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CD Reviews
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Irvin
Mayfield and Gordon Parks
Half Past Autumn Suite
(Basin Street Records)
On his new CD, trumpeter Irvin
Mayfield pays homage to legendary photographer, poet and filmmaker
Gordon Parks. The work was commissioned by the New Orleans Museum
of Art (which hosted a Parks retrospective in 2000) as a tribute
to Parks, whose landscape and nature photographs, awash with
translucent hues and abstruse angles, also appear in the liner
notes. Mayfield based his compositions on Parks' photos, and
the mood is set for the listener, as the septet, featuring trombonist
Delfeayo Marsalis, saxophonist Marcus Strickland and others
provide compassionate support.
Mayfield possesses the swagger
and self-assurance of a seasoned pro throughout these works
consisting of layered arrangements, melodic choruses and odd-metered
grooves. Here, the band melds the tried-and-true with a modern
outlook. On the piece "Jazz Poetry #2," Mayfield's two-note
extended lines translate into a memorable ballad. But Mayfield
is equally adept at intertwining subtle elegance with raw firepower,
evidenced on the knock-down funk-blues piece, "Jazz Poetry #1."
Mayfield goes toe-to-toe with
trumpeter Wynton Marsalis for an after-hours blues titled "Blue
Dawn," while Parks surfaces as a capable pianist on the contemplative
"Wind Song." And while not all of these Mayfield originals impart
an enduring impression, the trumpeter's artistic growth continues
to impress. -- Glenn Astarita
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Pat McLaughlin
Next 5 Miles
(Cream-Style Records)
Former Tiny Town singer/songwriter/guitarist
and The Howlin' Wolf regular Pat McLaughlin vanished from local
circles after Tiny Town's demise. He's working the Tennessee clubs
that are his bread and butter, and it's New Orleans' loss. McLaughlin's
new CD, Next 5 Miles, continues his streak of fine albums
filled with melodic guitar-based roots rock, cliché-free
songwriting and quirky rhythms.
Those rhythms are one of McLaughlin's
trademarks; his choppy, percussive rhythm guitar work always
stutter-steps like a wobbly stiltwalker. (Think John Hiatt's
"Memphis in the Meantime.") On tracks like "Ain't Got No Funky
Chicken" and "Hey Yeah," McLaughlin's equally memorable slippery
vocal phrasing helps drive the songs. The approach is perfect
for the subtle delivery and wry observations of "Just Getting
By" and "Mornin Train," two co-writes with John Prine.
The album's only disappointment
is its lack of ballads; there are no heart-stopping love songs
like Unglued's "Try the Love" or Uncle Pat's "Hey
Now Now." The closest he comes is "Little Good Girl," a mellow
country-flavored song co-written with former subdudes/Tiny Town
bassist Johnny Allen. Speaking of the 'dudes, the catchy "Sugarfied"
evokes the band's "Honey Pie," and while it isn't a ballad,
its catchy chorus and sentiment is sweet nonetheless. As there's
no telling when McLaughlin will hit the Crescent City again,
Next 5 Miles is the perfect antidote for McLaughlin aficionados
who miss him around these parts -- or any fan of gutsy country-
and blues-flavored American rock 'n' roll. Available from www.patmclaughlin.com.
-- Scott Jordan
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Luciana Souza
North and South
(Sunnyside Records)
In this age of Jane Monheit, Cassandra Wilson and Diana Krall,
can a jazz chanteuse who isn't a sex goddess get any attention?
Luciana Souza, neither homely nor a knockout, seems to be doing
so. The selling point here is her pedigree: her father was a prominent
singer and songwriter in the Jobim circle of Brazilian bossa-nova,
and she's lived the last few years in America performing and recording
with New York's premier jazz musicians.
Souza doesn't have an extraordinary
vocal range, or an attention-grabbing timbre. Her strengths are
an ability to sing equally well in Portugese and English, her
composing (there are two Joni Mitchell-esque originals here),
her eclecticism (she is also involved in various classical music
projects) and a very laid-back rhythmic sense which combines the
best of Brazilian and American jazz.
Backed by a piano trio, (with
two tracks by the fabulous pianist Fred Hersch) this disc is
for the most part anything but high-energy jazz; instead cuts
like "When Your Lover Has Gone" and the most melancholic version
of "All of Me" ever waxed are drenched in what Brazilians call
"saudade," roughly translatable as sadness or longing. North
and South is an exquisite, thoughtful hybrid. -- Tom
McDermott
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