© -Steven Cerra,
copyright protected; all rights reserved.
“… We want to hear
propulsion, originality, coherence, imagination and excitement in jazz. We want
sounds that beguile, provoke, amuse and sooth. We want those sounds to provide
insights into those who make them, who we can then identify as a lot like us.
That's why we like their music: it resonates with what we'd do, if we but
could.”
- Howard Mandel, Jazz author and
journalist
One of
the [sadly] most memorable highlights in recent television viewing was Treme’, a
drama set in New Orleans three months after Hurricane
Katrina.
Airing on
HBO beginning in 2010, Treme’ primarily follows musicians
and residents as they try to put their lives back together in the aftermath of
the storm.
Hurricane
Katrina was the deadliest and most destructive Atlantic tropical cyclone of the
2005 Atlantic hurricane season. It was the costliest natural disaster, as well
as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States with winds that reached upwards
of 180 mph. The storm caused over 1,800 casualties and was particularly
devastating in the New Orleans ' Lower 9th Ward which even today
has “… grasses that grow taller than people and street after street which are
scarred by empty decaying houses; the lives that once played out inside their
walls hardly imaginable now.”
New
Orleans has long been credited as the birthplace of Jazz and strange as it may
seem, the editorial staff at JazzProfiles was reminded of the
fact with the recent arrival of Ukrainian-born bassist Ark Ovrutski’s latest CD
44:30
on Zoho Records [ZIM 201402; the disc gets its title from the total
playing time on the CD].
Why with
a new CD led by a bassist who was born in Kiev , studied at the Russian Academy of Music, ran a Jazz club in Krakow , Poland and attended Berklee College of
Music seminars in Italy before immigrating to New York in 2005 create reminiscences of New Orleans ?
All one
has to do to answer this question is listen to the opening track on 44:30
which appropriately enough is entitled – New Orleans – which Howard Mandel describes in his insert as “… an
upbeat ode to the Crescent City universally honored as the cradle to Jazz.” He
goes on to say: “Pianist David Berkman and drummer Ulysses Owens set the pace,
the Ark enters to deepen the street parade pocket. Michael
Thomas, playing soprano sax, and trombonist Michael Dease trade phrases up ‘til
a chorus of joint improvisation, and converge on a hip bluesy line.
Appropriately for a tune celebrating New Orleans ’ rhythms, Owens’ drum solo is
stellar.”
And there
you have it in a nutshell: 44:30 proves that irrespective of
where you are born and no matter what generation your age places you in, New Orleans cradles you into its musical traditions,
primary among which is Jazz.
Ark
Ovrutski, Michael Thomas, Michael Dease, David Berkman and Ulysses Owens are
splendidly capable and talented musicians who have a lot to say and say it well.
44:30
is one of those joyous surprises that reaffirms why you fell in love
with Jazz in the first place. Its exciting music and it will move you
emotionally and rhythmically because it is based on the primary ingredient of
Jazz – it swings.
Chris
DiGirolamo of TwofortheShow Media sent along all of Howard Mandel’s insert
notes as a media release and since I couldn’t improve on them I’d thought I’d
share them with you.
Howard
Mandel is the author of Future Jazz and Miles Ornette Cecil-Jazz
Beyond Jazz, writes for many publications, reports for National Public Radio,
blogs at ArtsJournal.com/JazzBeyondJazz and is president of the Jazz
Journalists Association.
© -Howard Mandel,
copyright protected; all rights reserved.
“Wherever
in the world or in whatever disposition a jazz musician starts their
professional journey, he or she must eventually come to grips with creating a
personal approach based on technique, imagination and feeling. Ukrainian emigre
composer and bassist Ark Ovrutski likes to say that since age 20 he has been an
"international homeless traveler." With 44:33, his third album as
a leader, Ark has arrived.
A program
of bright melodies, tight ensemble collaboration, individualized solos and firm
underlying swing, 44:33 -titled for its
running time — is an expression of accomplishment and direction from a coterie
of players, instigated by a well informed, thoroughly engaged leader.
Multi-reedist Michael Thomas, trombonist Michael Dease, pianist David Berkman
and drummer Ulysses Owens are all players from the top echelon of New York 's abundance of talented jazzers. Ark is pivotal at the band's core,
generating material as well as holding everything together.
Born in Kiev , Ark was playing violin at age 8 — but
not out of love of classical music. Influenced by his father who admired Duke
Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald, he remembers being "always excited by
swing." Today Ark regards Charles Mingus as his
hero, citing Mingus' goal of advancing the art of a composer-bassist towards a
melding of classical and jazz traditions. "I'm working on the challenge of
being a bassist - not just a prominent soloist," Ark explains. "I think the
future requires bassists to have both classical-level technique and a jazz
player's ability to lead and improvise."
