The paths to becoming a musician are many. Rufus Reid (On The Cover) started out on brass instruments but it was time spent in the army that solidified his interest in the bass and began a compelling career, first as a performer, then educator and, more recently, composer, the fruits of the latter on display at Dizzy's Club this month. Bassist Trevor Dunn (Interview) got his first recognition not as a jazz player but as a co-founder of the alternative rock band Mr. Bungle; this month sees the almost two-decades-in-the-making return of his trio-convulsant, with a new album and a release concert at National Sawdust. If not for scheming parents, tuba player Theon Cross (Artist Feature) may not have become the crucial figure in his native England's progressive jazz scene, whether as part of Sons of Kemet or his own projects, the latter to be presented this month as part of the BRIC JazzFest. Pianist Joachim Kühn (Encore) had to escape the repressive environment of East Germany to begin what is now a nearly six-decade career; recently a marvelous 1969 concert from his then-home of Paris has been issued. And trumpeter Cal Massey (Lest We Forget) may not have had the instrumental accomplishments of his peers but his contributions to classic albums by the likes of John Coltrane, Philly Joe Jones, Lee Morgan, Cedar Walton, McCoy Tyner, Archie Shepp and others place him the in jazz composing firmament.
On the Cover: RUFUS REID
By George Kanzler; photos by John Abbott / courtesy of the artist
Rufus Reid's string writing is part of his emergence as a composer, a third career step he took in 1999, when he retired as Director of Jazz Studies and Performance at William Paterson University in New Jersey, a position he held for 20 years. That role was concurrent with his parallel career as a master jazz bassist, one that began in the '70s and continues today. Reid is at Dizzy's Club Oct. 28th-30th.
Interview: TREVOR DUNN
By Kurt Gottschalk; photo courtesy of the artist
Bassist and composer Trevor Dunn's name is well known to a number of audiences. He first gained notice as a member of the genre-bashing rock band Mr. Bungle and later collaborated with heavy rock overlord Buzz Osborne of Melvins. He has been a frequent participant in John Zorn projects and has played with a number of like-minded musicians straddling traditions, including Nels Cline, Kris Davis, Erik Friedlander and Mike Pride. His trio-convulsant is releasing Séances, its first album since 2004 (on Davis' Pyroclastic Records), providing a good excuse to talk to him about practice, influences and tricky terminology. trio-convulsant avec folie à quatre is at National Sawdust Oct. 28th and Titans to Tachyons is at St. Vitus Oct. 11th.
Artist Feature: THEON CROSS
By Matty Bannond; photo by Adrien H. Tillmann
Secretly, Theon Cross' parents signed him up for brass lessons at school. He had no idea what a brass instrument was and no say in choosing which horn he would learn. To allocate the hardware, kids in the class took turns blowing into one mouthpiece after another until they produced a sound. Cross somehow set the tenor horn mouthpiece buzzing. That fateful squawk was the first note sounded in the British tuba player's award-winning career. Cross is at BRIC House on Oct. 22 as part of BRIC JazzFest.
Encore: JOACHIM KÜHN
By Andrey Henkin
Shortly before reaching out to German pianist Joachim Kühn for this piece, the news came that his older saxophonist/clarinetist brother Rolf had passed away at the age of 92 [see obituary on pg. 12]. Asked about his influence, the younger Kuhn was emphatic: "Because of him, I became a jazz musician."
Lest We Forget: CAL MASSEY
By George Grella
There is only one album in the entire jazz discography that has trumpeter Cal Massey as a leader, Blues To Coltrane. And that album, recorded for the Candid label in 1961, was only first released in 1987, 15 years after Massey was felled by a heart attack at 44.
CD Reviews
(this month's performance venues in parentheses):
Jeff Parker/Eric Revis/Nasheet Waits—Eastside Romp RogueArt (Village Vanguard; Nublu 151; The Jazz Gallery; Lunàtico)
Manuel Valera New Cuban Express Big Band—Distancia Greenleaf Music (Birdland Theater; The Django; Minton's)
Charles Mingus—Presents Charles Mingus Candid
Wayne Shorter/Terri Lyne Carrington/Leo Genovese/Esperanza Spalding—Live at The Detroit Jazz Festival Candid (The Stone at The New School)
Nick Finzer—Out Of Focus Outside In Music (Birdland)
Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers—First Flight to Tokyo: The Lost 1961 Recordings Blue Note
Malcolm Jiyane—Umdali Mushroom Hour Half Hour
Linda Sikhakhane—Isambulo Ropeadope
Peter Somuah—Outer Space DOX
Eri Yamamoto—A Woman With A Purple Wig Mahakala Music (Saint Peter's Church)
Robert Glasper—Black Radio (10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) Blue Note (Blue Note)
Robert Glasper—Black Radio III Loma Vista/Concord (Blue Note)
Sergio Armaroli/Steve Piccolo/Elliott Sharp—What Went Wrong Leo (The Sultan Room; Rockwood Music Hall; 411 Kent Ave)
Payton MacDonald/Billy Martin/Elliott Sharp/Colin Stetson—Void Patrol Infrequent Seams (The Sultan Room; Rockwood Music Hall; 411 Kent Ave)
Alex Riel/Bo Stief/Carsten Dahl—A Beautiful Blue Moment Storyville
Henry Franklin—JID014 Jazz is Dead
Calvin Keys—Blue Keys Wide Hive
...and Plenty More!
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