A Common Language - Steve Nelson, Joris Teepe and Eric Ineke

 © Introduction. Copyright ® Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.

“There’s no telling what we’ll play in the second set,” bystanders overheard bassist Joris Teepe say at the CD-release concert of A Common Language by the Steve Nelson Trio at De Pletterij in Haarlem on April 1. Among others, it turned out, they played a lush version of ‘Round Midnight and a gritty jump blues take on Frankie And Johnny, both made up on the spot and not presented on the American vibraphonist’s first album on the Daybreak imprint of Timeless Records.

Steve Nelson, preeminent 69-year-old vibraphonist and past associate of Dave Holland and Mulgrew Miller, is an invitee of ‘Dutch New Yorker’ Teepe, who as artistic advisor of the Prins Claus Conservatorium of Groningen regularly brings his American connections to his home country. The trio is completed by veteran drummer Eric Ineke, pinnacle of Dutch jazz that played with a who’s who in jazz from Dexter Gordon to Jimmy Raney and Eric Alexander to Tineke Postma.

On stage, the quiet and reserved Nelson says: “I like to play with everybody, young and old, but with these guys… (sighs). They are so experienced and know exactly what they are doing.” And then some. It is quite a team, full of interaction and balanced energy. Especially from playing a bit more together the last few years than in the past, the Teepe/Ineke tandem has become particularly tight-knit and flexible, Teepe’s way of making the music breathe quite phenomenal and Ineke’s succinct questioning-and-answering typically steady, dynamic and vivid.”

- François van de Linde, Flophouse Magazine

“Gently swinging, full of interesting elaboration as Nelson goes into the interstices of the tunes to find new nooks and crannies, it's all an easy going but never dull stroll down memory lane spread over 2 CDs. Issued on the Daybreak imprint of venerable Dutch jazz indie, Timeless.” 

- marlbank.net

Every Jazz fan knows the feeling.

The unexpected album. 

A recording which comes along seemingly out of nowhere.

You’re not looking for it but it finds you and absolutely haunts you into repeated listenings.

And with each listening, the music seems to grow on you as you find more and more things about it to entertain you and enchant you.

Holland based drummer Eric Ineke and I have been friends for a while and we have an unspoken bond that allows for me to receive a preview copy of the latest recording that he’s featured on with the hopeful yet, unstated expectation, that I’ll develop a review of it and post it to my JazzProfiles blog. 

And so it was that Eric engaged Ria Wigt of DayBreak, a division of Timeless Records also based in The Netherlands, to send me a preview copy of the 2CDSet - A Common Language [DBTR 802/3] which features Steve Nelson on vibraphone, Joris Teepe on bass and Eric on drums.

I don’t do this often because I don’t like to use Jazz as a background music while I write - the music deserves to be listened to with my undivided attention - but I put the discs in my CD player while I finished working on a project.

The next thing I knew, the writing project lost my focus as I eagerly awaited the playing of the next track from Nelson-Teepe-Ineke [not a law firm] from A Common Language.

While listening to Steve, Joris and Eric on A Common Language, I was immediately struck by the fact that the use of only three musicians creating music that spanned almost 94 minutes and contained on two audio CDs created an aura of spaciousness.

Such a commodious environment centering on the vibraphone as the lead instrument in a trio can be dangerous and a potential detriment to the quality of the music for as Ted Gioia explains: 

“The vibraphone invites overplaying almost by its very nature. … Unlike a horn player, the vibraphonist is unable to sustain notes for very long, even with the help of vibrato and pedal. The vibes invite overplaying to compensate for such limitations. Added to these difficulties is the fact that … [they are played with] a hitting motion powered by the wrists. With the mastery of a steady drum roll, the aspiring vibraphonist is already capable of flinging out a flurry of notes and, given the repetitive motions used to build up drum technique, the vibes player is tempted to lock into a ‘steady stream’… [of notes]. West Coast Jazz: Modern Jazz in California, 1945-1960, p.103.

Can you imagine what over an hour-and-a-half of a “million-notes-a-minute” vibraphone could have sounded like in this situation?!

Thankfully, Steve approaches the instrument like a horn and allows the music to breathe using a melodic, introspective style that builds off the intensity of the rhythm section to shape his improvised lines.