In 2003 Ark attended Berklee College of
Music's summer clinics in Italy . Told that to advance his career,
he should be in America , he applied for and received a
scholarship to New York City 's Drummers Collective, in which
he enrolled in 2005. He was soon gigging in Harlem clubs such as the Lenox Lounge,
Minton's and St. Nicholas Pub with the circle of
musicians including vocalist Gregory Porter. He was also mentored by drummer
Duduka Da Fonseca, with whom he has recorded and toured, and who is prominent
on Ark 's 2011 self-released album Sounds
of Brazil .
In 2006 Ark began work on his masters’ degree
in music at Rutgers University in New Jersey , studying with bassist Mike
Richmond, drummer Victor Lewis and pianist Stanley Cowell, among others.
Veteran bassist Bob Cranshaw advised him to go for a doctorate, which he's done
at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Taking the
most ambitious compositions of Charles Mingus as his thesis project, Ark has just completed his degree
requirements and at this writing is about to receive his Ph.D.
Such
credentials are admirable, but jazz musicians are only as good as their music,
and that's where Ark & company shines. 44:33 opens
with New Orleans , an upbeat ode to the Crescent City universally honored as the cradle
of jazz. Pianist Berkman and drummer Owens set the pace, then Ark enters to deepen the street
parade pocket. Thomas, playing soprano, and trombonist Dease trade phrases up
'til a chorus of joint improvisation, and converge on a hip, bluesy line.
Appropriately for a tune celebrating New Orleans ' rhythms, Owens' solo is stellar.
Waltz follows, demonstrating variety and
consistency with pretty airiness. Ark 's intro seems to pulse with the
funky insistence of a CTI-era bass part a la Freddie Hubbard's "Red
Clay," however the quintet unfolds this composition in a different mode
entirely. Dease, who's worked with Ark in such Manhattan venues as Dizzy's Club and NuBar
since 2009, projects warmth through his muted sound; Thomas takes a silvery
turn on alto sax. Ark 's spotlight passage has a
confident throb that connects tunefully to his intro - which he notes
"sounds like it's in 5/4, but is actually in 3/4 (waltz time)." The
track's ending is especially mellow.
Up is, of course, quick, with Ark 's walk sprightly, not rushed.
There's something of John Coltrane's "Impressions" in Up - maybe the sax/'bone harmonization
that nods to that classic's blend of Coltrane's and Eric Dolphy's inimitable
voices. Berkman sparkles, as he does throughout this album whether soloing or
underscoring. Ark 's break is dark and deft; he goes
for an earthy, springy sound.
Baby's Vibe, which subtly references
"Infant Eyes" by Wayne Shorter (another of Ark 's musical models) has a tender
vibe, unusual for a trombone-led number. Thomas's alto matches Dease's 'bone,
their parts twining like vine.
Medium, launched by a drum roll and
trilling horns, is also companionable. The band makes its easy swing seem easy
to achieve, but don't take its mastery for granted. Thomas bespeaks post-bop on
his soprano sax, which is also unusual; Ark , in his solo, dances on his
strings. The group's cool modesty is becoming.
The
exacting melody Milestones - the
"Milestones" written by John Lewis for Miles Davis's 1947 debut with
Charlie Parker, not the "Milestones" Davis himself wrote for his '58
recording with the musicians who cut Kind of Blue - is 44:33's sole track not
written by Ark. Dease's arrangement is beautifully interpreted - I especially
like the connection between the horns and Berkman's accompaniment. Ark 's solo chorus is flavored by
Mingus-like urgency, yet pleasure emanates from the music's totality more than
any particulars, as he binds the disparate instruments into a cohesive whole.
The
finale Path Train was inspired by the
commute to Manhattan Ark made daily in 2005, when living
in Jersey
City . Benito Gonzalez plays Rhodes electric piano, getting the big, glistening tone that Joe
Zawinul promoted when he introduced this gear on Cannonball Adderley's 1966 hit
"Mercy, Mercy, Mercy." Ark 's groove is just right; the
quintet aces the concluding stop-time breaks as if the task were as natural as
breathing, the better to frame Owens.
"As
a composer, I'm still learning," says Ark. "Trying to get to the truth
with music is hard. Michael Dease says I use a lot of 'slash chords' — meaning
one triad on top of another in layers, for polytonal and polychordal purposes,
the way composer Darius Milhaud explored. But I try not to forget about the
blues scale and feel. I like Wayne Shorter's example: always modern, always
jazz. Let's not forget we're playing jazz!"
That's an
important point for listeners as well as musicians. We want to hear propulsion,
originality, coherence, imagination and excitement in jazz. We want sounds that
beguile, provoke, amuse and sooth. We want those sounds to provide insights
into those who make them, who we can then identify as a lot like us. That's why
we like their music: it resonates with what we'd do, if we but could.
Ark
Ovrutski and his cohorts can, and do. So a "homeless international
traveler" and his colleagues turn from being strangers into something more
like neighbors, better than acquaintances — friends. Quite a feat that they
pull off in 44:33. - Howard Mandel”
For more
information about Ark , please visit his website at www.arkovrutski.com/
The
following video features Ark and the quintet on New Orleans from 44:30 as set to images of
the city and poster art from the annual New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festivals.
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