jazz / classical / alt / rock MARK KERESMAN
Barney Wilen Quartet HHHH Live in Tokyo ’91 Elemental Music French tenor saxophonist Barney Wilen (1937-1996) was somewhat legendary in European jazz circles—he was perhaps best known to American jazz fans for his recordings with Miles Davis (the film soundtrack Ascenseur pour l’Échafaud, 1957) and Thelonious Monk (anoth-
the tune like a born surfer and in select moments BURNS. Wilen’s Quartet exudes class but knows when to kick hiney—the only flaw in this otherwise aces-back-to-back package is Gritz’s drumming gets a bit over-enthusiastic (or maybe it’s just too high in the mix) here ‘n’ there. That aside, Live in Tokyo is a real-gonegasser of a hard bop set, with a generous side portion of (very modern) swing. (14 tracks, 136 min.) elemental-music.com Amina Figarova HHH1/2 Persistence Am-Fi Pianist Amina Figarova was born in Azerbaijan and now calls New York home. Stylistically one could tag this with “post bop with minor overtones of fusion and hip hop” and, hey, that works. Figarova’s compositions are bright and engaging, and she’s assembled a sharp quintet to play them, including husband-flutist Bart Platteau, guitarist Rez Abbasi, and sharp-as-atack drumming-whiz Rudy Royston. Figarova is
ciously. Her compositions (all originals here) are economical, lively, varied, and memorable—pick to click for radio play: “I’ve Got No Time,” featuring a brief, droll rap by JSWISS and some sleek ‘n’ punchy swing. Also, “Lil’ Poem,” with its languid, slightly romantic ambiance and terse, elegantly twisty soli. (Take note, radio programmers!) Without any overt crossover moves, Persistence fairly demands a bigger/wider audience, albeit on its own terms. (7 tracks, 43 min.) AmFi-records.com Norma Winstone & John Taylor HHHH In Concert Sunnyside Why isn’t UK jazz singer Norma Winstone better-known on our shores? Perhaps it’s her unassumingly demure, unpretentiously elegant, musicianly approach—she doesn’t come across as a bigger-than-life (or tragic) figure. This Concert platter, recorded in 1988, captures her in a duo performance with the late UK pianist John Taylor (1942-2015), and it’s a gem. Winstone has a light, airy, occasionally wispy voice with a playful and expressive lower register—note the inspiring manner in which she respectfully toys with Dave Brubeck’s “In Your Own Sweet Way,”
Barney Wilen, Konserthuset, Stockholm, September 1966
er soundtrack, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, 1961, with Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers). He also recorded with John Lewis and Bud Powell. February 1991 found Wilen and his foursome in Tokyo and the result is this two-CD set. Wilen had a distinctive style, fusing the muscular, shiny-toned Sonny Rollins sound with the classy lyricism of Stan Getz and aspects of the rushing wallop of early 1960s John Coltrane—essentially mainstream but not stuck in any era’s mud and not adverse to well-placed free flurries and joy-charged gruffness every so often. Wilen SURGES through these two discs, ably assisted by Olivier Hutman on acoustic and electric pianos; Gilles Naturel, bass, and Peter Gritz, drums. “Bass Blues” finds Wilen dredging deep into (what else?) the blues, while “L’ame Des Poetes” is a fascinating study in contrasts— Wilen’s band cooks with rare restraint beneath while Wilen testifies with a mix of casual Yank toughness and Gallic savoir-faire. “Mon Blouson” has Hutman channeling McCoy Tyner’s lyrical flights (sans most of MT’s percussive aspects—no imitator, he) while Wilen searches with gutsy elegance and careens with class. A true high point is Wilen’s chugging flights within “Besame Mucho” in which he rides the wave of 28
Photo: Eddy Westveer.
something of a relative rarity—she doesn’t feel the need to showcase herself with lots of soloing. Persistence is very much a group effort, with the focus on her compositions as opposed to the individual players. Make no mistake, however—there’s tasty soloing to be had. Figarova slightly recalls the late pianist Jaki Byard in that her solos are pointed, self-contained, and encapsulate bits of jazz history within. Figarova makes nice (as in: not cheesy) use of electric piano—sparing, as if carefully applying hues to a canvas, adding to the group’s overall texture (as opposed to long solos). Abbasi’s solos, with their bright, burred tone, are models of restraint as are those of Platteau, whose long, elegant lines color the canvas judi-
ICON | FEBRUARY 2020 | ICONDV.COM | FACEBOOK.COM/ICONDV
wringing the song for all its worth albeit in a decorous manner. She sings the way Taylor plays—careful but never labored or fussy, letting the spaces between the notes (and words) say almost as much as what’s played. Another notable aspect of Winstone is she doesn’t overrely on the classic Jazz Singers’ Songbook— most pieces here are originals, her setting her lyrics to the melodies of jazz instrumental wizards Steve Swallow, Ralph Towner, and Egberto Gismonti, and while she often conveys forlornness, she sidesteps the whole masochistic, mybaby-treats-me-bad-but-I-don’t-care shtick. In point of fact, her lyrical vocal sorties on Taylor’s Latin-hinted “Coffee Time” (with references to “The Coffee Song,” to boot) are exhilarating, turning words into sighs and persuasive sounds whilst Taylor makes like a percussionist, slyly and understatedly, the both of them swinging
