JAZZ/ ROCK/CLASSICAL/ALT

jazz / classical / alt / rock

MARK KERESMAN

The Westerlies HHHH Therein Lies the Good Westerlies Records

We have become accustomed to hearing “rhythm” expressed or carried by what used to be called “the rhythm section,” namely the cadence(s) of bass and drums. Some units have been able to dispense with that rhythm team-up in the traditional sense without getting rid of the concept of, well, rhythm. Of course, in classical music, this concept is different, so other instru

of those whose music is impacted by where they grew up. As sure as Debussy was French and Stravinsky was Russian, Stark’s sounds are given savor by the rugged setting of Montana. This is not to imply that Stark’s sounds will conjure the American West like the soundtracks to classic films composed by Ennio Morricone (some of the spaghetti westerns), Max Steiner (The Searchers), or Elmer Bernstein (The Magdied-too-young Wardell Gray—they duetted and playfully jousted, each urging the other on to “top that, bro.” In the growing “sincere artistry” of contemporary jazz, this phenomenon had fallen by the wayside, or so many might think. Keith Oxman is a Denver-based tenor man, and he’s gotten props by no less than Benny Golson, who’s helmed a swell session or three (and did some tenor dual/duel-ing too) himself. Oxman has a style in the classic modern mold—John Coltrane, Dexter Gordon, Wayne Shorter. His special guest on this album is an icon unto himself, Houston Person, the ex

ments express that sense of forward motion. The Westerlies are a Seattle-born quartet of two trumpeters and two trombonists, and while the music herein has a certain “nakedness” to it, what they play stands on its own without other types of instrumentation…and by gum, it works. The gospel standard “Travelin’ Shoes” is often heard as an a cappella number; here, it’s played with the swinging vigor of a vocal group, given an additional dimension by what sounds like the surging qualities of a jazz orchestra. Further, with the growls and wails of the horns, this lot evokes the expressive brass-men of Duke Ellington’s bands. “Weeping Mary” is a 19th-century American hymn with an aching wistfulness and a gently swaying rhythm evoking rustic songforms. Their rendition of the hymn “Do Unto Others” shows the relationship—in a totally natural and non-didactic manner—between gospel rhythms and swing. The crackling, apocalyptic “Eli” by Arthur Russell sounds like Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five playing late-period Duke Ellington. This is a disc for the almost sillyeclectic, those who dig Bach and Carl Stalling (the wizard of Warner Brothers classic cartoon music) in the same sitting. (18 tracks, 65 minutes) westerliesmusic.com

Christopher Stark HHHH 1/2 Seasonal Music Bridge Records

Born in 1980 and now based in St. Louis, Christopher Stark is a composer in the tradition nificent Seven)—while there is commonality there, Stark goes for a sonic essence of the West. The title piece, performed by the Momenta Quartet, contains high-pitched and tense (as well as mostly tonal with delicate use of dissonance) passages for string quartet evoking the unforgiving windswept landscapes, astringent climes, and harsh beauty of those wild open spaces. “This is Not a Story” is scored for strings, clarinet, piano, and electronics—it’s a tense but oddly cathartic fall through a sonic funhouse mirror. It’s melodious but not mellow, deeply mournful, slightly whimsical, occasionally turbulent, and some passages convey shades of Prokofiev and Shostakovich. Those seeking modern sounds with ties to early 20th century old masters (the pros, you dig?) are urged to get here. (9 tracks, 55 min.) bridgerecords.com

Keith Oxman HHH 1/2 Two Cigarettes in the Dark Capri

Jazz history has been marked by “the tenor battle”—a session or performance helmed by two talented exponents of the tenor saxophone, with all the excitement and playful rivalry that goes with it. Gene Ammons & Sonny Stitt; Zoot Sims & Al Cohn, and Dexter Gordon, and the

ponent of the big-toned, sophisticated, unabashedly romantic tenor style, one of the few originals still kicking around. Two Cigarettes is in the tradition of two like-instrumented cats going to town via that big tenor horn, one an acolyte of classic hard bop tenor and the other a master of big, breathy sax. The menu is swinging bop and romantic ballads, nothing too challenging but enough to spur these fellows forward. The title track sounds as if it could’ve come from an old film starring Maureen O’Hara or Tyrone Power—it swings old-school, genially and unhurriedly, each tenor strutting his stuff as if all the time in the world is in their pocket(s). One swings suavely, the other swings as if trying to keep his emotions in check while expressing what’s in heart/mind. Hank Mobley’s “Bossa for Baby” aims to blame it on the bossa nova (with cheers, not tears)—it’s sultry, midtempo, and it’s amazing to hear a couple of swells plays such genial lines with such ease and feeling (never over-emoting, either). “Sweet Sucker” is a rollicking blues-flavored bit with a

