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| 4.670 Ft
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| 1. | Powerhouse
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| 2. | Folk Art
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| 3. | Wild Beauty
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| 4. | Us Five
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| 5. | Song for Judi
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| 6. | Drum Song
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| 7. | Dibango
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| 8. | Page 4
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| 9. | Ettenro
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Jazz
Joe Lovano - Producer, Gong, Mixing, Sax (Tenor), Taragat, Writer, Sax (Alto), Clarinet (Alto)
Chris Allen Assistant
David Schoenwetter Assistant
Eli Wolf A&R
Esperanza Spalding Bass
Francisco Mela Drums, Pandeiro, Dumbek, Bells
Gordon Jee Design, Art Direction
Greg Calbi Mastering
James Farber Mixing, Engineer
James Weidman Piano
Jimmy Katz Cover Photo
Otis III Brown Bells, Drums
Perry Greenfield Product Manager
Ted Panken Liner Notes
JOE LOVANO formed a new band that he calls US FIVE to record Folk Art, his 22nd effort for Blue Note. In the liberated spirit of 1960s avante-garde and 1970s loft scenes -- featuring rising stars Esperanza Spalding on bass, Francisco Mela and Otis Brown III on drums and percussion, and James Weidman on piano -- this is Joe's first album of all original compositions, mixing his native-tongue free jazz elasticity with nuanced Latin grooves and meditative lyricism. The recording captures the edge-of-the-seat group interaction of US5 as the band intuitively interprets Lovano's compositions in a loose and joyous way.
Jazz is essentially an African-American folk art, elements not lost on Joe Lovano as he presents this all-original program of progressive music. His updated quintet Us Five is one of his freshest units in some time, with bassist Esperanza Spalding, the criminally underrated pianist James Weidman, and two stir-the-pot drummers in Francisco Mela and Otis Brown III. Together they fulfill Lovano's vision as a band that is not afraid to take many chances, stay within a bop-based tradition, and cut loose on many levels in terms of adding diverse elements to this mix of music. Lovano is noticeably restless, using his reliable tenor sax, but also straight alto, clarinet, and taragato. The drummers not only play their standard kits, but ethnic percussion instruments from many continents, while Spalding is maturing and growing exponentially into a formidable voice on her instrument. Weidman is simply brilliant throughout, largely ignored since his early days with Abbey Lincoln until now, but there's no reason he should be so underestimated or slighted. The title track is as intriguing as its concept, dipping into modal jazz via a stairstep melody and slipstream steady swing that staggers slightly (influenced by one beer?) punctuated by the drummer's "solo" and Weidman's outstanding bop step out. Always an outside-the-box thinker, Lovano's tenor stretches in unique, post-Coltrane mannerisms for "Us Five" surrounding his rhythm makers and the chords of the piano, while the band explores improvisation in no time during the wondrous "Ettenro," completely untethered by any standardized structure. The distinctive and most enjoyable "Dibango" is a slightly squawky funk with Lovano on taragato, up in a high, sustained register, a bit goofy, and very reminiscent of Don Pullen's great tune "Big Alice." "Powerhouse" is the straitlaced neo-bop tune à la Thelonious Monk that Lovano has always favored, his clarinet comes out on the delicate, serene soul blues "Page 4," and the appropriately titled "Wild Beauty" is not so much exotic as it is edgy within a ballad framework. Of the many excellent and diverse projects Joe Lovano has produced and won critical acclaim for, this ranks with his very best, as strong an album as he has ever produced, with musicianship at an extremely high level, and well-conceived compositions that continue to identify him a true original. Folk Art, close to his definitive statement, is highly recommended, and should be considered a candidate for Jazz Album of 2009. ~ Michael G. Nastos, All Music Guide
Joe Lovano
Active Decades: '70s, '80s, '90s and '00s
Born: Dec 29, 1952 in Cleveland, OH
Genre: Jazz
Styles: Ballads, Post-Bop, Hard Bop
Active during a period of jazz history when it seemed radical innovation was a thing of the past, Joe Lovano nevertheless coalesced various stylistic elements from disparate eras into a personal and forward-seeking style. While not an innovator in a macro sense, Lovano has unquestionably charted his own path. His playing contains not an ounce of glibness, but possesses in abundance the sense of spontaneity that has always characterized the music's finest improvisers. Lovano doesn't adopt influences -- he absorbs them -- so that when playing a standard, he exudes the same sense of abandon as when playing totally free (which, it should be pointed out, he does well, if infrequently). Lovano's most significant achievement is his incorporation of free and modal expressive devices into traditional chord-change improvisation.
Lovano is the son of the respected Cleveland saxophonist Tony "Big T" Lovano. Joe started playing alto sax as a child, taught by his father, who also introduced him to jazz. In his youth, Joe would hear many of the prominent jazz artists who passed through town, including Dizzy Gillespie, James Moody, Sonny Stitt, and Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Lovano began playing in jam sessions around Cleveland while still in his teens. Although thoroughly steeped in bebop, he also developed an interest in the jazz experimentalism of the 1960s, listening to such musicians as John Coltrane, Jimmy Giuffre, and Ornette Coleman. Following high school, Lovano moved to Boston and attended the Berklee School of Music. Fellow students included such future collaborators as John Scofield, Bill Frisell, and Kenny Werner. While at Berklee, Lovano discovered modal harmony and opened up to the broad areas of tonal freedom that he found so attractive in the music of John Coltrane, among others.
After leaving Berklee, Lovano worked with organists Lonnie Smith (with whom he made his recording debut) and Jack McDuff. He toured with Woody Herman from 1976-1979. After leaving Herman, Lovano settled in New York City, where he quickly established himself. He joined drummer Mel Lewis' orchestra in 1980; he played the band's regular Monday night gigs at the Village Vanguard until 1992. He also recorded several times with the band. Lovano would also work with Elvin Jones, Carla Bley, Lee Konitz, Charlie Haden, and Bob Brookmeyer, among others. He joined drummer Paul Motian's band in 1981 (which also included his Berklee classmate Frisell), and played with guitarist John Scofield's quartet. Lovano began leading dates for Blue Note in the '90s, and continued doing so throughout that decade and into the next, recording in a variety of contexts ranging from trios to larger woodwind and brass ensembles. Lovano received a number of Grammy nominations for his work on Blue Note. His 1996 album Quartets: Live at the Village Vanguard (Blue Note) was named Jazz Album of the Year by readers of Downbeat Magazine. Lovano's wife is vocalist Judi Silvano.
Since then, Lovano has split his time in the studio between releasing impressive original recordings and albums reinterpreting the work of artists who have influenced him, including vocalist Frank Sinatra on 1996's Celebrating Sinatra, various bop-era stalwarts including pianist Tadd Dameron on 2000's 52nd Street Themes, and opera tenor Enrico Caruso on 2001's Viva Caruso. In 2004, the always unpredictable reedman released the ballads album I'm All for You, featuring journeyman pianist Hank Jones. Joyous Encounter followed in spring 2005 with Streams of Expression appearing on Blue Note a year later. Lovano once agian paired up with Jones for the live duets album Kids: Duets Live at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola in 2007.
---Chris Kelsey, All Music Guide |
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