Joan Watson-Jones has been working with this band for going on 20 years. Fun is the watchword for this group and Joan wants the world to hear the fun. She calls this album “a collection of life stories…Both my own and friends I have known through the years.”
   It is a collection of 11 songs with nine of them originals with Joan writing the music and the lyrics. With her are Frank Wilkins on Piano who also served as Musical Director, Alvin Terry on Drums, and Dave Zox and Bass.
   Topsy 2 (Drummer Man) is Joan’s adaptation of the Durham and Battle song from her childhood. It gives Alvin Terry centerstage and Joan has a clearly great time as she scats her way out of the song.
   Choices is the story of Joan’s mom, a dancer at Paris’ Moulin Rouge from 1926-24. “She had her own perspective on how women should live their lives,” Joan recalls. The song itself is full of her mother’s rules for living as a woman. The band is remarkably cohesive and very well worth the listen.
   Martin opens with the Spiritual Wade in the Water. That song is generally accepted as a song from the Underground Railroad but first appeared in print in 1901. Joan uses that Spiritual as the springboard into her song about Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the ongoing struggle for human dignity and universal rights. She concludes the song with the return to Wade in the Water.
   Let Me Go (For Avis) is about “a wonderful family friend who never spoke without drama when wanting to make a point about anything.” For all that, Joan sings this reminiscence with sincerity and fondness. The piano work of Frank Wilkins is sweetly done.
   My Childs Dreams focuses on her father, one of the founding doctors at the Upper Manhattan Medical Group in Harlem. It is cool and straight-ahead Jazz number that evokes images of a man we could not know but come to appreciate through the imagery of his daughter’s song and singing. Your knowledge is your power is an admonition applicable to any father’s daughter. Dave Zox’s bass line is worthy of attention.
   I Ain’t Just A Pretty Face is a whimsical delivery of a serious theme. Terry delivers a military beat that serves to underscore the deliberateness and discipline of her stance. The band must have had some fun with this one.  Joan calls it “just as relevant today as when I wrote it 25 years ago.”
   The First Time We Met is a sweet romance, an original of Joan’s, that starts off with a little bossa beat. The lyrics tell a cute story of the beginning of a romance. The little swing adds a fun twist. The time switches are frequent and fun.
   A Glass of Wine starts off with Zox’s cool bass as Joan sings the narrative of a warm relationship. Wilkins delivers a charming touch on the piano. This is old school romantic Jazz. And I mean that in a good way.
   Time Passes is introduced with a little scat before the lyrics begin in earnest. Once again, the trio behind Joan proves worthy of their pay.
   It’s Been A Long Time Comin’ is about a friend who found love later in life. But the happiness was worth waiting for. The trio makes it easy for Joan to concentrate on her delivery. Another Zox bass solo is an attention-getter. Joan sings with humor but honesty.
   Here’s to Life is the Butler/Mollinary song arranged by Joan and the band. She calls it her “wish to bring the joy of life through music.” Her adaptation of the song is meaningful and sincere. She sings it like she means it.
   And that may be the hallmark of the entire album—sincerity with a touch of humor. That and a skilled and seasoned band who knows what Joan wants.
 
 
          ~Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl
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   The 100th release of anything is something notable but, when it is the 100th release of insurgent record label MoonJune Records, it deserves great attention. More so, when that album happens to be Truce by Markus Reuter (MoonJune MJR100).
   With guitar maestro Markus Reuter is bassist Fabio Trentini (Le Orme, MoonBound) and drummer extraordinaire Asaf Sirkis (Tim Garland, Sirkis Bialas IQ). From a label that has assembled incredible trios for all of its history, this is a Trio to be reckoned with. Individually, they boast a rich history of Progressive Jazz-Rock. Collectively, they represent a vision of the future to make any MoonJuninsta sing with joy.
   The album was recorded in May of 2019 in Catalunya, Spain, and was produced by Markus and Fabio.