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rollicking solo from pianist Jeff Jenkins—the highlight is hearing how the lads play off each other, trading-off, then in unison. As a bonus, there are Sarah Vaughan-ish guest vocals by Annette Murrell on two tracks. Good stuff with which to slake your sax-drive. (10 tracks, 55 minutes) caprirecords.com

Kenny Barron/Dave Holland Trio Without Deception HHHHH Dare 2

Sometimes in this life, you can count on certain things—out of a whole slew of new TV shows, a couple will be good and have staying power, and great musicians will get together a dandy album seemingly without exerting themselves. Here we have pianist Kenny Barron, a son of Philadelphia, who has been on hundreds of recordings as a sideperson or leader, a keycracker whose catalog from the mid-1960s to there, the careful yet deceptively casual economy of notes. Some jazz cats bang out more notes than they know what to do with, whereas Barron sounds utterly relaxed and poised, careful with the notes but never sounding tentative or cerebral. Holland gets a pithy yet melodious (yes!) solo, Blake swinging like he was born to do so, no overplaying, just steady and thoughtful. “Until Then” is an enigmatic ballad—there’s remarkable restraint here like

Jerry Bergonzi (tenor sax), Mark Soskin (piano), and Jay Anderson (bass), with some tracks lusciously enriched by strings of the Slovak National Symphony Orchestra. The interesting thing about this is that she takes the Lady Day inspiration to some unusual places.

now can make you dizzy with delight; bassist Dave Holland, UK-born but America-based, who came to fame with Miles Davis in his early electric era (though in the past several years he sticks to the acoustic axe) and led some great bands in the past couple of decades; and Johnathan Blake, son of jazz violinist John Blake, another son of Philly who’s tapped the tubs for Tom Harrell, Oliver Lake, and McCoy Tyner. A trio session of these cats couldn’t miss. A Barron original, “Porto Alegre,” opens, and he gently grabs you by weaving bright lines with Holland and Blake, which summon steady yet constantly shifting rhythms—and for a change, unlike some jazz albums, Blake is prominent in the audio mix without sounding overbearing. It’s a near-perfect hard bop intro, not too glib, warm, and expressive, designed to draw the listener in and keep him there. The mid-tempo, somewhat lilting “Second Thoughts,” is by the late Mulgrew Miller, and here is where the Monk inspiration on Barron shines. Not that he resembles Monk sonically, but the influence is

Barron is yeaning to bust loose but makes poetry instead. Here he reminds us of Dave Brubeck—not style, but the delightful melodious and ruminative qualities in his playing, not to mention (mildly) percussive. Holland and Blake are buoyant and terse, keeping the flow going. At times Blake sounds a little too enthused, but who could blame him? Not a dealbreaker at all—Blake’s got more drive than General Motors. Aces high, folks—piano trio lovers, you’ll likely be on Cloud 9.5, and the straightforward aspects of this set make it recommendable to new kids on jazz block. (10 tracks, 66 minutes) daveholland.com/dare2

Denise Mangiardi HHH 1/2 Brown Book Alice’s Loft Music

From New York but now residing in Britain, jazz singer Denise Mangiardi is, pardon the cliché, a breath of reasonably fresh air. Her vocal approach is as a descendant of Billie Holliday, though her influence is not limiting. She sounds a little like Holiday in her phrasing, but she’s not an imitator. Brown Book finds her fronting a small group featuring such swells as

“The Exchange” is a mini-melodrama, a film noir distilled into a jazz ballad, Mangiardi’s voice conveying incredible longing, but coolly. “Day Time Kind of Gal” is a blues-tinged ballad, Bergonzi providing a counterpoint of sorts to Mangiardi’s sly, slightly theatrical singing. “My Beauty” is tinged with Delta bluesy slide guitar before turning into the type of grand ballad on which Nat “King” Cole made his bones, going from the deep south to an uptown bistro (you’d better have reservations, pal) as if it were the most natural thing in the world. On “Red Bouquet,” Mangiardi evokes Judy Garland somewhat (albeit light on theatricality), accompanied only by Brian Seeger’s softly strummed electric guitar. The potential hit single “Horn Song” begins with a gently swinging mini-sax section, has a percolating rhythm and Mangiardi singing up a storm—but she holds back a little, leaving a bit in reserve, enough so that you go back for more. Mangiardi’s singing is masterful, occasionally buoyed by the strings. Her voice is like Holiday’s in one other vital way— she sings like she’s “within the song” without over-emoting. She could become the voice for a new generation. (10 tracks, 46 min.) denisemangiardi.com (album also available via CD Baby & Amazon) n

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one that knows me, knows I respect, admire and love Dolly Parton. I still listen to the track in disbelief that she said yes.

