Rossano Sportiello new CDs aka Where's the stride piano?

Our faithful readers should be aware that two new CDs by Italian pianist Rossano Sportiello were released in the last months of 2009.

Do It Again (Arbors ARCD 19387) is his second duet disc with Australian bassist and vocalist Nicki Parrott. Those who listened to the previous one, People Will Say We're In Love (Arbors ARCD 19335, 2007) will know what to expect: virtuoso performances and astounding ability to read the other musician's mind, this is, pure chemistry. But this time they've gone one step further, within a context of more stylistically varied tunes: bop, classical, show tunes, standards and ballads. A few surprises are waiting to be discovered, such as the crispy rendition of Tommy Flanagan's "Sea Changes", the suggestive title tune, "Do It Again", the fragile rendition of Ellington's "Fleurette Africaine" or the vocal duet, "Two Sleepy People".

It Amazes Me (Sackville SKCD2-3072) starts with a focus on ballads and slow tempos, showing how Sportiello has matured as a pianist, and allowing him to showcase his elegant touch, full of nuances, his flowing lyricism and his intelligent use of space and silence. A couple of Barry Harris tunes (let's not forget Harris was one of his mentors) and "Dearest, You're The Nearest To My Heart" do turn the engine on, and the climax is built up at the end with "Chinatown My Chinatown", "When I Grow Too Old To Dream" and "Sleep", where a few choruses of shout piano are interspersed.

Both discs are stunningly beautiful and highly recommended.

Footnote:

Liner notes for Do It Again, written by Elliott Simon, show once again that certain jazz writers tend to confuse and mix up all early jazz piano styles. On "Of Foreign Lands And People", he states that "(...) in and exceedingly clever personal take on the theme he (Sportiello) stylistically shifts into a stride inspired variation that jolts the listener from innocence to adulthood and exposes stride's indebtnedness to classical and Sportiello's own debt to stride king Ralph Sutton" and on "Do It Again" he comments that "Nicki and Rossano use sultry understatement and a bit of stride piano styling to update this classic." Well, nice literature, but no hint of stride piano is included in neither of these performances. In the first one, after a straight exposition of Schumann's theme, Sportiello shifts up the tempo and immerses himself in a very swinging chorus, with his right hand gently jumping in an style very reminiscent of Teddy Wilson, and his left hand (and Parrott's bass) playing some "walking" patterns, that not even remotely reminds us of stride piano. And where on earth do you hear stride piano on "Do It Again", mister?

On the other hand, our commentator writes that, in "Liza", "Sportiello shows his respect for pianist Art Tatum and his own combination of speed and precision in adding his take to the repository of versions of this nugget", not mentioning stride at all. Oh boy, besides the two versions recorded by Tatum for Decca in 1934 (one in August and one in October), you should also listen to James P. Johnson's Asch recording in 1945 or any of the live recordings by Donald Lambert to discover where the stride choruses in Sportiello's version come from (yes, stride, this is the stride chestnut of the disc!). End of rant.

Sarpila, Heitger, Allred, Lhotzky, Parrott, Locke - 21st Century caviar

For our listening and visual pleasure, here's a couple of videos ("I Think You're Wonderful" and "Linger Awhile") from the First Annual Arbors Records Invitational Jazz Party that took place in Clearwater, Florida on January 16, 2009. The very cosmopolitan and international line-up is a who's who in the traditional jazz scene of the 21st Century: Antti Sarpila (cl), Duke Heitger (t), John Allred (tb), Bernd Lhotzky (p), Nicki Parrott (b) & the late Eddie Locke (d).

Randy Sandke - Unconventional Wisdom (Arbors, 2008)

A recent email from my friend Fernando Ortiz de Urbina (check his bilingual blog “Easy Does It”) prompted me to revisit Randy Sandke’s latest disc on Arbors, Unconventional Wisdom (Arbors ARCD 19365, from 2008), which was on heavy rotation when I first received it, several months ago.

