Last Call

This week KIOS celebrates the 100th birthday of Gil Evans, one of jazz music's most celebrated composers and arrangers.  Jazz in the Afternoon will begin the weeklong tribute on Tuesday May 8th with music featuring Evans work as a leader and in collaboration with Miles Davis. NPR's Jazz Profiles will examine his life and career on Thursday May 10th. JazzSet will present a concert tribute to the collaborative efforts between Evans and Miles Davis on Friday May 11th.

Jazz fans can turn to NPR Music for archived performances with today's leading jazz artists.  This month you can listen to new performances from Steve Coleman and Third World Love. Recently The Checkout: Live From 92Y Tribeca presented a concert with the Ingrid Jensen Quintet. That performance has been archived, along with recent performances from drummer Al Foster and pianist Geri Allen at the Live at the Village Vanguard concert series.  You may listen to these and other concerts anytime at  http://www.npr.org/music 

A prolific guitarist whose music has been featured on the Last Call for many years, Joel Harrison has returned with two recordings worthy of your consideration.

Holy Abyss is a superb project with Italian bassist Lorenzo Feliciati and trumpeter Cuong Vu. Roy Powell is at the piano and Dan Weiss is on the drums.  A series of captivating, moody, unpredictable tracks greet the listener, with highlights being "Requiem For An Unknown Soldier" "Saturday Night In Pendleton" and the gripping "Faith".

Immediately accessible and a pleasant listening experience,  Radio Music Society is another career landmark for Grammy-winning vocalist and bassist Esperanza Spalding.  While the disc is clearly geared towards a pop audience, this does not mean the music is without interest to jazz fans.  With an all star cast including Joe Lovano, Jack DeJohnette, Terri Lyne Carrington and Gretchen Parlato,  Spalding's disc has many bright moments, including "Radio Song", "Black Gold" & "I Can't Help It", all featuring the leaders beautiful, melodic voice and solid bass work.  Fans of the dynamic young

Guitarist John Moulder, a long time presence on the Chicago music scene, is presented in a live session recorded with his quintet at the noted Green Mill Jazz Club in Chicago.  In a set that oscillates between crescendos and quiet meditative passages, the John Moulder Quintet amazes the at home listener in many ways. Moulder's guitar mastery is on display in "Gateway", in "The Eleventh Hour" the band performs with the self-assurance of a Pat Metheny live set but with more edginess. "Creation" features the band in a meditative mood.

Frank Russell is a bassist deserving wider recognition. On his second CD, Circle Without End, Russell displays total mastery of the bass, something he refined while working with noted jazz guitarist Henry Johnson and the legendary South African singing group, Ladysmith Black Mambazo. A Chicago native, Russell has worked as a musician for more than 25 years.The bassist has performed at many jazz festivals across the country including the Newport Jazz Festival, the Telluride Jazz Festival and  the Chicago Jazz Festival.

Hope and despair walk hand in hand with anyone who has experienced life on the front lines or who has had a family member away in combat. A new recording from Tyler Gilmore's Ninth and Lincoln explores these themes for modern audiences in "Static Line". 

Cuneiform Records has released another series of discs on the last several months that will almost certainly enchant Last Call listeners. Joel Harrison has released a new disc on the label with an impressive band including noted trumpeter and educator Cuong Vu. Holy Abyss does not disappoint. Fans of Return to Forever will delight in a new recording from Forgas Band Phenomena : Acte V. Led by Composer/Drummer Patrick Forgas this band captivates with jazz-rock mix.

Guitarist Patrick Butler and legendary keyboarist Ricky Williams reunite in the studio after 35 years on this solid jazz funk date. Solar Sailing has all of the ingredients you would want from a recording of its kind.  Butler and Williams were much in demand players in New York in the 1970s, supplying live music to dancers in the New York Club scene until the wee hours. Now they have reunited to record a studio session which captures the excitement of this old school danceable funk.

Electric pianist Tom Wetmore makes his debut with an impressive electric jazz recording which does not disappoint. Wetmore's energetic band includes the very talented Jaleel Shaw whose saxophone provides a stimulating conversational partner to Wetmore's electric piano. An all-original program of nine numbers ensures a satisfying listen for the jazz enthusiast. Tom Wetmore is a pianist, composer, and bandleader working in the New York City area.