(Reprinted from the May 2023 issue of New York City Jazz Record)
Photo: Jazz Detective/Bandcamp
In the liner notes of the April release, Blue Room: The 1979 Vara Studio Sessions In Holland (Jazz Detective), Dutch journalist and Chet Baker biographer Jeroen de Valk challenges a myth about the last years of the trumpeter’s life. The myth—that Baker wandered aimlessly around Europe, idle and washed up—is easily disabused with one listen to this 2-disc set, recorded in Hilversum, the Netherlands, for Radio KRO-NCRV during one of Baker’s frequent tours of the day. His playing is clarion, flawless. His singing, though at times muffled, is emotional and focused. Notably, any vocal frailty disappears when he scats, turning out neatly arced phrases in impeccable time.
This is really hard to do, especially on ballads, Baker’s forte as a vocalist. He sings on just three of the collection’s 11 tracks, with two of these (“Oh, You Crazy Moon” and “My Ideal”) at a tempo so slow that most singers wouldn’t even attempt a solo. But Baker does improvise on these down-tempos, remaining diatonic and close to the melody, inserting a light vibrato here and there at the end of a phrase. Somehow, this simple approach to a vocal improv is more captivating than the most gymnastic of efforts. Then there’s the way that he feels a tune, as on “Candy”, a mid-tempo with a seductive rhythmic undertow. His placement is so relaxed, so exquisite, that it’s easy to be swept away.
Two of Baker’s regular players from the ‘70s and ‘80s contribute to the album’s liner notes; their first-hand observations of Baker both on- and off-stage lend insight into his musicianship. Bassist Jean-Louis Rassinfosse writes that “Chet was such a master of melody”, remembering how they’d scat for hours together while on the road. And pianist Phil Markowitz recalls that Baker played within a “very precise harmonic zone”, much like Charlie Parker and Clifford Brown. Note that none of this sounds aimless, idle, or washed up. Baker died 35 years ago this month. Perhaps it’s time to set the record straight.
You might know Laila Biali from her backup stints with pop stars like Sting and Suzanne Vega, or her regular gig as host of the Canadian radio show Saturday Night Jazz, or her many award-winning albums and original jazz compositions. Or perhaps you’ve caught one of her vibrant live performances either here in New York or at a jam-packed jazz festival abroad. Her energetic presence necessarily attracts like-minded musicians, and she provides an especially welcoming space for her special guests on Your Requests, her first standards album in over a decade. On the record the pianist/singer swaps romantic phrases with a throaty Kurt Elling (“My Funny Valentine”), shares modern jazz harmonies with Emilie-Claire Barlow (“My Favorite Things”) and settles into an assured groove with Caity Gyorgy (“Pennies From Heaven”). To be sure, this isn’t the Songbook as you know it—yet. You can purchase the new record as of May 26th via ACT Music in Europe, Core Port in Japan, and Empress Music Group here in North America.
Last month Lizzie Thomas released Duo Encounters (Dot Time) at New York’s historic Cotton Club. Like Biali, Thomas meets up with her musicians over standards, but these spare duets don’t necessarily follow convention. True, there are some more traditional arrangements with harmonic instruments—“Love For Sale” with pianist Helio Alves and “My Foolish Heart” with guitarist Russell Malone, for instance. And two with bass only—“Willow Weep For Me” with Ron Carter and “Have You Met Miss Jones?” with Dezron Douglas. But trickier are the unexpected pairings, like Thomas on a rubato “Nature Boy” with percussionist Café Da Silva and in a free interpretation of “Lush Life” with saxophonist Wayne Escoffery. She saves the hardest for last: a heartaching take of “Round Midnight” with cellist Mairi Dorman-Phaneuf.
Each Wednesday night at Birdland, guitarist Frank Vignola hosts Frank Vignola’s Guitar Nights, a series showcasing some exceptional guest vocalists. The May lineup includes Karrin Allyson (May 3rd), Janis Siegel (May 10th) and Perry Smith (May 17th). A few blocks south, at Chelsea Table + Stage, singer/guitarist Allan Harris offers a similar “with guest” series called New York Nights, this month on the 6th and 13th. Keep an eye out for Allyson’s evening in this residency—and those with singers Gloria Reuben and Carolyn Leonhart. Meanwhile, you can catch Allyson under her own headline at JALC Dizzy's on May 30th-Jun 6th.