A few weeks ago, when I complained about many jazz solos sounding the same these days, I discovered that I was not alone. One colleague put it this way: “Too many jazz degrees, not enough jazz players.” Well, we don’t need to worry about that on these two releases. Most of these folks have jazz degrees, and they are all jazz players.

George Burton
Rec•i•proc•i•ty (Inner Circle Music)
A review
Rec•i•proc•i•ty is my introduction to keyboardist/composer George Burton, and I am very happy to make his acquaintance. This is a composer who knows what a melody is and how it can anchor the most outwardly mobile development. You might find that upon hearing the head of the opening track, “Gratitude,” the melody, which you’ve never heard previously, will nonetheless sound familiar. It’s a trick that he repeats throughout. Melody is one of two anchoring yet liberating mechanisms Burton employs to hold you tight to his explorations. The other is repetition. With a repeating rhythmic and/or melodic line tethering the balloon, you can float it as high and as far as you like without getting lost in a cloud of cacophony. On top of those neat tricks, Burton has a healthy regard for the music that has preceded him and a clear ear for new music. He moves forward with the past in front of him (thanks to Micah Hood and Kilko Paz, who applied that terminology to the music on the forthcoming album from their band, Baracutanga), making the entire album a conceptual improvisation on jazz history. One moment he’s funky and electric (“Spirit”), the next he’s gone gospel (“Third Prayer”). On “Ti Ki,” covering a tune from the Icelandic avant-rock band Sigur Rós, the ensemble wraps itself around a melody and proceeds to centripetally swing farther and farther out, channeling a Rahsaan Roland Kirk joint. “Us” finds Burton entering operatic territory. Yet, magically, all these compositions somehow cohere, live in the same space, even though no one label adheres to them. The 11 tracks feature 8 originals and 3 covers. The exceptional ensemble includes Burton (piano, Rhodes, harmonium), Tim Warfield (soprano sax), Chris Hemingway (alto sax) Alexa Barchini (vocals), Andy Bianco (guitar), Pablo Menares (bass), and Wayne Smith, Jr.; James (Biscuit) Rouse, and Jeremy (Bean) Clemmons sharing the drum duties. As a special lagniappe, scattered throughout the album are fragments of conversation with legendary Sun Ra Arkestra bandleader Marshall Allen, recorded while Burton joined the Arkestra for Allen’s “95th anniversary tour.”

Jimmy Green
While Looking Up (Mack Avenue Records)
A review
Saxophonist/composer Jimmy Greene has a mission: to deliver solace, hope, and inspiration in very trying times. Greene and his wife, flutist Nelba Márquez, know exactly how trying the times are: in 2012, they lost their six-year-old daughter, Ana Márquez-Greene, in the Sandy Hook massacre. The music on While Looking Up testifies to both the pain of that loss and the faith that enables Greene to make music that matters. The album’s 10 tracks include 7 originals and 3 covers, and the cast includes Greene (tenor and soprano saxes), Lage Lund (guitar), Aaron Goldberg (piano), Reuben Rogers (bass), and Kendrick Scott (drums), with Stefon Harris (marimba, vibraphone) guesting on two tracks. The album opens with Cole Porter’s “So in Love,” delivered as a Latin-inflected dance number, with Goldberg scattering fairy dust or launching percussive attacks as the moment warrants. Greene’s “No Words,” chilled by Goldberg’s Rhodes, walks the line between incomprehensible news and the need to comprehend it: How do you get your arms around something that has already swallowed you? “April 4th” recalls Ana’s spirit and love of dancing, with a nice contribution from Harris on a vibraphone that stretches from the left to the right channel. On “Always There,” the tenor, guitar, marimba, and piano trade fours in a simmering agitation over the bass and drums, and Greene’s tenor burns a hole through “Overreaction,” with Rogers pushing Goldberg through his solo. The trio of  Green, Rogers, and Scott deliver a poignant rendition of “Good Morning Heartache.” On the title track, Greene climbs bravely out of a slough of despair, and on the final track, “Simple Prayer,” a soothing gospel march, the quartet of Greene, Goldberg, Rogers, and Scott lays down the burden. Deep feeling and a willingness to face the horror make While Looking Up a memorable experience.

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© 2020 Mel Minter