Kieran Hebden/ Steve Reid/ Mats Gustafsson

Live at the South Bank

(Smalltown Superjazz)

When music is this feral, this uninhibited, this experimental, even the label “freejazz” is an insufficient description. For all its unrestrained probing, the music on this double-disc set was recorded live in a miniscule setting during the summer of 2009. On hand to weave this trippy tapestry were Swedish saxophonist Mats Gustafsson, electronic-music maven Kieran Hebden and drummer/percussionist Steve Reid.

The trio’s brilliantly tempestuous performance in tight quarters reveals a closeness— especially between Reid and Hebden— that extends beyond the music. The intimate concert was part of the Meltdown Festival curated by free-jazz legend Ornette Coleman and took place in Queen Elizabeth Hall at London’s Southbank Center. Sadly,the session represents the last installment of Reid and Hebden’s artistic collaboration, and Reid’s last recording altogether beforehis death in 2010 at age 66.

The unlikely partnership — Hebden, a.k.a. electronic artist Four Tet, is young enough to be Reid’s grandson — produced four previous albums. The veteran drummercut his teeth with icons such as Sun Ra,James Brown and Miles Davis. Known forhis ability to make transitions from tight rhythmic grooves to unstructured romps, Reid undoubtedly relished the challenge of working with Hebden.

The opening “Morning Prayer” is constructed on an ascending tension between Reid’s barebones, abstract drumming andHebden’s laptops and electronic effects. Not until the next bleed-in track, 20 minuteslater, does Gustaffson’s gritty sax finallyrelieve that tension. The Swedish reeds player,whose credits include Sonic Youth and JimO’Rourke, should have entered the fray earlier. Apparently, he was so mesmerized by whatwas taking place that he simply forgot.

Undercutting the players’ remarkable synergy are moments of chaos that segueinto minimalist respites inhabited by quirky computerized sounds. “Untitled”bears the mechanistic influences ofprogressive 1970s Krautrock. Nonetheless, the trio delivers a spirited workout throughout, eschewing labels in favor of mood and emotion. Such is the caseon “The Sun Never Sets.” This final track ebbs and flows and evokes the eternityof music like an amoeba with endless mutations. — Lissette Corsa

Fred Ho and the Green Monster Big Band

The Sweet Science Suite

(Mutable/Big Red Media)

In 2008, Brooklyn-based baritone saxophonist Fred Ho organized the Green Monster Big Band as a musical ensemble capable of depicting his defiant,radical resistanceto racism while he simultaneously battled advanced colorectal cancer. Hohas since lost his battle with cancer, buthis 35-year musical legacy — including theensuing sonic wave emitted by the GreenMonster — lives on. Ho was still very much alive and at the helm while recording The Sweet ScienceSuite. His near-cacophonous cluster chordsand turbulent rhythms are akin to theshock wave from a large howitzer, althoughthe furious, startling din is interspersed with relative quietude and surprising elements of humor. The suite is a five-part, nearly hour long musical portrait of Muhammad Ali.Throughout his ordeal with cancer, Ho watched videos of Ali, drawing strength from the fighter and outspoken rebel’s belligerent style and pride. But it was Ali’s mastery of the “sweet science,” his finesse in the ring, that most impressed the bandleader. The suite comprises lengthy jazz- and R&B-influenced movements —powerhouse segments with mood swingsand abrupt segues. Ho’s music stems from his unusual situation. Anger coupled with a craving forvalidation and closure can lead to tempestuous and probing art. But the CD should beheard on its own terms, rather than judgedby the circumstances that produced it. Longtime associates Jim Hobbs on altosaxophone, Earl McIntyre on trombone andStanton Davis on trumpet are but a few ofthe excellent soloists who rise above these headstrong arrangements. Meanwhile, Ho and his protégé Ben Barson — both virtuoso bari players — add further excitement throughout with their extended range and dexterity. Rounding out this generous CD are “Ina Pan-African Mood” (based on Ellington’s“In a Sentimental Mood”) and “Teaching the Ape to Write Poems.” The former is a barisax ballad, the latter, a scathing uppercut to societal conditioning. — James Rozzi

