by Scott Yanow,
Remember the old game show What’s My Line? Three contestants would all claim to be a particular person and then the panelists asked questions and tried to guess which one was actually the individual. One can imagine a show where three very similar-looking young women said these words: “I am Veronica Swift, the jazz singer. No, I am Veronica Swift, the rock performer. No, I am Veronica Swift, the Broadway vocalist.” All three would be correct!
Veronica Swift can be ranked near the top of all three fields, but there are times when one can only guess which one of her musical personalities will be featured on a particular night.
At Catalina Bar & Grill, other than a few departures into her rock and Broadway worlds, the jazz singer was featured. Ms. Swift was joined by a young, talented, and versatile rhythm section (pianist Carey Frank, bassist Gordon Bash, and drummer Brian Viglione) that was perfect for her wide-ranging musical flights. Emphasizing songs that partly told her life story to this point (many of which will be on her next album, Home), she performed such numbers as “Home” (a high-energy opener), “I’m Coming Virginia” (taking a “trombone” solo like her mother singer Stephanie Nakasian), the nostalgic ballad “This House,” “We’ll Be Together Again,” a dramatic powerhouse version of “Lonesome Road,” and a duet with bassist Bash on “You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To.” At that stage of the night, she switched to a bit of rock with Led Zeppelin’s “Going To California,” (sometimes hinting at Barbra Streisand’s 1970s rock albums), performed her own original boogaloo “A Room With A View,” and joined in on a vintage-style country folk song (“I Miss Mountains”) that had her sidemen switching instruments with Viglione playing guitar, Frank on harmonica, and Bash bowing his bass. She closed the night with one of the themes from An American In Paris (“Home Blue”) and her singalong number “Just Sing.”
It was surprising that other jazz singers seemed to be absent from the capacity crowd at Catalina’s because they could all learn from seeing her perform. They may not be able to duplicate her voice, wide range, superb scat-singing, and high energy, but they could take notes on the way that she commands the stage, keeps the music moving, and leavens her often-touching renditions of songs with bits of humor and an endless amount of swing.
Strange as it seems, pianist Billy Childs has rarely performed in a trio in the past decade and, until recently, had not made a trio album since 2000. His work as a composer and a bandleader has found him mostly involved in larger ensemble projects. However, at Catalina Bar & Grill, he showed that he has continued growing as a soloist through the years.
Heading a trio with bassist Dan Chmielinski and drummer Christian Euman, Childs performed consistently intriguing originals and creative reworkings of standards. He began the night with the uptempo swinger “One Fleeting Instant” and also played such pieces as “Take For Example This” (a complex number that had close interaction between the musicians), a piece based on Clifford Brown’s “Joy Spring,” the fast jazz waltz “Like Father, Like Son,” Thelonious Monk’s “Ask Me Now” (which began and ended with unaccompanied piano), a mysterious-sounding exploration of “Flamenco Sketches,” and the rapid and dissonant “The New World so
Billy Childs’ inventive playing that night made one wish that he would perform in a trio more often in the future.
BILL CUNLIFFE
A harmonically advanced pianist with his own sound, pianist Bill Cunliffe has been performing consistently rewarding music for quite a few years. At Birds Of A Feather, an attractive venue that, under the leadership of Cathy Segal Garcia and Sidney Jacobs, has been booking many excellent jazz instrumentalists and singers, Cunliffe was part of a co-op trio with bassist John Leftwich and drummer Chris Walden. Although the three had never performed as a unit before, they sounded very much like a regularly working group. They listened closely to each other and created memorable music together.
Each of the musicians contributed originals including “921” (which reminded one a bit of Chick Corea’s “Humpty Dumpty”), the picturesque “Anansi,” Leftwich’s rhythmic “Get Together,” Walden’s thoughtful jazz waltz “Graduation,” and Cunliffe’s New Orleans-flavored tribute to the late bassist Andy Simpkins called “Sweet Andy.” In addition, they performed a pair of Thelonious Monk tunes (“Ask Me Now” a ballad which was surprisingly taken as a medium-tempo Latin piece, and “We See”) and Peter Erskine’s eccentric 12-tone song “12” which utilized the chord changes of “Easy To Love” and found the trio swinging hard.
Cunliffe, Leftwich and Walden all soloed on nearly every tune, came up with consistently surprising ideas, and were quite tight as a trio. They should record together sometime.
