Home » Jazz Articles » Under the Radar » Culture Clubs: Part IV: When Jazz Met Europe
Culture Clubs: Part IV: When Jazz Met Europe
The Geography of Jazz—When Jazz Met Europe
In 2004 Maureen Anderson, a researcher at Illinois State University contributed a dissertation to the journal, African American Review, titled The White Reception of Jazz in America. Ostensibly, her article deals with stories published in high profile periodicals and journals from 1917 and into the 1930s, written by white arts critics and academics, describing jazz in the most hysterical, racist, demeaning and inflammatory terms. A well-known newspaper columnist in the early 1900s, George Ade, went so far as to emphatically state that if the white musician
Paul Whiteman
composer / conductor1890 - 1967
Jazz, broadly viewed as a genre that was fully realized in America, had traversed the Atlantic while it was still in its embryonic stage. Innovative rhythms in the form of ragtime, cakewalk, foxtrot and the Charleston entered the lexicon of dance music and many in Europe were electrified at the prospect of a musical revolution. The panic-stricken reaction of numerous conventional classical musicians and patrons—on both sides of the Atlantic—helped fuel a counter-insurgency among open-minded segments of the European population who refused to project the end of an enlightened culture. Well before
Louis Armstrong
trumpet and vocals1901 - 1971
Marches, jigs and polkas were among the most influential of the European styles that fed into the development of ragtime. In the U.S. it was John Philip Sousa who first popularized many of these genres as well as the cakewalk. Originated on slave plantations, the cakewalk's primary origins are believed to be a combination of "The Chalk Line Walk" (about 1850) and the "Ring Shout"; the first derived by Florida slaves from a Seminole Indian processional, the second from the West African Circle Dance, dating back to the 1700s. Some of the mannerisms of the cakewalk dance were related to the quadrille, a European dance from the late 1700s and 1800s that had a structure common with American square dancing. Over time, the slave version of the cakewalk developed into a satire of the mannerisms of Southern white gentry. The parody was lost on white performers whose black-face minstrel shows burlesqued what they thought was an apolitical plantation dance. Context aside, the cakewalk remained popular for decades but unlike the present-day connotation for the word, the dance was hardly simple. Distinct from more urbane ragtime, cakewalk—with its oompah rhythm—was meant for dancing and was more likely to be played by a small ensemble.
In bringing the cakewalk and ragtime to Europe, the importance of black bandleader/pianist
James Reese Europe
composer / conductor1881 - 1919
In 1913, his band became the first black orchestra to record their music. With the start of World War I, Europe joined the army and rose to the rank of lieutenant, becoming the first black officer in the U.S. to lead combat troops on foreign soil. His military jazz orchestra, the Hellfighters, officially designated as the 369th New York Regimental Band, began performing in France in 1918 and immediately influenced some French musicians who requested his scores. About the same time, the Original Dixieland Jass Band was touring England and inspiring that country's more adventurous artists. In the early 1920s,
Sidney Bechet
saxophone, soprano1897 - 1959
Dexter Gordon
saxophone, tenor1923 - 1990
Bud Powell
piano1924 - 1966
Kenny Clarke
drums1914 - 1985
Don Byas
saxophone, tenor1912 - 1972
Early European Venues
As in urban U.S. locations, the first European venues for ragtime and early jazz were theaters and dancehalls. France, and to a lesser extent England, were largely influential in shaping modern jazz outside the states. Both countries were more welcoming of black American musicians and recognized the greater influence of West Africa in the development of jazz. The African-American drummer and bandleader Louis A. Mitchell established his Southern Symphonists' Quartet in New York City in 1912 and later played drums in James Reese Europe's group. His second group, Louis Mitchell's Jazz Kings, toured throughout the UK and France in 1919 and later played withSidney Bechet
