Rez Abbasi

Rez Abbasi (guitars)
Natural Selection (Sunnyside Records)

Bill Ware (vibes)

Eric McPherson (drums)

Stephan Crump (bass)

Rez Abbasi has been layering his multi-cultural rhythms on the scene for almost 20 years. I really only knew about him in name. I had seen his name in live listings but never really ventured out to check him out. This past week I was surprised when a friend gave me a copy of his latest album, Natural Selection (Sunnyside Records).

Abbasi is originally from Pakistan but has been in the US for most of his life. He has studied and played with a variety of genre bending musicians including, Greg Osby, Rudresh Manhanthappa, Kadhri Gopalnath, Tony Malaby and Marilyn Crispell to just name a small few. Rez Abbasi like Manhanthappa and Gopalnath, has seamlessly blended his Eastern heritage into his Western learning and it is perfectly done on Natural Selection. It is a straight ahead jazz album but you get his life experience as the foundation throughout the session.

Natural Selection gets started with a cover of one of my favourite artists of all time, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan 's "Lament". This caught me completely off guard because I didn't really look at the track listing before I put the CD on. And I knew within seconds who he was covering and my head went spinning. So now that he's caught my attention... "Lament" is a somber tune and driven by what in this case would be usual instruments from the traditional Pakistani style--guitar, vibes, drums and bass--this turns out be a beautiful swirling opener and homage to the legendary voice.

"Pakistani Minor" delivers an almost John Abercrombie-esque quality with some wonderful passages and manipulation. Eric McPherson sounds extremely stunning on drums. In addition, Bill Ware and Stephan Crump hide dreamlike inside the melody making this Abbasi original a real standout. "Up On The Hill," a dedication to the great pianist Andrew Hill, has many of Hill's philosophy built in. There are multi-faceted statements here both large and small. Complex, but a real delicate beauty as played out by Abassi and Ware in unison. One of those foundation points for me was "When Light Falls", a short piece with just Abbasi on guitar, but what you get is that East-West blend from an instrument that is clearly Western in nature. Played with the intimacy and integrity of years of understanding.

"Blu Vindaloo" is an adventurous number which could easily appear on a Jason Adasiewicz album. The performance from Ware sounds almost like a piano at times. Crump and McPherson shine here in slow midtempo blues. "Ain't No Sunshine" (the Bill Wither's classic) closes out the album in a soulful and spiritual way. Abbasi delivers this rendition fairly straight forward and romantically. But it also shows a soft tone and versatility that many current guitarists may not take with number like this. A really superb passage.

For me, Natural Selection was a rich surprise from a unique talent that I probably should have been listening to for awhile. The use of all acoustic instruments and the manner in which each musician tackles the compositions is truly stunning. And at times you really wonder "how'd they do that?" I may be late for the train and some of you might be too--so let's get onboard together. Rez Abbasi has delivered a document of high quality and inventiveness that is well worth your time.

Mostly Other People Do The Killing

Mostly Other People Do The Killing (group; formed 2003)
The Coimbra Concert (Clean Feed Records; 2011)

Moppa Elliott (bass)

Kevin Shea (drums)

Jon Irabagon (sax)

Peter Evans (trumpet)

In the manner of John Zorn's albums, Naked City and Spillane, the quartet, Mostly Other People Do The Killing uses a dose of humor on outside to draw you in and once the doors are shut--the music lets loose. Mostly Other People Do The Killing just by the name, will draw you to the album if you're in a record store or flying around online. Their album covers are a homage (detractors may say send up) of their influences (Ornette Coleman, Roy Haynes, among others) but at it's core, this is a group that is as fierce, improvisational and engaging as they come on today's scene.

It's only been seven years but it feels like MOPDTK have been together 20 years. While the band was conceived by bassist, Moppa Elliott, they act as a free flowing unit with no clearly designated leader. And that's what makes them even more exciting.

Their latest release, The Coimbra Concert, their debut for Clean Feed Records, is probably the best installment of their manic personalities come to life. And it's well worth your investment. Recorded live in Brazil last year, the album cover pays tribute to the legendary, Keith Jarrett Koln Concert (ECM Records). But let's dive into the music.

Covering material from all four of their previous albums (mainly coming from the last three) MOPDTK showcase their innate ability of playing point/counterpoint but still enabling the listener to find the melody as evident on the frenetic but beautiful "Round Bottom, Square Top." This is almost a New Orleans swing that quickly goes off the rails but you go with it and the results are phenomenal. "Drainlick", for me, has a John Zorn quality that is chaotic but exquisitely composed Moppa Elliott. Peter Evans and Kevin Shea rip through chord changes at a dazzling pace while Irabagon and Elliott and some rich texture around the outside making this highly compelling piece and you get that up close, live feeling.

While improvisation is the key to this quartet you still get an element of humor an homage as evident in the mid passage of "Blue Ball" (from their fourth album Forty Fort) when the band breaks in a very different tempo of "A Night In Tunisia" (from their second album Shamokin'). The funky yet avant garde "Pen Argyl" also from Forty Fort, immediately takes its outset from Coltrane's A Love Supreme but blends in elements from New Orleans, New York and beyond. A crafty mixture that is a lot fun to absorb. "Elliott Mills" taken from the group's first album, albeit the shortest track on the album is still a wonderful bit of deconstruction of jazz theory by this quartet that must be heard to be believe.