It was a full circle moment for me. When I was a little girl, many people compared me to her. Well, make no mistake, there’s only one of Dolly. But I am lucky enough to get to say, that I got to record her biggest hit with her. I wanted to make her proud of me. I still care what women who have come before me think of my interpretations of music. I will never not care.

Thank you, too, for giving Doris Day some love with “When I Fall in Love.” People don’t remember that she was very talented, they only remember “cutesie Doris Day.”

I chose to cover Doris Day because there’s a large part of me that understands, there’s more to her than just “cute.” There’s certainly worse things to be accused of, but I have a similar challenge.

Were you always precociously musical? Were your adoptive parents musical?

I grew up with engineers in a non-musical family. That’s not to say they weren’t music lovers. Because of them, I was able to learn about everyone like Carole King to Leonard Bernstein. My dad always says that they feel blessed to have adopted me but I tell him that I won the lottery.

It was gospel that you first sung: did your parents or preacher object to your change in musical preferences?

I was so lucky. My parents only wanted me to follow my passion whether that was country, gospel or opera. That is why I do all of it in my show. That is why this record was so important for me to do; it gave me permission to sing a lot of different styles which is 100% in my DNA.

I imagine moving to New York City was like, “jump in the water and learn to swim.” Was it difficult for you?

Interestingly enough, I felt like I found my tribe. I was so happy to be working with professional artists. The difficult part was learning how to live in NYC after living in Oklahoma. Learning the subway. Understanding where to eat. And what’s safe.

When I moved to New York I thought everyone was yelling all the time. Then, one day I yelled at somebody and I knew I had adjusted.

What’s your next project? I’m attached to a new musical called Death Becomes Her, which was a film starring Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn. I’m also attached to a project about Brownie Wise, the woman behind the man of Tupperware. Brownie Wise was doing Me Too before Me Too was a thing.

I hear you’re also working on a musical based on Tammy Faye Bakker’s story, but it’s coming along slowly.

I wish I had an update [about the show]. In my opinion, Tammy Faye Bakker wanted to spread her love of God to everyone. However, the part of her that I’m interested in were her struggles. There was addiction. There was a scandal. There was an end of an era.

I truly believe Tammy Faye Baker was ahead of her time. She was the first person to have someone dying of AIDS on national TV. She told him she loved him and accepted him, just as Jesus did. She showed love. She was an example of what I believe we are supposed to be no matter our faith. In my dream the play will be a tribute to the human side of a Christian woman. n

Kristin Chenoweth, Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center, 300 So. Broad St., Phila. March 13, 8 p.m. (215) 790-5800. kimmelcenter.org

