The Western Mass Debut of the Jerome Sabbagh Quartet

It’s always nice to expand one’s circle. Despite years in “the business” of producing jazz concerts, there are many musicians whose path I’ve yet to cross, and many worthy constituents who have never played in western Massachusetts. Such was the case on May 14, when saxophonist Jerome Sabbagh brought his quartet to Easthampton’s CitySpace. I was meeting Sabbagh, guitarist Gilad Hekselman and bassist Joe Martin for the first time. I had met drummer Nasheet Waits in 2005 when he performed a duo with Peter Brötzmann at UMass. Sharing the Valley’s rich jazz history with significant newcomers is also important to my project, and having the band eat and sleep at our home gave us more time to connect.

Sabbagh released Stand Up! seven months ago on his Analog Tone Factory imprint. The quartet album features Martin, Waits and Sabbagh’s long-time associate, guitarist Ben Monder. Because of his commitment to the Bad Plus, Monder couldn’t make our gig and the hit the following evening at New Haven’s Firehouse 12, so the saxophonist enlisted Hekselman to take his place. The 80-minute set thrilled the 95 of us shoe-horned into CitySpace’s Blue Room.

As on the recording, the concert began with “Lone Jack”, but while Sabbagh recorded it on tenor saxophone, live he played soprano, which he is using more and more these days. Inspired by Ray Charles’ Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, the piece’s simple, direct theme allowed the band to ease into the evening and take measure of the contours of the room’s acoustics. Playing without amplification, the group’s warm sound and the audience’s concentrated attention created a vibe that enveloped us all, pleasing the assembled.

Hekselman had received the written music in advance and had listened to the recording, but wasn’t afforded a rehearsal; he was playing these compositions for the first time. The only indication he was new to the material was his music stand, the only one on stage. It helped that Hekselman had extensive performing experience with all of the bandmembers. The fact he has considerable chops and a fertile imagination also helped. The 43-year old guitarist just headlined four nights at the Village Vanguard (Brad Mehldau was in his band), and since he moved from Israel in 2004, he has performed and recorded with Mark Turner, Esperanza Spaulding, Chris Potter and Anat Cohen, among others. Throughout the evening, his quicksilver single notes emerged from the pleasing atmospheric resonances he created. Some in the crowd came specifically to see him, and more than one listener thought he stole the show.

Bassist Joe Martin arrived in New York from Iowa in 1994 and has been a mainstay on the scene ever since. Providing reliable, rock-solid support for others means there are lots of favors to call in when it’s your turn to make a record. Martin’s previous three recordings as a leader include Mark Turner, Chris Potter, Kevin Hays and Nasheet Waits. “When I have a gig, Joe is pretty much the first person I call, regardless of the project,” Sabbagh said in 2019, when Martin released Étoilée. “He can do anything.” Without resorting to pyrotechnics or attention grabbing gambits, Martin provided harmonic stability and rhythmic backbone throughout. A big sports fan, Martin was impressed that former NBA guard (and Springfield Central standout) Travis Best was in the audience, and honored when Best complimented him and the rest of the ensemble for their work.

Nasheet Waits, who turns 55 next month, is simply one of the most in-demand drummers in jazz. His father, Freddie Waits, who passed when Nasheet was 18, was a Motown house drummer, can be found on seminal recordings by McCoy Tyner, Freddie Hubbard, Andrew Hill and Sonny Rollins, and with Max Roach, formed the percussion group M’Boom. Nasheet is part of two high profile trios: Jason Moran & The Bandwagon, and Tarbaby (with Eric Revis and Orrin Evans), and has recorded with Marty Ehrlich, Tim Berne, and Dave Douglas. Waits’ flexibility and command was on conspicuous display all evening. Because he was so familiar with the material, he was free to accent dynamically and fill intelligently. His two solos focused awareness on his subtle beat subdivisions, while referencing the shape of the composition.

I was glad to help broker Sabbagh’s concert at Firehouse 12, New Haven’s legendary performance/recording space. Having even one additional gig can make a real difference in getting a band of professional musicians to make the three hour drive from New York. Throughout his career, the 52-year old Parisian-born saxophonist has put himself in the right situations, with the right people. Since moving to New York in 1995, Sabbagh has released records with legends like Al Foster, Daniel Humair and Kenny Barron, along with peers like Ben Street, Ben Monder, Johnathan Blake and the folks we heard on Thursday. For years, Sabbagh has curated a Wednesday series at Brooklyn’s Bar Bayeux, and before our show we compared notes about the joys and frustrations of producing live music. Perhaps seeing so many shows from a producer’s standpoint has helped Sabbagh construct well-rounded sets of music, like the one we heard Thursday in Easthampton.