saxophone, soprano1897 - 1959
France
The neighborhoods around Montmartre, Montparnasse, Champs-?lysées and Saint-Germain-des-Prés were all home to clubs frequented by American musicians in the early 1900s. An American jazz singer and club owner, Ada Louise Smith, performed in 1920s Paris as "Bricktop," a nickname attributed to her read hair. By 1926, she had opened the Music Box where she acted as everything from performer to bouncer. It was one of the venues that Bechet played along with Cricket Smith,
Django Reinhardt
guitar1910 - 1953
Stephane Grappelli
violin1908 - 1997
Josephine Baker
vocals1906 - 1975
Benny Carter
saxophone, alto1907 - 2003
Art Blakey
drums1919 - 1990
George Russell
composer / conductor1923 - 2009
Stan Getz
saxophone, tenor1927 - 1991
Chet Baker
trumpet and vocals1929 - 1988
Pat Metheny
guitarb.1954
Charlie Haden
bass, acoustic1937 - 2014
Dizzy Gillespie
trumpet1917 - 1993
Arturo Sandoval
trumpetb.1949
Roy Hargrove
trumpet1969 - 2018
Kenny Clarke
drums1914 - 1985
Lionel Hampton
vibraphone1908 - 2002
Claude Bolling
pianob.1930
Britain
On the north side of the English Channel, black American performers initially brought spirituals and gospel music to British audiences around 1903. Beginning in the late 1890s, ragtime sheet music was being published for piano and player-piano rolls, encouraging the British to re-discover the music for themselves. The availability of the phonograph, or gramophone in Britain, closely coincided with the release of the Original Dixieland Jass Band's recording of "Livery Stable Blues," the first "jazz" recording, and it caught fire with listeners. However, where Americans in France could open their own clubs and performing freely, the situation in Britain was considerably different.The Amalgamated Musicians' Union (MU) was founded in 1893 and was a powerful force in Britain with membership in the hundreds of thousands and full support from the Ministry of Labour. When Paul Whiteman's Orchestra arrived in London in 1923, membership was already sounding alarms about an American invasion taking jobs from local musicians. A series of restrictions imposed a type of quota system on Americans, making it difficult for them to obtain work permits. At the same time, what the Americans were bringing in was dance music and the demand for bands was growing exponentially. The MU's ranks were heavily skewed toward classical and theater musicians and remained so until late in the 1930s. The substitution of British-for-American musicians in jazz performances was easier said than done.
American violinist Paul Specht was a popular bandleader who had signed with Columbia Records in 1922. That same year he toured in Britain and encountered permit problems that played out over four years and resulted in his filing a lawsuit against the British union. As a result of the MU and Ministry rules, even the Original Dixieland Jass Band was required to swap out their pianist for a British player—a critical personnel role in ragtime and an impractical face to put on the band. The ODJB faced another unforeseen—but serious—credibility issue as a result of playing outside the US. In Circular Breathing (Duke University Press, 2005) George McKay explains that ODJB publically and overtly denied an obvious truth—that their style was based on that of black ragtime bands. The claim generated a backlash in Britain, where the opposite reality seemed evident to many.
The densest concentration of British venues were located in the London area and until the 1940s, most were cabarets or theaters. The London Palladium is the most famous musical and theatrical venue in the UK. The two-thousand-plus seat West End theater hosted the ODJB in 1919,
Duke Ellington
piano1899 - 1974
Louis Armstrong