In many ways, a live show is the best way to experience an artist or group. It's only then that you get the full breath and vision of their compositional thought. And with The Coimbra Concert that is exactly what you get with Mostly Other People Do The Killing. For me this would be the album I would recommend venturing to first. You will get a huge understanding of the band and be able to experience music from all of their albums. Then of course you need to go back a get the studio albums as well. So don't let their artwork and song titles fool you. Mostly Other People Do The Killing mean business and they do it quite well.

Sangeeta Michael Berardi

Sangeeta Michael Berardi (guitar; b. 1939)

Earthship (Sunjump Records; 2008)

Hilliard Greene (bass)

John Esposito (piano; drums)

Peter O'Brien (drums)

James Finn (sax; flute)

I think we can all name at least ten musicians who have been lost in record rakes of time for one reason or another. It's a shame because a lot of these artists created some stellar and in many cases unbelievable pieces of art. One such musician is Sangeeta Michael Berardi.

Berardi's career has encompassed being a promoter, painter, poet and performing with the likes of Rashied Ali, Archie Sheep, Roswell Rudd, Sonny Simmons among others in the '60s, '70s avant garde. The strange thing is Berardi's playing isn't necessarily avant garde. Berardi also didn't record many albums (two from what I can find) as leader although he did perform allot as sideman. So what we have is one highly sought after debut from the '80s and his most recently released Earthship (Sunjump Records).

Earthship was actually recorded in 1996 but not officially released until 2008. Sangeeta Michael Berardi as you will hear was highly influenced by the latter works Coltrane but crafted his own vision of that Far Eastern spiritual sound into dreamlike soundscapes that are truly phenomenal. Berardi's style might be somewhere between Carlos Santana and John McLaughlin's work on their Coltrane inspired collaboration, Love, Devotion and Surrender and McLaughlin's work on Bitches Brew. But the difference here is his raw quality that runs throughout Earthship.

The opening title track is a real full throttle journey in sound as Berardi weaves a nice thread between mood setting groove and electric firestorm. Finn and Esposito both rise to challenge with some nice improvised moments throughout the piece. "Coltrane Lights Our Way" really highlights Sangeeta's mastery on the guitar. The tune sways onward and upward with some fierce assistance from O'Brien on drums. This might be the closest Sangeeta comes to sounding like Santana without the overbearing theatrics. But there are also some rock elements running inside this piece that really set Berardi's style apart.

"Trane's Church" is another display of Berardi's blistering sound world while the gentle tandem of Berardi and Finn (this time on flute) on "Evening, Woodstock" add a gentle and soothing element to the high spirited tracks that proceed it.

Probably the head-turner of the session is the closing number, the legendary "My Favourite Things". While John Coltrane's version of the Rodgers & Hammerstein classic has become a benchmark in jazz circles, Berardi's version certainly needs to be recognized as completely different take that is rich, inventive and stellar in its execution. It's pulsating, passionate and modern while all wrapped in a divine layer spirituality. It would make Coltrane proud and probably have Rodgers & Hammerstein cringe. I love it.

Earthship is a work similar to Berardi's debut that is seeking a much higher devotion than just the one in the studio or the one coming out of your speakers. It is truly hard to believe that this record was recorded in 1996. Considering the time period there were very few albums like it at the time (the closet I could think of was David S. Ware's Wisdom Of Certainty). And listening to Earthship now you would have thought it was recorded two months ago.

Sangeeta Michael Berardi has been ill for quite some time now and it would be great for people to discover his music now. Earthship contains the kind of thinking music people actually crave but can't find. A real treasure.

Fred Hersch: At The Vanguard

Fred Hersch (piano;b. 1955)
Alone At The Vanguard (Palmetto Records)


Fred Hersch has always been one of my favourite pianist. His style is elegant, emotional and intelligent. Hersch has been prolific in various settings including duo, trio, quartet, quintet and orchestral. But the one setting that many (including myself) love the most, is his solo outings. Hersch is someone who takes a tune and transforms it into more than just melodies. He creates stories.


Fred Hersch's latest story is taken from a series of sold out nights at the legendary Village Vanguard in New York City. For once I was smart enough to get my arse downtown to see him solo. I have since him in duo and quartet settings but never solo; until this particular week of shows. I only went to the second night and as usual it was mesmerizing.


Alone At The Vanguard documents the final evening of that series of performances. The intimacy and beauty of this evening is what will really grab you when you listening to a track like "Echoes", an original piece Hersch piece. It's a rich, lush piece that finds Hersch moving up and down the scales in a calm but exalted manner. A nice signature moment of Hersch's quality. After listening "Echoes" you will realize how important Fred Hersch is to jazz music.


"Memories Of You", one of my favourite standards is more intimate than ever in the masterful hands of Hersch. It's heartfelt and he basically opens the door for you to see and hear the detail of each note. A clear perception and tone that is unlike many other pianist of his generation. Monk has definitely been an influence on Hersch (he has already recorded an album of just Monk covers). But there are probably only two musicians who can really re-imagine a Monk tune--Jason Moran and of course Fred Hersch. On "Work", a song Hersch has already covered on the three disc set, Songs Without Words (Nonesuch; 2001), he again takes the Sonny Rollins/Thelonious Monk piece and energizes it with playful confidence.


The Sonny Rollins standard "Doxy" closes out what must have been a perfect evening for the audience. The forceful yet emotional and sometimes blues-inflected tone Hersch adds is another example of his creative interpretation. Alone At The Vanguard is another solo masterpiece from a truly great master of the instrument. Live is always the best way to see Fred Hersch, but if you can't make this is the best document to be a part of the experience. Highly Recommend.