At the Jazz Bakery, the Rodriguez Brothers made a rare West Coast appearance, paying tribute to Miles Davis on his centennial. Trumpeter Michael and pianist Robert were joined by bassist Carolitos Del Puerto, drummer Jimmy Macbride, and an excellent percussionist (featured on congas and bongos) filling in for Luis Conte whose name I unfortunately missed.
Rather than merely recreate Miles Davis’ music, the Rodriguez Brothers played their own brand of Afro-Cuban jazz, reinterpreting some songs associated with Davis in their own way. They began with an original (“A Rocky Road”) that featured some fiery trumpet and assertive rhythms along with an outstanding piano solo. They also performed a combination of “Milestones and “Tutu,” “Seven Steps To Heaven” in 7/4 time (the melody sounded a bit rough in that time signature), “’Round Midnight” (with Michael Rodriguez sounding closer to Dizzy Gillespie than to Miles Davis), Wayne Shorter’s “Pinocchio,” and “Human Nature.” On “Straight No Chaser,” Robert Rodriguez’s 17-year old son Jaden sat in on guitar and did a fine job.
It made for the kind of tribute that Miles Davis would probably have appreciated since the Rodriguez Brothers successfully played in their own style without trying to copy Davis.
TIERNEY SUTTON AND TAMIR HENDELMAN
At one of the Friday night free concerts at LACMA (the Los Angeles County Museum of Art), singer Tierney Sutton and pianist Tamir Hendelman performed duets. They had recently recorded a duo album titled Swing with many of the songs having something to do with that season and they performed some of those tunes that night.
At the outdoor concert, Sutton and Hendelman played such numbers as “’S Wonderful” (with the rarely heard verse and some fairly free interplay), the Rory Calhoun ballad “Spring,” “Waters Of March,” “Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend,” “Double Rainbow,” an uptempo “L-O-V-E,” a version of “You Must Believe In Spring” (in a medley with “Summer Wind”) that recalled Bill Evans and Monica Zetterlund, “Spring Spring Spring,” a fast scat-filled “Joy Spring,” “I Get Along Without You Very Well,” Peggy Lee’s “Things Are Swinging,” and “Mountain Greenery” among others.
Tierney Sutton was in prime form, holding beautiful long notes, scatting well, and putting sincere feeling into the lyrics. Tamir Hendelman, a brilliant pianist, made every note count during his short solos and accompaniment of the singer. He should have been featured on a couple of unaccompanied pieces so he could have shown those in the audience not familiar with him just how outstanding a pianist he is.
It was a fun night of spring-based music that, despite it being the beginning of summer, was certainly not out of season.
Every recording deserves informative liner notes (I have written 1,005) and every jazz musician needs a well-written press biography along with press releases that announce important events. I write all of these and more at reasonable rates. Please contact me at 661-678-3542 or at scottyanowjazz@yahoo.com for further information about my services. My latest book, Jazz Through The Eyes Of A Jazz Journalist (My Jazz Memoirs) is available at www.amazon.com.
My latest book, Jazz Through The Eyes Of A Jazz Journalist (My Jazz Memoirs) is available at www.amazon.com.
I have a new book that is available from amazon.com. Life Through The Eyes Of A Jazz Journalist. It is subtitled My Jazz Memoirs and is my 12th book and first in a few years. I discuss in an often-humorous fashion my early days and discovery of jazz, my period as the jazz editor of Record Review, the story behind my involvement with the All Music Guide, and I reminisce about some of my adventures as an amateur musician. Included are vintage interviews with Freddie Hubbard, Chick Corea, and Maynard Ferguson, encounters with Clint Eastwood, summaries of the Monterey and Playboy Jazz Festivals (including a full-length review of the 1985 Playboy Festival), memories of other events (such as the IAJE Conventions), and brief snapshots of many memorable club and concert performances. There is also background information about my other books, evaluations of the jazz critics who inspired me early on, and my thoughts on jazz criticism which includes advice to up-and-coming jazz journalists. Rounding out the book is a chapter on how the jazz writing business has changed over the past 50 years, and appendixes that include the jazz greats of the past, 86 jazz giants of today, 21 young performers to look for in the future, jazz books and DVDs that everyone should own, and a dozen enjoyable Hollywood jazz films.
Life Through The Eyes Of A Jazz Journalist, a paperback book, sells for $26 through Amazon.com Signed copies (which will take 2-3 weeks) are also available for $30 (which includes free postage) by sending the money via Pay Pal to scottyanowjazz@yahoo.com and by sending your mailing address to that E-mail.