It's now approaching twelve years since the New York
Standards Quartet (NYSQ) came into being, its core personnel taking time out
from their multifarious individual projects to revel in the shared brief of
refashioning familiar and lesser- known jazz standards. Their new release
Sleight of Hand builds on their catalog of five previous albums (most recently,
The New Straight Ahead and Power of 10, on Whirlwind) as saxophonist Tim
Armacost, pianist David Berkman and drummer Gene Jackson welcome double bassist
Daiki Yasukagawa back into the fold.
Describing the NYSQ's beginnings, David Berkman recalls:
"We were at the period where we'd all done a lot of original recordings of
our own music, as composers and leaders; and then, through a series of
circumstances, we came together as a quartet with the particular mission of
taking on standards, but arranging them to create a feeling that was similar to
the original albums we recorded. It soon became apparent that audiences really
got into the idea and the fun of seeing how we would expand the harmonic, tonal
and rhythmic aspects into a more modern frame while always referencing the music's
origins." This carries into the thematic approach for Sleight of Hand. Tim
Armacost explains further, "the album title refers to the four of us,
conjuring transformations of standards and enjoying the magic of creating
something new out of that repertoire; really exploring the group's alchemy and
chemistry, achieved through twelve years of touring and recording
together."
This is a band that regularly plays and performs together,
so there's a common bond, which brings out the best in the arrangements they
conjure. Recorded at the end of an international tour - in the beautiful,
mountainous location of Lake Yamanaka, close to Mount Fuji (the quartet enjoys
a special affinity with Japan) - Sleight of Hand's eight numbers reflect the
band's spontaneous, transformational approach, with the title track (based on
Gershwin's 'But Not For Me') irresistibly playful.
Mal Waldron's 'Soul Eyes' and Thelonious Monk's 'Ask Me Now'
swing with respective vibrancy and jauntiness, while the metrical changes and
perky rhythms of 'This I Dig of You' pick up on Hank Mobley's classic Blue Note
album origins; and the various key modulations in 'Lover Man' are a world away
from Billie Holiday's lingering vocal lines as Armacost's spritely soprano
responds swiftly to Jackson's syncopated drum accents.
1940s song 'Detour Ahead' - perhaps mostly familiar in
composer Herb Ellis's guitar setting - translates into a luscious tenor and
piano-led ballad, sensitively buoyed by Yasukagawa's bass shaping; Jules
Styne/Sammy Cahn favorite 'I Fall In Love Too Easily' is treated to sparkling,
percussion-led animation; and Armacost's rich tenor lyricism in Duke
Ellington's 'In a Sentimental Mood' is ravishingly restrained.
David Berkman relates that the NYSQ's journey continues to
energize them: "Going into the recording studio is still as challenging as
it is enjoyable, though I guess we feel like we don't need to prove anything
anymore! And though we like to pull out obscure tunes, it's also important to
include touchstones for our listeners, as everyone relates to them emotionally
- there's still a lot of awareness there. These are such great melodies, you
can do almost anything with them - and, as always with improvisation, that
sense of 'What's happening today?' remains exciting. It's all about a
moment."
NYSQ SLEIGHT OF HAND TOUR DATES:
12th annual tour of Japan in support of Sleight of Hand:
July 13 - RAG, Kyoto
July 14-Azul, Osake
July 15-JB-5, Kobe
July 16-Cafe Soho, Okayama
July 19-So Nice, Takamatsu
July 20-Bird, Hiroshima
July 21-Jazz Society, Iwakuni
July 22-Seagaia Jazz Festival, Miyazaki
July 23-Doji House, Suzuka
July 28-Body and Soul, Tokyo
July 29-NHK Radio Broadcast, Tokyo
July 30-Yumeya, Gunma
August 1-Lifetime, Shizuoka
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