Portion of South Koreans who say they’d support North Korea in a war with Japan: 1/2 Estimated number of drones that governments worldwide will purchase in the next decade for combat use: 1,800 For surveillance use: 75,000 Percentage of nonmilitary drones for sale in the U.S. that were manufactured in China: 80 Minimum number of products that are available for purchase on Amazon: 500,000,000 Estimated percentage of New York City apartments that receive at least one package every day: 15 Minimum number of contractors employed by Google to evaluate the usefulness of search results: 10,000 Number of changes that Google made to its search algorithm and interface in 2018: 3,234 Portion of U.S. voting precincts that rely on electronic voting machines that leave no paper trail: 1/10 Number of U.S. states that use a mobile voting app: 1 Percentage of American men who say they would not feel “very comfortable” with a woman as president: 51 Of American women who say so: 41 Estimated number of Americans who have lost a friend or family member since 2014 because health care was too costly: 34,000,000 Factor by which this is more likely to be true of a Democrat than a Republican: 3 Factor by which the amount a U.S. insurer pays for a flu shot can vary depending on where it is administered: 3 Factor by which an American adult is more likely to go out of network for mental health care than for medical care: 5 Estimated percentage of Americans who have an autoimmune disease: 15 Who can name an autoimmune disease: 15 Percentage of unemployed Americans receiving unemployment benefits in 2000: 37 In 2018: 28 Estimated value of extra expenses that an average American household incurs as a result of oligopolies: $5,000 Percentage of civil defendants in U.S. general-jurisdiction courts who had lawyers in 1992: 95 Who have lawyers today: 46 Rank of the U.S. among countries with the highest rates of immigrant children in detention: 1 Of Mexico: 2 Number of refugees resettled in the United States in October: 0 Number of countries in which the annual number of tourists outnumbers residents: 41 In which this ratio is at least 2 to 1: 23 Percentage of Americans aged 13 to 38 who would be willing to post sponsored content to their social-media accounts: 86 Who would become a social-media influencer if given the opportunity: 54 Factor by which the number of social-media influencers using the word “anxiety” increased from 2016 to 2019: 3 Minimum number of apps that promise to help people find friends: 22 Amount per hour that the company People Walker charges for an “on-demand walking partner”: $14 Percentage of Americans with siblings who think their mother has a favorite child: 33 Percentage of those Americans who believe they are the favorite: 30 Factor by which men are more likely than women to believe they are the favorite: 2 Percentage of Americans aged 18 to 34 who say they have witnessed ageism in the workplace: 52 Of Americans aged 55 and older: 39 Number of pending patent applications for variations of the phrase “OK, Boomer”: 6 FINDINGS INDEX SOURCES: 1 Korea Institute for National Unification (Seoul); 2,3 IHS Markit (London); 4 Drone Industry Insights (Hamburg, Germany); 5 Marketplace Pulse (NYC); 6 José Holguín- Veras, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy, N.Y.); 7,8 Google (Mountain View, Calif.); 9 Verified Voting (Philadelphia); 10 National Conference of State Legislatures (Denver); 11,12 Kantar Public (London); 13,14 Gallup (Atlanta); 15 Kaiser Family Foundation (Washington); 16 Milliman (Denver); 17,18 American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (Eastpointe, Mich.); 19,20 Bureau of Labor Statistics (Washington); 21 Thomas Philippon, New York University; 22,23 National Center for State Courts (Williamsburg, Va.); 24,25 Global Detention Project (Geneva); 26 U.S. Department of State; 27,28 World Tourism Organization (Madrid); 29,30 Morning Consult (Washington); 31 Captiv8 (San Francisco); 32,33 Harper’s research; 34–36 YouGov (NYC); 37,38 Glassdoor (Mill Valley, Calif.); 39 U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (Alexandria, Va.). Scientists confirmed that toddlers have temper tantrums when they do not use their words and that the practice of limiting oyster consumption to months ending in r has been observed for thousands of years, though climate change will further reduce safe oyster season. Many U.S. coastal homeowners accept the reality of climate change but have taken no action to prepare for it. Climatologists corrected earlier estimates of coastal flooding that used treetops and buildings, rather than landmass, for elevation data, and concluded that several major cities will suffer severe inundation by 2050, including Jakarta, which the Indonesian government plans to abandon at a projected cost of $33 billion, and the replacement for which, to be built in Borneo, risks releasing nearly 50 million tons of carbon through habitat destruction. Scientists who identified major climate tipping points a decade ago have now ruled half of them to be “active.” The Arctic may now emit more carbon than it stores, and its lower reflectivity was found to be due to ice loss, rather than the addition of soot. As the atmosphere warms, bacteria emits more CO2, and drought-stricken plants squeal in distress. Astronomers continued to search for neutral hydrogen signals from the universe’s pre-galactic dark age. \ A study of the Y chromosomes of present-day inhabitants of Belgium and the Netherlands found that the nineteenth-century urban poor were six times as likely as well-off farmers to have unexpected paternity. Maxillofacial surgeons scored the jaw deformations of inbred Hapsburgs, and a test of 6,300 participants in eighty-five countries found that women are likelier than men to accurately read feline facial expressions. Engineers attempted to make internet memes comprehensible to the visually impaired. Researchers concluded that the growing cross-sectioned despair among Americans currently approaching midlife may be a realistic reflection of rising mortality rates. In the past three years, Vermont has experienced a 640 percent rise in the number of kindergartners claiming religious exemptions from vaccines. Japanese scientists studying live mice and dead humans associated high levels of hydrogen sulfide with schizophrenia. Biomedical engineers reported success in breeding E. coli to produce psilocybin. Hospital-acquired infections can be reduced by copper beds, and early deaths can be reduced by the presence of irregularly shaped parks. \ Tokyo scientists identified, apart from DNA, at least one million forms of stable nucleic acid–like polymers that would be capable of storing genetic information, and four chromosomes of the Eurasian skylark were found to have fused together, giving the bird the largest recorded avian sex chromosome. Female fish will mate outside their species if a male is attractive enough or if the female can’t see clearly. A nineteen-year-old Margarita Island capuchin monkey in a Chinese zoo with a humanlike face has remained unable to find a mate, which zookeepers attribute not to his appearance but to his bad personality. The heart of a blue whale beats as infrequently as twice a minute. The carbon- isotope ratio in tuna has shifted significantly since 2000. Pumas in the Santa Cruz Mountains were being poisoned by mercury in coastal fog. Deer remains from the Lower Paleolithic indicate that hunters saved marrow bones for later snacking. The mitochondrial DNA of mummified sacrificial ibises indicated that the ancient demand for Egyptian ibis was met not through centralized farms but through short-term husbandry projects run by priests, who wrote of feeding the birds bread and clover. Genetic testing could not determine whether an 18,000-year-old puppy that emerged from Siberian permafrost was a dog or a wolf. School in a village in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug was canceled when thinning sea ice caused an invasion of fifty-six polar bears. A Tennessee electric eel was switching the lights of a Christmas tree on and off.