In allowing the space to prevail, he invites the prodigious talents of bassist Joris Teepe and drummer Eric Ineke to join him in a musical, equal partnership; rightfully so because both have a lot to say on their respective instruments.

Joris has a big, full bass sound that centers the beat while Eric is the perfect accompanist who sets the rhythmic groove and stays out of the way until it's his turn to make a statement. 

This latter quality is one reason why Eric is in such demand as a mainstay of the Dutch Jazz scene with his own Jazzexpress and with visiting dignitaries such as tenor saxophonist Scott Hamilton, as well as, performing all over the European continent with young Jazz horn players who are just coming into their own in the music. 

Because he sets the time in motion and stays in the background, Eric allows the horn players time to think and form their solos without a lot of clatter from the drums pushing and shoving them in directions they may not want to go.

Of course, the other thing Eric does is swing his backside off. He's an irrepressible force who comes to play and you’d better swing as well otherwise he’ll run over you.

While listening to A Common Language I was also struck by a comparison with another vibes-bass-drums recording, this one from 1958 featuring Victor Feldman on vibes, Scott LaFaro on bass and Stan Levey on drums. I am referring, of course, to The Arrival of Victor Feldman [Contemporary C3549; OJC CD 268].

The virtuosity on display on Victor’s maiden voyage recording with LaFaro and Levey is one for the ages and matchless in it own right, but the quality of not overplaying in such a sparse environment and complementing the work of your bandmates in such a way as to allow everyone space to shine is a model available to any musician sensitive enough to absorb these cooperative essences.

And Steve, Joris and Eric “get it” and use a similar format to provide the listener with an alluring musical feast of fifteen Jazz Standard tunes and Great American songs that are presented at a relaxed pace [the average track time is about six minutes and thirty seconds] which provides for a variety of arrangements to be presented over familiar melodies.

There is some vibraphone royalty associated with some of the selections on A Common Language - Lionel Hampton/Oh Lady Be Good, Milt Jackson/Bags Groove, Cal Tjader/Star Eyes, Red Norvo [with Tal Farlow and Charles Mingus]/ I’ll Remember April - but make no mistake, Steve puts his mark on each of the tracks that make up this wonderful recording.

My personal favorite is Lee Morgan’s Ceora: one because I’ve always liked the sound of its intriguing melody and two because Steve makes it even more enjoyable with the caring interpretation he gives it on vibes, an instrument on which I’ve never heard the tune played before.

Other highlights include a spritely version of Monk’s Well, You Needn’t which finds Steve at the height of his inventiveness [you can tell it’s a tune he loves playing on]; a lazy and leisurely romp through Freddie Hubbard’s waltz - Up Jumped Spring, beautiful ballad interpretations of Lover Man, I Thought About You and Body and Soul while another typical vehicle for a ballad - Embraceable You - is played at an unusual medium bounce tempo; a blistering uptempo version of Softly As In A Morning Sunrise. 

The frequent tempo changes are helpful to both the players and the listener as it enables them to adjust to an altered pace of improvisation, much the same way as it would be if the music were being played in a  Jazz club.

In each of these arrangements, Steve leaves room for Joris Teepe as the “other voice” and Joris is more than equal to the task as he offers a master clinic in how to construct interesting bass solos. When it’s Joris’ turn, there’s no drop off in the quality of improvisation; it’s just stated in bass clef.

Unusual in this day-in-age, Steve approaches the vibes as a two mallet player instead of the more customary four mallets made popular by Gary Burton.

As a result, his emphasis is on creating melody with the harmony implied rather than stated as is often the case with the four mallet style.

And what a stimulating melody player Steve is and to have such a great showcase for it in the double CD A Common Language is DayBreak’s gift to the Jazz World.

Needless to say, A Common Language has since moved from the background to the foreground of my listening regime simply because I can't stop playing the darn thing.

If your taste in Jazz runs to the straight ahead style in the music, you won’t want to miss this one. 

The following video was made at the CD-release concert of A Common Language by the Steve Nelson Trio at De Pletterij in Haarlem on April 1, 2024.

Just a word of caution - the music doesn’t start until the 13th minute.