   The album opens with the title track, Truce. Markus’ Touch Guitars ® AU8 and Fabio’s Wal Fretless Bass open the track before Asaf comes aboard with his driving, precise, and tonal drumming. Departing from his ambient soundscape proclivity, Markus releases the Kraken within and Fabio and Asaf are in lockstep with him. Sometimes called a “Fripp disciple”, Markus cuts loose from the master and carves a path of his own. This track drives as hard as anyone could wish.
   Swoonage follows and opens with the wash of Markus’ Touch Guitars and the solid backing of Fabio and Asaf. The piece is more meditative, without losing the hard edge. Fabio’s bass lines are powerful and deliberate over Asaf’s straight-ahead rhythms.
   Then comes the funky Bogeyman, with its Bass Synthesizer wonkiness. The trance-like pulses and waves are a fascinating combination. Once more, Markus tears holy hell out of the song structures and indeed becomes a boogie bogeyman.
   Be Still My Brazen Heart is a cool title but that’s not all the track delivers. Asaf delivers his tonal, even melodic, best as Fabio offers up a cool bass line. Markus’ ambient textures serve to highlight the excellent percussion work, making the drums like unsure footsteps in the fog. When Markus does cut in with the guitar, it is layered over Asaf as the two of them exchange impulses over Fabio’s foundation.
   Power Series is just like the title suggests. The Trio crosses conversation between each other and the sound is like the generation of raw energy. The powerful chords and powerful rhythms are not to be taken lightly. But Markus’ lightning flash touches create the static to make your hair stand up.
   The title Let Me Touch Your Batman begs for explanation but the song itself does not. Fabio and Asaf create a cool and funky groove over which Markus releases his Batman. This is Fabio’s most exciting track with Asaf not far behind.
   Gossamer Things finishes the album with harmonic bass lines and a cool groove for Markus to play over. That quirky bass is perfect for the hard rhythm and ethereal guitar. This definitely left you wanting more.
   Release Number 100 from MoonJune. This album was worth the wait.
 
 
         ~Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl
​

   The Portland Jazz Composers’ Ensemble (PJCE) is a 12-piece jazz chamber orchestra which commissions and performs original works by its members and by other jazz composers in the Portland music community and beyond. In 2017, PJCE commissioned Jasnam Daya Singh to compose music for the Montavilla Jazz Festival. Jasnam composed EKTA: The Unity Project.
   Taking the Punjabi word for “unity” as the works’ title, Ekta: The Unity Project is a meditation on the oneness of all people and the music is a meeting of the Brazilian choro and samba of Brasil—Jasnam’s birth country—European Jazz and Classical styles, sweet swing, and lush ballads that can only come from the mind and through the pen of Jasnam Daya Singh.
   The PJCE orchestra is: Lee Elderton, soprano sax; John Savage, alto saxophone; Tim Willcox, tenor saxophone; Mieke Bruggeman, bari saxophone/bass clarinet; Noah Simpson and Douglas Detrick, trumpet/flugelhorn; Stan Bock and John Moak, trombone; Ryan Meagher, guitar; Jasnam Daya Singh, piano; Dave Captein, bass; Ken Ollis, drums.
   These are just the people to bring Jasnam’s phenomenal work to life.
   I first came to know and appreciate Jasnam through his work and collaboration with the brilliant composer and guitarist Hristo Vitchev. Jasnam released solo piano albums on his own and he has, in any project, never failed to impress. Ask me to name my top tier piano favorites and you will hear Jasnam Daya Singh on that list.
    Of EKTA: The Unity Project, Douglas Detrick, Executive Director of the PJCE remarked, “The release of this recording in 2020 and the message it implies come during a time of intense upheaval in American life, a time when a true feeling of solidarity is rarer than at any other time in recent memory. Singh’s work posits that unity is an ideal to consider deeply, to celebrate joyfully, and to work strenuously to achieve.”
   That message comes from the very essence and heart of Jasnam. He is a man of compassion and understanding and this work reveals that remarkably.
   The work begins with Prologue. The solo flugelhorn opens the piece with Jasnam, Dave Captein’s bass and Ken Ollis’ drums. Then the entire ensemble joins in with this warm and lush overture. Immediately, Jasnam’s wonderful piano virtuosity becomes evident in measures that would make Bill Evans smile. Ryan Meagher’s guitar is effortless and enticing. The artists capture the richness of Jasnam’s compositions and do not fail in their delivery of that message.