trumpet and vocals1901 - 1971
Ella Fitzgerald
vocals1917 - 1996
Frank Sinatra
vocals1915 - 1998
So called "Rhythm Clubs" were established in 1933 and were more informal settings offering performances one night per week. These clubs were seen as crucial in revitalizing the popularity of jazz in Britain after a downturn in acceptance in the late 1920s. Regular employment for jazz musicians remained elusive until clubs like the Flamingo, Marquee, The Dankworth Club and Studio 51 began to offer multiple-night performances. The Feldman Swing Club, (also known as the No1 Swing Club), opened in 1942 and was the first club in London to be dedicated exclusively to jazz. Saxophonist
Victor Feldman
multi-instrumentalist1934 - 1987
Benny Goodman
clarinet1909 - 1986
Art Pepper
saxophone, alto1925 - 1982
In 1959,
Ronnie Scott
saxophone, tenor1927 - 1996
Stan Kenton
piano1911 - 1979
Zoot Sims
saxophone, tenor1925 - 1985
Lee Konitz
saxophone, alto1927 - 2020
Sonny Rollins
saxophoneb.1930
Sonny Stitt
saxophone1924 - 1982
Tubby Hayes
saxophone, tenor1935 - 1973
Dick Morrissey
saxophoneb.1940
The Beatles
band / ensemble / orchestraChet Baker
trumpet and vocals1929 - 1988
Anita O'Day
vocals1919 - 2006
Nina Simone
piano and vocals1933 - 2003
Curtis Mayfield
guitar and vocals1942 - 1999
Jimi Hendrix
guitar, electric1942 - 1970
Dianne Reeves
vocalsb.1956
Wynton Marsalis
trumpetb.1961
Madeleine Peyroux
vocals
Prince
multi-instrumentalist1958 - 2016
Chick Corea
piano1941 - 2021
Pat Metheny
guitarb.1954
George Benson
guitarb.1943
Cassandra Wilson
vocalsb.1955
The Vortex at 11 Gillett Square in London opened in 1984 as an art gallery on Church Street. Shortly afterward the venue added jazz and by 1987, patron interest in music edged out visual art resulting in a conversion to an all-music format with a neighborhood atmosphere. In the 1990s, The Vortex added specialized nights to their calendar; saxophonist
Elton Dean
saxophone1945 - 2006
Tim Berne
saxophone, altob.1954
Marc Ducret
guitarb.1957
Tom Rainey
drumsb.1957
Paul Dunmall
saxophoneb.1953
Dave Holland
bassb.1946
Evan Parker
saxophone, sopranob.1944
Kit Downes
keyboardsb.1986
Barry Guy
bass, acousticb.1947
Germany
The African-American a cappella group, Fisk Jubilee Singers, began performing with an 1871 tour of locations along what had been the Underground Railroad. The following year they performed at the White House for President Ulysses S. Grant. It was this evolving group of performers who took spirituals to the British in 1903 and their European tour later introduced this music to Germany. Within a year of the cakewalk and ragtime reaching France and Britain, American influence reached the outer borders of Western Europe.For all intent and purposes, 1920s music journalists in Germany seemed to relate the entire jazz genre to a singular element—the Charleston. The Paul Bernhard book, whose German title translates to Jazz -A Musical Issue (Delphin-Verlag/Munchen, 1927), noted that the presence of Josephine Baker in 1925 Berlin was a mutual love fest. Baker was the manifestation of the Charleston at a time when it was all the rage throughout Western Europe. "Tiger Rag"—first recorded in the U.S. in 1917 by the Original Dixieland Jass Band—and a popular Charleston dance tune, was re-released on a German label in 1920. While American musicians had a clear influence on their German counterparts, the country was relatively quick to adapt to a home-grown brand of jazz. Paul Whiteman was extraordinarily popular in Berlin and his concerts were broadcast live. From the mid-1920s into the early 30s German radio was flooded with popular American jazz music from Armstrong, Ellington,
Red Nichols
b.1905The Zig Zag Club is a massive twelve-hundred person capacity club in Berlin is known for its state-of-the-art sound system. It is a venue for electronic and jazz music and its recent performers have included
Myra Melford
pianob.1957
Ron Miles
cornet1963 - 2022
Liberty Ellman
guitar
Stomu Takeishi
bass
Gerald Cleaver
drumsb.1963
