CuberQuest - Ronnie Cuber Quartet - Airplay

© -  Steven A. Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.

“ An astonishingly lyrical player on that most unforgiving of instruments… It is the intelligence and subtlety of his playing that shines through …”

- Sunday Express UK

Every so often, I get caught up in the music of someone who floors me;  who - metaphorically - knocks me out.

Sometimes this involves a Jazz musician whose work is new to me.

But more often than not, these epiphanies usually happen when it’s the music of a musician that I am familiar with but whose discography I haven’t fully explored. But once I go for depth, I’m hooked and the more I dig the deeper I get into the power and passion of a particular player.

This pathology deepens and results in a gleeful quest to get my hands on anything and everything by the artist who is bringing so much joy into my Jazz listening life.

The source for my astonishment and wonderment with a given Jazz musician usually centers on what he or she is “saying” in their improvisations.

You hear it first in the phrasing and with the ready expression of ideas while soloing. Jazz soloing is like the geometric head start in the sense that you never catch up. When you improvise something it’s gone; you can’t retrieve it and do it again. You have to stay on top of what you are doing as Jazz is insistently progressive – it goes forward with you or without you.

People who can play the music, flow with it. Their phrasing is in line with the tempo, the new melodies that they superimpose over the chord structures are interesting and inventive and they bring a sense of command and completion to the process of creating Jazz.

Which brings me to baritone saxophonist, Ronnie Cuber.

Born on Christmas Day in 1941, Ronnie has been the source of a lot of musical holiday gifts for the past 77 years since his first “public” appearance with the Marshall Brown Youth Orchestra at the 1959 Newport Jazz Festival.

Although, Ronnie did make some recordings under his own name for labels including Don Schlitten’s Xanadu, Orrin Keepnews at Milestone and the Electric Bird/King Record label in Japan, he didn’t really step into the solo spotlight until he began a long and continuing association in 1992 with Nils Winthur’s Steeplechase Records which is based in Denmark.

Over the 25 years since 1992, Ronnie has recorded six CDs for Steeplechase and they represent the most mature and comprehensive expression of his music.

The first of these - Ronnie Cuber Quartet - Airplay [Steeplechase label SCCD 31309] is a great place to begin because it’s where I started my personal CuberQuest and because the insert notes by the brilliant Jazz writer Mark Gardner offer an excellent overview of Ronnie’s career, as well as, a detailed examination of the influences on Ronnie’s style of playing and the elements that make it so unique.

“The baritone saxophone has come a long way from being the background horn that added bottom to the section. In the expert hands of Gerry Mulligan, Serge Chaloff, Cecil Payne, Leo Parker, Bob Gordon, Pepper Adams, Tate Houston, and Nick Brignola it assumed respected solo status in Modern Music. In the early 1960s a new, exciting stylist was heard on the bari - Ronnie Cuber. Most reminiscent of Leo Parker, he brought an ample technique, distinctive tone and swinging mobility to the big horn. Most of all his playing brimmed with vitality and enthusiasm.

Thirty years on [these notes were written in 1992] in an always stimulating career and Ronnie still keeps that hot flame burning brightly. His work is now more rich and complex, but the youthful energy remains like a powerhouse of untapped reserves. The ears have remained open and, significantly, on this his first album as a leader for Steeplechase, Ronnie has surrounded himself with younger men who possess the spark that ignites fires.

Listeners unfamiliar with the Cuber sound and biography should know that he was born on Christmas Day, 1941, in New York, grew up as part of a musical family, studied clarinet and played tenor sax at high school in Brooklyn and won a seat in Marshall Brown's Newport Youth Band alter the leader persuaded him to switch to baritone and bought him an instrument.

That was in 1959 and Ronnie and bari have been companions ever since. Influences included Hank Mobley, Pepper Adams, Cecil Payne and John Coltrane. Accidentally, it seems, his conception contained elements of Leo Parker's tone and drive. Through the 1960s Cuber was able to work with a succession of big bands - Maynard Ferguson, Lionel Hampton, Woody Herman - which was invaluable in the jazz learning process.

He was also heard in the small groups of Slide Hampton and George Benson, with whom he made four albums including the important It's Uptown and The George Benson Cookbook. After hearing Ronnie's coruscating solo on Ain't That Peculiar in the former set I became a Cuber convert instantly.