   Edinenie follows. Edinenie is translated as “coming together” or “unification.” The cool corps progressions are a slick musical coming together that give way to cool solos and great horn passages. This was a bouncy number that effuses joy in cooperation.
   Acceptance has sweet passages of trumpets and saxes. Savage gets a very nice solo that segues into Meagher’s guitar before passing off to the trombone. But wait for Jasnam’s singular piano solos. These were worth the price of admission alone. A second round of solos shows the plurality of voices in cooperation, all sprung from acceptance.
   Believing is Seeing is a beautiful ballad that features baritone clarinet and trombone. The phrase is obviously a juxtaposition of the original cliché. The solo piano is a clear declaration of what it means to believe in someone—even ourselves—and in our community of humanity and seeing us as no longer us and them but only us.
   Unueco is the Esperanto word for “unity.” That unity is certainly evidenced n the tightness of the arrangement and performance of the piece. The great rhythms and harmonies are delivered in anthemic proclamation. The solos contribute to the message of the whole and in way detract or divide. In fact, at times, the instruments sound like the chorus of many voices partaking in the unity.
   Oneness is a meditation, a self-reflection of community. The instrumental cries are of one voice. If EKTA: The Unity Project is about unity of the human community, then Oneness is the centerpiece of that theme. The beauty of individual voices contributing to the whole is the very essence of unity from diversity, reminding us that unity never means uniformity. Voices rich, then somber, now flighty, here romantic, there wistful, all become part of the magnetic pull of the music and the theme of solidarity.
   The album concludes with Walking Together. Jasnam’s vision of the human future is not labored or difficult. It is a joyful dance of possibilities and achievement. With all the artists having their say, all the voices expressing themselves, we find that the unity of the whole contributes to the joy of the individual who, in turn, contributes again to the whole.
   EKTA: The Unity Project is not about Utopia—it is not the absence of division but the overcoming of it. Nor is it simply a hope for the future but a vision that begins with coming together, followed by acceptance, and ending in oneness and walking forward together.
   Jasnam Daya Singh is not only a national treasure. He is a global one.
 
 
            ~Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl

   I’ve been a fan of Danny Green for quite some time now. His trio’s Altered Narratives was on my Favorites of 2016 list and 2018’s One Day It Will ranks as one of my all-time favorites. In the review of One Day It Will, I wrote, “And just when I thought Danny Green’s Trio had outdone themselves with 2015’s Altered Narratives, they release One Day It Will, their third album on OA2 Records. It is the very same brilliant trio of Danny Green on piano, Justin Grinnell on bass, and Julien Cantelm on drums. In fact, they have been together since 2010.”
   On One Day It Will, Danny & Company added a string quartet from the San Diego Symphony. The latest project brings a return of that great trio with the remarkable addition of Leonard Patton on vocals. That assembly is called LP and the Vinyl and their album is Heard and Seen (OA2 Records OA2 22180).
   Good God, ya’ll. I can’t get enough of this album.
   Here’s the premise. Danny and the fellas have arranged and rearranged a collection of songs from Jazz, Pop, Rock, and two originals that have that inimitable instrumental stamp but also Leonard Patton’s heart-felt and charming vocals.
In other words, this band has expanded their musical scope yet again.
   The album opens with Danny’s solo piano to start The Lonely Band, an original by Danny and Leonard, before Justin and Julien hop aboard with bouncy rhythms before Leonard joins. Once again, I was hooked from the start.
   After almost 10 years together, the syzygy of the core trio is unmistakable and irresistible. Julien Cantelm’s drumming is so tonal and it is wrapped beautifully with Danny’s piano. Justin Grinnell’s supportive bass lines pop opposite Julien’s rimshots and he gets off a cool solo in the mix.
   Leonard Patton’s vocal delivery is casual but precisely punctuating. He’s good.