Claire Daly Quintet

This album is so enjoyable that knowledge ofits subject matter is hardly a prerequisite forappreciation. Certainly, the backstory of ClaireDaly’s cousin, Mary Joyce, who undertook athree-month solo trip by dogsled from Juneauto Fairbanks in the mid-1930s, is compelling.(See accompanying story.) But even absent thatnarrative, the album commands attention.First, there’s Daly’s playing, especially onbaritone saxophone, her primary instrument.Her big, warm tone glides over the rolling6/8 of the opening cut, “Guidance.” Her ideasalways flow lyrically, one building upon theother. Second are the tunes and the arrangementsby Daly and pianist Steve Hudson.Working separately and in tandem, they’vewritten a fairly straightahead album, withstrong currents of hard bop. But every tuneclicks with varied textures and forms, whetherit’s the easygoing calypso “Tippin’,” the stirringfolklike waltz “Epilogue” or Daly’s vocals onHudson’s standard-worthy ballad “Shine.”Pieces move from funk vamp to hard,straight swing then back again. “ComplicatedLove” mirrors its title with shifts in rhythmand key. Daly’s use of flute and alto sax variesthe textures, sometimes within a single tune,as do the beat-box vocals of Napoleon Maddox.With Mary Ann McSweeney on bass and PeterGrant on drums, this band deserves a longlife. Nonetheless, Daly’s spoken-word tributeto her cousin on “Epilogue” — which includessections from Mary’s journal — seems superfluous.With music this good, nothing else needbe said.   — Jon Garelick

Morgan Rewind: A Tribute To Lee Morgan Vol 1.

Tribute recordings have been common in jazz at least since Fletcher Henderson’s 1931 version of “Singing the Blues,” which had cornetist Rex Stewart paying homage to Bix Beiderbecke. One can play note-for-note re-creations, be creative within the format of the original recording (changing solos but keeping similar arrangements), play someone else’s repertoire in one’s own style or radically deconstruct a work. Recent tributes exercise all but the first option.

The Blue Note recordings of Lee Morgan are revisited on the Roberto Magris Quintet‘s [i]Morgan Rewind: A Tribute To Lee Morgan Vol. 1[i] (J-Mood). Pianist Magris joins trumpeter Brandon Lee, altoist Logan Richardson, bassist Elisa Pruett and drummer Albert “Tootie” Heath to perform six Morgan originals. The group also essays Billy Harper’s “Croquet Ballet” and two Magris originals that sound like tracks from the Blue Note-era. Lee does an excellent job evoking Morgan’s spirit. Richardson’s hesitant style belongs somewhere between Sonny Red’s and Jackie McLean’s. And Magris’ more-modern approach fits into the setting quite well, even though the original versions remain unrivaled. The final track is a 12-minute interview with Heath that provides revealing insights into the late Morgan.

An 11-piece band that often performs in Hoboken, New Jersey, Swingadelic pays tribute to another Blue Note touchstone, pianist-composer Duke Pearson, on [i]The Other Duke[i] (Zoho). Offering a set of catchy boogaloos, hard-bop romps and shuffles, they perform seven Pearson originals, including his two main hits (“Jeannine” and “Cristo Redentor”), plus three songs that he enjoyed playing. These excellent musicians — none of whom are marquee names — truly understand the music of that time period, and they do justice to Pearson’s legacy.

The NY Jazz Initiative is a hard-bop octet led by tenor and soprano-saxophonist Rob Derke that features trumpeter David Smith; saxophonists Steve Wilson on alto and Ralph Lalama on tenor; and Sam Burtis on trombone and tuba. [i]Mad About Thad[i] (Jazzheads) resurrects a set of Thad Jones songs through the inventive arrangements of Derke, Jason Flynn and Toby Wine. Although few revelations occur, the music swings and the musicians clearly enjoyed digging into the material, much of which is fairly obscure.

Terell Stafford‘s [i]This Side of Strayhorn[i] (MaxJazz) is a blowing session that provides an opportunity for the trumpeter, lyrical tenor and soprano saxophonist Tim Warfield, pianist Bruce Barth, bassist Peter Washington and drummer Dana Hall to jam on nine Billy Strayhorn compositions. Barth’s arrangements hold subtle surprises and leave plenty of room for solos. Stafford is in spectacular form throughout, displaying a warm tone, a wide range and a versatile style that extends from swing to hard bop. He explodes on “Raincheck” and emulates Cootie Williams on “Multicolored Blue.” The quintet offer definitive reads of Strayhorn gems such as “Smada,” “My Little Brown Book” and “Lana Turner.”

