Don’t Overlook These Unfamiliar Names

It’s Christmas Eve, and what better time to give some attention to jazz artists who might easily be overlooked in the seemingly nonstop blizzard of new releases--an appropriate look at still-emerging talent in the season of renewal.

And one of the things that becomes almost immediately apparent upon hearing this collection of CDs by largely unfamiliar performers is the consistently high quality of their work. Technical expertise, has abounded in jazz over the past decade or so, right down to the secondary-school level of performance. But the combination of virtuosic execution with improvisatory imagination has been in far shorter supply.

Not among this group of players, however. And especially intriguing is the worldwide geography of these albums. Jazz, like Christmas, is clearly a global enterprise.

*** Bill Charlap, “Written in the Stars” (Blue Note Records). Charlap is the son of singer Sandy Stewart and the late Moose Charlap, perhaps best known for his score for the Mary Martin version of “Peter Pan.” That may explain why the younger Charlap, at 34, performs a program of standards--”Dream,” “The Man That Got Away,” “Where or When”--with remarkably knowledgeable fluency. Working with bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington, Charlap is quite capable of swinging hard, especially on the more rapid pieces. But it is his sensitive feeling for melody and his capacity to invest his readings with a sense of the total meaning of the song--not just the melody and harmony--that make this such an attractive album.

*** Nilson Matta and Hendrik Meurkens, “Encontros” (Melandro Records). A German harmonica player and a Brazilian bassist may seem an unlikely jazz combination. But put them together with a rhythm team that includes such talented Brazilian expatriates (most of them now living in New York) as pianist Helio Alves, drummer Duduka Da Fonseca, percussionist Cafe and guitarist Romero Lubambo, and the results are first-rate. Meurkens’ harmonica playing, strongly reminiscent of the work of Toots Thielemans, has precisely the right quality of saudade for the program of bossa novas, sambas and choros. And Matta’s powerful bass playing adds dark-toned, alternative melodies to performances that find an easygoing, convincing middle ground between jazz and Brazilian rhythms.

** 1/2 John Stetch, “Heavens of a Hundred Days” (Justin Time Records). The Canadian-born Stetch’s piano work is reminiscent of Brad Mehldau in that he associates his program with various literary and philosophic references. But there is a strong musical imagination driving most of the pieces, which range from originals to highly idiosyncratic renderings of a pair of standards, “Love for Sale” and “Autumn in New York.” Stetch’s articulation occasionally seems a bit stiff, but he clearly is a player with strong compositional skills and considerable improvisational potential.

** 1/2 Cuong Vu, “Pure” (Knitting Factory Records). Many mainstream fans will not be willing to describe Vietnam-born trumpeter Vu’s work as jazz. Working here with bassist Stomu Takeishi and drummer John Hollenbeck, Vu--one of the more highly regarded players on the exploratory jazz scene--uses various kinds of electronic enhancement to alter his trumpet sound, often in near-abrasive fashion. The sounds and textures are reminiscent of ‘60s work in the undefined territory between avant-garde jazz and contemporary concert music (Bill Dixon comes to mind). It’s difficult music to listen to, but admirable for its efforts to stretch the improvisational envelope.

*** Pete McCann, “You Remind Me of Someone” (Palmetto Records). There are moments in this set in which the interplay between guitarist McCann and alto saxophonist Peter Epstein suggests a contemporary version of the ‘60s partnership of Jim Hall and Paul Desmond. But the generally mellow quality of the sound is enhanced by the unexpectedly piquant dissonances that McCann inserts into both his solos and compositions. McCann obviously has been influenced by Bill Frisell, evident in his willingness to allow eclecticism to sneak into his music, and in his compelling variety of timbres--from hard-edged, country-style picking to thick, cluster strumming, and rock feedback alternating with sweet-toned jazz guitar sounds. But the external influences do not diminish either the quality of his playing or his very real prospects for breaking out of the crowded pack of jazz guitarists.

** 1/2 Hellborg, Lane and Selvaganesh, “Good People in Times of Evil” (Bardo Records). This one, like the Vu album, will be a bit of a stretch for many jazz listeners. The lineup consists of bassist (and former Mahavishnu Orchestra member) Jonas Hellborg, guitarist Shawn Lane and Indian percussionist V. Selvaganesh (heard at Royce Hall recently with John McLaughlin). The music has distinct echoes of Mahavishnu and McLaughlin’s current work, poised on the edge of jazz, Indian classical music and indeterminate improvisation. On one track, the trio is joined by sarangi artist Ustad Sultan Khan, and the music verges toward Indian. But on others, Lane breaks through with a hard-edged rock sound, Hellborg adds a strong jazz emphasis, and Selvaganesh adapts to whatever is going on.

*** Mark Isaacs, “Closer” (Naxos Jazz). In Australia, Isaacs is known as a classical composer as well as a highly regarded jazz pianist. And if Isaacs’ quintet is an example of the current state of Australian jazz, we would do well to hear more of it. The program of originals, which makes extensive use of the moving, interactive lines played by tenor saxophonist Jason Cooney and guitarist James Muller, is the work of an artist capable of matching the rich elements of classical composition with the flowing rhythms of jazz. Beyond the compositions, Isaacs’ piano soloing, moving easily from rhapsodic chording to hard-driving swing, is the product of a splendid musical mind.

*** Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band, “Swingin’ for the Fences” (Silverline Records). Lots of sheer fun and high-spirited playing in this energetic big-band outing led by the Emmy Award-winning film and television composer. An impressive array of soloists--clarinetist Eddie Daniels, trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, saxophonists Brandon Fields, Dan Higgins and Eric Marienthal--turns up on various pieces (although some apparently were recorded via separate tracking sessions). And the playing is first-rate throughout, understandable given the presence of some of the world’s finest studio musicians. The real stars of the session, however, are Goodwin’s arrangements, which embrace--in “Sing Sang Sung”--a whimsical revision of the Benny Goodman classic “Sing Sing Sing,” an ingenious take on Bach’s Two-Part Invention in D minor, traces of bossa nova, an up-tempo set of variations on “Sweet Georgia Brown” and some stunning ensemble writing for each of the individual sections. This is an album that belongs in the Christmas stocking of every big-band fan.