Chihiro Yamanaka - Lach Doch Mal [Just Laugh] (2006)

Pianist Chihiro Yamanaka’s thrilling series of jazz albums continues with her fifth audio release Lach Doch Mal, released in 2006 on Verve with twelve tracks at just under an hour’s runtime. Like Yamanaka’s previous albums, Lach Doch Mal contains a mix of originals and covers rearranged in her creative style. Fans of her previous four albums know that her amazing piano improvisation and technique are a feature of her albums, and this release is no exception. While her contemporary jazz and bop trio sound is the primary recorded sound, Yamanaka adds some additional layers with some light guitar, extra percussion, and groovy electric keyboards on a few tracks as well. Yamanaka’s piano technique is exciting and powerful as always, racing through the shifting jazz terrain like a high-speed vehicle dangerously hugging the curves along cliffside roads. About half of the songs on the album feature Yamanaka as the main improviser, playing the song melodies and intensely improvising and quoting jazz phrases while Larry Grenadier on bass and Jeff Ballard on drums provide the solid musical framework and addictive rhythms. ~ Extract by Brian McCrory, jazzofjapan.com. 

Verve Records, UCCJ-2052, 2006
Recorded 14th & 15th June, 2006 at Eastside Sound, New York City 

Musicians:
Chihiro Yamanaka - Piano, Arranger
Larry Grenadier - Bass
Jeff Ballard - Drums
John Carlini - Guitar (#1,5), Banjo (#3)

Tracks:
01. Quand Biron Voulut Danser {Traditional} (4:00)
02. Sabot {Chihiro Yamanaka} (3:57)
03. Serenade To A Cuckoo {Roland Kirk} (5:41)
04. RTG {Geri Allen} (3:54)
05. The Dolphin {Luiz Eça} (4:25)
06. Night Loop {Chihiro Yamanaka} (2:51)
07. One Step Up {Chihiro Yamanaka} (4:14)
08. Lach Doch Mal {Chihiro Yamanaka} (0:45)
09. Liebesleid {Fritz Kreisler} (5:35)
10. Mode To John {McCoy Tyner} (4:54)
11. What A Diff'rence A Day Made {Maria Grever, Stanley Adams} (7:06)
12. That's All {Alan Brandt, Bob Haymes} (5:51) 

Total Time: 53:17 

Credits:
Producer - Chihiro Yamanaka
Executive Producer - Hiroto Furuya, Tomohide Ishikawa
Recording & Mixing Engineer - Tim Conklin
Recording & Mixing [Assisted] - Marc Urselli
Mastering Engineer - Greg Calbi
Art Direction - Mikihiro Takeuchi
Photography - Koji Akita, Osamu Yokonami, Sakutaro Imaizumi

LINK

One Step Up [Video]

Joshua Redman - Timeless Tales: For Changing Times (1998)

Picking up on Herbie Hancock's "New Standards" idea, borrowing some old standards, and splitting the total down the middle, Joshua Redman lends his warm fatback tone, arching skyward passages and a post-bop quartet concept to ten popular songs of the 20th century. Richard Rodgers, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin, and the Gershwins share space with the Beatles, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder and Prince -- distinguished songwriters all, yet the scorecard tells us that the oldsters' tunes consistently receive more interesting treatment than the rock/folk songs. "Yesterdays" is flexible enough to turn almost into an acoustic funk thing; "How Deep Is the Ocean" saunters along very soulfully; the near cha cha rhythm on "Love for Sale" pulls some inspired heat from Redman. On the other side of the divide, "The Times They Are A-Changin'" isn't very interesting, where even tricky rhythm changes and an Eddie Harris-like high note coda can't pump up an earthbound performance. "Eleanor Rigby" fragments under a jazz waltz treatment presumably planned with Coltrane's "My Favorite Things" in mind (Redman's soprano sounds desperately out of gas at the close). Oddly enough, a broadly funky Harris approach pays off on Prince's "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore," the sole exception to the pattern. This is not to say that the rock/folk material is intrinsically inferior to the Tin Pan Alley standards -- no way. They simply do not translate very well into the language of the young neo-boppers, or at least, these neo-boppers on this given day. Brad Mehldau (piano), Larry Grenadier (bass) and Brian Blade (drums) make up the technically faultless, flexible piano trio, and most of the selections are separated by short, untitled interludes that usually grow more or less out of the preceding pieces. ~ by Richard S. Ginell, AMG. 

