JazzWax

Mike Neer: Keepin' It Real

When I last posted on Mike Neer in 2016, he had just released an album called Steelonious, a tribute album to Thelonious Monk performed on the lap steel guitar. What wouldn't seem like a good fit turned out to be a happy marriage. Monk interpreted by Mike on a lap steel guitar gave the music enormous energy and edge. Monk would have dug it. Mike is now back with his steel guitar, only this time his instrument has a Hawaiian punch and he chose a superb collection of jazz standards. In short, Keepin' It Real: Songs From the Real Book is marvelous. [Photo above of Mike Neer]

Here's the backstory from Mike:

"In 2018, I was given a steel guitar that belonged to Sol Hoopii (above), one of the greatest Hawaiian steel guitar players and one of my heroes. It’s a long story, but I was gifted the instrument from the man who received it from Sol’s widow decades after his passing. When the pandemic struck, I had time to take it out of its case and play it. The sound and feel of the instrument gave birth to my latest project. I created a Hawaiian-style trio (me, myself and I) and invited guest soloists. I’m very pleased with the way it turned out."

The songs are McCoy Tyner's Passion Dance, Oliver Nelson's Stolen Moments, Horace Silver's Peace and Nica's Dream, Wayne Shorter's Witch Hunt, Duke Ellington's African Flower, Clare Fischer's Pensativa and Wes Montgomery's West Coast Blues. [Photo above of Mike Neer with Sol Hoopii's Rickenbacker]

The musicians on the album are Mike Neer (lap steel guitar, ukulele, bass, percussion) Matt King (melodica on Pensativa), Anton Denner (flutes on Stolen Moments), Chris Crocco (guitar on West Coast Blues), Will Bernard (guitar on Witch Hunt), Tom Beckham (vibraphone on Passion Dance and Nica’s Dream), and Ron Oswanski (accordion on Peace).

A gifted artist and multi-instrumentalist, Mike has managed to retain the integrity of the guitar's Hawaiian personality while swinging the jazz songs without falling into the luau or lai trap. There's nothing tiki mug or swizzle stick about this album. It's in the pocket, the improvisation is first-rate and the sound of the guitar feeds into the sensuality of the melodies. I never once yearned for roast pig, a loud print shirt or a long board. Most of all, the album is proof that any instrument in the right hands can give jazz and jazz standards a fresh, exciting twist. Hoʻohiwahiwa, Mike, on a beautiful album.

JazzWax tracks: You'll find Mike Neer's Keepin' It Real here, along with Steelonious.

JazzWax clips: Here's Stolen Moments...

Stolen Moments

Here's Peace...

Peace

And here's Pensativa...

Pensativa

Bonus: Here's Off Minor from Mike Neer's Steelonious...

Meredith d'Ambrosio: Sometime Ago

What a joy to hear Meredith d'Ambrosio sing again. She just released a new album, Sometime Ago (Sunnyside), her first since 2012. And in keeping with all of her other albums, Meredith's artwork graces the cover. She's backed once again by an extraordinary group of musicians—Randy Halberstadt on piano, Daryl Johns on bass and his father, Steve Johns, on drums. Don Sickler's flugelhorn appears on the title track and his muted trumpet is added on Oh Well, What the Hell. [Photo above of Meredith d'Ambrosio by Alan Nahigian and courtesy of Alan Nahigian]

Meredith didn't shy from the challenges of recording, taking on a batch of obscure songs that are tricky to sing. Her voice navigates their melodies beautifully. The songs are When Springtime Turns to Fall (Halberstadt), Feast Your Eyes (Halberstadt and Meredith's lyrics), In the Moonlight (John Williams and Alan and Marilyn Bergman), Sometime Ago (Sergio Mihanovich), May I Come In (Marvin Fisher and Jack Segal), I Wished on the Moon (Ralph Rainger and Dorothy Parker), My Open Heart (Halberstadt and Meredith), I Remember You (Victor Schertzinger and Johnny Mercer), Meredith's Oh Well What the Hell, and If I Should Lose You (Ranger and Leo Robin).

Meredith's voice reminds me of Boston, probably because she's from the city and performed up there while I was in college in the 1970s. Sadly, our paths didn't cross back then. There's always an intelligence in her singing voice that's informed by jazz artists such as Bill Evans, Miles Davis, Gil Evans and so many other romantic artists who knew how to use space to their advantage, allowing songs to breathe and for their poetry to set in. In Meredith's voice, I imagine the twinkling lights of Beacon Hill, the architecture of Copley Square, the sound of the T's trolleys, the charms of Newbury Street, the taste of clam chowder and the nip of late autumn evenings, when you can smell lit fireplaces in Back Bay.