Randy Sandke is one of those versatile musicians who can play in a wide range of styles. He has deeply studied and mastered the styles of two of his heroes, Bix Beiderbecke and Louis Armstrong, but his approach has always been fresh and very personal. He does not limit himself to traditional jazz or swing trumpet, but goes further than most musicians, having created his own musical theory, “metatonal” music.

Unconventional Wisdom shows Sandke in a small piano-less ensemble: trumpet (or flugelhorn), guitar, bass and drums. This allows him to stretch his playing and to create very close dialogues with the other musicians, all of them very distinguished sidemen. Both drummer John Riley and guitarist Howard Alden, especially the later, have been a permanent presence in the best mainstream recordings for the last twenty years or so. On the other hand, Australian bassist and vocalist Nicki Parrott is the youngest of the pack, though she has made a name for herself in the last years.

The disc has a good balance between Sandke’s originals, including pristine examples of his metatonal theory, such as “Meta Blue”, several standards (two Cole Porters, one Carmichael) and other choices, such as “Chega de Saudade” or Bill Evans’ “Funkallero”.

Forgetting about musical schemes or historical recreations, Randy Sandke is a hell of a trumpet player, and his articulation and phrasing, always fluent and full of swing, are paired with a brilliant tone.

The disc has the additional bonus of having Nicki Parrott on vocals on four tracks. Her mid-range whispering voice is very nice and reminds us of Helen Merrill, though Parrott’s style has a more emphasized nasal accent.

If you want to forget about vanguards and latest fashions and enjoy a really good disc, this may be a must-have for you, as it is for me!

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Gracias a un email de Fernando Ortiz de Urbina [no te pierdas su blog bilingüe “Easy Does It”] he vuelto a pinchar recientemente el último disco del trompetista Randy Sandke para el sello Arbors, Unconventional Wisdom (Arbors ARCD 19365, editado en 2008), que disfruté enormemente al escucharlo la primera vez, hace ya unos meses.

Randy Sandke es un músico todoterreno y un investigador incansable. Su estudio profundo de Bix Beiderbecke y Louis Armstrong le permite recrear a la perfección sus estilos, siempre con un toque personal y un enfoque propio. Sandke no se limita a tocar jazz tradicional y mainstream, sino que va más allá, mucho más lejos que la mayor parte de los músicos, pues ha creado su propio lenguaje, la música “metatonal”.

En Unconventional Wisdom, Sandke emplea un grupo reducido, sin piano: trompeta o fiscorno, guitarra, contrabajo y batería, lo que le permite desarrollar largos solos o dialogar estrechamente con los demás músicos. El elenco que le rodea es magnífico: el batería John Riley y el guitarrista Howard Alden son dos valores seguros, presentes en un gran porcentaje de las mejores sesiones mainstream en los últimos veinte o veinticinco años. Por su parte, la contrabajista y vocalista australiana Nicki Parrott se ha hecho un nombre en la escena del jazz tradicional en los últimos años.

El disco presenta un buen balance entre composiciones propias, incluyendo algún ejemplo de música metatonal, como “Meta Blue”, standards (por ejemplo, dos de Cole Porter y uno de Hoagy Carmichael) y otros temas (“Chega de Saudade”, de Vinicius de Moraes y Antonio Carlos Jobim, o “Funkallero” de Bill Evans).

Aparte de otras consideraciones musicales o historicistas, Randy Sandke es un extraordinario trompetista, con un fraseo fluido y pleno de swing, que acompaña con un tono brillante.

Por otra parte, y como bonus añadido, Nicki Parrott canta en cuatro temas. Su voz susurrante, que se mueve en el registro medio, nos recuerda en cierto modo a la de la gran Helen Merrill, si bien con un mayor acento nasal.

Como conclusión, una recomendación de la casa: si no te preocupa estar a la última y no te obsesiona pertenecer a la última vanguardia, sino sólo disfrutar de un buen disco, yo en tu lugar no me perdería Unconventional Wisdom.