In the following decade, a poor one for jazz, Ronnie worked in lazz-rock and Latin-jazz contexts, backed Aretha Franklin and finally got the chance to record two albums under his own leadership, Cuber Libre and The Eleventh Day Of Aquarius, for Xanadu, also appearing on releases by Sam Noto, Mickey Tucker and the Montreux All Stars for the same label.

At the end of the 1970s he was a member of the Lee Konitz Nonet which recorded for Steeplechase. Since that time he has mostly worked at the helm of his own small group, often a quartet, and has blossomed out as a composer of real substance. Six of his originals are included in the enclosed programme of gripping performances. Each displays a different facet ol the composer/soloist's musical personality as well as an individual mood.

Lending Ronnie unflagging and imaginative support from start to finish are three accomplished musicians well chosen for the assignment - Geoff Keezer (piano), Chip Jackson (bass) and Ben Perowsky (drums).

Geoff Keezer (born, Eau Claire, Wisconsin, 1970) was encouraged by pianist James Williams and after a year's study at the Berklee School of Music in Boston, Geoff made his debut album for Sunnyside with Williams as producer. He has already worked with an impressive array of names including Art Blakey and recorded an album of his own for Blue Note. Keezer has exceptional facility and great feeling.

Chip Jackson, another former Berklee student, has been active since the early 1970s and past credits include spells with Gary Burton, Woody Herman, Horace Silver, Stan Getz, Red Rodney, Roy Haynes and Elvin Jones. A skilled arranger and valued teacher, he is no stranger to the recording studios, having made many albums with the likes of Herman, Chuck Mangione, lack Walrath and Elvin lones.

Ben Perowsky, alert and swinging behind his drums, completes a Berklee triumvirate. Originally inspired by Tony Williams, Ben was helped by his father, tenor saxophonist Frank Perowsky. He has worked with Mike Stern and Bob Berg, James Moody, Roy Ayers and Ricki Lee Jones. He enjoys playing in other musical styles besides jazz. "I come from a family of dancers so I like to see people move, and hearing my dad play since I was a kid helped me develop my musical ear," Ben told Georgia Antonopoulos.

The relaxed opener in this set, is Ronnie's bluesy and modally inclined Bread And Jam, at a nice loping tempo. After the theme, Keezer launches into an excellent solo in which his phrasing sometimes suggests Wynton Kelly and Phineas Newborn. Ronnie rolls relentlessly along in his portion and it's back to the main strain - with no strain. The nifty arrangement makes good use of little drum climaxes.

New Orleans 1951, on an AABA pattern, is really a funky, soul blues with a bridge to add a dash of southern spice. The rhythmic climate would not be alien to rock or rhythm and blues performers. It's a recipe for grooving and Ronnie points the way to be followed by Geoff and a composed Chip Jackson. Although dated 1951, the feel here is definitely of the late 1960s. Cuber fashions an extended, creative ending.

Chip Jackson's Pit Inn is a message in mixed metres, starting in waltz time but easily switched to 4/4, and suggesting other times, when the participants choose. Ronnie and Geoff display great control and involvement, testing their imaginations without losing contact with the material. Jackson steps in for a hugely satisfying unaccompanied solo. Note his arco work in unison with Cuber - two sounds merging to create a new one.

On One For Hank, dedicated to Hank Mobley, Ronnie remembers affectionately his early influence and succeeds in transferring to the baritone, Mobley's long, lithe lines. Hank did not possess a knock-'em-dead tone, but made audiences sit up and listen by logic and elegance of his sinuous improvisations. Cuber catches that feeling of archetypal hard bop here and recalls the flawless phrasing of the maestro.

Jazz Cumbia is an excursion into the Latin vein with Ben applying an appropriate beat and percussive licks. Geoff combines the authentic voicings from the Latin piano style with some Monk shades that fit the context. Cuber, at his most vocal and expressive, employs the lull scope of his horn in a solo ol surging momentum, Jackson makes his bass sing in unusual ways before the quartet chugs on out into a Mexican sunset.