Near Perfect: Ralph Alessi Quartet in Springfield

A rare confluence of sublime writing, stellar musicianship and well-rehearsed playing came together in the elegant Robyn Newhouse Hall at the Community Music School of Springfield on May 2, as the Ralph Alessi Quartet wowed 60 of us with a set of transcendent music. The concert, the 22nd of the year in Pioneer Valley Jazz Shares’ 14th season, featured trumpeter Ralph Alessi alongside Matt Mitchell (piano), John Hébert (bass) and Ches Smith (drums/vibes). The 70 minute set included music that was recorded by the Quartet last year, to be released on ECM Records this July.

The band just got back to the States seven days ago, after spending two weeks touring Europe. The music, full of idiosyncratic twists and complicated turns, felt lived in and as comfortable as a pair of broken in jeans. Alessi’s compositions ranged from high tempo bebop, to fractured funk, to melancholic ballads, and they contained logic, beauty and heart across many moods. When you put compositions that engage the ear in the hands of virtuoso instrumentalists, the results are thrilling. The forthcoming record, A Sun That Never Sets, will be Alessi’s 6th as a leader for ECM, and includes as special guest his brother Joseph Alessi on trombone.

To say that Ralph Alessi comes from a musical family is an understatement. His parents met as performers at the Metropolitan Opera: his mother, Maria Leone Alessi, sang in the chorus; his father, Joseph Alessi Sr., was principal trumpet for nearly 15 seasons. His older brother Joseph is principal trombone with the New York Philharmonic and an esteemed professor at Juilliard. Also classically trained (he performed with the San Francisco Symphony as a teen), Ralph made a detour to CalArts, where he studied with Charlie Haden and first met Ravi Coltrane, who has become a long-time collaborator.

To say that Ralph Alessi is technically proficient would also be understating it. His attack was crisp and articulate, with enough coloring outside the lines to keep it interesting. His tone was inviting and his ideas were fresh, and he kept our attention without needing to expand the instrument’s sound producing playbook.

Matt Mitchell and Ches Smith were each making their third Jazz Shares appearances of the season. These artists, both north of 50 years old, are among the most celebrated musicians on the planet, and in constant demand as leaders and sidemen. Mitchell, who performed with the Jon Irabagon Quintet (November) and in duet with Sara Serpa (December), possesses unlimited technique and creativity. The same can be said of Smith, who visited western Massachusetts in October leading his group Clone Row and in January as part of the Anna Webber Nonet.

A couple of piano interludes with Smith on vibes provided celestial palate cleansing, and his two drum solos confirmed for me that Smith is among the top percussionists in jazz. His sideman work with Marc Ribot, Tim Berne, Mary Halvorson, David Torn and John Zorn justify that conclusion, and in the last five years the records he’s produced under his own name (Path of Seven Colors, Interpret It Well, Laugh Ash and Clone Row) have solidified his stature as a first-rate composer/conceptualist. Those wanting to find out more about Mitchell are urged to check out his six Pi Recordings as a leader and his sideman work with Dave Douglas, Tim Berne, John Hollenbeck and Miles Okazaki.

I first met John Hébert in 2015 when he performed at the Magic Triangle Jazz Series with the Fred Hersch Trio, and again at UMass in 2018 as part of the Angelica Sanchez Nonet. He has a big, round sound, a robust imagination, a surplus of technique, and a thorough knowledge of jazz history. Since Hébert first came to prominence in the bands of Andrew Hill, with whom he played from 2001 until the pianist’s passing in 2007, the New Orleans native has become one of the most in-demand bassists in jazz. Along with the rest of the rhythm section, Hébert easily negotiated the shifting meters and tricky harmonies imbedded in the compositions, while adding a major dose of life energy.

Over 35 years, I’ve produced lots of concerts by some of the world’s most creative musicians. This one was special.

Keep On Keepin' On: Anders Nilsson's Hesa Gun in Holyoke

How many bands are there in the jazz firmament committed to creating new work on a high level? I’m guessing hundreds, if not thousands, around the world. When you couple the limited number of paying gigs with a capitalist system that sucks resources to create a few “stars”, one gains a new appreciation for the fortitude it takes to make significant art in late-stage Amerika. 

