By: S. Victor Aaron

For this middle-of-2013 version list of best modern and mainstream jazz records, I expanded the meaning of “modern and mainstream jazz” a little bit this year to take into account jazz that’s the “mainstream” or “modern” of today. In years past I might have placed the Brian Landrus record in fusion and the Matt Parker release under whack jazz, but among the artists of their generation, they’re not considered so far outside the “new” normal for what’s considered modern jazz today.

That, I believe, is healthy development. Every new wave of jazz practitioners seeks to leave a mark on the music form, sending it further along its path of evolution. Many of the dozen releases below have that freshness that does a good job of bringing jazz into the new century, and a few others do traditional forms so dead gummed well, it’s impossible to ignore their own charms. But most of these are here on this list because they combine the rich traditions of the old with the ingenuity of the new.

In no particular order or ranking, here are the best examples I’ve heard so far this year in real jazz. “Real” as I see it, at least…

Matt Parker – Worlds Put Together: This being Matt Parker’s first time out as a leader, Parker casts caution to the wind whereas most first time leaders take timid steps in establishing themselves. It is his daring while keeping intact a strong bond to classic jazz that make Worlds Put Together an astonishing debut.

By:Mark Corroto

Saxophonist Matt Parker is an old soul. You can hear that in his music. On his debut release Worlds Put Together, he channels Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, and Dexter Gordon. It’s just that this jazz geezer happens to be 33 years old.

Like Lester Young, he creates music without typecasting it as “jazz.” It’s just that his enunciation, inflection and accent are dead giveaways that mark him as a jazzman.

Parker’s music recalls the period of the late-1960s or early 70s when Eddie Harris or Rahsaan Roland Kirk might open a show for Santana or Cream; music wasn’t ghettoized. Kirk’s music comes to mind often here. He opens with the bawling, two-horn (Julio Monterrey on alto) “Eye Of Rico,” a hurricane song that howls itself into the calm eye provided by pianist Jesse Elder. The pianist is a proper foil for Parker, as the pair co-lead The Candy Shop Boys, a burlesque, cabaret, vaudevillian act. The saxophonist has an appreciation for the irreverent. On “Alien Baby,” he mixes bits of Albert Ayler’s burning supplication against some Dick Dale-style guitar, via Josh Mease, then slinks home with the gentle twinkling of Elder’s piano.

Parker can’t be pigeonholed into just one tradition. Like Roy Nathanson’s Jazz Passengers or John Lurie’s Lounge Lizards, he regards this music as a pageant. That means fun. He plays in a duet with tap dancer Jimmy Sutherland on “WPT” and creates a circus sing-a-long waltz on “Zeynep’s Piano” with a small cast of exuberant children. His one cover, “Darn that Dream,” a duo with Monterrey, merely hints at the melody. The music here is more folk than metro. He adopts handclaps and percussion on an African inspired “Up And Down” and his “New Bossa” (played twice here) has the flexibility to be both a sentimental saunter or a sardonic sizzler. The saxophonist sounds comfortable promenading down multiple paths.

Track Listing: Eye Of Rico; I Can’t Help It; Lists; WPT; New Bossa; Up And Down; Alien Baby; Darn That Dream; Full Sun; Zeynep’s Piano; New Bossa (Reprise).

Personnel: Matt Parker: tenor and soprano saxophones; Jesse Elder: piano (1-5, 7,9,11); Josh Mease: guitar (1-5, 7,9); Alan Hampton: bass (except 8,11); Reggie Quinerly: drums (except 8,11); Julio Monterrey: alto saxophone (1, 3-9); Mikkel Hess: drums (6); Jimmy “Taps” Sutherland: tap dance (4); Zeynep, Noah, Bora, Ezra, Charney, Sharon, Shana Bromberg: vocals (10).

Record Label: BYNK Records

Find of the Week

Debut album from saxophonist Parker. Crazily exuberant and undeniably soulful. Leads a sextet (plus guests) that includes Reggie Quinerly on drums, Alan Hampton on bass, pianist Jess Elder, Julio Monterrey on alto sax, and Josh Mease on guitar. Some tracks go flying off the rails, but that just makes it more exciting. Just a very fun album.  - by Dave Sumner

by S. Victor Aaron

Matt Parker’s debut album Worlds Put Together is appealing, but in an odd way. Perhaps that’s because on this record, the tenor and soprano sax practitioner is a paradox. He’s brash, tender, a servant of tradition at the same time he’s a merry demolitionist of jazz’s sacred cows. And above all, he’s unpredictably fun. In a way, this like a new Rahsaan Roland Kirk record.

That isn’t the first time that this record has been characterized that way, but Parker made it having never heard any Kirk. Developing his own, self-conceived style is something this Ft. Lauderdale, Florida native and onetime member of Maynard Ferguson’s band had worked hard at crafting. Furthermore, Parker doesn’t play a manzello or stritch or blow four horns at one time; Worlds Put Together is really more of a parallel to Kirk in its moxie ratherthan outright style similarities.