Wayne Escoffery
saxophone, tenorb.1975
Jason Miles
keyboards
Reggie Washington
bassb.1962
Chris Speed
saxophone
Julia Hulsmann
pianob.1968
JD Allen
saxophone, tenorb.1972
Nils Wogram
trombonePoland
Like Germany, Poland experienced an eruption of enthusiasm in the 1920s and the country's musicians were quick to incorporate ethnic and traditional influences. The same political forces that suppressed jazz in Germany, dominated Poland. It remains largely unrecognized that the Polish jazz culture predates Louis Armstrong's modern improvised jazz. As early as 1923, Polish jazz musicians were touring Eastern Europe in the company of Chicago and New Orleans Dixieland players. The American perspective of Polish jazz is principally defined by trumpeter
Tomasz Stańko
trumpet1942 - 2018
Michal Urbaniak
violin
Krzysztof Komeda
piano1931 - 1969
Marcin Wasilewski
pianob.1975
Adam Makowicz
pianob.1940
Gerry Mulligan
saxophone, baritone1927 - 1996
Brad Mehldau
pianob.1970
The Karasiński & Kataszek Jazz -Tango Orchestra was established in 1923, playing Warsaw venues and later touring as far as the Middle East. A number of well-established bands of the 1920s and early 30s emulated the dance orchestra style of
Benny Goodman
clarinet1909 - 1986
Dave Brubeck
piano1920 - 2012
Among the many jazz clubs that now dot the Polish landscape, few can boast of the progressive lineup of Alchemia. The recent calendar includes reed player
Peter Brötzmann
woodwinds1941 - 2023
Mats Gustafsson
woodwindsb.1964
Ken Vandermark
saxophoneb.1964
Hamid Drake
drumsb.1955
Joe McPhee
woodwindsb.1939
Bobby McFerrin
vocalsb.1950
Michal Urbaniak
violinItaly
Italy, like Britain and Germany, first encountered American black music in the pre-jazz era. Creole singers and dancers, performed in Milan's Eden Theater in 1904. They were billed by the Eden as the originators of the cakewalk though credits of that nature seemed to be spread about liberally. Early jazz met with extreme politics earlier in Italy than in other parts of Europe. The Fascist regime of Benito Mussolini was in place in 1922 and despite overall anti-American cultural policies Mussolini was more than tolerant of jazz music. A violinist himself, his son Romano was a jazz pianist of considerable skill with nine recordings to his credit and all are widely available today. A prodigy from a wealthy Genoese family, Pippo Barzizzo studied violin, banjo, saxophone and accordion and played with a top sextet while still in his teens. In 1925 he formed the Blue Star Orchestra, a group that fluctuated between six and seven personnel. A meticulous arranger, Barzizzo personally transcribed all group parts from recordings of Louis Armstrong,
Bix Beiderbecke
cornet1903 - 1931
Jazz in modern Italy is thriving. The prestigious Umbria Jazz Festival has been a major international draw for more than four decades. Over the years the festival has hosted
Cecil Taylor
piano1929 - 2018
Keith Jarrett
pianob.1945
Sonny Rollins
saxophoneb.1930
Bill Evans
piano1929 - 1980
Sun Ra
piano1914 - 1993
Carla Bley
piano1938 - 2023
Ornette Coleman
saxophone, alto1930 - 2015
Miles Davis
trumpet1926 - 1991
Charlie Haden
bass, acoustic1937 - 2014
Herbie Hancock
pianob.1940
Ahmad Jamal
piano1930 - 2023
Wynton Marsalis
trumpetb.1961
Stefano di Battista
saxophoneb.1969
Enrico Pieranunzi
pianob.1949
Enrico Rava
trumpetb.1939
Stefano Bollani
pianob.1972
Paolo Fresu
trumpetb.1961
Alexanderplatz Jazz Club in Rome, is one of the oldest jazz clubs in Italy with an underground location just outside of Vatican City. In more than thirty years it has hosted many American musicians such as Wynton Marsalis, Brad Meldhau and
Steve Coleman
saxophone, altob.1956
Kenny Garrett
saxophone, altob.1960
Chris Potter
saxophone, tenorb.1971
Many of the best jazz clubs in Europe are outside the borders of France, Britain, Germany, Poland and Italy. Among the too-many-to-mention are the Hot Clube de Portugal in Lisbon, Copenhagen's Jazzhus Montmartre, Reduta in Prague, Cafe Central in Madrid, and Amsterdam's Bimhuis.
