Several of the more exuberant 2015 jazz releases are packed with Colorado credentials. So much attention is paid to local rock success stories that it’s easy to overlook some of the improvisation-minded performances that tend to be more cerebral, and perhaps ultimately more rewarding for the listener.
Rudresh Mahanthappa has gone on to widespread critical acclaim since his Boulder childhood, and the alto saxophonist continues his winning streak of recordings with “Bird Calls” (ACT). The “Bird” in the disc’s title is Charlie Parker, an artist whose legacy has to be considered by virtually any serious student of the jazz alto. Mahanthappa doesn’t just sail through a collection of well-worn Parker covers, however. Instead, he takes his own new compositions conceived in the spirit of Parker’s still-stunning improvisations and filters them through his own sensibility and an energetic quintet.
Mahanthappa still sounds as much like Ornette Coleman and other free players (do I hear a touch of Jimmy Lyons in there, Rudresh?) as he does Parker. “Bird Calls” never lets up, due in no small part to another Colorado musician: drummer Rudy Royston.
Speaking of Parker, alto master Charles McPherson is so adept at capturing his sound that Clint Eastwood hired him as Forest Whitaker’s saxophonic stand-in for the 1988 biopic “Bird.” McPherson has been releasing music under his own name for 50 years, and on his latest release, “The Journey” (Capri Records) he drafted an all-Denver lineup. The project has its roots in a clinic and performance at East High School, where tenor saxophonist Keith Oxman teaches. That collaboration evolved into this collection, which also features pianist Chip Stephens, bassist Ken Walker and drummer Todd Reid. The Colorado support matches McPherson note for note, and the compositions from Oxman and Stephens sound off proudly alongside standards from Rodgers and Hart as well as Parker himself. As for McPherson, he sounds as timeless as the tradition in which he’s immersed. “The Journey” presents itself like one of those hard bop dates hardly anyone makes anymore.
Pianist Erik Deutsch was a fixture on the Denver scene for many years, collaborating with numerous local artists long after competing his studies at CU-Boulder. His adaptable style pays off on “Outlaw Jazz,” (Cumberland Brothers Music) a brightly arranged collection of country-styled instrumentals and vocal numbers that allow for room for Deutsch to explore a mostly underdeveloped hybrid. Outlaw country performer Shooter Jennings sings on one track, “Whistlers And Jugglers,” which will grab the most attention. But the music reaches its greatest potential when Deutsch is investigating the pianistic possibilities of The Rolling Stones “Wild Horses.”
Shows: Former Denver resident and vocalist Rene Marie, fresh off of a Grammy nomination for her stunning Eartha Kitt tribute “I Wanna Be Evil” (Park Hill’s Dianne Reeves won the statuette for her latest) returns to Dazzle March 13-14; the versatile woodwind expert Anat Cohen brings her quartet to Dazzle March 19-20; saxophonist David Sanchez performs with his band at the Mount Vernon Country Club (with a buffet dinner available before the show) on March 11; DRKWAV, featuring keyboardist John Medeski (Medeski Martin & Wood plays at the Aggie Theatre in Fort Collins on March 12 and Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom March 13-14.
Bret Saunders can be heard from 6 to 11 a.m. weekday mornings at KBCO 97.3 FM and . bretsaunders@kbco.com.
