Keeping At It: Jorge Sylvester's Group Perseveres

Some shows are easier to produce than others. The concert at Hawks & Reed on March 4, featuring Jorge Sylvester Spontaneous Expressions, landed on one end of the spectrum. First there was the looming winter storm warning that threatened to dump a foot of snow on Greenfield (it ended early and amounted to much less than 12 inches.) Days before the gig, the band’s pianist, Kuba Cichocki, got COVID. On Wednesday, Amtrak canceled their scheduled train. A half-hour out of New York, their new train lost power and didn’t move for two hours. Instead of a leisurely meal and some downtime, we zipped straight from the Springfield train station to the venue, arriving at 6:50pm for a 7:30pm show. If that wasn’t enough, the bass drum pedal was faulty.

I’m not sure if the stress made the music sweeter, but there was certainly a sense of relief when the first note sounded, only 15 minutes later than usual. The ensemble, led by alto saxophonist Jorge Sylvester, featured vocalist Nora McCarthy, drummer Tony Moreno, and last minute replacement Bruce Arnold on guitar.

The set began with a solo by Sylvester, using Monk’s “Epistrophy” as his point of departure. It served as a wonderful introduction to his sly improvising and full bodied tone. As the evening unfolded, Sylvester proceeded to break the quartet into various duos and trios, giving us a chance to really hone in on each player; maybe half the concert featured the full group. He employed a similar strategy on his latest release, Mayhem At Large, a live concert recording featuring eight players, but only two octet pieces; the rest were duos and solos.

The evening’s 80-minute set was plenty experimental, featuring lots of open improvisation that only hinted at predictable harmony and rhythm. That was true even when the band invoked tunes such as “Peace”. McCarthy sung Horace Silver’s beautiful lyrics and melody while the rest of the ensemble alluded to the form with accents and embellishments.

The Panamanian-born Sylvester, now 70, has been plugging away at his craft since boyhood, mentored by fellow countrymen, Euclides Hall, Efrain Castro and Victor Boa. After earning a music degree from SUNY New Paltz in 1981, he had impactful experiences at Karl Berger’s legendary Creative Music Studio in Woodstock, NY, where he first made contact with Dave Holland, Oliver Lake and violinist Ramsey Ameen, who became an important collaborator. Career stops have included tours with the World Saxophone Quartet, work with Andrew Cyrille, Craig Harris and the poet Sekou Sundiata (check out The Blue Oneness of Dreams), and numerous recordings as a leader. His first Jazz Shares appearance in 2015 with his ACE Collective, took place at Northampton’s Parlor Room.

Nora McCarthy’s role in the group brought to mind vocalists like Phil Minton, Maggie Nichols and Lauren Newton, who don’t just croon on a bed of sound, but are instrumentalists actually embedded in the ensemble, comping, improvising, interacting like all the other musicians. Her alto voice was sometimes out front singing lyrics, but could also be heard wordlessly blending with a background guitar figure or trading rhythms with drums. The morning after the concert she regaled us with stories about singing background vocals in Wilson Pickett’s’ band as a young person. McCarthy is not only a long-time collaborator of Sylvester’s, they’re life partners.

Sylvester also has a long relationship with Tony Moreno, the veteran drummer who has worked with Frank Kimbrough, Ole Mathisen and Marc Mommas. There was a sureness of touch, a confidence in his playing that comes from a lifetime behind the kit. Born in Manhattan, Moreno was mentored by Elvin Jones, who sold him his first drum set. Moreno studied with him for six years at Frank Ippolito’s Professional Percussion Center, where he also became friends with Mel Lewis, Tony Williams, Gene Krupa and Billy Cobham. Moreno told us the heartbreaking story of losing equipment, all his instruments (including a Yamaha C6 grand piano and a drum kit owned by Papa Jo Jones), and his mother’s music library, including manuscripts dating back to the 15th century, in Hurricane Sandy. Despite the hardship, Moreno exuded a zest for music and the people who make it.

Moreno also suggested adding Bruce Arnold to the band. The two have been collaborating for over 15 years. They shared a basement studio at Westbeth, the legendary complex of artist housing, gallery, studio and performance space in the West Village, that was devastated by the hurricane in 2012. I didn’t know Arnold before last week, another example of the depth of musical talent that escapes even attentive listeners like me. Arnold is a prolific author and educator (Berklee, NYU, Princeton), who has 300 books, videos and apps on music theory, time studies, ear training, guitar technique and more. He can also play the guitar at the highest level in many styles.

Overcoming obstacles and enduring neglect seems to define the jazz journey of many. Like Jorge Sylvester and the members of his band, those that make it develop a resilience and resourcefulness that results in hard earned brilliance.

