Updated: November 20, 2008
Brian Smith's latest CD "Taupo"
Reviewed :
NZ Herald By Graham Reid here:
A gem worth cherishing
5:36PM Thursday September 06, 2007
By Graham
Reid
Brian Smith and Friends' Taupo is a local
album that stands apart. Photo / Warren Buckland
Very good local jazz albums are not uncommon, but great albums are
rare - so those who love this art form tend to cherish the few gems
available.
It has been more than 20 years since saxophonist Brian Smith made his
memorable, self-titled album which danced a thin line between poise,
innovation and excitement.
Smith, who has released only a few albums since, has dropped a worthy
successor to that early 80s release, Taupo, which is credited to
Brian Smith and Friends.
These friends are senior players Billy Kristian and Kevin Haines
(electric and acoustic bass respectively) and trumpeter Kim Paterson,
mid-career guitarist Lance Su'a, and from a younger generation, pianist
Kevin Field and drummer Alain Koetsier.
That cross-section of experience, enthusiasm and musical sensibility
is here brought to service on 10 effortless tracks, four of them
originals including the sprightly studio improvisation Big Kids At Play,
which makes you yearn for more such exploratory work from these
musicians.
No one would argue that Smith and Friends are pushing envelopes here.
But Moon and Sand, for which Smith brushes off his bass flute,
the gentle swing of It Ain't Necessarily So, the rippling lines
of Su'a and Kristian's punctuating bass, the richness of their melodic
invention, Field's moving ballad Madame Butterfly, and the sheer
comfort of the mutual intelligence and respectful interplay make this a
local album which stands apart.
If some jazz musicians go too long between albums, that isn't a
problem for Wellington pianist Charmaine Ford, whose Live at
Sandwiches follows almost breathlessly on the heels of her Busy
Silence, released six months ago.
This new one - recorded late last year - is a steaming session which
kicks off with a muscular account of her original Blues For Guppy (the
title track of her album which was nominated for jazz album of the year
in 2004). Bassist Nick Tipping gets a real workout on his solo (and
later on the visceral Nick's Blues).
Elsewhere, Ford picks up some standards - a lively It Could Happen
To You, a brisk, lightly Latin-influenced Nature Boy and a
delightfully fragmented Bye Bye Blackbird initially driven by
drummer Richard Wise, which increasingly rocks out.
But mostly this delivers her accomplished originals with the vigour
you'd expect from a club date.
And speaking of the time between, it has been almost 50 years since
Dave Brubeck made his classic album Time Out, with the hit Take
Five.
Brubeck has travelled many miles since, although he doubtless regrets
going to Tyler in Texas in March - he sat on a bed there and a
protruding metal rod injured his leg.
But the next day, the 86-year old flew to New York and the day after
that began recording his Indian Summer album. In two days he put
down 72 minutes of solo piano - each track only one take. That's quite
some work ethic.
Brubeck has, unsurprisingly, been in a reflective mood recently and
this collection is no exception. There is a wistful intimacy to these
short pieces (most under five minutes), and the deliberately slow and
considered dropping of notes makes for an exceptionally intimate album.
Saying "you feel like you are in the room" is such a cliche it
doesn't bear repeating - yet here ... No allowance for age need be given
for Indian Summer because Brubeck can convey an expressive lilt,
oblique reference or melancholy mood within a few deliciously considered
phrases.
From the almost miniaturist Autumn in our Town (written with
his wife of more than 60 years, Iola) through the telling I'm Afraid
the Masquerade Is Over to the title track at the end, this is an
album of quiet reflection but with no trace of sentimentality. Quite
exceptional.
And finally something from the other end of the musical spectrum.
Drummer Paul Motian (now in his mid-70s) may be not far behind Brubeck,
but with saxophonist Joe Lovano and guitarist Bill Frisell (in their
mid-50s) he still makes music which sounds utterly contemporary and
cutting edge.
They have played together in this bass-less trio since the early 80s,
and on Time and Time Again they caress rather than cajole, tease
out melodies rather than test them, and everywhere convey a
weightlessness propelled by Motian's melodic drumming, Frisell's
shimmering guitar and Lovano's fluttering flights.
You may hear the influences of Ornette Coleman (notably on the
seven-minute In Remembrance of Things Past) and Thelonious
Monk, but mostly this is a singular and esoteric vision by three of
the finest jazz musicians of our time.
Lovano enjoyed acclaim as a post-bop player early in his career, but
in this context he lays right back on tenor as Motian's feather-light
work acts as a restraining and subtle hand. Delicious stuff.
BRIAN SMITH AND FRIENDS: Taupo
(Manu/Ode)
Verdict: Auckland saxman effortlessly polishes up another gem
Herald rating: * * * *
Great
musicians are technically proficient across the whole range of their
instruments of course, but to be a truly outstanding musician they have
to play with feeling and soul. Brian Smith is a musician that has the
technique nailed, he has fantastic chops, but more than that Brian plays
with feeling and soul. I once asked Brian how he played like that, where
it came from, Brian laughed and shrugged his shoulders “I don’t
know” he said.
Brian
is one of New Zealand's most well know and respected saxophonists. And
so he should be. Born in Taranaki Brian moved over to the UK in 1964
where he quickly established his reputation playing with (amongst
others) Humphrey Littleton, Alexis Korner, T-Bone walker, Georgie Fame,
Alan Price, Annie Ross, Bing Crosby, Mark Murphy, Jon Hendricks, John
Dankworth, & Tubby Hayes. It was his work with Nucleus
and the Maynard Ferguson Big Band that established Brain as one of the
major soloists in jazz.
This
CD, on New Zealand’s ODE Records, sees Brian with a band of
established NZ musicians and a newcomer on drums. The tunes,
arrangements, ensemble playing and solos are 1st class. And on top of
all that Brian is a very nice guy too.
Buy
it tomorrow - support NZ jazz - listen to a master.
Link
to Marbecks
- Buy it Online
========================================
Latest
Concert Reviews - Updated 12 May 2007
Concert Review - with Georgie Fame 29 April 2006
Brian Smith at the Nelson Music Festival 2001
"When this top class Jazz quartet led by Brian Smith launched into it's opener, the tune "My Romance" it was immediately
obvious we were to be treated to something special.
As an artist, Brian Smith has paid his dues and cut his chops with some of the biggest in the music business. Names like Bing
Crosby, Georgie Fame, Maynard Fergusson, T-Bone Walker, Nucleus and Johnny Dankworth in equally impressive venues: Ronnie Scotts, at Montreaux Jazz Festival, Royal Albert
and Carnegie Halls.
Smith's sax was velvety, always oozing emotion and soul, the natural dynamics of this instrument was capable of in his hands are
sublime
particularly on the Sonny Rollins number "Tenor Madness", Smith was a very generous leader offering his sidemen extended solos.
The near capacity crowd was attentive and appreciative and was rewarded with an encore. For me the evening was a highlight of the festival.
(The Nelson Mail - July 2001)
