Spinning Songs of Herbie Nichols

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Spinning Songs of Herbie Nichols
Live album by Simon Nabatov

Publication
(s)

2012

Label (s) Leo Records

Format (s)

CD

Genre (s)

jazz

Title (number)

8th

running time

63:49

occupation Piano : Simon Nabatov

production

Leo Feigin

Studio (s)

Loft , Cologne

chronology
Square Down
2011 		Spinning Songs of Herbie Nichols -
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Spinning Songs of Herbie Nichols is a jazz album by Simon Nabatov , which was recorded on September 22, 2007 in the Cologne Loft and was released in February 2012 on the Leo Records label . The live recorded music is compositions by Herbie Nichols , which "embody the artistic quintessence of Nichols' musical genius"; For the most part, Nichols played the pieces for the first time in 1955 and 1956 with his trio at his Blue Note sessions.

The album

Spinning Songs of Herbie Nichols is Nabatov's sixth solo album and the second on Leo Records after Perpetuum Immobile (recorded in 2000), which contained original compositions that were influenced by European composers ( Rachmaninoff , Stravinsky , Schnittke , Messiaen and Stockhausen ). The album recorded in 2007, however, consists in a certain sense of standards , like the album Around Brazil recorded for ACT in 2005 . The Spinning Songs of Herbie Nichols are exclusively compositions by the American pianist Herbie Nichols, whose jazz-historical significance “as a link between Thelonious Monk and Cecil Taylor ” only through the activities of Misha Mengelberg / Han Bennink , Roswell Rudd , Duck Baker and der Cooperative The Herbie Nichols Project around Frank Kimbrough and Ben Allison from the 1980s was perceived.

The title of the album alludes to the Nichols composition The Spinning Song , which the pianist recorded in April 1956 in trio with bassist Teddy Kotick and drummer Max Roach for Blue Note Records (BN 1919) and which Nabatov also interpreted.

Misha Mengelberg

Nabatov first became aware of Herbie Nichols' compositions after hearing Mengelberg and Roswell Rudd's interpretations while studying in New York City in the 1980s. “The unusual combination of weird humor, twisted formal processes, the juxtaposition of refined European harmonies ( Satie or Bartók ) and the rhythmic sensibilities that fall back on the Caribbean and Africa - all of this was very appealing to Nabatov - and indeed always is yet. Although he soon learned most of the (then) well-known titles, performed them publicly and especially in the concentrated form of a solo concert, this is a new development in his activities. "

Nabatov began to transcribe the music played by Mengelberg in the quintet of the two albums Regeneration (1983) and Change of Season (1986); later he took the Nichols title 117th Street on the duo album Starting a Story (2002, with Nils Wogram ) and on the Trio album Autumn Music (2004) with Ernst Reijseger and Michael Vatcher his first version of Lady Sings the Blues on the best-known title from the work of Nichols, since Billie Holiday wrote his melody Serenade .

The titles selected by Nabatov include Lady Sings the Blues, the composition The Third World , which dates back to 1947, and one of the compositions that Herbie Nichols did not record himself, Twelve Bars , but Nabatov was known for the Mengelberg album Regeneration . "The song, interpreted in the stride piano style, ends abruptly, early, like Nichols' life, but without the sadness about it."

Stuart Broomer wrote in the liner notes of the album:

“There is something very special in the way that music and musicians, Nichols and Nabatov, seem to be reaching out to one another here, to be sharing divergent legacies and oddly complementing one another. Nabatov offers profoundly personal solo playing here, alive to the past and future and the mutating nuance, deeply reflective work that seems to reach through timelessness and time to revision Nichols 'work and to embody something of Nichols' own original vision. "

In 2009 Simon Nabatov performed his Herbie Nichols program in the Cologne Loft at the Plushmusic Festival , documented on the 2010 DVD Simon Nabatov Plays Herbie Nichols .

Simon Nabatov in the Loft, Cologne, 2010

Nabatov said of the second recording:

“The second recording is somehow more concise, at times 'jazzy' and maybe smoother, if you will, because I already knew the ways, not in the sense of a tired routine (not after only one concert since then) that I have been going since then, albeit first off."

The titles

  • Simon Nabatov - Spinning Songs of Herbie Nichols (Leo Records CD LR 632)
  1. 2300 Skiddoo - 8:59
  2. The Spinning Song - 13:08
  3. Blue Chopsticks - 5:59
  4. Lady Sings the Blues - 9:41
  5. Sunday Stroll - 8:37 am
  6. The Third World - 8:00
  7. Terpsichore - 7:10
  8. Twelve Bars - 2:15

All compositions are by Herbie Nichols.

Reception of the album

The critic Glenn Astarita wrote about Nabatov's album in All About Jazz :

“As a heraldic outsider, the Russian pianist Simon Nabatov grants a personal selection from the discography of the legendary jazz pianist Herbie Nichols. Here Nabatov, who plays as a soloist, shows the usual creative sparks during this dialogue and exploration of Nichols' often overlooked work. By combining set pieces from traditional jazz with strict classicisms, bop, worldbeat grooves and more, the pianist duly emphasizes Nichols' tricky rhythmic views. Nabatov completely tears down his compositions and rebuilds the various melodies and structures. With blossoming cadences , intricate harmonies and a multitude of expressive structures, the artist ensures a high level of interest. In The Spinning Song he expresses great sensitivity, but also tenses some muscles in some passages. With exuberant progressions , spooky notes and breathtaking contrasts, the pianist seamlessly mixes bad luck and sulfur in bluesy statements and energetic clusters . Nabatov explores a full range of rhythmic variations and plays around in free spaces at the right time, but ends the piece with a beep, as if to indicate that the tank is almost empty. Nevertheless, he exhausts a cavalcade of world views and plays with overdrive, as if to compensate for the moderate moments with pity and poise. "

