Customer Reviews

On Broadway 4: Or the Paradox of Continuity

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The musicians on this disk play jazz of a high quality. Rebecca Martin sings as the songs require without unnecessary addition. She is a song lovers singer, who has an affecting vulnerable quality in her voice at times. Her singing of 'The Folks Who Live on the Hill' could hardly be be better.

...you can be modern, or traditional, but not both...and Motian is contemporary -- brilliantly so, transposing instrumental roles and reinventing his ensembles with remarkable alacrity. Any date he leads is worth hearing, and this is indeed no different.

On the year of his 75th birthday, Paul Motian has released Volume 4 in his ongoing On Broadway series. This time his group, Trio 2000 + One, features sax player Chris Potter and bassist Larry Grenadier, augmented by pianist Masabumi Kikuchi on five of the thirteen tracks and vocalist Rebecca Martin on the remaining eight. No matter that not all of the song selections are associated with Broadway: all are staples of the American Songbook, ranging from the torchy "Everything Happens to Me" to the elegiac "Last Night When We Were Young," from the poignant "Never Let Me Go" to the melodramatic "Brother Can You Spare a Dime" and the just plain campy "In a Shanty in Old Shanty Town" (I still play the song up-tempo a la Johnny Long's hit record; here we're treated to a slower, more depressive reading answering to the depression-era urban poverty row described by the song's title).

Are these interpretations best thought of as serious, minimalist "performances," or as illuminating "deconstructions" of musical texts that have become obscured by over familiarity and cluttered settings? Both Potter and Martin, whose vocal quality is reminiscent of Broadway star Bernadette Peters, provide ample evidence for the former conclusion, with strong and complete readings of the material.

In fact, Chris Potter's intimate knowledge of the songs and singular command of his instrument (no saxophonist is more effective at connecting the upper and lower registers of the horn) practically insure that no stone is left unturned in mining the melodic-harmonic possibilities inherent in this material. On the other hand, Kikuchi's insertion of the occasional melodic fragment as a departure point, together with his insistent use of the sostenuto pedal, moves his tracks toward atonality and abstraction.

As for the rhythm section, Motian maintains meter but eschews a conventional two-beat feel as well as 4/4 swing, preferring to punctuate and highlight movement rather than establish and articulate it. Grenadier's role complements the leader's approach, though in most measures he is careful to place one of his notes on, or close to, the downbeat.

Each of the tracks has something to offer, whether as a revelation or a reminder of songs that, over the course of Broadway's lengthening history, have become part not only of Motian's experience but also of public consciousness. At the same time, the somewhat limited textures and repetitious tempos of this 66-minute program will most likely discourage some listeners' attempts to digest it in a single sitting. In fact, from the opening "The Last Dance" to the closing "How Long Has This Been Going On?" there's an unmistakable sense of entropy, as though Motian's answer to the finale's question is an unmistakable "too long." The paradox, then, is that these tired tunes continue to receive periodic resurrections--in spite of and because of retirement parties such as this.

This is a good recording, well made and the music is with exellent sense of musicallity. For me boring withouth any new discovery. Just good jazz in a easy and well know way. Not for my taste.

I was not very familiar with the style of Paul Motian. I probably prefer a more traditional modern jazz than what I heard on this CD. I respect his music, but it's just not to my taste.