The New York City Jazz Record

Life seldom seems to get any easier as time marches on, and jazz musicians’ lives are no exception to the rule, given the trials and tribulations and the inherent sacrifices that come with a profession that inherently offers limited financial rewards. For musicians, and us as listeners, the benefits reaped from the risks makes for a less tangible but no less significant reward.

By chance, this month’s features reveal additional health-related ordeals of three musicians, as if being a jazz musician isn’t enough of a challenge and a reminder that every day is a precious one. You would be hard pressed to find a finer, more well-rounded trombonist than septuagenarian Ray Anderson (Cover Story). Anderson has endured several bouts of Bell’s Palsy (a form of facial paralysis) plus laryngeal cancer. He has never sounded stronger, though: this month Anderson plays live on half a dozen separate occasions, including two solo concerts. The ever-busy keyboardist Brian Marsella (Artist Feature) developed aphasia (a language disorder that affects a person’s communicative skills) after a fall he took as a toddler. But that has not slowed him down, particularly over the last two decades. He has become a frequent presence in John Zorn’s orbit, including dozens of records on Tzadik, and has an album release concert this month at Roulette. Pianist Michael Wolff (Encore) wrote a book on his travails: On That Note: A Memoir of Jazz, Tics, and Survival covers his battles with undiagnosed Tourette’s Syndrome and histiocytic sarcoma (a rare form of cancer). Defying all odds, he is as busy as ever now, playing in and leading/co-leading numerous trios, including two nights this month at Iridium. Strength through adversity has helped make each of these musicians’ art that much more inspiring.

Equally inspirational is the life of the legendary Swiss pianist and activist Irène Schweizer, who left an astonishing legacy upon her passing in July. In anticipation of a memorial planned in Zürich (Nov. 4), 16 of her close colleagues (many of whom will be performing as part of that tribute) contributed to TNYCJR’s two-page In Memoriam (Special Feature).

We at TNYCJR tip our hats to those who, like Schweizer and composer Jule Styne (Lest We Forget), have left an indelible mark for future generations to appreciate. Meanwhile, musicians like Anderson, Marsella, organist Akiko Tsuruga (Interview) and Wolff continue to add to this art form and keep us busy trying to keep up with all the amazing music they produce, day in and day out, in defiance of any obstacles life throws at them.

On the Cover: RAY ANDERSON—A Lifetime of Buzzing

(by Jeff Cebulski; photos by Rod Franklin and Luciano Rossetti)

If you think about “Jazz musicians Who Embody an Instrument’s History,” one candidate who fits the category is the indefatigable trombonist Ray Anderson. Anderson, who grew up in the hot bed of Chicago jazz and was inspired by trad jazz, took up the trombone as a matter of intense personal expression. He went on to develop a personal style reflecting practically all the roles and modes of trombone performance, from old-timey blues to backing the likes of experimental composer and saxophonist Anthony Braxton to everything in between. This month, Anderson plays solo at Silvana Sep. 7 and National Jazz Museum in Harlem Sep. 26. He is also at Bar Bayeux Sep. 14, Soup and Sound Sep. 15, Harbor Jazz Festival Sep. 21 and Scholes Street Studio Sep. 29.

Interview: AKIKO TSURUGA—Getting Organized

(by Brian Charette; photo by Chris Drukker @SteepleChase Productions APS)

Akiko Tsuruga is no doubt one of the most important and ubiquitous Hammond organists of the early 21st century. Her impressive C.V. reads like a list of jazz royalty, from saxophonists Frank Wess, Houston Person and Lou Donaldson to drummers Bernard “Pretty” Purdie, Grady Tate, Jimmy Cobb and Jeff Hamilton. She’s been a staple on the NYC jazz scene ever since her move here from her native Japan over 20 years ago and this year celebrates her tenth and most recent album release as leader, Beyond Nostalgia (SteepleChase). Tsuruga is at Interchurch Center Sep. 11 (part of Jazzmobile Summerfest), Central Jersey Jazz Festival Sep. 14, Harbor Jazz Festival Sep. 21, Middlesex County Jazz Festival Sep. 25 and The Roxy Bar Sep. 28.

Artist Feature: BRIAN MARSELLA—Improvising in the Experimental Ecosystem

(by Sophia Valera Heinecke; photo by Dzenat Drekovic/Unstable Network)

With a well-established career already in place, pianist, keyboardist, composer, bandleader, educator Brian Marsella can look back on two life-altering events that profoundly helped shape the direction of his calling (which now includes at least thirty album appearances as a sideman/collaborator and twelve as leader/co-leader). After his fall down the stairs at age two, Marsella experienced aphasia—a language disorder that affects a person’s ability to express and understand written and spoken language. That consequence shifted him into a hyper-focus on music before he was even five. The second life-changing event came many years later, in 2012, when the youthful pianist entered the studio during his first recording session for composer-conductor John Zorn. Marsella is at Mezzrow Sep. 19 and his iMAGiNARiUM album release concert is at Roulette Sep. 26.

