A Persuasive Case for the French Horn in Jazz

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TOM VARNER

“Second Communion”

OmniTone

For nearly two decades, Varner has argued passionately--through his recordings and performances--for the role of the French horn in jazz. With “Second Communion,” he achieves a breakthrough, moving well beyond the novelty facets of the instrument and into the realm of original, deeply substantive improvisation and composition. Moreover, he does so by picking a daunting task for himself: a homage to Don Cherry, the iconoclastic trumpeter-bandleader who was at the forefront of the “free jazz” movement of the late 1950s and thereafter. Specifically, Varner has fashioned his response to Cherry’s landmark “Complete Communion” suite, with Varner’s French horn taking the role of Cherry’s cornet and trumpet. Considering that Cherry’s recording is nearly 40 years old, one is struck by the urgency and freshness of Varner’s reappraisal. Like the original, Varner’s “Second Communion” features exquisitely well-crafted, gloriously unfettered dialogue among all the players, with searing work from tenor saxophonist Tony Malaby, bassist Cameron Brown and percussionist Matt Wilson, plus guests Peter McCann on guitar and Dave Ballou on cornet. As if this weren’t enough, Varner has bookended the “Communion” music with first-rate compositions of his own, each evoking the revolutionary spirit of post-’50s experimentation while subtly incorporating more contemporary sounds. By any measure, a tour de force.

***1/2

DR. MICHAEL WHITE

“Jazz From the Soul

of New Orleans”

Basin Street

Great jazz clarinetists are not easy to come by these days, despite a slight resurgence of interest in the instrument during the ‘90s. Yet, among those who have championed the clarinet in recent years, none has proved more persuasive in classic New Orleans style than White, whose latest release reaffirms his stature among elite jazz reedists. The luster of his tone, the expressive power of his vibrato and--above all--the melodic ingenuity of his improvisations have become his signatures. Consider the two extended solos White plays in George Gershwin’s “Summertime,” which he transforms into a stunning blues reverie. Recalling techniques associated with earlier generations of New Orleans clarinetists, including cunning syncopations and ferociously bent pitches, White underscores the timelessness of vintage New Orleans style. Yet this disc, recorded with considerable clarity and warmth, never sounds old-fashioned, in part because of the sheer exuberance of tracks such as “Hindustan” and “Fidgety Feet,” smartly dispatched by White and his traditional jazz band.

***1/2

SIDNEY BECHET SOCIETY

“Jam Session Concert”

Nagel-Heyer

Though all the world reveres the great Louis Armstrong, the general listening public barely remembers his equally gifted contemporary, New Orleans reedist Sidney Bechet. This ebullient live session should go a long way toward stoking appreciation of Bechet, thanks both to Evan Christopher’s soaring, steeped-in-blue clarinet solos and the sheer optimism and freedom of the ensemble improvisation. With Christopher’s vocal-like arabesques answered by the plunger-muted exhortations of trombonist Wycliffe Gordon (best known for his work with Wynton Marsalis’ septet and Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra), “Jam Session Concert” conveys the unpretentious, high-flying swing playing of an earlier, less complicated era.

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TWO FOR BRAZIL

“Plays the Standards”

Jazzmin

Ever since the bossa nova craze of the ‘60s, Americans have been smitten with Brazilian jazz, and exquisitely seductive recordings by groups such as Two for Brazil help explain why. The duo--guitarist-vocalist Paulinho Garcia and saxophonist Greg Fishman--plays a music that’s as soft and gentle as a tropical breeze. To hear Garcia’s whispering vocals accompanied by Fishman’s insinuating phrases on tenor saxophone and flute is to savor one of the most effective duos working in this idiom today. Although they take on standards such as “We’ll Be Together Again” and “‘Round Midnight,” Garcia and Fishman make them sound as if they had been composed on a beach in Sao Paulo. Imagine, in other words, the vocals of Joao Gilberto accompanied by Stan Getz on winds, and you have a rough idea of the lush, sweetly lyric appeal of Two for Brazil.

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Howard Reich is jazz critic at the Chicago Tribune, a Tribune company.