Last Call

Saxophonist Wayne Escoffery moves to the center stage with a personal musical statement. "The Only Son of One" is informed by a troubled childhood that is familiar to those with abusive parents. Escoffery's response to dark childhood memories is a spiritual statement of processing and release. It is a profound one. Aided and enhanced by keyboards played by Orrin Evans and Adam Holzman, bass either from Hans Glawischnig and Ricky Rodrigues and drums from Jason Brown, the date reminds the listener of the Herbie Hancock Mwandishi Band of the 1970s. "World of the Bardo" and "Banishment of the Lost Spirit" begin a program comprised of selections inspired by real life spiritual concerns.

Week Of May 13, 2012

ARTIST / CD TITLE / RECORD LABEL

This week KIOS celebrates the 100th birthday of Gil Evans, one of jazz music's most celebrated composers and arrangers.  Jazz in the Afternoon will begin the weeklong tribute on Tuesday May 8th with music featuring Evans work as a leader and in collaboration with Miles Davis. NPR's Jazz Profiles will examine his life and career on Thursday May 10th. JazzSet will present a concert tribute to the collaborative efforts between Evans and Miles Davis on Friday May 11th. And Rick Erben and Chris Cooke will have more music from the Evans catalogue on Saturday night the 12th on Jazz Junction and Last Call respectively. Last Call will present a recording Gil Evans made of the music of Jimi Hendrix.

Jazz fans can turn to NPR Music for archived performances with today's leading jazz artists.  This month you can listen to new performances from Steve Coleman and Third World Love. Recently The Checkout: Live From 92Y Tribeca presented a concert with the Ingrid Jensen Quintet. That performance has been archived, along with recent performances from drummer Al Foster and pianist Geri Allen at the Live at the Village Vanguard concert series.  You may listen to these and other concerts anytime at  http://www.npr.org/music 

A prolific guitarist whose music has been featured on the Last Call for many years, Joel Harrison has returned with two recordings worthy of your consideration.

Holy Abyss is a superb project with Italian bassist Lorenzo Feliciati and trumpeter Cuong Vu. Roy Powell is at the piano and Dan Weiss is on the drums.  A series of captivating, moody, unpredictable tracks greet the listener, with highlights being "Requiem For An Unknown Soldier" "Saturday Night In Pendleton" and the gripping "Faith".

Immediately accessible and a pleasant listening experience,  Radio Music Society is another career landmark for Grammy-winning vocalist and bassist Esperanza Spalding.  While the disc is clearly geared towards a pop audience, this does not mean the music is without interest to jazz fans.  With an all star cast including Joe Lovano, Jack DeJohnette, Terri Lyne Carrington and Gretchen Parlato,  Spalding's disc has many bright moments, including "Radio Song", "Black Gold" & "I Can't Help It", all featuring the leaders beautiful, melodic voice and solid bass work.  Fans of the dynamic young artist will not be disapointed.

Guitarist John Moulder, a long time presence on the Chicago music scene, is presented in a live session recorded with his quintet at the noted Green Mill Jazz Club in Chicago.  In a set that oscillates between crescendos and quiet meditative passages, the John Moulder Quintet amazes the at home listener in many ways. Moulder's guitar mastery is on display in "Gateway", in "The Eleventh Hour" the band performs with the self-assurance of a Pat Metheny live set but with more edginess. "Creation" features the band in a meditative mood. Moulder is joined by Jim Trompeter at the piano, Geof Bradfield on saxophons and bass clarinet, Larry Gray on bass and Paul Wertico on drums. Truly a captivating disc and well worth a listen.      

Frank Russell is a bassist deserving wider recognition. On his second CD, Circle Without End, Russell displays total mastery of the bass, something he refined while working with noted jazz guitarist Henry Johnson and the legendary South African singing group, Ladysmith Black Mambazo. A Chicago native, Russell has worked as a musician for more than 25 years.The bassist has performed at many jazz festivals across the country including the Newport Jazz Festival, the Telluride Jazz Festival and  the Chicago Jazz Festival. Russell is also a close associate of keyboardist and musical director for Miles Davis in the 80s, Robert Irving III, who contributes to a number of the tracks. The Miles mood is further cemented by the presence of Davis emissary, trumpeter Wallace Roney on two selections.

A dynamic, creative presence on the jazz scene for much of the last decade, Vijay Iyer is one of the most highly regarded pianists in jazz. His latest effort, Accelerando, is certainly another artistic triumph. Iyer's trio includes Stephen Crump on bass and Marcus Gillmore on drums. Together they create music fueled by Iyer's bold virtuosity, Crump's insistent bass and the jazz-rock accents of Gilmore's drums. Two relentless tracks, "Optimism" and "The Star of a Story", serve as defacto openers of the session and boldly state the trio's energy and creativity with unpredictable rhythms.  A fresh reinterpretation of "Human Nature" follows with more delightful, unexpected melodic turns and twists.

Hope and despair walk hand in hand with anyone who has experienced life on the front lines or who has had a family member away in combat. A new recording from Tyler Gilmore's Ninth and Lincoln explores these themes for modern audiences in "Static Line".