Warner Bros. Records, 9362-47052-2, 1998
Recorded at Avatar Studios, Manhattan, New York City

Musicians:
Joshua Redman - Tenor, Alto & Soprano Saxes
Brad Mehldau - Piano
Larry Grenadier - Bass
Brian Blade - Drums

Tracks:
01. Summertime {G. & I. Gershwin, Heyward} (6:16)
02. Interlude 1 {Joshua Redman} (0:45)
03. Visions {Stevie Wonder} (4:24)
04. Yesterdays {Otto Harbach, Jerome Kern} (7:19)
05. Interlude 2 {Joshua Redman} (0:34)
06. I Had A King {Joni Mitchell} (5:39)
07. The Times They Are A Changin' {Bob Dylan} (5:07)
08. Interlude 3 {Joshua Redman} (0:20)
09. It Might As Well Be Spring {Hammerstein II, Rodgers} (6:28)
10. Interlude 4 {Joshua Redman} (0:13)
11. How Deep Is The Ocean {Irving Berlin} (4:03)
12. Interlude 5 {Joshua Redman} (0:24)
13. Love For Sale {Cole Porter} (6:31)
14. Interlude 6 {Joshua Redman} (0:58)
15. Eleanor Rigby {John Lennon, Paul McCartney} (8:46)
16. Interlude 7 {Joshua Redman} (0:34)
17. How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore {Prince} (5:00) 

Total Time: 63:33 

Credits:
Producer, Liner Notes, Arranger - Joshua Redman
Producer, Engineer - James Farber
Assistant Engineer - Aya Takemura, Jay A. Ryan
Mastering Engineer - Greg Calbi
Photography - Robert M. Ascroft, II
Art Direction, Design - Robin Lynch 

Love For Sale

Akiko Grace - New York Style (2003)

This is the final work in the New York trilogy of original albums, following "From New York" and "Manhattan Story." Contains 12 songs selected from a wide range of songs, including Van Halen's hit "Jump", "Greensleeves", and works by Bach. For Akiko Grace, who has made many strides in her career, this work is a challenge to her "own individuality." This work reveals its true value. ~ www.hmv.co.jp/ 

This is a highly personal album that brings out the creativity of Akiko Grace herself. While making full use of advanced arrangement and performance techniques, she has achieved a level of perfection that is not difficult to understand! The songs include a newly written original ballad "Pray Song ~ For Ground Zero", and the 80's blockbuster rock number "Jump" (Van Halen's cover). This time, she is backed by Larry Grenadier on bass and Bill Stewart on drums. ~ www.cdjapan.co.jp. [Translated from Japanese] 

Savoy Records, COCB-53050, 2003
Recorded 20th & 21st April, 2003 at Avatar Studio C, New York 

Musicians:
Akiko Grace - Piano
Larry Grenadier - Bass
Bill Stewart - Drums 

Tracks:
01. Jump {Van Halen} (6:34)
02. Chromazone {Akiko Grace} (5:09)
03. Greensleeves {Traditional} (6:36)
04. Smile {Charlie Chaplin} (5:15)
05. Caravan {Duke Ellington, Irving Mills, Juan Tizol} (4:25)
06. Siciliano Through My Eyes {J.S. Bach, Akiko Grace} (6:09)
07. Scarborough Fair {Art Garfunkel, Paul Simon} (5:03)
08. Pray Song ~ For Ground Zero {Akiko Grace} (6:07)
09. Sixth Sense {Akiko Grace} (5:18)
10. Transition [Future Mix] {John Coltrane} (4:24)
11. Breathe Out {Akiko Grace} (6:31)
12. Body And Soul {Eyton, Green, Heyman, Sour} (2:29) 

Total Time: 64:05

Credits:
Producer - Akiko Grace
Recording & Mixing Engineer - Dan Gellert
Assistant Engineer - Aya Takemura, Kyoko Tamanki
Mastering Engineer - Hiroyuki Hosaka
Art Direction - Kiyomitsu Mihara
Artwork Design - Jun Takagi
Photography - Hisashi Itoh 

Chromazone

Dayna Stephens - Peace (2014)

