I have so much to recommend that I hardly know where to begin. But I'll start by mentioning some artists working in New York who aren't as well known as they ought to be. I'm very taken with current work by the trio Alankar (with Ken Wessel, guitar, Stomu Takieshi, bass, and Badal Roy, tablas). Their CD "Daybreak" blends jazz and classical Indian influences in a highly original way, and features some great writing by Ken and Stomu. It also includes several very intense solos by guest tenor saxophonist Tim Ries.

Speaking of Tim Ries, his CD "Universal Spirits" is well worth a listen. Guitarist Ben Monder and trumpeter Scott Wendholt join Tim, bassist Scott Colley, and drummer Billy Drummond on several unusual originals by Tim, as well as interesting takes on standard tunes. These guys achieve a breathtaking level of musicality that exceeds even their considerable instrumental prowess.

I want to mention Portland, Oregon-based guitarist John Stowell as well. His command of the instrument is stunning - Ken Wessel says that "John's guitar has notes that just aren't on my guitar!" (They're not on mine, either.) He's an inspiration to me, and, I suspect, to any guitarist who hears him. His CD's, although hard to find, will reward anyone who makes the effort to find them.

I'll update this page with more recommendations from time to time - check in with me, and check them out!

6/8/00

A few other CDs, some new, some not so new, that I've been listening to recently:

John Abercrombie's Open Land is one of his best records in years. I've always been a big fan of Abercrombie's playing, and I've been following his trio with Dan Wall, organ, and Adam Nussbaum, drums, for some time now. Open Land features this trio plus Kenny Wheeler, trumpet and flugelhorn, Joe Lovano, tenor sax, and Mark Feldman, violin. Abercrombie has written some unusual tunes here, and makes excellent use of the varied colors of this ensemble.

Of his other organ trio records, I think the most successful is While We're Young. I find that it has the strongest writing and shows the greatest range of ensemble textures.

A couple of other Abercrombie CDs worth noting: Characters features Abercrombie alone, overdubbing guitars and electric mandolin. He has written what amounts to a series of character studies for guitar; he evokes a number of different moods in an almost literary fashion.

He teams up with his long-time collaborator Ralph Towner on Sargasso Sea, a series of duets for acoustic and electric guitar. This CD also features a number of distinctive tunes, written by both Abercrombie and Towner.

I don't think it's possible to overstate my regard for Ralph Towner. His long career with the group Oregon has yielded a number of brilliant CDs; my personal favorite is Crossing. One of his earlier recordings, Solstice, contains what remains some of his most brilliant work. It features Jan Garbarek on saxophones, Eberhard Weber on bass, and Jon Christensen on drums; check out the the way Towner builds dramatic tension on the tune "Nimbus" - a classic piece of jazz ECM-style.

A newer CD in a similar format is Lost and Found. The ensemble again includes drummer Cristensen, along with saxophonist Denney Goodhew and bassist Marc Johnson. Among many memorable pieces, my own favorite is "Tattler;" the wit in its title will be apparent the moment one hears the tune.

Towner's recent duo CD with bassist Gary Peacock, A Closer View, proves that he hasn't lost anything over the years. His tunes are as idiosyncratic as ever, and his guitar work just as nimble and full-bodied.

A recent find for me is Zakir Hussain's Making Music. Hussain, tabla, is joined here by jan Garbarek, saxophones, Hariprasad Chaurasia, flutes, and the inimitable John McLaughlin on acoustic guitar. The quartet gives powerful performances of a series of pieces by both Hussain and McLaughlin in an Indian/jazz fusion style reminiscent of that made famous by McLaughlin many years earlier on the album Shakti, by the group of the same name. Both of these records combine head-spinning virtuosity with thoughtful attention to ensemble playing, as well as the concentrated intensity for which Indian musicians are so well-known.

John McLaughlin displays an intensity more familiar to Western jazz listeners on his CD After the Rain, a tribute to John Coltrane which features the great Elvin Jones on drums and Joey DeFrancesco on organ. The trio gives readings of tunes written by or associated with Coltrane which manage to be simultaneously original and classic. The non-stop interaction among the players and the powerful evocation of the Coltrane spirit make this CD a necessary addition to the collection of any jazz fan.

A newer and lesser-known but no less talented guitarist is Kurt Rosenwinkel, who has been active on the downtown New York scene for a number of years. His CD The Enemies of Energy shows him to be a bona fide creative spirit. Both his writing and his playing are highly personal; although he may combine elements of a number of different styles into any one of his tunes, the result never seems forced. I've listened to this CD many times, and find something new every time I hear it. It's well worth checking out.

No jazz guitarist these days is unaware of Pat Metheny - I've seen a number of websites dedicated to his music, and it's probably only a matter of time before someone writes a book on his singular career. I'd just like to mention a couple of his CDs in which I've found recent inspiration. Beyond the Missouri Sky, with bassist Charlie Haden, is one of those recordings that grows and grows on you. The tunes and the arrangements are deceptively simple - inspired, it seems, by music that Metheny and Haden heard and played while growing up in the Midwest. But the overall result has a richness that goes far beyond any single tune or arrangement.

The other Metheny CD I've been listening to is the duo record with the great Jim Hall. This is a killer from start to finish: Jim's non-stop melodic inventiveness blends perfectly with Pat's eclectic modernism. "Falling Grace" is a classic of guitar interplay, and the performance "Summertime" is one of the most surprising I've heard.

I'll be back in the near future with more recommendations, inspirations, and digressions --

Bill