Saxophone shines in new releases
The saxophone has remained, through all of the changes in jazz, irreplaceable. It’s an essential extension of the human spirit, and here are a few new releases from some of the instrument’s supreme practitioners:
Charles Lloyd yet again continues his endless winning streak of recordings with “I Long To See You” (Blue Note). One of the reasons an annual release from him can be so rewarding comes from his dedication to mixing up his collaborators and repertoire almost every time. Here he has added two guitarists for crucial interplay and texture: Bill Frisell and Greg Leisz. Frisell remains his eclectic self, as always, but also inserts some of the droning technique of the late Gabor Szabo, Lloyd’s ’60s guitarist. Leisz adds some mournful steel guitar beauty to the proceedings, contributing to an overall sound that is uniquely hazy, like the soundtrack to a half-remembered dream. Lloyd’s saxophone and flute are meditative here, and he reaches back into his own catalogue for fond versions of “Of Course, Of Course” and “Sombrero Sam.” Willie Nelson and Norah Jones chip in vocals, and they sound right at home in the beautiful house of sound built by Lloyd and his latest collaborators.
Unlike Lloyd, tenor man Albert Ayler never got the chance to bask in his ’60s breakthroughs when the 21st century came along. Gone by 1970, he nonetheless left behind a small mountain of challenging, sometimes triumphant bursts of beauty. The new “Bells/Prophecy” (ESP) collects more than 100 minutes of his singular 1964-65 expressions, recorded in all of their lo-fi glory. The simplicity of Ayler’s melodies gives way to torrents (torments to some, but not me) of knotted sax multiphonics and wails. Ayler was a committed sonic explorer, and anyone interested in the current spiritual jazz revival headed up by Kamasi Washington might want to encounter this lost and lonely soul.
Some of the most fearsome terrain any improvising musician has tackled comes in the form of John Coltrane’s extended composition “Ascension.” San Francisco’s Rova Saxophone Quartet has released “Rova Channeling Coltrane” (Rogue Art)— a multimedia package that includes a documentary, a filmed live performance of its interpretation of “Ascension” and an audio CD. Some of the most adventurous performers in cotemporary music teamed up with Rova, including trumpeter Rob Mazurek, laptop expert Ikue Mori and master drummer Hamid Drake. The result is euphoric and an ideal example of how contemporary artists can look at the past and forge ahead simultaneously.
Nate Lawrence heads a complimentary jazz jam session every Wednesday night at Baur’s Listening Lounge. Flautist Dorothy Pino presents her Bossa Nova Quintet at Dazzle on Jan. 27. David Amram makes an appearance at eTown Hall Jan. 28. The Mark Diamond Duo plays Nocturne on Jan. 30.