The aptly-named Passion Fruit combines good melodic ideas with typical blues phrases within a Summertime feeling. Ronnie shows his admiration for the' running and leaping style of Cecil Payne here. There's no sag in the passion when Keezer takes over.

Trane's Waltz, the second 3/4 offering of the set, could easily become one of my favourite things which it emulates as a hip-notic re-enactment of a familiar contour. Ronnie's explorations are deep and decisive as he rides a barrage backdrop as Coltrane did so effectively in the early 1960s. The challenge is for the soloist to make the most of the minimal changes with a constantly interesting lateral line. In some hands it can become tedious; Ronnie Cuber keeps it fresh and fine.

Ronnie's Airplay, the title track, was heard first on the Konitz album, Yes, Yes Nonet (Steeplechase SCCD 31119) and loses nothing in its transfer to a quartet setting. Like so many of Cuber's tunes it has startling melodic surprises and rhythmic shifts that are integral parts of the musical fabric. The composer shows his will to wail, and the performance gathers in intensity as it unfurls. By the end his bari must have been close to meltdown! All of which is indicative of how much thought and feeling Ronnie puts into his music.

Commitment has always been high on Ronnie Cuber's priority list. There are no half measures. The myth of the baritone being cumbersome passes into fiction, where it belongs, when you hear just how versatile and responsive the big horn can be under the controlled command of a virtuoso. His overdue return as a leader on this date will be welcomed by jazzers everywhere as a sign that the good guys prevail.”

Mark Gardner

Co-author, The Blackwell Guide to Recorded Jazz

The Ray Brown Trio at Starbucks

© -  Steven A. Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.

A FIRST FOR STARBUCKS

Before the music begins, Ray Brown, Geoff Keezer and Karriem Riggins blend into the crowd, sipping freshly pressed coffee, chatting about the day's events. The Starbucks store at 23rd and Jackson—a corner that was once the heart of the Seattle jazz world— is the scene of this landmark event, the first live recording at Starbucks. Ray Brown's presence here pays homage to past history and sets a trend for future events.

As he picks up his bass, a hush settles on the crowd, and the first rich tones of his music signal the start of a vital, inspiring musical experience. The musician and his instrument become one, transporting us to another world where rhythm and melody are all-engrossing.

Jazz bonds this room into a musical community that leans together toward the stage as if we could touch the sounds pulsing around us. The lines between musicians blur as the audience claps along, nods and calls out encouragement. There can be no reserve, no room for cool detachment. The music itself demands to be revelled in.

I’m not certain of the exact dates that the version Ray Brown Trio that featured pianist Geoff Keezer and drummer Karriem Riggins was in existence, but I am certain that I never got to see and hear them in person, to which I can only add - Bummer!

Of course, Bassist Brown’s piano-bass-drums trio credentials are legendary and date back to when drummer Ed Thigpen was added to pianist Oscar Peterson’s Trio in the late 1950s.

Along the way, various iterations of Ray’s trio included pianist Phineas Newborn, Jr., Gene Harris, and Benny Green and drummers Jimmy Smith, Jeff Hamilton and Gregory Hutchinson, all of whom I did see and hear in performance.

Messers Keezer and Riggins are prime examples of the explosive virtuosity today’s younger generation of Jazz musicians.

And while their technical wizardry is awe inspiring, you can hear in their playing that they are bringing the tradition along with them

And what better representative of the modern Jazz “tradition” can these guys have as a mentor than Ray Brown who has played with all the greats from his generation. Ray was 73 years old at the time of this recording, but he more than held his own with these two, young powerhouse players.

At times these generational forces combine to create a music on this recording that almost sounds operatic in terms of its sweeping intensity, bold textures and awesome displays of musicianship of the highest order.

Here are Will Friedwald’s insert annotations about the musicians and the music on Ray brown Trio - Live at Starbucks [Telarc CD 83502] after which you’ll find an audio-only Soundcloud File and a YouTube video montage to help you sample some of the music from this recording.

“Perhaps it's instructive to lay out first what the Ray Brown-Geoff Keezer-Karriem Riggins Trio is not. For starters, it's not your average jazz piano trio in which the pianist is the star and the bass and drums mere sidemen. And for all of Brown's virtuosity, it's not a unit designed to showcase a series of bass solos by the leader. It is a group where, as great as the individual members are, the collective is everything, and strong as the solos may be, it's the interplay between the three individuals that makes the whole thing work.