Encore: MICHAEL WOLFF—Storyteller in Music and Words

(by Ken Dryden; photo by Chris Drukker)

Septuagenarian pianist Michael Wolff captivates his audience, not just with his music, but as an author and speaker. Early in his career, he was a sideman with Cal Tjader, Cannonball Adderley, Nancy Wilson (he was also her music director) and, a learning experience he will never forget, Sonny Rollins. Wolff also got to know pianist Bill Evans. But a few years ago, the pianist was in a fight for his life due to repeated misdiagnosis of an illness that turned out to be a rare form of cancer. Wolff is at Iridium with Jeff Berlin and Dennis Chambers Sep. 20-21.

Lest We Forget: JULE STYNE—Melodically Simple, Harmonically Attractive

(by Jim Motavalli)

This month marks the 30-year deathaversary of Jule Styne, who is probably best remembered for musicals that have become Broadway Golden Age classics, including Bells Are Ringing, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Do Re Mi, Gypsy and Funny Girl, many of which have produced what have since become Great American Songbook jazz standards. A Jule Styne tribute “Just in Styne: Karen Sings Jule” (featuring Karen Mason) is at Birdland Sep. 16.

Album Reviews: In Print, On Screen, Boxed Set, Drop The Needle Reviews, Globe Unity…

Look for other sections like Festival Report, NY@Night, Label Spotlight, VOXNews, In Memoriam, Recommended New Releases and our invaluable Event Calendar.

Thanks so much for reading The New York City Jazz Record, the city's only homegrown gazette devoted to the music.

*3 Shades of Blue* by James Kaplan	(Penguin Random House)
April Varner—April by April Varner	(Cellar Music)
Bill Charlap Trio—And Then Again	(Blue Note)
Bill Warfield and the Hell's Kitchen Funk Orchestra—Chesapeake	(Planet Arts)
Bria Skonberg—What It Means	(Cellar Music)
Brother Jack McDuff—Ain't No Sunshine (Live in Seattle)	(Reel to Real)
Cannonball Adderley Quintet—Live In Montreal May 1975	(Dobre-Liberation Hall)
Catherine Russell/Sean Mason—My Ideal	(Dot Time)
Chloë Sobek/Tim Berne—Burning Up	(Relative Pitch)
Christian Sands—Embracing Dawn	(Mack Avenue)
Duncan Hopkins—Who Are You? (The Music of Kenny Wheeler)	(Three Pines)
Eliane Elias—Time and Again	(Candid)
Glenn Zaleski—Star Dreams	(Sunnyside)
Greg Skaff—Re Up	(Soulmation)
Jack Wright—What is What	(Relative Pitch)
Joëlle Léandre—Lifetime Rebel	(Rogue Art)
Jon De Lucia—The Brubeck Octet Project	(Musæum Clausum)
Latrala—Latrala	(Otherly Love)
Lawrence Fields—To The Surface	(Rhythm N' Flow)
Live Edge Trio with Steve Nelson—Closing Time	(OA2)
*Living Space* by Michael Veal	(Wesleyan Univ. Press )
Lluís Capdevila—Mompou Revisited: Intimate Impressions	(s/r)
Louis Armstrong—Louis in London	(Verve)
Luke Stewart Silt Trio—Unknown Rivers	(Pi Recordings)
Mac Gollehon & The Hispanic Mechanics—Bite of the Street	(Nefarious Industries)
Matt Pavolka—Disciplinary Architecture	(Sunnyside)
Matt Wilson—Good Trouble	(Palmetto)
Michael Dease—Grove's Groove	(Le Coq)
Michael Sarian—Live at Cliff Bell's	(Shifting Paradigm)
Michelle Nicolle—The Bach Project	(Earshift Music)
Misha Tsiganov—Painter Of Dreams	(Criss Cross Jazz)
Mute—After You've Gone	(Endectomorph Music)
Nicole Connelly—Stamp in Time	(s/r)
Remembrance Quintet (featuring Daniel Carter)—Do You Remember	(Sonboy)
Ryan Keberle—Bright Moments	(Posi-Tone)
Shabaka—Perceive its Beauty, Acknowedge its Grace	(Impulse!)
Sonny Rollins—A Night at The Village Vanguard: The Complete Masters	(Blue Note Tone Poet)
Sonny Rollins—Freedom Weaver: The 1959 European Tour Recordings	(Resonance)
Stephen Gauci/Leibson/Lane/Hinton—Live at Scholes Street Studio	(Gaucimusic)
Composers' Orchestra Berlin/Hazel Leach—Exoplanet	(JazzHaus Musik)
Toots Thielemans—Captured Alive	(Candid)