In any case, Parker made Worlds Put Together to introduce his own personality as a leader, choosing close musical colleagues as his backing band. Alto saxophonist Julio Monterrey often acts as his foil and harmony partner. Pianist Jesse Elder often sets in motion the ever-shifting moods for the songs, as does guitarist Josh Mease. Reggie Quinerly’s diversity at the drums serves him well on this album, and bassist Alan Hampton co-produced the record with Parker.

Parker’s songs — he composed all but one of these eleven tunes — are often episodic and moody, not such a unique thing amongst his peers in his adopted Brooklyn environs. However, Parker rides through these multitudes of moods over the course of less than five minutes (except for the ten-plus minute “Full Sun”). He sought to summon the feel of the old 78 records, where musicians were force to get to the point in a hurry.

Nothing actually sounds hurried, however. “Eye Of Rico” transits across four feelings, alternating between fury and calm, and simulating the arrival of a hurricane. “Lists” is a simmering cauldron of uneasy calm, bolstered by Quinerly’s sparkling cymbal washes. Parker plays an audacious, dramatic tenor on “New Bossa” as Mease paints a shimmering, spooky backdrop. The one standard, “Darn That Dream” is Parker playing telepathically with Monterrey tenor sax over alto sax, taking sweet liberties with the melodies and literally chasing each other around. and “Full Sun” is an extended blowing session with excellent support from Elder, but it’s Parker’s and Monterrey’s incendiary sax sparring pushing bop to the outer limits in a way that calls to mind Lennie Tristano disciples Warne Marshe and Lee Konitz. The Old World feel of “Up and Down” is spiced up by African styled percussion and Parker and Monterrey blowing rough-hewn notes to create edginess.

Even taking into account Parker’s penchant for making songs unconventionally, there are some surprises. “WPT” is Parker on tenor sax alone, well, except for Jimmy Sutherland’s tap dance, and the rest of the band comes in with a boss-sounding bank of saxes and plays his ostinato with variations. “Alien Baby” goes flying off the cliff, only to come crawling back with a pretty, melodic progression. A festive atmosphere pervades “Zeynep’s Piano,” full of kids and grownups la-la-ing along to the waltzing harmony.

This being Matt Parker’s first time out as a leader, Parker casts caution to the wind whereas most first time leaders take timid steps in establishing themselves. It is his daring while keeping intact a strong bond to classic jazz that make Worlds Put Together an astonishing debut. 

A funny thing happened on the way to the recording studio. Tenor saxophonist Matt Parker announces his presence with authority. The original game plan or so Parker thought would be a lyrically straight ahead record that highlights his keen sense of melody and intoxicating warm tone…Welcome to Worlds Put Together.

The best laid plans…

Somewhere along the way the more conventional was shown the door and Matt Parker dials up the intensity with a controlled fury that borders on a more free jazz vibe while still maintaining a surprising amount of accessibility for the average listener. Joining Parker we have another new shooter in Reggie Quinerly who is fresh off the heels of his debut release the critically acclaimed Music Inspired By Freedmantown. This somewhat conceptual riff on imaginary movies works well keeping in mind the musical formula of equal parts action and atmosphere.

“Eye of Rico” is drawn from Hurricane Andrew and the aftermath. Parker’s self directed style of play and passion that is guaranteed to set your hair on fire serves him well. Matt Parker does a remarkable deconstruction of “Darn That Dream” making this classic his own if only for a brief moment in time. “Full Sun” is a ten minute long excursion into the sonic unknown. The remainder of the tunes here are timing out at well under the five minute mark and remarkably similar to the old 78s from days when jazz was America’s popular music.

Like so many artists and individuals alike, Parker struggled to find his own voice. Often compared to Roland Kirk or Wayne Shorter, Parker attempted to move to the more bop oriented tip from artists such as Dexter Gordon and Ben Webster. Somewhere along the way and to our benefit, Parker found his musical happy place being the musical no mans land between bop and free jazz where freedom of expression is not hampered by conventional theory and dynamic new artists such as Matt Parker can flourish and hopefully inspire the next generation of talent as they move up on the jazz food chain.

Matt Parker may well be one of the most original and exciting tenor players to arrive on the scene in a decade. An inspiring performance!

4 Stars.

by: Tom Hull

#39 Matt Parker, Worlds Put Together (BYNK): Tenor saxophonist, originally from Fort Lauderdale, came up through the Maynard Ferguson band. Basic band includes piano, guitar, bass, drums, and Julio Monterrey on alto sax, although he strips down on a couple not-quite-solo cuts and adds a party-load of vocals on another. All interesting, whether he’s cooing a ballad or smashing up the joint.