On [i]Tribute to Bird and Monk[i] (Labor), a reissue from 1978, arranger-conductor Heiner Stadler chose three songs by Charlie Parker and three by Thelonious Monk, kept the melodies, did away with the chord changes and invented new pieces. He employed the talents of cornetist Thad Jones (replaced by Cecil Bridgewater on one piece); trombonist George Lewis; tenorist and flutist George Adams; pianist Stanley Cowell; bassist Reggie Workman; and drummer Lenny White, with Warren Smith playing timpani on two selections.

The intriguing results are not bebop, and traditionalists were probably dismayed when the album was originally released. Adams’ ferocious tenor and Lewis’ explorative flights could be predicted, but Cowell’s acute playing and Jones’ flexibility are a bit of a surprise. Some of the themes are played in several keys at once. The ensembles are intense, the solos dramatic. Would Bird and Monk have enjoyed these versions? Difficult to say. But listeners who have their ears open to freer sounds will find this colorful and passionate set compelling.

-by Scott Yanow

‘Round Midnight

(Concord Records)

In an era when more and more music lovers download individual songs, many artists are eschewing the concept of the album. But not Karrin Allyson. The singer sees [i]‘Round Midnight[i], her most recent release for the Concord label, as a batch of meaningful tunes that collectively make a statement.

“It’s a very late-night, heartbreak-kind of set,” she says. Her husband, guitarist Rod Fleeman, echoed that sentiment, she relates, describing it as “a meal that needs to be savored, instead of just snacks.”

Early in her recording career, Allyson took a different approach. “The first, I’d say, four of my CDs were a variety – more like our shows, which include a lot of different things,” she notes. “We’d do everything you’ve heard us do on record – many versions of the blues, Brazilian stuff, a little bit of bebop, Great American Songbook stuff, pop stuff, French music. But when I do album projects now, I like to put a common thread through them. That helps me focus on some aspects of them, and it helps me learn, too.”

On [i]‘Round Midnight[i], Allyson plays all keyboard parts. It’s the first time she’s done so on an album since signing with Concord, prior to the release of [i]I Didn’t Know About You[i] in 1992. She describes the decision as an evolutionary process.

“When I was playing live gigs with other pianists, I’d always sit down during the set and do two or three [numbers on piano], and it seemed like I’d get a great response to those songs,” she points out. “I’m not a bebop, chopsy piano player. I’m more of an accompanist for myself, and I think it must have felt like a really personal statement to the audience. And then my band got smaller; I’d have a guitarist, bass, drums and myself. So I was playing more piano by necessity and really digging it.”

When Allyson decided to explore this territory in the studio, she chose numbers that she’s always adored and then wrote arrangements for most of them. “It’s stuff that comes right out of me,” she says. “So it’s very personal in that regard, too.”

She put this method to the test by selecting some oft-covered compositions – not just jazz standards such as the gorgeous Thelonious Monk-penned title track and Duke Ellington’s “Sophisticated Lady,” but also genre-crossers like Stephen Sondheim’s “Send in the Clowns” and Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile.” On the former, she employed a Fleeman arrangement that she calls “beautifully understated,” in stark contrast to the histrionic way it’s often performed. As for “Smile,” Allyson says, “I used to do that tune all the time like everyone else has done it — kind of bouncy. But when I wrote the arrangement, I remember coming at it from the top of the keyboard, and from the very bottom, and coming together with this very sad, very bittersweet feel.”

Allyson performs a similar act of transformation on Bill Evans’ “Turn Out the Stars,” using as a guide lyrics by Gene Lees with which she was unfamiliar until fairly recently. “People usually do it ‘up,’ ” she says. “But if you do it ‘down’ with those lyrics, which I love, it really becomes pretty profound.”

And then there’s “I’m Always Chasing Rainbows,” which she sings as a kind of tribute to everyone who’s facing tough times. That could be a large burden to bear, especially these days, but she doesn’t let it weigh her down. “When I sing that song, I think about how lucky I am to be able to do what I do – doing what I love for a living. A lot of folks don’t get to do that.”

-by Michael Roberts