amazingly, the answer is “not quite.” But Ellington’s six-decade association with RCA encompasses an astonishing array of music--an overview of one of the great musical figures of the 20th century, performing his own music over virtually the entire course of his extensive career. The ticket price for this limited edition release may be high ($407.97 list), but there’s no denying the significance of being able to own something comparable to, say, a set of recordings of Bach’s cantatas conducted by the composer with his choir or a collection of Mozart’s performances of his piano concertos, complete with his spontaneous cadenzas.

*** 1/2 JIM HALL and PAT METHENY, “Jim Hall & Pat Metheny,” Telarc Records. The flash point between these two very different guitarists doesn’t always arrive here, but when it does, the results are extraordinary, especially in the ruminative passages of the five individual “Improvisations.” The contrasts are intriguing too, with Metheny playing a wide range of guitars, and Hall, relying on his trusty electric guitar, generating every bit as much musical interest.

**** LIONEL HAMPTON and OSCAR PETERSON, “The Complete Lionel Hampton Quartets and Quintets with Oscar Peterson on Verve,” Verve Records. Different in style and generational background, Hampton and Peterson nonetheless found a surprising degree of musical simpatico in this four-CD compilation of sessions recorded in ’53 and ’54. The connecting points are clear: At the time, they were driving, hard-swinging improvisers with masterful technique and complete harmonic mastery of anything they chose to play. They are joined by clarinetist Buddy DeFranco and guitarist Herb Ellis on some tracks, and the music, despite sometimes disparate approaches, is irresistibly swinging.

*** 1/2 IRAKERE with CHUCHO VALDES, “Yemaya,” Blue Note. “Featuring” doesn’t quite describe Valdes’ participation in this outing by the much-praised Cuban band. Most of what happens in the fiery collection of pieces traces to Valdes’ vivid, improvisational imagination and the manner in which he manages the sheer talent of the current installment of Irakere. The results solidly confirm Irakere’s status as one of the world’s finest jazz ensembles.

*** 1/2 RABIH ABOU-KHALIL, ABDULLAH IBRAHIM, EDDIE PALMIERI, CASSANDRA WILSON, etc., “Visions of Music: World Jazz,” Enja Records. It doesn’t get much more diverse than this collection, with tracks that mix oud player Abou-Khalil and jazz harmonica player Howard Levy, Latin jazz great Eddie Palmieri with alto saxophonist David Sanborn, soprano saxophonist Charlie Mariano with bandoneon artist Dino Saluzzi. It’s an amazing collection, and convincing evidence that jazz has truly become a world music.

*** DIANA KRALL, “When I Look In Your Eyes,” Verve. Krall takes a few risks here, not always successfully, in an effort to take her singing beyond the light-hearted trio jazz format. But when she is good, she is very good, especially with such items as a sensuously slow bossa version of “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” an insinuating version of “Do It Again,” an intimate “I’ll String Along With You” and the touching title track.

*** 1/2 JOHN LEWIS, “Evolution,” Atlantic. The 79-year-old bebop veteran and longtime musical director of the Modern Jazz Quartet has never been a particularly virtuosic technician. But his gift for clarity and directness is unrivaled. His ability to extract the essence of a musical experience rather than to expound upon its every detail is on full display in these stunning, solo piano interpretations of tunes such as his own “Django,” “Afternoon in Paris” and “Two Degrees East, Three Degrees West.”

*** BRANFORD MARSALIS, “Requiem,” Columbia. Saxophonist Marsalis’ first jazz-quartet album since 1990 is a potent reminder of what the jazz world has been missing. Like his trio album, “The Dark Keys,” “Requiem” is the spontaneous work of a performer with so many skills that they seem to be bursting out in all directions, enhanced by the presence on some tracks of the titanic piano of the late Kenny Kirkland.

**** HORACE SILVER, “Horace Silver: The Blue Note Retrospective,” Blue Note. This four-CD boxed set makes it clear, amazingly, that Silver’s style--a convincing amalgam of bop, blues, funk, gospel and the Cape Verdean rhythms and melodies he heard as a child--was present in his earliest work. And the 45 tracks cover a seemingly nonstop array of hits, from “Opus De Funk” and “Ecaroh” to “Song for My Father,” and “Senor Blues,” with all stops in between.

**** VARIOUS ARTISTS, “Central Avenue Sounds: Jazz in Los Angeles (1921-1956),” Rhino Records. Intended as a companion to the University of California oral history book of the same name, this four-CD box succeeds on its own as well. Serving as an audio history of the music coursing up and down Central Avenue between 1921 and 1956, it also is an entertaining package, filled with fascinating obscure moments as well as an astounding number of familiar hit songs.

*** 1/2 JEFF “TAIN” WATTS, “Citizen Tain,” Columbia. The Young Lions’ drummer of choice turns out to be an effective composer and bandleader as well. Calling on such friends and associates as three Marsalis brothers (Wynton, Branford and Delfeayo), saxophonist Kenny Garrett and the late Kenny Kirkland, Watts has produced an album filled with humor, imagination, well-conceived ensemble passages and hard-swinging improvisations.

*** 1/2 ANTHONY WILSON, “Adult Themes,” MAMA Records. Guitarist Wilson, the son of legendary Southland jazz great Gerald Wilson, is also an impressive composer-arranger with a mature ear for textures and the ability to create an ensemble sound of his own. His 11-piece band--a blend of veterans and newcomers--knocks out his carefully crafted, infectious charts with the kind of enthusiasm not always found in studio ensembles.

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Albums and other gifts in this section are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).