   During my first listen of each album, I try not to look at track-lists. I like to be surprised. So, imagine my surprise when the second song starts off with a brief but warm washing of tone colors before hearing Leonard begin singing the lines,
    It's a God-awful small affair
    To the girl with the mousy hair…
   If you’re a David Bowie fan—and I am—you know that it is Life on Mars, maybe my favorite of all the Bowie songs. But Bowie’s voice was younger in those days and his Spiders from Mars band was more pop/rock. So, to hear the trio’s Jazz treatment with Leonard’s soulful lyricism is intoxicating. I mean, these guys sell it—one and all.
   Danny is one of my favorite pianists ever. His melodic touch is exquisite. His work on Life on Mars sent shivers down my spine. I mean that in a good way. Put the two Js and Leonard’s intonations with him and it is something wonderful.
   The next track was equally surprising with the Beatles’ song Fool on the Hill. The McCartney-crafted melody yields beautifully to Danny’s Jazz arrangement. The trio takes ownership of the bridge section and offers something extraordinary to Beatles fans and Jazz fans alike (not that those are mutually exclusive groups). This song alone was worth the price of admission.
   My One and Only Love (Guy Wood and Robert Mellin) is one of the most wonderful songs among Jazz standards. It has been recorded by everyone from John Coltrane and Johnny Hartmann to Ella Fitzgerald to Doris Day to Yo-Yo Ma to Bob Dylan. Still, with all those interpretations, LP and the Vinyl brings something new to the party. Leonard proves himself equally at home in every genre. Mostly because he makes each piece his own without trying to constrain himself to a certain stylistic delivery.
   Leonard Patton brings his arrangement of Oasis’ Wonderwall to the group. While not that much of a fan of the original Oasis recording, Danny’s piano work and Leonard’s scat vocalizations with the hot work of Justin and Julien can convert the most skeptical listener.
   The surprises don’t stop there. LP and the Vinyl follow up that with the old Tears for Fears chestnut, Everybody Wants to Rule the World. The Jazz approach to this 1985 Pop chart-topper far, far exceeds the reach and range of the original.
   It also makes clear that this trio could make me change Gods, if he tried. Songs that held no allure for me in their original incarnations (sticking with theological language), have brought me into the fold thanks to these four artists.
   Stevie Wonder’s I Can’t Help It gets the Danny Green arrangement and suffers no violence at all. Stevie is more Jazz than the Pop world would like to admit and Danny, Justin and Julien prove it. I went wild for Danny’s piano solo and the tightness of instruments and vocals was brilliant.
   The second original was Danny’s Night Waltz, co-written with Stephen Papaleo. The Jazz nocturne may be my favorite track on the album. The lyrics are lovely and the melody s infectious. I was hooked from the first notes of the solo piano. The interlocking rhythms were intriguing as Leonard poured on the emotion.
   One Hundred Ways was first heard on Quincy Jones’ 1981 album, The Dude, and featured James Ingram on vocals. Danny turns in sweet keys on this one and Justin and Julian deserve their own special listen in the coolest solos of the album. And, seriously, I love James Ingram but Leonard makes you say, “James who?” This was tight and smoking hot. The sweet outro was wonderful.
   And these guys know how to close out an album. They always have. Romberg and Hammerstein’s Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise is the song that concludes the album. I have loved this song in almost every version of it from Frank Sinatra to John Coltrane to Hiromi Uehara and the 40 or so other recordings. But Danny has shaped this standard with phrases that sound like Scheherazade meets Oscar Peterson. Then Leonard turns on the scat and Justin and Julian work their particular magic to fashion what is seriously the most fascinating rendition since it first appeared in the 1928 operetta New Moon.
   But that is what this trio does every time. They take songs to places unimagined by the original composers but still honoring the tradition and spirit of the works.
   One amazing and critical thing to remember is that this album was recorded over a two-day period. From tight arrangements to free-wheeling improvisations, this telepathic trio evolves into an equally intercommunicating quartet with Leonard Patton.
   If there is a group worthy of special attention and reintroduction in Jazz, it is LP and the Vinyl—Danny Green, Justin Grinnell, Julien Cantell, and Leonard Patton. Excuse me while I hit Play Again.

              ~ Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl