Year: 2005
Record Label: Blue Note
Style: Straight-Ahead / Classic
Musicians: Joe Lovano (tenor and curved soprano saxophone), Hank Jones (piano), George Mraz (bass), Paul Motian (drums)
Review: Now that Joe Lovano has recorded two consecutive CDs with the same quartet, one wonders why they weren't released as a double-CD package all at once, allowing Lovano to move on to his next intriguing idea. Rarely does Lovano repeat himself; rather, he continues to grow as long-simmering notions attain fruition from unpredictable recording concepts. However, with the release of Joyous Encounter, it becomes evident that the one-year-plus between recording sessions has inspired new ideas, and the group has become comfortable enough to take surprising chances. As a result, Lovano isn't as much repeating the original idea of the quartet session with some of the most respected of jazz musicians, as he is moving it forward.
"Autumn In New York" serves as the bridge between the two sessions, and between the attitudes that characterized them. The first album by this group, I'm All For You, consisted entirely of ballads, representing middle ground on which the quartet could meet. Like Hank Jones' teaming with Charlie Haden on Steal Away, I'm All For You involves supremely accomplished musicians marveling at the charm and infinite possibilities contained within everlastingly engaging songs that reach out to multitudes of listeners and thus remain unforgettable on their own merits. But ominously, "Autumn In New York" possesses a darker mood, with Lovano's unhurried exhalation of the melody, rather than his projecting it, closer to a whisper than a shout. Soon after, George Mraz and Paul Motian join in, adding motion and color as harmonic investigations continue to emerge from tenor sax. The listener doesn't quite know what to make of this: a restatement or another direction?
When Lovano moves into the next track, "Birds Eye View," it becomes apparent that Joyous Encounter includes some original work, in addition to more free-spirited playing, as Lovano combines references to Charlie Parker's "Confirmation" with some John Coltrane turnarounds, especially from "Giant Steps." And Jones, who encompasses a great deal of the jazz piano tradition by exhibiting characteristics of influences as diverse as Teddy Wilson and Tadd Dameron and who performed with both Bird and Coltrane, as well as an uncountable who's who of jazz greats' revels in the chance to play the bebop that ensues.
From then on, it becomes evident that Joyous Encounter is not a continuation of I'm All For You. While Motian is the engine driving performance of Oliver Nelson's "Six And Four" which, yes, is played in 6/4 the unexpected element of the track is Jones' witty, sparkling solo in the unconventional time signature, so accustomed are we to hearing him play bebop, gospel and straight-ahead standards.
The title of Joyous Encounter may seem to be an odd choice from one perspective: that of dedicating many of the songs to departed jazz musicians who had a strong influence on all of the musicians of Lovano's group. The CD includes three compositions by Jones' brother, Thad including, of course, the immortal "A Child Is Born" some of which Lovano played when he joined the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra just after Jones' departure. Indeed, Thad Jones lately is receiving his due from former Orchestra musicians who miss him, including on the excellent One More album, on which Hank Jones played too. "Pannonica," which Lovano plays on the curved soprano sax, pays tribute not to Thelonious Monk, but to Steve Lacy, one of the most revered of soprano saxophonists and a career-long interpreter of Monk's music, even before it was fashionable.
By including "Six And Four" and Coltrane's "Crescent," recordings which Elvin Jones helped to make immortal, Lovano encompasses by representative inclusion the entire Jones triumvirate, members of which helped shape the nature of jazz in the last half of the twentieth century. The tribute to the Jones family from Pontiac, Michigan goes full circle when Hank Jones' "Consummation,"a light beboppish number that delegates to the imagination of the players the bridge of no melody, inspires the quartet to stretch out and enjoy playing the music as much as the listener enjoys hearing it. The anticipation after looking at the CD package, but before listening to it, is how this quartet will handle "Crescent," associated with one of the greatest of all tenor sax-led quartets. Initially recalling Coltrane with an emotionally charged lead-in over Motian's roiling drum work and Jones' ominous bass-clef thunderous chords, Lovano's quartet settles into its own interpretation of the spiritually driven piece, which contrasts Coltrane's sonic fervor with Lovano's elegant, more relaxed harmonic investigation.
Despite the potential of such a quartet for continued unparalleled interaction, Lovano includes a duo recording of "Alone Together," intending to document the constant freshness and grace of Jones' playing as he introduces the song in leisurely fashion before Lovano joins in. In direct contrast, the title track doesn't include Jones, as Lovano wanted to capture the looseness of sax, bass and drums, as he did with Elvin Jones on Trio Fascination, the unfurling harmonic streams leading in unanticipated directions.
As Lovano releases his seventeenth Blue Note album, the realization occurs that he is building a discography that will leave a legacy as assiduously studied and admired as those of the jazz forebears whose legacies he modestly and ardently admires.
Tracks: Autumn In New York, Bird's Eye View, Don't Ever Leave Me, Alone Together, Six And Four, Pannonica, Consummation, Quiet Lady, Joyous Encounter, A Child Is Born, Crescent
Record Label Website: http://www.bluenote.com
Artist's Website: http://www.Joelovano.com
Listen or Buy: @ amazon.com
Reviewed by:
Don Williamson
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