Stephens met Mehldau at a performance in New York’s Smalls Jazz Club, where Mehldau remarked on how much he enjoyed Stephens’s baritone playing. It felt right asking Mehldau to be a part of this project, as his ballad playing is especially remarkable. The idea to create a recording highlighting Stephens’s ballad and baritone sax playing had been formed quite a while ago, by Stephens and producer Matt Pierson. Together Stephens and Pierson selected tunes and personnel, recorded in The Clubhouse recording studio in Rhinebeck, New York. The musicians selected to fill out the ensemble: guitarist Julian Lage, bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Eric Harland, performing with Mehldau for his first time. The recording begins with “Peace,” a straightforward composition with attractive harmonic movement that highlights the ensemble’s immediate chemistry. "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" has deep sentimental meanings for the Bay area bred Stephens. "Zingaro" is nuanced and effective, especially in the blend between guitar and piano. “The Good Life," which is stripped down to a moving trio with Lage and Grenadier. “The Duke” feels leisurely, the dynamic interplay between the ensemble members keeps a spark in this longtime favorite. Two Ennio Morricone compositions follow: "Brothers", lovingly played on soprano, followed by an atmospheric "Deborah's Theme" on tenor. "Oblivion” is a loose take on the tango with a special solo turn from the highly gifted Lage and Stephens on soprano. “Body And Soul" is adapted to baritone, deepened only by Grenadier's deft bass playing in duo. “Two for the Road," is a true serenade on tenor and includes some intriguing musical choices from all. "Moonglow" closes the program in a dancing duet between the low voices of baritone and bass. Dayna Stephens's Peace is a recording that has just the right balance of talent, taste and patience. The compositions are perfectly suited for the musicians to really get to the heart of their meanings. The musicians are evocative and daring, yet bring an enormous amount of restraint to their playing, showing maturity that only decades of serious ballad play can garner. ~ Extract from daynastephens.bandcamp.com. 

Sunnyside Communications Inc., SSC 1399, 2014
Recorded at The Clubhouse, Rhinebeck, New York
Additional Recording at Strange Weather, Brooklyn, New York 

Musicians:
Dayna Stephens - Tenor, Soprano & Baritone Saxophones
Brad Mehldau - Piano
Julian Lage - Guitar
Larry Grenadier - Bass
Eric Harland - Drums 

Tracks:
01. Peace {Horace Silver} (6:34)
02. I Left My Heart In San Francisco {George Cory, Douglas Cross} (4:59)
03. Zingaro {Antônio Carlos Jobim} (7:48)
04. The Good Life {Sacha Distel, Jack Reardon} (6:31)
05. The Duke {Dave Brubeck} (3:58)
06. Brothers {Ennio Morricone} (1:43)
07. Deborah's Theme {Ennio Morricone} (4:00)
08. Oblivion {Astor Piazzolla} (4:59)
09. Body And Soul {Johnny Green, Edward Heyman, Robert Sour, Frank Eyton} (6:32)
10. Two For The Road {Henry Mancini} (6:09)
11. Moonglow {Will Hudson, Irving Mills, Eddie DeLange} (3:38) 

Total Length: 56:57 

Credits:
Producer - Matt Pierson
Executive Producer - Randi Norman
Recording & Mixing Engineer - Chris Allen
Engineer [Assistant] - Mike Dwyer
Additional Recording Engineer - Daniel Schlett
Mastering Engineer - Mark Wilder
Photography & Graphic Design - Christopher Drukker 

Peace

BeatleJazz - With A Little Help From Our Friends (2005)

Let me be the first to admit that I am prejudiced against jazz musicians covering the Beatles. This is in no way related to the source material: like all sentient mammals on the Planet Earth, I adore pretty much every note the Fabs recorded. It's just that their material is so weighted with cultural and nostalgic baggage that (unlike standards like, say, "All the Things You Are" it retains too much of its Beatleness to be just a set of chords: it's them. Or it's us - Abbey Road and Revolver have inhabited our collections so long that they're intertwined in our lives. It only took Dave Kikoski's gorgeous piano intro and Brian Melvin's hypnotic tabla pattern on "Yes It Is", the opening track of BeatleJazz's third CD, With a Little Help From Our Friends, to confound my cynical expectations. BeatleJazz is composed of Melvin on drums and tablas, Kikoski on piano and synth, and Larry Grenadier on bass. The core group is augmented by the "friends of the CD's title: John Scofield and Mike Stern on guitar; Mike and Randy Brecker on tenor sax and trumpet, respectively; and on four tracks, Boris Koslov substituted on bass. The results are for the most part delightful. Many jazz-covers-rock albums allow the musicians to sleepwalk through bland, jazz-lite arrangements, content to let the familiarity of the material sell the product. Not here: the performances teem with deep concentration and the arrangements are imaginative and very, very smart. For example, "Strawberry Fields Forever" sheds the baroque studio experimentation of the 1967 single but is otherwise played straight. Kikoski's piano does the melodic heavy lifting, and when the group plays the coda (Grenadier's bowed bass taking the place of the groaning strings of the original), one is struck dumb by how wonderful, how novel that section of the song is. The lack of harmonic development on John Lennon's solo rant "Working Class Hero" is dealt with by going pedal-point: Mike Brecker and Kikoski channel Coltrane and McCoy Tyner, respectively, and remake the song as a searching, beseechingly modal ten-minute prayer. Not everything is that wonderful. Randy Brecker and Kikoski do their best on Lennon's "Imagine", and very nearly pull it off - not surprisingly, as a ballad - but here the song is just too intractable. Even though it's a solo Lennon composition, its utopian sentiment makes it the most Beatle number here in the way it signifies so much more than its words or melody. Brecker's playing that melody so faithfully, right down to the two notes of Lennon's vocal "you-hoo", doesn't help. On the other hand, John Scofield absolutely nails "I Will"; this Paul McCartney number's chords lend themselves well to jazz and Sco's solo is the best he's done in some time - sweet, spacious, and wise. It's a tribute to the quality of this album that my unfortunate bigotries could be so thwarted. Too bad BeatleJazz can't immediately do another CD: I'm eager to hear their versions of "All Things Must Pass" and "She Said She Said". ~ by Paul Olson, AAJ. 

