Dlls-1,J ~ '·er's occasional use of a Hammond B3 organand cameo appearances by soulful saxophonistKenny Kirkwood and a string quartet onthe title track. It cannot be stressed enoughthat experiencing the Steve Koven Trio live ishighly recommended. They have more energyto give in person than can ever be containedin a mere compact disc .Ori DaganConcert Note: The Steve Koven Trio playsTen Feet Tall, 1381 Danforth Ave. , on SundayNovember 23rd at 3:30.EXTEN OED PLAY -CANADIANS IN THE MIXBy Ken WaxmanExpatriates or homebodies, Canadian improvisersinteract with many first-class playersfrom and in any country. The results areimposing, even if there's nothing intrinsicallyCanuck about the music. Take the Jeb Bishop/HarrisEisenstadt/JasonRoebkeCD, Tiebreaker(Not Two MW789-2www.nottwo.com).The crowd at thisKrakow, Polanddate probablythought they wereapplauding threeAmericans. Yet while astute trombonistBishop and solid bassist Roebke are bothChicago-based, versatile drummer Eisenstadtis a Toronto native now in New York. Bishop'sgutsy slurs and growls lock in place socompletely with Roebke's steady walking andEisenstadt's rumbling, funky beats that otherinstruments aren't missed. As the tunes flowinto one another, Bishop's buzzing gracenotes elongate into brays, strengthened byEisenstadt's drags and rim shots. In DoubleDog brass chromaticism turns to horn whistlesand squeaks , until the drummer's cymbalembellishments signal the shift into his ownHow Are You Dear. Bishop's lip burblespersonalize the tender line, while addingvocalized tessitura. The bassist's Northstarbrings out trombone snorts and tongue gymnastics,answered with fidgety arco sweepsand timed drum strokes .Another essay in notable co-operation isClockwise (Greenleaf Music 09www.greenleafmusic.com) by MichaelBates' Outside Sources. Like Eisenstadt,bassist Bates and tenor saxophonist/clarinettistQuinsin Nachoff are ex-Torontonians ,now Brooklynites .Americans , trumpeterRuss Johnsonand drummer JeffDavis, join them.Steadfastly tonal,the bassist's ninecompositions flitamong polyrhythms, waltztime, odd bar lengths and multi-part counterpointto tell stories ranging from emotionalballadry to rhythm dissertations. Bates' admirationfor composers such as Prokofiev isexpressed on The Russian School, a nocturnewith its drama and passion channelled throughNachoff's saxophone. As the saxophonist'sguttural lines augment in pitch and strength,they transform into coarse, excited cries,while trumpeter Johnson's muted harmoniesadd placid colouration. Balanced on top of thebassist's fierce string-thumping, the tunedarkens, deepens and is resolved with measuredsul tasto sweeps from Bates and fluttertonguing from Nachoff. Nachoff confirms hisclarinet credentials on Fellini and Lighthousekeeping.The later tune allows him to vibratethe pitch-sliding theme contrasted with parallelstaccato trumpet, bass and drum intonation.Like its namesake's films, Fellini isbuffo and sensuous, as waltz time advancesslinky reed motions, ruffs and bounces fromDavis and the trumpeter'shalf-valve -------·----·ornamentation.Featuring asimilarly otherdirectedsaxophonistand a solid bassist,Within (LeoCD LR 512www.leorecords.com)provides a variation~l/1,c"i.~CAAKllt•~11(:Htl. µ.~uu~, -O:il.~.IM:.OIIISA\·n,TI,on this theme. Alto saxophonist Frarn;oisCarrier and drummer Michel Lambert areMontrealais , but bassist Jean-JacquesAvenel is French. Like Tiebreaker, Withincaptures a first-time alliance that sounds as ifthe players have worked together for years.The three parts of the 60-minute improvisationdepend on mind-melding. Avenel 's spiccatothumps help stretch the thematic line toits furthest without shattering, wheneverCarrier's spetrofluctuation and reed-bitingthreaten to do so. In the tune's mid-sectionhowever, the saxophonist's slithery , humansoundingcries make common cause witheach musician in turn. His contrapuntal interludewith A venel features ground basssweeps and col legno