A Sampling of European Club Recordings
Girls in Airports: Live (Recorded at venues in Hamburg, Dresden and Berlin; Edition Records, 2017)
Thanks in large part to labels like ECM, Odin Records and Rune Grammofon, jazz fans in the US have become familiar with a many Norwegian and Scandinavian jazz artists. Copenhagen based Girls in Airports has not been one of those groups but it's about time the quintet broke into this market. The group debuted with a self-produced, self-titled album in 2010. Then a quartet, an additional percussionist joined with their sophomore release. Live is their fifth album and is culled from three 2017 concerts in Hamburg, Dresden and Berlin. Saxophonist Martin Stender wrote all twelve songs with undesignated group participation. "Kantine" opens at a languid pace, building to a feverish pitch built on the interaction of Stender and fellow saxophonist Lars Greve. The two then engage in a more careful choreography, lightly sparing with each other before the piece quietly fades away. Keyboardist Mathias Holm gently guides in "Kaikoura," the reeds falling into line, sparked by imaginative soloing. "Broken Stones" has a darker feeling to it, influenced by Holm's electronics and a brooding pacing. The reeds, in the upper register, add a Celtic ambience but then breakout into freer improvisation.
A more exotic melody permeates "Fables," giving way to a saxophone drone and then an avant-garde passage that could be out of early Pink Floyd. Percussionist Victor Dybbroe had previously worked with The Gamelan, an Indonesian ensemble of percussion instruments, and he brings some of that flavor to "Episodes." "Aeiki" takes global influences a step further as both Asian and African influences can be heard. "ADAC," "Need a Light," "Migration" and "King's Birthday" are more abstract and discordant, at times solidly dropping into free improvisation. The album closes with "Vejviser," returning to the model that opened the album, keys and reeds quietly and dramatically ending the set.
Girls in Airports has an unusual sound; with a blend of lyrical, driving and global music, they represent an alternative direction for jazz and one that is largely untapped. Edition Records is making significant inroads in bringing artists from the UK, Finland, Norway, Denmark and throughout Europe, to the broader global audience. Phronesis, Django Bates and Verneri Pohjola are among the artists who have found a home on the label. Live represents some of the best jazz coming out of Denmark, and Girls in Airports are well worth a listen.
Track Listing: Kantine; Kaikoura; Broken Stones; Fables; Episodes; Aeiki; Albert Kahn; ADAC; Need a Light; Migration; King's Birthday; Vejviser.
Personnel: Martin Stender: saxophones; Lars Greve: saxophones and clarinets; Mathias Holm: keys; Victor Dybbroe: percussion; Mads Forsby: drums.
Duo Baars Henneman & Dave Burrell: Trandans (Recorded at Bimhuis in Amsterdam; Wig, 2017)
Dutch multi-reedist Ab Baars has been active, mostly in Europe, since the 1970s, recording for several labels on the continent and touring in both rock and jazz capacities. His unique style had been dubbed "Ab Music" by the late Misha Mengelberg with whom he had recorded Circus (Instant Composers Pool, 2006) along with Han Bennick. More recently he teamed with Ingrid Laubrock, Tom Rainey and violist Ig Henneman on Perch Hen Brock & Rain (Relative Pitch Records/Wig, 2016). Henneman again joins Baars on Trandans. The musical, and life partners had toured and recorded as Duo Baars-Henneman on Autumn Songs (Wig, 2013), their second duo release. Henneman has worked as a violist in orchestra settings as well as with her own rock group and jazz quintet and sextet. Dave Burrell needs little introduction. The pianist has worked in groups with saxophonists Archie Shepp and Pharoah Sanders, composed for a jazz opera and has been recording as a leader since 1968's High Won-High Two (Black Lion). He received high praise for his album Expansion (High Two, 2004) which featured William Parker and Andrew Cyrille.
The duo invited Burrell to join them at a concert at the Bimhuis, Amsterdam, in September of 2016 where Trandans was recorded. The eight compositions are group improvisations that often center on Baars choice of instrument. The title track opens darkly with Burrell's well-spaced chords and notes and the drone of Henneman's viola. It takes on more shrill properties as Baars enters with the shakuhachi, a traditional Japanese flute whose sound can range from the depths of a didgeridoo to something akin to the braking of a subway train. "Fyllev?gen" and "Dis vid Hulan" follow and, as with most of the album's material, the improvisations are more about textures, silence and tones rather than song structure.