Lightyear Entertainment, LTY 54685-2, 2005
Recorded 20th April, 2003 at:
Peter Karl's Studio, Brooklyn, New York
System Two Studios, Brooklyn, New York 

Musicians:
Dave Kikoski - Piano, Synthesizer, Arranger
Larry Grenadier - Bass
Boris Koslov - Bass
Brian Melvin - Drums, Tabla, Arranger 

Guests:
Michael Brecker - Saxophone (#6)
Randy Brecker - Trumpet (#3)
John Scofield - Guitar (#2,5)
Mike Stern - Guitar (#7,10) 

Tracks:
01. Yes It Is {John Lennon, Paul McCartney} (7:32)
02. Piggies {George Harrison} (7:52)
03. Imagine {John Lennon} (9:54)
04. Strawberry Fields Forever {John Lennon, Paul McCartney} (4:59)
05. I Will {John Lennon, Paul McCartney} (8:09)
06. Working Class Hero {John Lennon} (11:03)
07. A Hard Day's Night {John Lennon, Paul McCartney} (5:55)
08. Across The Universe {John Lennon, Paul McCartney} (4:36)
09. Lovely Rita {John Lennon, Paul McCartney} (5:16)
10. And I Love Her {John Lennon, Paul McCartney} (5:50)
11. The End {John Lennon, Paul McCartney} (4:04)
12. Chains {Gerry Goffin, Carole King} (4:48) 

Total Time: 79:58 

Credits:
Producer - Dave Kikoski
Producer, Mixing, Liner Notes - Brian Melvin
Executive Producer - Hisao Ebine
Engineer - Peter Karl, Jon Rosenberg
Mastering - Matt Baxter
Cover Photo, Photography - Carl Studna
Photography - Takehiko Tokiwa
Art Direction, Package Design - Doug Haverty

BeatleJazz - All You Need (2007)

Drummer Brian Melvin, keyboardist Dave Kikoski and bassist Larry Grenadier have hit on a winning combination with their BeatleJazz project, which features inventive jazz arrangements of Beatles melodies both familiar and (relatively) obscure. You might expect treacly, easy listening arrangements of these tunes, but the group instead opts for experimentation, and its experiments are usually successful. As usual, they have enlisted some help from their friends (sorry), and All You Need features contributions from legendary saxophonist Joe Lovano, bassist Richard Bona and harmonica virtuoso Toots Thielemans. Some of the treatments are fairly straight-ahead: "Fool on the Hill" is rendered as a lilting jazz waltz, and "The Night Before" is given a standard piano-trio arrangement prominently featuring Kikoski's Fender Rhodes piano. But "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill" is played in a sharp and edgy style, and Bona sings "All You Need Is Love" affectingly in duala, his native language. On "Lady Madonna" the group takes a melody that is treacherously difficult to swing and manages to do just that, taking rhythmic liberties as necessary and turning the tune into a credible jazz vehicle. "Look at Me," one of the tracks on which Lovano makes an appearance, features some excellent blowing by the master but doesn't hang together quite as well as an arrangement. Overall, though, this album is a solid winner. ~ by Rick Anderson, AMG. 