sawing used as connectivetissue to bond with Carrier's curtsqueaks and flutter tonguing. A similar strategyis apparent on the Lambert-Carrier duets.The drummer's opposite sticking andratamacues subtly counter Carrier's blusteringpressure that metaphorically followsevery note with an exclamation point. Ex-panding the time frame the drummer createskalirnba-like plinks and tarn-tarn resonations.His Asiatic echoes moderate Carrier'sstrained Arabic textures so that the resultingtimbres simultaneously resemble a Gagakuorchestra concertizing and Bird and Bags in abop improvisation.Montreal's John Heward playing drums(and actual kalirnba)organized asimilar meetingwith Poughkeepsie,N.Y. pocket trumpeterand sopranosaxophonist JoeMcPhee on Voices:10 Improvisations(Mode Avant 05www.moderecords.com) . McPhee's tenortalents allow him to glide from harsh hocketingto portamento slurs in nanoseconds duringImprovisation 9. When he reorients the lineby blowing coloured air through the instrument'sbody tube, Reward's response encompassesframe drum-like resonation and individualizedstrokes. Beginning the track withbugle-like emphasis in double counterpointwith Reward's press rolls, the saxophonist'sglottal punctuation ceases by the climax.Completing the Reveille inference at the top,his final notes suggest Taps , with the drummer'sstrokes appropriately martial. Equallyimpressive on trumpet, McPhee chromaticallyemphasizes various textures where appropriate.He brings an understated 1950s vibe toImprovisation 2 as his muted grace notes,coupled with Reward's kalimba plucks, conjureup an African savannah as much as anAmerican night club.These CDs confirm that a mixture of Canadiansand others creates a common musicalground impressive by any criteria.Ken WaxmanPOT POURRIIn Last Night's Party ClothesThe Roaring Girl CabaretIndependent(www.myspace.com/theroaringgirlcabaret)The term roaringgirl was originallyadapted as the femaleequivalent to aroaring boy , used toidentify a man whocaroused publicly,brawled, and committedpettycrimes. Such acharacter was immortalized in a Jacobeancomedy, The Roaring Girl by Thomas Middletonand Thomas Decker around 1610. Thespirit of such a cunning wench has found hermodern counterpart in this CD titled "In Last58WWW. THEWHOLENOTE.COMNOVEMBE R 1 - D ECEMBE R 7 2008
Night's Party Clothes".Classically trained, eclectically-influencedand equally skilled as a singer and violinist,Maria Mulholland deftly heads this ensembleof similarly diverse musicians to produce analbum suitable to the varied tastes of an audienceas fun-loving, intelligent and savvy astheir earlier counterparts. Quirky, clever andcompelling accompaniments combined withthe ability to tell a story without excess oftext, by means of innuendo and implied undercurrents,makes for a most agreeable cabaretexperience. There is a trio of songs placedone after the other that provide a lot of fun:Champagne with its saucy vocals and glockenspielbubbles, reminiscent of Marilyn Monroe;I Scare You with its eerie violin harmonicsand Conducting Affairs provide a triptychon the theme of forbidden fruit. Covers aredone equally well, from Kate Bush's anti-warsong Army Dreamers to a nice little cafeversion of Bizet's Habanera complete withelectric guitar solo, to the redemptive SweetBy and By with lovely bluegrass harmoniesand excellent dobro work. Put on your reddress-this CD is a party unto itself.Dianne WellsInternational Guitar Night IIIAndy Sheppard; Dale Kavanagh;Cecilia Zabala; Brian GorePacific Music PM14722(www.internationalguitarnight.com)With the recent federal government cuts toarts funding, there's been a lot of discussionlately about the role of the arts in a commercialsociety. The question of whether artshould be self-sustaining or rely on grants iscomplex, and for many artists and musicians,being entrepreneurial and commercially successfulare antithetical to creativity. So it'sheartening when a musician like Brian Gorecan put