Brown bookends this set with two samples of the blues, the fast Up There (the title referring to the tempo) and Starbucks Blues, a Brown original. The latter, closing item reminds us how infrequently the slow blues form is heard in contemporary jazz. You still hear blues changes used as the basis for a swinging uptempo, which has been a tradition since the birth of jazz,

But lately musicians seem to be avoiding the blues in slow tempos. You have to be a true blues virtuoso to want to confront that kind of playing head-on, which is exactly what Brown is, and why "Starbucks Blues" works so well. Here's a long, slow, sexy blues to sink your chops into.

Brown's other original is titled Brown Bossa. While the title suggests that this may well be Brown’s answer to Kenny Dorham's Brazilian-influenced jazz classic Blue Bossa, the rhythms of the piece are more island than South American in nature and may suggest to some ears "Brown Calypso" as a better title. The piano textures on this catchy item are also at times suggestive of the great Cuban keyboardists — Brown Rhumba anybody?

The use of original material by jazz musicians has probably become too much of a good thing in recent years; almost every new album consists primarily of new compositions, the majority of which are rarely as memorable as we'd like them to be. But when Brown gives over valuable space on one of his CDs to new music, you know the melodies are going to be well worth it. The bulk of the program consists of jazz standards, like When I Fall in Love and I Should Care  both part of the jazz repertoire for so long it's easy to forget they weren't written by true jazzmen.

When I Fall in Love rates a funky, soulful treatment, as if it were When I Fall in Love Blues, which puts listeners in mind of Brown's considerable experience with pianist Gene Harris of Three Sounds fame. There's a cascading piano-drum crescendo that serves as the bridge between the melody and the piano solo that's bound to grab your attention. Keezer is so committed to the glory of interplay that he even engages in it by himself— initiating a one man call-and-response pattern. Keezer's other opportunity for play is his rubato feature, This House is Empty Now, which introduces the better known, I Should Care (in ballad time for the first chorus, swinging lightly in the second). Riggins' chance comes with his particularly zesty arumming on Our Delight, one of the major early bop gems. And the title fits the mood in Lament (remembered from Miles Davis' Miles Ahead), which ranks as one of jazz's most melancholy lamentations of the '50s.

Each of the three Duke Ellington delights, as interpreted here, has something to say about the nature of inter-relationships. For all the intricacy of much of Ellington's music, Mainstem has always been one of the Duke's most celebrated blowing vehicles, a minimal melody and a welcome excuse for protracted jamming. Brown gets most of the main melody on both Love You Madly and Caravan. Kicking off with an imposing introduction, Brown phrases "Madly" almost as if it were countermelody to Dave Brubeck's famous Ellington homage, The Duke. Then, on Caravan, the leader uses his bow to extract the full exotic effect of Juan Tizol's classic desert drama. Ray Brown is the only bassist to record a full-length album with Ellington himself at the piano - one of many indications that Brown is the heir apparent to Jimmy Blanton, the short lived father of modern jazz bassistry.

This suite of three Ellington classics shows that, although Brown never played in the Maestro's band, his roots in Ellingtonia run deep. From blues to jazz to pop to Ellington standards (he was indeed a category all to himself), Brown, Keezer and Riggins need only one more ingredient to cover all the jazz bases. They find it with Lester Young's classic, Lester Leaps In, one of the heavy duty anthems of the swing era. Again, the interplay's the thing here. Riggins' drumming seems more like dancing — it's an interesting kind of partner routine that he does with Keezer. Rather than dancing simultaneously, like most couples, they do their steps in turns, first one and then the other. Throughout the performance all three musicians create this dance, sprinkling their craftsmanship with elements of play, melding their talents into a solid trio. But don't forget that this is Ray Brown's trio. And he brings to the group his own infusion of energy and enthusiasm that makes us all thrill in the music.”

WILL FRIEDWALD

AUTHOR OF JAZZ SINGING AND SINATRA! THE SONG IS YOU AND CO-AUTHOR WITH TONY BENNETT OF THE GOOD LIFE.