“A heralded outsider, Russian pianist Simon Nabatov imparts a personal spin on a selection of legendary jazz pianist Herbie Nichols' discography. Here, Nabatov performs solo, exuding his habitual creative sparks during these interrogations and investigations of Nichols' often-overlooked body of work. Featuring integrations of traditional jazz applications with austere classicism, bop, world-beat grooves and more, the pianist duly underscores Nichols' knotty rhythmic persuasions. Throughout, Nabatov tears down these compositions and re-engineers the various melodies and structures. With flourishing cadenzas, trickling harmonics and a host of expressive formations, the artist sustains a high-level of interest. On The Spinning Song, he conveys great sensitivity yet flexes some muscle during various passages. Complete with rollicking progressions, spinning notes and haunting contrasts, the pianist seamlessly melds a fire and brimstone outline into bluesy statements and energized chord clusters. Nabatov explores an abundance of rhythmic variations and tinkers with the free zone in spots, but closes the piece on a whimper, as if to suggest the gas tank is on empty. Indeed, he exhausts a cavalcade of ideologies, running on overdrive to offset the temperate moments with compassion and poise. "

Phil Johnson said in the Independent that Nabatov played the eight Nichols pieces "with the stated intention of surprising himself by not determining where beginnings lead." The result is "a great rumbling, crazy syncopated improvisation where." which the skeleton of the originals shines through. "

Matthias Mader wrote about Spinning Songs:

“This is one of the most artistic piano jazz records, not just recently, but in general. Two greats meet here: a brilliant composer and a creative pianist. Because Nabatov shows what is in Herbie Nichol's music. And whatever comes to mind - the boundaries are very, very fluid. […] But the following always applies: Nabatov has a very free approach to the music of Herbie Nichols. He thinks it further, develops it with ease - so that in the end it is a real Nabatov CD. "

Hans-Jürgen von Osterhausen wrote in Jazz Podium : “And who could better combine the tradition of jazz with contemporary music in Nichols' sense than he ? [...] Simon Nabatov has succeeded in recording a very special work, which also shows his overwhelming qualities as an interpreter . "

Steve Holtje found that Nabatov clearly picked up on the power of Nichols' compositions. It is the most amazing tribute album about a jazz musician since Giorgio Gaslini's Ayler’s Wings ( Soul Note ) twenty years earlier.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Video material and information on the Herbie Nichols project by Simon Nabatov ( Memento of the original from October 16, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.plushmusic.tv
  2. ↑ Solo recordings (www.nabatov.com)
  3. ^ Review of Steve Loewy's album Perpetuum Immobile on Allmusic . Retrieved July 23, 2012.
  4. ↑ a b Phil Johnson: Album: Simon Nabatov, Spinning Songs of Herbie Nichols (Leo) . In: The Independent . May 13, 2012
  5. ↑ a b Hans-Jürgen Schaal : Herbie Nichols - The Unheard of (2003)
  6. ↑ Bill Shoemaker : Review of Roswell Rudd Trio: The Unheard Herbie Nichols Volume 1 . In: JazzTimes , 1997
  7. ^ Josef Woodard: Review of the album Duck Baker - Spinning Song: Plays the Music of Herbie Nichols . In: JazzTimes , 1997
  8. ^ The Herbie Nichols Project
  9. ^ Blue Note discography 1955–1956. Jazz Discography Project
  10. ↑ This is the album Roswell Rudd, Steve Lacy , Misha Mengelberg, Kent Carter , Han Bennink: Regeneration ( Soul Note , 1983), entry. Discogs
  11. ↑ In the original: "The unusual combination of a wicked humor, twisted formal procedures, juxtaposition of the refined European harmonies (Satie or Bartok) and the rhythmic sensibilities harking back to the West Indies and Africa - all of it was most appealing to Nabatov - and, indeed, still is. Even though he soon learned most of the (back then) known tunes, playing them in public, and especially in a concentrated form of a solo concert, is a new development in his activities. "
  12. ↑ a b c Stuart Broomer: Liner Notes 2011.
  13. ↑ The title goes back to Sahib Shihab's ironic comment on Nichols' music, who said “What are you playing, man? You sound like you're in a third world ”. Broomer, Liner Notes, p. 3, who took the passage from Mark Miller's Nichols biography A Jazzist's Life (Toronto, 2009).
  14. ↑ Review of the album in Radioville ( memento from January 26, 2013 in the web archive archive.today )
  15. ↑ Album at Discogs
  16. ↑ Glenn Astarita: Simon Nabatov: Spinning Songs of Herbie Nichols (2012) . In: All About Jazz . April 10, 2012
  17. ↑ In the original: Russian virtuoso Nabatov - who came to NYC to study in 1979 - plays eight of Nichols' tunes, with the avowed aim of surprising himself by not pre-determining where the openings are headed. The result is marvelously jangly, madly syncopated vamping where the bones of the originals show through.
  18. ↑ Quoting from press comments on the album and review of the 2012 album
  19. ^ Hans-Jürgen von Osterhausen. In: Jazz Podium , May 2012
  20. ↑ Steve Holtje. In: Culture Catch