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son, in-laws, and grandkids, all played with cutting-edge perfection, maneuvering to dismember the competition. The only person who cared about the old man was his immigrant nurse Marta (Ana de Armas), who struggles to survive the backstabbing backlash. The story rollicks along with clues, dropped at every turn of the pretzel-twisted plot. If you are as observant and clever as Detective Blanc and his trusted ally Marta, you too can ferret out how the death in the game room played out. From the elegantly appointed Southern mansion to the greed-crazed family, the movie is the hoot of the year. (PG-13) HHHHH

Synonyms (Director Nadav Lapid, Starring Tom Mercier, Quentin Dolmaire, Louise Chevillotte.) Perhaps one of the most profound realizations about life is that There Is No Escape from the identity we create for ourselves. Our reaction to experiences mold us like a master potter, and shattering the old and creating a new vessel is rarely an option. Yoav (Mercier), a disillusioned Israeli, discovers this when he flees Israel for Paris and tries to create a new life, a new identity, a shiny new self. He refuses to speak Hebrew and uses his French dictionary to learn as many derogatory synonyms as he can for his hated homeland. When he crashes in an empty apartment, and someone steals all his belongings, including his clothes, his wish comes true. Suddenly he is stripped of all things Israel, at least externally. Would his internal baggage could so easily be jettisoned. Director Lapid traces Yoav’s internal journey as he attempts to shed the militaristic and machismo values instilled in him as a youth and in the military. For every one step forward toward his French rebirth, flashbacks show us how his cultural imprint as an Israeli became so indelible. Lapid uses his personal history as an Israeli ex-pat in Paris, he contrasts exaggerated stereotypes of artsy French men with macho Israeli men, and most of all, he illustrates that there is no geo-fix for the pain, or the demons, that live in our heart. In French and Hebrew with subtitles. (NR) HHH

Clemency (Director Chinonye Chukwu. Starring Alfre Woodard, Aldis Hodge, Michael O’Neill.) Death row movies are all about suspense. Traditionally, it’s will the condemned prisoner, presumably innocent, receive a last-minute reprieve? But this suspense is not a ticking-clock race to save a life; it’s a slow-burn character study of a hard-faced warden who’s seen too many lethal injections. We meet Warden Bernadine William (Woodard) at the first of two executions that bookend the compelling drama. She sits stoically in the visitors’ gallery even when the injections go horribly wrong, and the curtains are whipped shut. Bernadine maintains her calm, but the close up of her face shows the subtle signs of the inner turmoil that will define the arc of the coming narrative. Bernadine patrols the concrete corridors of her walled and barred domain like a queen in full control of her fiefdom. But the real challenge is confining her emotions to solitary confinement in her inner prison. How can she watch a man die an excruciating death on her watch, then go home to a chatty, romantic dinner with her husband? The smoldering pressure of her emotional fight for life nears riot level as she prepares for the execution of Anthony Woods (Hodge), a cop killer who hopes beyond hope for a stay of execution. As the hour nears, Woods despairs in his cell, and Bernadine edges closer to a meltdown. When the prisoner’s last breath comes, a full three-minute close-up of Bernadine’s face powerfully illustrates that Woods is not the only execution taking place. In what many consider the top acting performance of the year, Woodard majestically expresses, with nuance more than words, the slow disintegration of the warden’s self-control until her emotions stage a fullblown prison breakout. HHHH n