24 JUNE 2015 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD

Miles Davis started recording in 1945, at the age of 19. By the time of this 1954 session, the trumpeter was already deeply experienced, if not yet the influential artist he would become. According to his autobiography, this was the first session he recorded after breaking his heroin habit, an allstar quartet of Horace Silver (piano), Percy Heath (bass) and Art Blakey (drums). The original 10” LP satisfied a contract with Blue Note as Davis moved on to Prestige. These six tracks were subsequently included on the 12” Volume 2 LP and later on the Volume 1 CD. This reissue looks like the original and sounds clean and crisp. The 10” LP offers a concise set with just over 13 minutes per side. The mysterious “Take Off” explores George Shearing’s “Conception”—“Deception”, as the exploration was called with Gerry Mulligan on Birth of the Cool—Miles contrasting the compelling harmony with an eight-bar pedal-point. Vol. 3 holds Davis’ first recording of “It Never Entered My Mind”, maybe not quite as realized as on his later album Workin’, but a gorgeous rendering of the same basic arrangement. Likewise, “Well, You Needn’t” is stronger on Steamin’, but here they give it a slow, crisp groove, with Silver at his most Monk-ish and Blakey taking a nice rim shot solo. Like “Half Nelson”, “Lazy Susan” travels the changes of Tadd Dameron’s “Lady Bird”. “Weirdo”, an altered blues in F, is almost the same tune as “Walkin’”, a long-running component of Davis’ set. “The Leap” is a fast 40-bar swing, with a pedal for the last 16. Davis quotes “Mona Lisa” (as he hinted at on “Lazy Susan”), which is somewhat indicative of the jazz sensibility here. It’s not postbop, but some cool renderings of bebop with Miles in good shape.

For more information, visit bluenote.com. A Miles Davis tribute is at Birdland Jun. 16th-20th. See Calendar.

This release is conceived both as a celebration of pianist Abdullah Ibrahim’s 80th birthday and 40 years since he recorded Mannenberg - ‘Is Where It’s Happening’ (under the name Dollar Brand, released in the U.S. as Cape Town Fringe, the title track of which became a well-loved anthem of the South African resistance movement as things were reaching a crescendo). Recorded on a beautiful Fazioli piano in that company’s concert hall in Sacile, Italy, the maestro seems to savor the rich sound of the instrument itself, leaving ample space throughout the program for the rich overtones to ring out. It should not come as news that Ibrahim no longer takes pianos by their throats to shake epic polyrhythmic, polytonal expositions out of them; his

mature output is focused on a more nuanced exposition of more reflective themes. Here he is in wonderful form on a program that is about evenly balanced between reworkings of older compositions (“African Dawn”, “For Coltrane” and “Eclipse at Dawn” being perhaps the more familiar of these) and spontaneously composed pieces. In the hour-long accompanying DVD, Ibrahim talks about and plays short versions of several more of his tunes, focusing to some extent on those that have particularly interesting stories behind them, such as “Mannenberg”. Here we get the full story of how the original record was made, how no one wanted to release it until it had already become an enormous success through sales from, originally, just one record store in Capetown, what it meant for the freedom fighters, etc. The DVD concludes with what would seem to be the encore from Ibrahim’s performance at the Fazioli Concert Hall (at 17 minutes, with no breaks between tunes, it can hardly be a full set). Ibrahim exhibits his influences, from African folk styles and Ellington to Monk, but it’s interesting to note that he has at this stage achieved a mature minimalism, which, curiously, evokes that of the young Eric Satie. This release is warmly recommended to those who have followed this fascinating and important musician through the years.

For more information, visit sunnysiderecords.com. Ibrahim is at Blue Note Jun. 18th-21st as part of the Blue Note Jazz Festival. See Calendar.

Steve Coleman has a gift for taking multiple interests—philosophy, anatomy, ancient histories and myth—locating their musical components and analogues, then translating and compounding them into original, engaging works. That alchemy is the basis of Synovial Joints, including the title suite and a series of other pieces performed here by The Council of Balance, an expansive project first launched in 1997. Coleman begins with his usual Five Elements and adds 16 other musicians, among them a string quartet, four percussionists and an assortment of brass and winds. Coleman’s current compositions are built from taped free improvisations that are transcribed, combined and developed. It’s a call on the unconscious that fuels the off-kilter metric and harmonic elements and the multi-cultural references as well, a series of fractures and collisions that add a dream-like ambience and an original momentum to works often inspired by journeys and landscapes. The four parts of the title suite add literal connections to the body, each segment inspired by different types of joints and their specific movements. The ensemble writing is consistently thoughtful, with Coleman using his resources selectively and continuously, creating dialogues between sections or balancing them with individual instruments, whether they’re improvising or playing composed parts. “Celtic Cells” is particularly graceful in its shifting emphases, from Jen Shyu’s wordless vocal statement of the opening theme through Coleman’s own alto saxophone dialogue with a composed string part to Tim Albright’s regal trombone solo. That effective blending of written and spontaneous parts is a constant here, each enhancing the other.

Elsewhere Coleman evokes a “Tempest” and a dry West African trade wind called “Harmattan”; the latter is followed by another African-themed piece, “Nomadic”, inspired in part by the horn ensembles of Chad. “Harmattan” has the most strongly sustained ensemble writing, endlessly complex, shifting music; “Nomadic” pulses in interlocking layers of rhythm. Solos are so seamlessly interwoven that it’s easy to overlook individual efforts, but Coleman’s own solos and those of trumpeter Jonathan Finlayson stand out. What ultimately counts, though, is the vitality.

For more information, visit pirecordings.com. Coleman is at Whitney Museum Jun. 18th. See Calendar.

Vol. 3

Miles Davis (Blue Note)by Anders Griffen

The Song Is My Story

Abdullah Ibrahim (Sunnyside)by Duck Baker

Synovial Joints

Steve Coleman and the Council of Balance (Pi)by Stuart Broomer

Alex Norris orgAN QuArtetexteNsioN DeADliNe

featuring gary thomas – tenor sax george Colligan – organrudy royston – Drums

now available on BJurecords

Alex Norris performs at:silvana – June 4th, 6PM

alexpopenorris.com