Lightyear Entertainment, LTY 54796, 2007
Recorded 12th June, 2006 at Systems Two Studios, Brooklyn, New York;
8th & 13th June, 2006 at Peter Karl Studio, Brooklyn, New York 

Musicians:
Dave Kikoski - Arranger, Piano, Synthesizer
Larry Grenadier - Bass (#1-3,5,7-9,11)
Brian Melvin - Drums, Tabla, Arranger 

Guests:
Joe Lovano - Saxophone (#3,8)
Toots Thielemans - Harmonica (#1,7,11)
Richard Bona - Bass, Vocals (#4,6,10) 

Tracks:
01. Fool On The Hill {John Lennon, Paul McCartney} (4:24)
02. Lady Madonna {John Lennon, Paul McCartney} (4:39)
03. The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill {John Lennon, Paul McCartney} (7:09)
04. All You Need Is Love {John Lennon, Paul McCartney} (5:20)
05. All Things Must Pass {George Harrison} (5:42)
06. The Night Before {John Lennon, Paul McCartney} (7:40)
07. Beautiful Boy {John Lennon} (6:28)
08. Look At Me {John Lennon} (6:46)
09. I Want You [She's So Heavy] {John Lennon, Paul McCartney} (7:18)
10. Cold Turkey {John Lennon} (7:16)
11. Waterfalls {Paul McCartney} (3:35) 

Total Time: 66:17 

Credits:
Producer - Dave Kikoski
Producer, Mixing - Brian Melvin
Executive Producer - Hisao Ebine
Engineer - Michael Marciano [Systems Two Studios]
Engineer [Assistant] - Mike Ross [Systems Two Studios]
Engineer - Jonathan Townesm [Peter Karl Studio]
Mixing - John Gronvall [Arcadia Studios]
Mixing [Assistant] - Sten Saluveer (#1,7,11) [Arcadia Studios]
Mastering - Matt Baxter [Baxter's Ranch]
Photography - John Abbott
Artwork, Design - Marju Toom-Melvin

Bill Stewart - Telepathy (1997)

Drummer Bill Stewart has made a name for himself with John Scofield’s band on several excellent recordings including What We Do and Hand Jive,. He has also made great contributions to sessions with Joe Lovano, Marty Ehrlich and Maceo Parker. If it sounds to you like he has great range as a drummer, you’re right. Stewart combines the polyrhythmic inventiveness of modern drumming with the taste and groove of funk. He creates fire and drive without volume, always supporting and creating, but never overpowering.

Telepathy is his second date as a leader and it offers further evidence of his talents as both instrumentalist and composer. Stewart’s compositions range from aggressive to introspective and he has chosen a superb roster of musicians to assist him in his musical expression. Saxophonists Steve Wilson (alto and soprano) and Seamus Blake (tenor) are also coming into their own as great improvisers and their ideas and interplay are constantly engaging. Pianist Bill Carrothers is less well-known but is featured prominently and his imaginative harmonic sense invites close listening and the hope that he will appear more often on disc. Larry Grenadier’s bass work is superb. On one of your listens to this disc, focus on his bassistic creations. Great stuff!

Of the nine tunes on this disc only two are from the jazz canon. Jackie McLean’s "Little Melonae" and Monk’s "Rhythm-A-Ning" are given fresh treatments with Blake blazing through the Monk accompanied only by Stewart and Carrothers, while only the rhythm section is spotlighted on McLean’s great tune. The remaining tunes were penned by the leader. Stewart’s compositions range from angular and aggressive to dark and moody. Try to keep from smiling as Blake squawks and struts on "Happy Chickens." Blake and Wilson get into a wildly raucous mood on "Fano," exchanging ideas and honks, followed by some intensely creative statements from Grenadier and Stewart. "Calm" is a beautiful ballad feature for Carrothers, with the leader painting soft colors with brushes. Stewart proves to be as imaginative in his writing as in his drumming.

This is a rewarding disc, straight from the jazz tradition but consistently original and forward-looking. Highly recommended. ~ by Rick Bruner, AAJ.

Blue Note, CDP 7243 8 53210 2 3, 1997

Recorded 29^th & 30^th September, 1996 At Clinton Recording Studios, New York City

Musicians:

Bill Stewart - Drums

Seamus Blake, Steve Wilson - Saxophone

Bill Carrothers - Piano

Larry Grenadier - Double Bass

Tracks:

1. These Are They {Bill Stewart} (8:44)

2. Mynah {Bill Stewart} (5:36)

3. Happy Chickens {Bill Stewart} (6:23)

4. Lyra {Bill Stewart} (7:37)

5. Rhythm-A-Ning {Thelonous Monk} (5:39)

6. Dwell On This {Bill Stewart} (6:51)

7. Calm {Bill Stewart} (6:49)

8. Fano {Bill Stewart} (6:31)

9. Little Melonae {Jackie McLean} (4:11)

Credits:

Producer - Bob Belden, Bill Stewart

Recording Engineer - David Baker

Mastering Engineer - Tom "Curly" Ruff (Sony Studios, NYC)

Photography - Jimmy Katz (Giant Steps)

Design - Patrick Roques

Total Time: 58:21