The first real explosion of sound occurs on "Laggarebo," a twelve minute improvisation played out in episodes that include Baars running the upper and lower registers of the tenor. Further into the piece, Henneman uses her viola as a fiddle for an unexpected bit of hoedown. Much of the closing "Korsekebacken" is given over to Burrell who essentially performs an avant-garde solo for much of the eleven-plus minutes before Baars joins in on clarinet.
The live recording often segues from track to track without interruption and the audience is not heard until the set is completed. While there are melodic segments throughout, the parts are very open, but controlled. The overall tone is not at all harsh though the high ends of the flute, viola and piano working in tandem can occasionally be penetrating. Fortunately, these passages are limited and balanced with reflection. Trandans is interesting music with an audacious spirit.
Track Listing: Trandans; Fyllev?gen; Dis vid Hulan; Laggarebo; De Knutiga Aplarna; Regn Segel; Rassel Runt Brunnen; Korsekebacken.
Personnel: Ab Baars: tenor saxophone, clarinet, shakuhachi; Ig Henneman: viola; Dave Burrell: piano.
Lajos Dudas Trio: Live at Porgy & Bess (Vienna; JazzSick Records, 2013)
Vienna's Porgy & Bess Jazz Club is approaching its twentieth anniversary as an international—but intimate—venue for top jazz talent from Europe and beyond. It's the perfect setting for this live recording from the Lajos Dudas Trio. A Hungarian native living in Germany, clarinetist Dudas is teamed with long-time collaborator, guitarist Phillipp van Endert and bassist Leonard E. Jones. Jones—a seminal member of the AACM—has played with Muhal Richard Abrams, Sonny Simmons and Mal Waldron in the course of his accomplished career. For his part, Dudas has worked with Karl Berger, Albert Mangelsdorff and Attila Zoller among the more familiar names in the U.S. Endert's equally impressive resume includes gigs with Kenny Wheeler, Mike Stern and Danny Gottlieb. Live at Porgy & Bess features four original tracks penned by Dudas along with an assortment of time-tested standards. Stylistically, the collection strikes its equilibrium between tradition and subtle innovation. The drummer-less trio adeptly sustains a natural connection between the strings and clarinet while allowing each player to move outside their respective comfort zones. The ten-minute opener, "Soft Waves" is a quiet, controlled piece with somewhat more loosely structured solo performances from Dudas and Endert. The pair takes a more forceful approach on "Reni's Ballad" where their improvisations feel more melodically incidental.
Thelonious Monk's "In Walked Bud" gets a multi-faceted treatment from the trio. In a moderate swing tempo, Dudas adds light ornamentation before Endert and Jones take the lead, transforming the piece with a bit of Eastern European folk sentiment. That proves to be another transition leading to Endert's own intricate, fast-paced solo. Covers of George Gershwin's "Embraceable You" and Attila Zoller's "Rumpelstilzchen" are respectful of the original while the improvisations seems to float above the main theme.
As agreeably harmonious as the performances on Live at Porgy & Bess are there is plenty of diversity evident. Among Dudas's original compositions "Maydance" has a distinct samba rhythm while "Back to L.A." is blues inspired and culminates with Endert displaying his rock riffs. Cole Porter's "Night and Day" ends the program with the same amiable vein as it opened. Live at Porgy & Bess is an atmospheric collection with a uniquely direct and lyrical style. Dudas and company consistently instill their sense of melody with subtle swing and pleasant improvisation.
Track Listing: Soft Waves; Reni's Ballad; Homage to O.P.; In Walked Bud; Embraceable You; Rumpelstilzchen; Maydance; Back to L.A.; Night and Day.
Personnel: Lajos Dudas: clarinet; Philipp van Endert: guitar; Leonard Jones: bass.
