JAZZ : Gifted Soviet Musicians From ’84 Moscow Festival

“JAZZ ‘84--HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE IXTH MOSCOW JAZZ FESTIVAL.” Mobile Fidelity MFCD 894.

Astonishing! Aleksei Batashev’s notes claim that “the Novosibirsk Orchestra is probably the best ensemble of its kind in Siberia.” Who would have assumed there was even one such band in Siberia? And with a trombonist/arranger as gifted as Victor Budarin, playing a whirlwind arrangement of Gillespie’s “Manteca”?

Geographically and stylistically the festival cuts a wide swath, from avant-garde (echoes of Ornette Coleman in “Free Jazz Dialogue” by the Georgian State TV-Radio Orchestra) to Dixieland (a fine clarinetist in a Moscow group, playing a theme from an operetta) and mainstream (“Is That Love?” by the Leningrad Jazz Ensemble and the swinging energy of the Moscow Saxophonists’ Quartet in a wildly updated “I Got Rhythm”). Georgi Garanyan’s alto sax with the Rostov Art College Orchestra reminds us that Soviet jazz is by no means simply derivative of the American model; he is, as John Hammond once observed, a phenomenal improviser.

Using themes ranging from Hoagy Carmichael to Shostakovich, Villa Lobos, Russian folk songs and new works by band members, the CD offers evidence of how far the Soviet jazzmen have advanced since the days when this music was virtually underground in the Soviet Union. As a curiosity alone, it rates five stars, but much of it qualifies on musical merit. Mobile Fidelity also has other comparable items such as “Jazz From the USSR” (MFCD 890).

“LOOK WHAT I GOT!” Betty Carter. Verve 835-661-2.

Inimitability can be a surpassing virtue in the art of jazz. That the sound of an Ella Fitzgerald or a Sonny Rollins can be instantly recognized after the first couple of measures is unquestionably admirable. It is, however, not a virtue per se.

It is a grave error to mistake style with quality. Stylization is no guarantee of artistic merit. One of the most compelling reminders can be found in the case of Betty Carter.

Long a sort of teacher’s pet among New York jazz critics, Carter without doubt has a sound and style of her own. The sound is at times soporific (as in the title tune here), or disconcertingly dry and hollow (as in several other cuts). One wonders about her intonation; is it the singer’s or the listener’s ear that is at fault? When she sings the phrase “ . . . and when he comes my way . . . “ in “The Man I Love,” did she reallly mean to bend the last tone, or would another take have been advisable?

Carter’s maxim seems to be: When in doubt, start scatting. In fact, the first two minutes of “Imagination” are devoted entirely to up-tempo ad-libbing. To ignore a melody or render it completely unrecognizable is another questionable gambit that succeeds or fails according to the performer’s degree of authority.

Carter’s melodramatic posturing is particularly ironic on “The Good Life,” in which she handily belies that title. She is more at ease in “All I Got,” wherein the song calls for no long-held notes and places no excessive demands on her.

The accompanists, particularly Benny Green on piano and Don Braden on tenor sax, are first-rate. For them, one star.

“LIVE AT BLUES ALLEY.” Wynton Marsalis Quartet. Columbia C2K 40675.

Records grow more extensive and expensive by the year. Here we have two solid hours taped live at a Washington club. Tunes are repeated: Marsalis’ familiar “Knozz-Moe-King” occurs four times in varying versions. “Juan,” a blues credited to pianist Marcus Roberts and drummer Jeff Watts, is played three times.

The critics who have retrenched since their original encomiums may find occasional evidence to support their case: Certainly Marsalis seems to overblow, or become a little tongue-tied in his haste to unleash long strings of notes. Yet by and large his work is impeccable, and such cuts as “Just Friends” and “Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans” achieve the tenderly emotional level of which some observers thought him incapable. The show is almost stolen by his pianist, Marcus Roberts, an innovator whose rhythmic twists and turns on one of the blues tracks are truly amazing. Trimmed down to a single CD this might have been at least as effective. Still, it’s a four-star package.

“ENDLESSLY.” Dizzy Gillespie. Impulse 42153.

Every few years some bright producer decides: “Let’s do something to make Dizzy sell records.” So here he is complete with DX 7, programmed strings and songs by everyone from Stevie Wonder to Marvin Gaye. Perhaps because he enjoyed meeting the challenge, he plays exceptionally well. Forget the pop vocal on Kristofferson’s “For the Good Times,” and the dismal doubled-up arrangement of “I Should Care.” At its best (Horace Ott’s “Tippin’ In” and Clyde Otis’ “There You Are”) the presumptive objective is met. 3 1/2 stars.

“FACETS.” Doc Severinsen. Amherst 93319.

After two well-received sets with his big band, Severinsen now invades pop territory, using a basic octet (Ernie Watts on saxes, Lee Ritenour on guitars), surrounded here and there by strings and French horns. Why he chose to remake ‘Take the A Train,” which the band played so well on his previous album, is anybody’s guess. Severinsen’s work is generally tasteful, and the treatments of “Night Train” and “Maiden Voyage” show a trace of originality. Arranger Jeff Tyzik contributed three of his own works to round out a commercially viable set. 3 stars.

“DUETS.” Rob Wasserman. MCA 42131.

This would appear to be an attempt to circumvent the problem often posed by the excessive length of CDs; on almost every cut, bassist Wasserman is paired with a different partner (usually a singer). It works beautifully when Cheryl Bentyne joins him for “Angel Eyes.” Leonard Cohen’s “Ballad of the Runaway Horse,” with Jennifer Warnes, is quietly moving. “Brothers,” with Bobby McFerrin, is overdubbed fun, and Wasserman’s duet with himself is a fine showcase for his technique. The rest, alas, is darkness: an abysmal “Stardust” with Aaron Neville, two ridiculous cuts with Rickie Lee Jones, Lou Reed’s distorted guitar, shuffle rhythm and questionable chords on “One for My Baby,” Dan Hicks savaging the great old song “Gone With the Wind,” and a disappointing “Over the Rainbow” featuring Stephane Grappelli that ends inexplicably with Wasserman and the violinist playing the melody in unison. Moral: Diversity is not enough. 2 stars.

“IN THE MOOD FOR SWING.” Benny Carter. Music Masters 20144 X.

Too few of Carter’s albums through the decades have zeroed in on his own compositions. Here at last is a set of 11 originals ranging from the title tune (which he first recorded at a London session in 1936) to the brand new and exquisitely melodic “Janel.” A few of the songs are familiar through earlier versions, but Carter’s masterful alto sax, and the company he keeps here, lend them all a new and captivating quality, whether in the gently Latin “Courtship,” the blues-based up-tempo “Romp” or the jazz waltz “You Only You.” It is a measure of his colleagues’ talents (they are Roland Hanna, piano; Howard Alden, guitar; George Mraz, bass, and Louie Bellson, drums, plus three guest appearances by Dizzy Gillespie) that nobody is overshadowed by the leader; rather this is a felicitous meeting of compatible minds. 4 1/2 stars.