Listen to the gentle majesty of In the Moonlight; Meredith's splendid interpretation of May I Come In; how she plays with the standard I Wished on the Moon; her passionate lyrics for My Open Heart; and the playfulness of her own Oh Well What the Hell with their glorious, signature flatted notes. On her new album, Meredith sings for your heart, not just your ears, and reaches her target.

JazzWax tracks: You'll find Meredith d'Ambrosio's Sometime Ago (Sunnyside) at Bandcamp here or at Amazon here.

JazzWax notes: You can read my JazzWax interview with Meredith starting here (the link to subsequent parts can be found above the red date at the top of posts).

And what about that painting by Meredith on the cover of her new album? I'll let Meredith fill you in:

The lighthouse complex pictured in the oil painting is very old and the song "Sometime Ago" means long ago as well. I thought the song and painting went together well. The lighthouse overlooks Cape Ann in East Gloucester on the north shore of Massachusetts. The painting is called "Eastern Point Light."

JazzWax tracks: Here's I Wished on the Moon...

Here's May I Come In...

And because I always feature this song when I post about Meredith, here she is singing and playing her own Love Is Not a Game (1991)...

Bonus: Here's Meredith singing Johnny Mandel's The Shining Sea (1997), accompanied by Gene Bertoncini...

Here's Giant Steps from It's Your Dance (1985),

And finally, here's Love Is a Simple Thing from Meredith's first album, Another Time (1981)...

Wanda, Creed and Julia

In The Wall Street Journal last week, I interviewed comedian Wanda Sykes for my "House Call" column in the Mansion section (go here). Wanda talked about growing up in Maryland and who inspired her the most (her brother Harry and TV's Moms Mabley). Wanda is now in the Netflix sitcom The Upshaws. [Photo above of Wanda Sykes by Lara Solanki, courtesy of Netflix]

Last week, she was on Jimmy Kimmel Live, and they talked about my column here...

Creed Taylor. Last week I spoke with producer Creed Taylor on his birthday. He sounded fantastic. We talked about trombonist Urbie Green and the recordings he made for Creed at Bethlehem and ABC-Paramount in the 1950s. As Creed said, "Whenever I felt out of sorts, I'd put on one of Urbie's albums. The sound of his trombone was so tasteful and relaxing, largely because of his fantastic breath control." We also talked about his hanging out with jazz musicians and getting to know them on a personal level. "I admired them and loved the special quality of their art," he said. "It was about my own passion and enjoyment rather than some sort of strategy. They recognized I was as committed to their music as they were." [Photo above of Creed Taylor by Chuck Stewart]

Creed Taylor 2. For a post on Creed's early years, see Mark Cathcart's Creed Taylor Produced blog here.

A new blog from Jeffrey Sultanof called The Eclectic's Corner: About the Arts had its debut on May 7 (go here).

CD you should know about:

Julia Perminova—Imagination (JP Music). Born in Tyumen, a city in Siberia, Russia, Julia Perminova is a pianist and composer who started piano lessons at a local music school at age 5. She attended Tyumen College of Arts in the pop and jazz music department, and in 2013 moved to Moscow to study at the Gnessin Academy of Music, graduating in 2017. In 2016, Julia released her first album, Luminescence. Her trio album, Revival, followed in 2018. She's now at the Jazz Institute in Berlin and lives in Amsterdam. This year, she released Imagination, a solo album. Her 14 originals have a singular intensity, lulling you into a range of moods that coax you to feel and think. The music is different than the type of jazz that appears on most albums, but the difference is its charm and the root of its hypnotic power. The more I listened, the more I found myself imagining nature—the feel of the wind, the smell of snow and sound of birds. The transformative power of Julia's playing and music is quite remarkable and special. Listen to Imagination at Julia's site here. You can buy it there as well—or at Amazon here.

Here's a promo video for Julia's new album...

Here's Julia in action in 2019...

And here's Julia taking a solo...

Curtis Fuller radio. This Sunday, May 16, Sid Gribetz will be hosting a five-hour tribute to the late trombonist Curtis Fuller on "Jazz Profiles" on WKCR-FM in New York, from 2 to 7 p.m. (ET). Listen from anywhere in the world by going here.

And finally, here's João Gilberto and Caetano Veloso, another great Brazilian singer-composer, performing Antônio Carlos Jobim and Newton Mendonça's Desafinado...