I thought about that stacked deck as we hosted Anders Nilsson’s quartet, Hesa Gun (pronounced “goon”), on April 11 at Holyoke Media. The group: Sam Kulik (trombone), Dave Ambrosio (bass), Vinnie Sperrazza (drums) and Nilsson (guitar), all in their 40s and 50s, are piecing it together and continuing to make beautiful, thought-provoking music. With Brooklyn rents what they are, not to mention the obligations of adulthood (including raising children), devoting the time necessary to make meaningful music requires both talent and perseverance.

Sperrazza told shareholder Ron Freshley that the band had four, 4-hour rehearsals in advance of Saturday’s concert. That represents a big (unpaid) investment in getting it right. And get it right they did. The 90-minute set flew by, with the quartet navigating Nilsson’s inventive compositions like they were their own.

It was big of Nilsson to allow Sperrazza to have the first spotlight, with the drummer tossing off understated drum fills on the slowly evolving “Synopsis”. That was followed by “Let’s Have a Dance Party”, where the drummer laid down a funky backbeat in support of Nilsson, who danced over the fretboard with ease, while Kulik supplied a growling gutbucket groove. Nilsson listens to a lot of Brazilian music at home, which inspired, “Laugh or Cry”, based on a 19th century song form called “choro”. Nilsson’s original borrowed the choro rhythm, while he colored the melody with modern notes and harmonies. The strong writing throughout the concert was matched by virtuosic playing and spirited delivery.

Anders Nilsson has a light touch as a band leader. He didn’t hog solo space or dominate the proceedings and was low-key while guiding the band through his intricate compositions. Born in Eslöv, Sweden, a town of about 20,000 people in the southern part of the country, Nilsson came to New York in 2000 and never left. His close relationship with Barbès, the Brooklyn club that hosts jazz and music from around the world, has shaped his current interests. I met him in 2014 when he performed in Greenfield with the Fay Victor Ensemble. He is extremely facile on guitar, and I’m guessing he has long blown past 10,000 hours of deliberate practice. Yet despite his considerable chops, honed in rock, metal, and jazz settings, Nilsson never played louder or played more notes than necessary. There was no guitar-hero grandstanding.

Sperrazza hails from Utica, NY, the same city that gave the jazz world JR Monterose and Jimmy Wormworth. From his undergraduate days at William Patterson University, where he was mentored by pianist James Williams, to his current work with Ember (Caleb Curtis, Noah Garabedian), Hank Roberts and the Mark Morris Dance Group, a through line for the drummer has been teaching and writing. His Substack Chronicles is filled with insights about jazz and the people who make it, and he has the first two chapters of a book on the evolution of jazz drumming written. Sperrazza is from the talkers, a charismatic guy who loves music and the people who make it; he was fun to talk to. His stage presence had similar energy, and his playing, puckish and inventive, was always in service to the compositions. Peak Inn, his first recording as a leader, was released in 2008 and features pianist Jacob Sacks and Dave Ambrosio.

Ambrosio led a quintet called Civil Disobedience at the Iron Horse the day after his work with Hesa Gun. That project showcases jazz composers from the late 1960s Blue Note Era, and featured Donny McCaslin, Jason Palmer, Bruce Barth and Rudy Royston. They’ll be at Joe’s Pub on June 11. He is conversant with Afro-Cuban batá drumming, and co-leads Grupo Los Santos, a band that incorporates tap dancing, flamenco, jazz, Brazilian and Cuban music, so Ambrosio is comfortable in a variety of settings. He nailed his bass lines with aplomb, subtle yet self-assured.

I got to know Sam Kulik through his father, Stephen Kulik, who represented the 1st Franklin District in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1993-2019. Steve was a jazz lover, a big WMUA fan and a supporter of live music. When he passed in 2022, he asked people to donate to Jazz Shares in his memory, and Suzanne Kulik remains an active Jazz Shares member. Suzanne also got to see her son in action last year when Sam played with Moppa Elliot’s quintet, Advancing on a Wild Pitch. The trombonist sounded fantastic in the context of Nilsson’s open compositions, freely employing a range of sounds and techniques. We had the added bonus of spending time with Sam’s partner, Emily and their daughter, Eo.

“Thank you for the priceless chance to dive into music and share it with this community, very organic and sincerely felt,” Nilsson wrote after the concert. “An audience that embraced over an hour and a half of music they’ve never heard, played by people they are just meeting!”

That’s why we do what we do.