CD Reviews

Steve Lehman Octet | Travail, Transformation, and Flow

Pi (2009)

By JON GARELICK | June 9, 2009

3.0 Stars

Young alto saxophonist/composer Lehman has been earning props both for his playing and his use of "spectral harmony" in his writing — where "attack, decay, and timbre provide the source material for orchestration and musical form."

What this means for the rest of us is jittery, angular lines and fast, clattery drum 'n bass-style snare, cymbals, and rims set against the spare outline of the form by vibes and bass moving in slow four-to-the-bar chords. Granted, that's a generalization that doesn't take into account Lehman's own alto playing (tart and sharp, like Jackie McLean by way of Oliver Lake and Steve Coleman) or the highly organized exits and entrances by his eight voices (including tuba), or his fetching subgroupings of instruments.

Just when the sameness of those anti-melodic lines — and the absence of standard jazz swing or Afro-Latin grooves — begins to get to you, tenor sax Mark Shim will take off in a fiery run of eighth notes and you'll say to yourself, "Oh yeah, bebop." In this context, the Jose Davila trombone solo that opens "Alloy" qualifies as a jazz-ballad aria. Here and on tunes like "Dub" or the cover of Wu-Tang's "Living in the World Today," there's some relief from Lehman's rigorous procedures. And, when a passage of intricate written lines and improv come together in a unison cadence, Lehman elicits the familiar response to his jazz-as-magic-act: "How did they do that?"

The education of Grace Kelly
Legendary 79-year-old alto-saxophonist Phil Woods laughs indignantly when I ask him how he knew 18-year-old alto-saxophonist Grace Kelly was special. "Come on, when you hear it, you know what it is! I've been doing this for 65 years!" Pressed for particulars, he at first says, "Her maturity." Then he demurs. "It's not any one thing. She's got the whole kit."
Paul Lieberman's Brazilian accent
How did a middle-class Jewish kid from New Jersey become a first-call session musician in Rio de Janeiro?
Review: Humcrush | Rest at World's End
Replete with bands who weave jazz, modern composition, and electronic music, the Rune Grammofon label captures a thriving scene of Norwegian improvisers and composers.
The Horse's Ha | Of the Cathmawr Yards
Despite a solid roster of Chicago underground vets, the Horse's Ha fail to show signs of life on what proves to be a sleepy album of wispy folk.
Covering Lacy
For Josh Sinton, Steve Lacy stood out almost from the beginning.
Best in their field
The jazz scene continues to struggle — along with everyone else — through hard times.
The onliest Sonny
Sonny Rollins has held the unofficial title of world’s greatest living improviser at least since the early ’70s, following the death of John Coltrane and the second of two extended Rollins sabbaticals from public performance.
Fall Jazz Preview: Blindfold test
A search for this fall’s must-see jazz revealed a lot of overlapping personnel — Jim Hobbs, Allan Chase, Joe Morris, Taylor Ho Bynum. Hey, you wanted to know what’s good , right?
Esperanza and Kenny
Spalding's chamber music; Werner's elegy
Chucho, Mike, and Lina
Anyone who has doubts about the musical supremacy of Chucho Valdés — or wants an introduction to it — need only listen to "Danzón," the second track from the new Chucho's Steps.
Review: Jim Hall and Bill Frisell, Hemispheres
What makes Hemispheres such a successful collaboration is not that Jim Hall and Bill Frisell meet in the middle but that they start there and extend outward.
Less

Topics: CD Reviews , Wu-Tang Clan, Steve Coleman, Jackie McLean, More

| More

ARTICLES BY JON GARELICK

THE FRINGE AT 40 | May 15, 2012
"I'm feeling a little light-headed," George Garzone told the audience last Saturday at the Boston Conservatory Theater, closing his eyes and bringing a hand to his brow.

THE 2012 NEW ORLEANS JAZZ & HERITAGE FESTIVAL | May 04, 2012
New Orleans Notes

ESPERANZA SPALDING’S “SOCIETY” | April 18, 2012
The first time I was knocked out by Esperanza Spalding, she wasn't even playing — she was talking.

WALT WHITMAN VIA FRED HERSCH | April 19, 2012
The pianist and composer Fred Hersch first encountered the poetry of Walt Whitman as a student at New England Conservatory in 1976.