MICHAEL
BLAKE
Elevated
Knitting Factory
KFW-304
Now this is exactly what a modern mainstream session should sound like.
As the enfants terribles of the so-called downtown New York scene reach
their late thirties and early forties, they've finally gained the polish
to add a version of historical jazz to the POMO pastiche of rock, blues,
electronica and noise that has been their raison d'être. Case in
point, as he shows on this relaxed session, is Vancouver, B.C.-born, Brooklyn-based
saxophonist Michael Blake, 37.
Sideman with raucous fake-jazz bands like the Lounge Lizards and Sex Mob,
and a member of jazz/folk band Slow Poke with slide guitarist David Tronzo,
on ELEVATED, Blake has assembled the sort of horn-and-rhythm date that
would have made earlier saxists like Zoot Sims or Gene Ammons proud.
Part of his desire to put a new spin on the tradition may come from the
saxophonist's membership in the Jazz Composers Collective (JCC), which
also supplies pianist Frank Kimbrough and bassist Ben Allison to the date.
Inventive drummer Mike Mazor is the fourth man here. Not only do JCC members
compose, as its name says, but they also devise new interpretations of
little-known classic material like the tunes of pianist Herbie Nichols.
Although the only non-Blake composition here is pianist Abdullah Ibrahim's
"Calypso Minor", each of the nine tunes works as a continuation
of the modern jazz heritage. However unlike a neo-con's note-for-note
Dixieland-like recreations, Blake's pieces augment tradition by appending
original fillips to the basics -- just as the final track here is entitled
"New Blues, Old News".
Blake's particular achievement is that he does most of this obliquely,
without setting off the equivalent of musical firecrackers. So while obvious
surprises -- to use an oxymoron -- like the tabla-like drum beat on the
first number or the utilization of two horns simultaneously elsewhere
-- may first hit the ear, other compositions are more quietly illustrative
of his methods.
On "Merle the Pearl", for instance, the blend of piano and soprano
saxophone at the beginning makes it seem as if the band will soon break
into Duke Ellington's "Take The Coltrane", written for the quartet
the composer shared with Trane. But very quickly Blake modulates his tone
a few decades further back producing the sort of funky butt clarinet-like
style that characterized Ellington's so-called Jungle Band. At the same
time Allison creates a swift and stirring foursquare bass solo that easily
plays off drum accents. Alternately, "Addis Ababa", may reference
Ethiopia, but only if that country's musical sounds included a montuno
section and a tenor saxophonist with Ben Webster's deep breathy tone.
Webster's dark caressing, late-night sax stylings are most clearly the
model for the bluesy "Lucky Charms", which was ostensibly written
to salute star-crossed saxist Lucky Thompson. Making time with Kimbrough's
bop-tinged, right-handed tinkling, Blake's wide vibrato and bottom of
the horn swoops drip sensuality.
Moving dangerously close -- by mistake? -- as burlesque? -- to Kenny G.
territory on "Anthem for No Country", Allison's alternating
bowed and plucked bass and the pianist's hearty gospelish, treble tinkling
offensive eventually manage to straighten up the tune's backbone -- as
any good anthem should. As a matter of fact, before he ends it with an
echoing crescendo, the composition has begun to resemble Blake's countryman's
Oscar Peterson's "Hymn to Freedom" more than any conventional
anthem.
Wading deep into the low notes as he walks out his solo on Ibrahim's "Calypso
Minor", the bassist dives also so deeply in the mainstream that he's
practically underwater. Meanwhile Blake is showcasing some POMO squeaks
from his tenor, then meshing with Kimbrough's chipped bass notes before
finally playing both saxes simultaneously to create some horn obbligatos.
If musicians like Blake can rescue the real mainstream from the hands
--and mouths -- of recreators, they can continue to prove that there's
still a lot that can be created from evolutionary, as well as revolutionary,
music. Undoubtedly this CD is exhibit A for the defense.
-- Ken Waxman
Track Listing: 1. In the Arms of Ali 2. Surfing Sahara 3. Elevated 4.
Addis Ababa 5. Merle the Pearl 6. Calypso Minor 7. Lucky Charms 8. Anthem
for No Country 9. New Blues, Old News
Personnel: Michael Blake (tenor and soprano saxophones); Frank Kimbrough
(piano); Ben Allison (bass); Mike Mazor (drums)