There are few labels that truly stick to the heartfelt attitude of jazz, both its roots and future. The latest two releases on the Savoy label take you to the hallowed halls of where jazz began, the church, as well as the future sonic explorations .
Part of guitarist Bill Frisell’s alter ego is being a member of the improvisatory group Floratone, which essentially a summit meeting produced by Lee Townsend/Tucker Martine, with drummer percussionist Matt Chamberlain and includes various cameos by Mike Elizondo/b, Jon Brion/key, Ron Miles/tp and Eyvind Kang/viola. They specialize in music that is part ambient, part free form improve and part gentle melody, ending up with a product that could easily serve as a soundtrack to some indie movie. Material like “The Bloom Is On” and “Snake, Rattle” spotlight Frisell’s laboratory work with guitar sounds, while Chamberlain lays down beats and grooves that vary between basic rock and kinetic ricochets. Two versions of “The Time, The Place” has some wonderful atmospheric trumpet sounds provided by Miles, while Kang’s viola on “Stand By This” has a nice back home sound. Fresh and vibrant.
Don Byron has used his left of center clarinet and tenor sax to revisit styles of music ranging from Klezmer, Motown, Cartoons and swing. This time around, he’s returning to his spiritual heritage in going to the world of black spirituals. (Disclaimer: every Sunday, before going to my local church, I play a disc of material by the original singers of this music, such as Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Dorothy Love Coates and The Dixie Hummingbirds) Here, Byron teams up with a band that includes Xavier Davis/p, Brad Jones/b, and Pheeroan Aklaff/dr and uses the voice of DK Dyson and guest Dean Bowman to deliver the testimonies. Sanctified standards like “Highway To Heaven,” “take My Hand, Precious Lord” and “Hide Me In Thy Bosom (aka ‘Rock Me’)” are executed with a scholarly approach, more than a visceral pleading. Mahalia or Rosetta never used drums on “Didn’t It Rain,” yet both seemed to make it sound more rhythmic, energized, exciting and, well, convincing, than here. Byron himself is his usual wandering self, sounding best on the ruminating closer “When I’ve Done My Best.” Mahalia Jackson herself said it best years ago to Della Reese, who was one of her background singers, “It’s not a matter of talent; it’s feeling God’s presence.” This one comes real close, but I’m not sure they came down on the alter call and went into the River.
Savoy Jazz
Savoy Jazz