As Serious As Your Life: Patricia Brennan Quartet in the IMA Barn

People sometimes use the term “serious music” to distinguish it from the easy pleasures of popular music. Besides the implied value judgement about the inherent worth of such music, the term also assumes added effort to both produce and appreciate it. But the serious music made by the Patricia Brennan Quartet in the barn at the Institute for the Musical Arts on February 25, displayed a seriousness of purpose and was readily enjoyable.

The Quartet featured Brennan on vibraphone, along with Kim Cass, bass, Noah Brennan, trap drums and Mauricio Herrera, congas and batá drums. They played material from their recent Pyroclastic release, More Touch. (Marcus Gilmore plays drums on the recording.)

The musicians had obviously invested a good deal of effort to turn the subtle, shifting nature of Brennan’s compositions into breathable and satisfying sound; and from conversations with the band it was clear they have devoted their lives to developing a deep understanding of Latin and classical music.

Patricia Brennan was born and raised in Veracruz, Mexico where she absorbed son jarocho and other traditional music, while learning to play piano, marimba and timpani. Fully immersed in the western classical canon, Brennan toured with leading Mexican orchestras before enrolling at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Her detour towards improvised music has put her in the illustrious company of John Hollenbeck, Michael Formanek, Mary Halvorson, Matt Mitchell and Vijay Iyer. We first heard her in person last year at IMA in Goshen, when she played in Mary LaRose’s Dolphy project.

Brennan told us about playing John Cage and Steve Reich compositions for percussion quartet, and how the instrumentation of those groups inspired her current configuration. The music Brennan organized had rhythmic bite, harmonic complexity and plenty of melody. The pieces with overt Latin rhythms, like “Unquiet Respect” and “Square Bimagic”, churned with forward momentum. “Space For Place”, began with gauzy atmospherics, before Herrera entered on batá drums, raising sacred plumes. The piece ended with a tight, high energy percussive line.

Brennan’s use of pedals and technology to bend notes made me think of Mary Halvorson’s guitar approach. Although much of the music was firmly in the pocket, Brennan’s use of electronics and shifts in mood and tempo, distinguished her pieces from the dance forms they referenced. This superimposition of modern constructs on traditional grooves is immensely exciting, and the 25 intrepid listeners who braved the snow to get there were riveted.

In much the way New Orleans drummers in the early 20th century melded their instruments into the modern drum kit, Mauricio Herrera connected his three, two-headed batá drums so he could play them simultaneously, an innovation conceived in the 1980s. Herrera is a Babalao, a high priest of the Ifá oracle in Santeria practice, and his understanding of the religious significance of each rhythm deepened the music. Since the Cuban-born percussionist came to the U.S. in 2005, he has worked with dozens of high profile musicians in the jazz and Latin music world, using his knowledge of traditional drumming to serve modern ends. His interplay with Noah Brennan provided all-night fireworks and a solid rhythmic foundation for the ensemble.

Patricia’s husband, Noah Brennan, was a revelation. How does someone born and raised in Robbinston, Maine, a coastal town with a population of 600, become an outrageously creative drummer while joining forces with a Mexican rising star? That’s a story for another day. Maybe due to his extra rehearsal time with the composer, Mr. Brennan’s time feel was hand in glove.

As the evening’s other melody instrument, bass played a critical role in the overall sound of the ensemble. Kim Cass was masterful and soulful. In the last few years I’ve started to see his name in print, on records by Matt Mitchell, Rob Garcia and Noah Preminger, and in performance with Tyshawn Sorey, John Zorn and Rudresh Mahanthappa. Now we know what the fuss is about. Like Noah Brennan, Cass moved to Brooklyn from rural Maine and is now rubbing shoulders with the best musicians in the land. Cass will return to western Massachusetts in September for a Jazz Shares performance with Noah Preminger’s quartet.

Incredibly accomplished, Patricia Brennan is poised to blow-up. She has classical chops, and her rhythmic sense is impeccable. Her compositions are complex but not dry, and she is a fearless improvisor. Brennan has her own sound on her instrument, no mean feat on the vibraphone. And she is genuinely nice. She’s also serious.

On the Road Again: Ethnic Heritage Ensemble Comes to Northampton

The Ethnic Heritage Ensemble is an anachronism. Led by percussionist and vocalist Kahil El’Zabar, the group plays acoustic instruments, including ancient ones like mbira, cajón, bells and voice, and their itinerary reads like those of a bygone era.

EHE is in the thick of playing 24 gigs in 26 days throughout North America. El’Zabar has taken the Ensemble on the road like this for 49 consecutive years. In today’s jazz world, nobody does that. The 69-year old percussionist estimated he has five years left of this kind of non-stop touring.

This incarnation of the band, featuring trumpeter Corey Wilkes and baritone saxophonist Alex Harding, played for 95 enthusiastic listeners at the Parlor Room in Northampton on February 8. Their 90-minute set came on the heels of one of their two days off. They made the drive on Tuesday from Washington, DC, where they played to a full house at Rhizome.