Arild Andersen: Live at Belleville (Belleville Club, Oslo; ECM, 2010)
More than forty years ago, Norwegian bassist, Arild Andersen joined saxophonist Jan Garbarek and the late Finnish drummer Edward Vesala to record the groundbreaking Triptykon (ECM 1972), one of these musicians' most energized work. It's a happy coincidence that the new millennium has seen both Garbarek and Andersen—ECM artists, both—create what may be their individual masterpieces—Live at Belleville, in the bassist's case. Andersen's intervening ECM years have generated an impressive catalog of high quality work including Molde Concert (1982), Sagn (1991) and Hyperborean (1997), but these have been more introspective efforts. As much as Live at Belleville is an accomplishment for Andersen, it is no less an achievement for Scottish saxophonist, Tommy Smith. Smith, who has worked with Gary Burton, Joe Lovano, Chick Corea and John Scofield, to name just a few, plays here as though he was born into the setting. Recorded at Oslo's Belleville Club, this date is centered by the four-part "Independency Suite," Andersen's composition celebrating the independence of his native country. Musical accolades to patriotism, jingoism and many other ism's, tend to lean toward ambiguous pomp, full of sentimentality and short on melodic hooks. Even Charlie Haden's open minded Liberation Music Orchestra treated "America the Beautiful" with a kind of off-kilter reverence. Whatever might be expected in a sovereignty-based theme, Andersen's suite dashes traditional expectations with its free-form improvisation and sense of exploration.
The four parts, totaling more than forty-three minutes, are played without audience interruption, creating an epic scope. "Independency Part 1" plays at a slow, but eccentric tempo, continuing into the opening of "Part 2," where the pace picks up considerably and a freer improvisation begins. Andersen's solos are deep, woody and intricate. Smith demonstrates his ability to produce heat without giving up the melody. "Part 3" is a memorably striking piece, with Smith's long fluid lines and Andersen's sonorous bass creating a pensive atmosphere and stunning harmonies. The concluding section of the suite finds Andersen delivering a bluesy line that changes tempo and expands to accommodate some excellent free flowing improvisational solos from both the bassist and Smith.
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Under the Radar
Karl Ackermann
Scott Joplin
Teddy Weatherford
Paul Whiteman
Louis Armstrong
James Reese Europe
Sidney Bechet
Dexter Gordon
Bud Powell
Kenny Clarke
Don Byas
Django Reinhardt
Stephane Grappelli
Josephine Baker
Benny Carter
Art Blakey
George Russell
Stan Getz
Chet Baker
pat metheny
Charlie Haden
Dizzy Gillespie
arturo sandoval
Roy Hargrove
Lionel Hampton
Claude Bolling
duke ellington
Ella Fitzgerald
frank sinatra
Victor Feldman
Benny Goodman
Art Pepper
Ronnie Scott
Stan Kenton
Zoot Sims
Lee Konitz
Sonny Rollins
Sonny Stitt
Tubby Hayes
Dick Morrissey
Anita O'Day
Nina Simone
Curtis Mayfield
Jimi Hendrix
Dianne Reeves
wynton marsalis
madeleine peyroux
Prince
Chick Corea
george benson
Cassandra Wilson
Elton Dean
Tim Berne
Marc Ducret
Tom Rainey
Paul Dunmall
Dave Holland
evan parker
Kit Downes
barry guy
Red Nichols
Myra Melford
Ron Miles
Liberty Ellman
Stomu Takeishi
Gerald Cleaver
Wayne Escoffery
Jason Miles
Reggie Washington
Chris Speed
Julia Hulsmann
JD Allen
Nils Wogram
tomasz stanko
Michal Urbaniak
Krzysztof Komeda
Marcin Wasilewski
Adam Makowicz
Gerry Mulligan
brad mehldau
Dave Brubeck
Peter Brotzmann
Mats Gustafsson
Ken Vandermark
Hamid Drake
Joe McPhee
Bobby McFerrin
Micha? Urbaniak
Bix Beiderbecke
Cecil Taylor
Keith Jarrett
Bill Evans
Sun Ra
carla bley
Ornette Coleman
Miles Davis
Herbie Hancock
Ahmad Jamal
Stefano Di Battista
Enrico Pieranunzi
Enzo Pietropaoli
Enrico Rava
Stefano Bollani
Paolo Fresu
Steve Coleman
Kenny Garrett
Chris Potter
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