together, if not a wildly commercialsuccess, at least a viable musical venture thatdoesn't compromise artistic integrity. "InternationalGuitar Night" is a project started bySan Francisco-based Gore 13 years ago, thateach year brings together four top-notch guitaristsand composers from differing culturesand disciplines to collaborate, tour andrecord.International Guitar Night Ill is a live recordingof a concert in British Columbia fromFebruary 2008, which beautifully captures thenuances and diversity of the group. Variety istough to achieve with an essentially monoinstrumentalgroup - although there is somepretty singing courtesy of Argentinean CeciliaZabala - the stylesof the guitarists aredistinct enough tokeep the interestup. And despite thedifferences theyfind plenty of commonground andblend brilliantly.Dale Kavanagh is adynamic classicalguitarist from Germany via Nova Scotia,Zabala plays nylon-string with a South Americanlilt, Gore is a finger-style steel-stringexpert, and Torontonian Andy Sheppard isalso a masterful finger-style player influencedby South African rhythms. The groupwill be touring extensively in Canada this falland will be in Southern Ontario mid-November.Catch them if you can.Cathy RichesConcert note: International Guitar Night willperform Nov.19 at The Studio, HamiltonPlace; Nov .20 Isabel Bader Theatre, Toronto;Nov.21 Show Place, Peterborough.O'Reilly StreetJames Galway; Tiempo LibreRCA Red Seal 88697-32164-2"O'Reilly Street" pairs flutist Sir JamesGalway with Cuban band Tiempo Libre, andis probably Galway's most daring ventureinto a musical genre outside the classical. Hisplaying, as ever, is brilliant: the discipline,precision, sparklingarticulation, evennessof sound, andperfectly executedsyncopations leaveno doubt that SirJames is the greatest.However, inthe context of atight band thatreally swings, Galway simply doesn't.The CD begins with Claude Bolling's Suitefor Flute and Jazz Piano, a mix of oil andwater, written so that the flutist can alwaysremain on safe classical terrain while thejazz quartet does its thing in between. Galway'sflawless precision is effortlesslymatched by pianist Jorge Gomez. But in theinterludes without the flute Gomez just takesoff; the technique that enabled him to shadowGalway suddenly untethered, he soars! Youhear this time and time again throughout theCD: he and the other band members can getout of the way and support the soloist, butwhen it's their turn, they play as if there's notomorrow.In Gomez's compositions Galway faresmuch better. Gomez has given him ampleopportunity to reveal his mastery, as in thecadenza in Espiegle. In Tica Tica percussionistsLeandro Gonzalez and Hilario Bell shinein their supporting roles with Sir James, asdoes bass guitarist Tebelio Fonte matchingthe flute note for note in the intricacies ofBach's Badinerie, arranged by Gomez.It's a mixed review, top marks for theparts but only fair to middling for the whole.The worlds of classical and Afro-Cuban musicmix but never mesh.Allan Pulker~,,~,~p1~,~~~1~1,,,,,.t'~ 314 Church ill Ave ;z Toronto, Ontario ~~ 'v M2R 1E7 Canada ;,!~ Tel: 416-224-1956 Fax: 416-224-2964 ifi MIKROKOSMOS wwwm"m-mo,.,om ;~~:~:it~ Icollection i(classical, such as ~Beethoven, Mozart, '-Stockhausen)'~we travel anywhere i, for good collections ~;t,,11111..£.KJllllllll,,I.0SECOND VINYL ) Where to findSPECIALIZING INWhole Note:New & Used Records, CDs & DVDs/11[1.[-?u?J_QSOCDs Vinyl Records DVDsCLASSICAL OPERA JAZZ.WORLD BLUES ;;: & s AUDIOPHILE;l:()(!7: SOUNDTRACK COLLECTABLESWe pay top $$$ for yourCLASSICAL & JAZ.Z COLLECTIONS4 St.Palrick (at Queen near Osgoode station)www.amorosomusic.com 416-591-1313N OVEMBER 1 - D ECEMBER 7 2008Classical, Jazz, Blues, Soundtracks,Audiophiles & CollectiblesBUY • SELL • TRADE10 Wellesley St. West) near Wellesley subway station)Toronto, ONwww.secondvinyl.comTEL: (416) 977-3737 secondvinyl@hotmail.comWWW. 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