Playing mbira (African thumb piano), cajón (Afro-Peruvian box percussion), drum kit, and fit with ankle rattles, El’Zabar cut quite the figure. Fit and debonair, the Chicago-born drummer exudes charisma and has lived a full and interesting life. A natural storyteller, he regaled us with tales of playing basketball in a Rucker tournament all-star game with Nate Archibald, George McInnis and Billy Bang. He told us how as a boy, he would mow the lawn and do errands for his neighbor Mamie Till after her son was murdered. His mentor, Phil Cohran, who helped found the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) and named the organization, taught him to play thumb piano. Cohran’s Artistic Heritage Ensemble served as inspiration for Zabar’s band. Another influence was Acklyn Lynch, an early member of the UMass W.E.B. DuBois Department of Afro-American Studies, who guided him towards a career in the arts.

Over the course of his career, El’Zabar has served as chair of the AACM and was knighted by the French government. He has taught at the university level, published poetry, released more than 50 recordings and founded OOHnow, a cultural e-commerce network. El’Zabar was the subject of the documentary film Be Known: The Mystery of Kahil El’Zabar, and has performed with Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, and Nina Simone. He has scored and appeared in feature films ("Love Jones", "Mo' Money" and "How U Like Me Now" and "Savannah"), and did arranging for the stage performance of The Lion King. He tailors clothing for himself and others.

El’Zabar’s music flows. His original melodies are simple and beautiful. When he played them on mbira, they had spiritual luster. His vocals were as virtuosic as his drumming. His unaccompanied vocal break during “Bebop”, filled with yodels, scat and various mouth sounds, is peculiar to El’Zabar; the people erupted. The band brought energy and innovation to the standards, “Caravan”(Juan Tizol, Duke Ellington), “Bebop” (Dizzy Gillespie), and their encore, “Freedom Jazz Dance” (Eddie Harris). The unusual instrumentation gave new life to the tunes, and the addition of foot percussion and vocals gave the band five voices to play with. The group had great dynamic range, moving from whisper to roar and back again over the course of a tune, giving us access to a wide range of moods and emotion.

Now 43, Corey Wilkes has been a colleague of Kahil’s for over 17 years. He’s featured in the film, Be Known, which documents a 2007 tour by the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble. When Makaya McCraven moved to Chicago, Wilkes was one of the first persons he connected with; they’ve become fast friends. Jazz Shares stalwart Jon King and I, who have known both Makaya and his father, Steve, since their Valley days, were happy to mug with Corey and send the results to our drummer friends via the internet. This was Wilkes’ first appearance in the Bay State since he left Berklee over 20 years ago. Dressed in black and wearing shades, he looked every bit the hip jazz man. Playing the custom made Lotus trumpet he got last month, he blew melodious statements all evening. He was meticulous about his pre-concert routine: no eating past 2:00pm, a special elixir to open up the breath, a specific warm-up regimen. He is serious about his craft and the results speak for itself. In 2003, Wilkes replaced Lester Bowie in the Art Ensemble of Chicago, and subsequent work with Roscoe Mitchell, DJ Logic, Nona Hendryx, and his own projects, have confirmed he is on the right path.

Alex Harding has been with the Ethnics for four years and is featured on their last two albums. Born in Detroit in 1967, he recently moved back to the Motor City after decades in New York to be close to aging parents. We talked about the Detroit scene, and especially Yusef Lateef, a patron saint of both Detroit and western Massachusetts. Harding seemed moved by the on-line celebration of Dr. Lateef’s centennial I helped put together, as we watched responses by Benny Maupin and his friend Ralph (Buzzy) Jones. We also talked about his fond memories of the two weeks he spent in Amherst in 1990 at Jazz in July with Brother Yusef and others. Harding started on tenor sax, but was persuaded to switch to the baritone sax by the legendary band director, Ernie Rogers, who was trying accommodate the arrival of a new student, James Carter. Harding has been playing the same horn Mr. Rogers found him in high school. “My parents paid $400 down and $100 a month for a year”, he said. Harding was the music director for the Broadway production of Fela!, and had the good fortune to be a part of Julius Hemphill’s Saxophone Sextet. He’s a veteran of bands led by visionaries like David Murray, Muhal Richard Abrams, Hamiet Bluiett, Craig Harris and Oliver Lake. I saw him last spring, sharing the bandstand with Sam Newsome, Román Díaz and others in Francisco Mora’s very hip band, Afro-Horn.

It was great to share my home (and washing machine) with these committed road warriors. I first presented Kahil El’Zabar (with Ernest Dawkins, Joseph Bowie and “Atu” Harold Murray) at UMass in 1998, and I love being a stop on his February barnstorming tours, now and again. His dogged pursuit spreading the Great Black Music gospel is what we need now.