DownBeat January-December 2007 [antikvár]

Wish List .rtpwrxJi For his third project as leader, composer, arranger, and pianist MIKE KOLOBER returns to the small group format, joined by guita rist WOLFGANG MUTHSPIEL. bassist JOHN PATITUCCI, drummer BRIAN BLAOE, and saxophonist TIM RIES for a set of new compositions, bold improvisation, and a fresh take on familiar tunes. Featuring Holober's arrangement of Lennon & McCartney's "Blackbird" First Take Delivering On Potential By Jason Koransky T toward the end of putting together this month's DownBcat. I went back to look at the June 1999 issue. On its cover were Brad Mchldau and Regina Carter, with the headline "25 For The Future: Brad Mehldau & Regina Carter lead the way for a cast of young, rising jazz stiirs!" Looking back at the 25 artists featured, from Dave Douglas, Stefon Harris, D.D. Jackson and Omer Avital to Ken Vandermark, Richard Bona and Matt Wilson, it truly offered foresight about which musicians were poised to lead jazz into the 21st century. Carter and Vandermark have since won MacArthur Foundation fellowships for their music, and many of the other artists have been leaders in their art, making sure that jazz does not become stagnant. At the lime of the '99 issue, Mehldau had just released his first solo piano album. Elegiac Cycle, and he had recoi ded three volumes of his influential A}-t Of The Trio series. His music was maturing, and he was attaining a personal sound on iiis instrument. His profile was rapidly rising in the jazz worid. DownBeat's editor at the time, Ed Enright, wrote the Mehldau feature. In the piece, the pianist, living in Los Angeles and focusing on his solo piano chops, makes a statement about how he thinks he can best make music that has an impact, which is relevant to people's lives: "What lasts is when someone can manage to say something compelling based on the strengtli of the music itself, whether it's original compositions or inteipretations of other people's compositions. I think a hell of a lot can be done with just great old standards." Jump forward to late 2006, and Mehldau's music has definitely stood the test of time, and its achieved much more. He's recorded a significant body of work that includes highly original compositions such as those on Largo and interpreted the Great American Songbook; and he's opened up music by the likes of Radiohead to improvisation, a move that has been emulated by numerous jazz artists who have delved into interpreting cun-ent pop music. His music has been compelling, and today he's one of the most influential —if not the most influential—jazz artists of his generation. In this issue's cover story on Mehldau by Dan Ouellette, which begins on Page 32, Joshua Redman comments about how when attending the Thelonious Monk Instimte's International Jazz Piano Competition this past September he, "heard Brad's influence on so many, if not all, die young pianists." I would say that Mehldau has lived up to his promise we heralded in 1999. Another artist featured in this issue, Roberta Gambarini, has also delivered on her early promise. I remember hearing her sing at the 1998 Thelonious Monk Institute Jazz Vocal Competition, in which she placed third behind Ten Thornton and Jane Monheit. Her pitch was immaculate, her voice was intriguing and her scatting offered a throwback to Ella Fitzgerald. At the time Gambarini had just moved from Italy, and was more or less unknown in the United States. Today, after performing with the likes of Hank Jones, James Moody and the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band, as well as recording her own album, she's one of the most exciting vocalists in jazz. RJ. DeLuke's feature on her begins on Page 44. If we were to do such an issue today like the one we did in June '99, who would we include? Who's creating music today that will have an impact on jazz a decade later? This is something that we constanUy strive to do with DownBeat: write about the emerging voices in the music, while still covering the legends of jazz. We're always looking for the next Brad Mehldau. CJB 8 DOWNBEAT January 20Q7