Joe Lovano Nonet / On This Day... Live at the Vanguard (2003)

I was blown away because the sound of Lovano's nonet is HUGE! You feel the energy like you're right there in the club. It's the only band I’ve ever heard that can outstrip Mingus Big Band in terms of drive, presence or versatility. The all-star lineup nails taut grooves like Lovano’s opener "At the Vanguard" just as easily as they work the softer side of classic ballads like "Laura" or “After the Rain.” The latter is a tasteful and well executed cover of Coltrane’s moody, noir classic. It uniquely captures all the longing and patiently developed beauty of the original, never echoing Coltrane’s interpretation too closely. Moving to a tune that Coltrane himself once covered, the band shifts gears with Tadd Dameron’s “Good Bait” in a dangerously crowded and hard swinging arrangement that gets the crowd roaring. In the middle, there’s a jumping solo from baritone Scott Robinson that recalls the work of Gerry Mulligan but goes a few steps farther in its wild inventiveness. The mark of a masterful improviser is that if you listen to the same solo repeatedly, its spontaneity and spark will hold up each time, and it will still surprise you. Soloing on this disc fits that bill. Everyone shines, and it seems they all get a turn, too, punctuated by loud and brassy figures blown by the whole group. Lovano is in top form, and so is alto Steve Slagle. Somewhat hidden by the impressive reeds and brass, the rhythm section of John Hicks and Lewis Nash offer the record’s hidden treasure. Nash’s endlessly creative fills and sharp interjections of percussive voice prod the arrangements with stimulating energy, while Hicks interplays with soloists and comps reflectively on the piano. The album is in regular rotation at my house, sometimes two or three times in a row. Thanks, Joe.

Joe Lovano & Us Five / Folk Art (2009)

Every time I listen to Joe Lovano, I’m thankful that he’s out there working. His performances and recordings are consistently the most enjoyable in all of jazz, they are interesting in a musical way, and of very high quality. Basically, they deliver. Folk Art is no exception. In a feast for the ears, the Blue Note veteran and reedman extraordinaire here pulls in a totally new band to record his first record comprised solely of original material. As a guy who likes to interpret harmonies of Coltrane and Coleman with the understanding that those guys were only interpreting themselves, it’s nice to hear Lovano stretch out and, well, interpret Lovano. Of course, the proceedings are hardly so simple, but that’s the direction. Right from the outset, Lovano’s voice on the horn is typically sweeping, delicate and reflective, although at times playful and mischievous. It’s a very deliberate style, worked in concise lyrical phrases that spark with ingenuity and curiosity. The compositions are a mixture of funky modern jazz grooves, some with a quietly Latin feel. They oscillate between styles, touching on soul jazz, blues, and the avant-garde. Plenty of room is given for the band to stretch out and interact with each other. I love the mood-changer “Song for Judi” with its ambling, pensive piano intro by Weidman and sudden appearance of Lovano’s mysterioso tenor. Lost in the beautiful melody, it surprises me every time I hear it. The track positively drips with the influence of John Coltrane, as if he is hovering nearby in the studio.  I’ve noticed that in more than a few of Lovano’s recordings, and I don’t think Lovano (or Coltrane) can help the effect. Such channeling of one jazz spirit into another is the essence of harmony, and hearing it puts goose bumps on my skin time after time. The band’s telepathic interplay and remarkable chemistry is shown off in “Us Five,” a title which is actually the name of the band. It allows relative newcomers like the brilliant bassist Esperanza Spalding and drummers Otis Brown and Francisco Mela to move the melody as much as Lovano does. Keeping with the loose theme suggested by the title, Lovano enhances the sonic buffet by switching between straight alto, tenor, taragato, autochrome, and alto clarinet numerous times. The textures swirl and influences both past and present mingle in a jazz stew that respectfully embraces the laws of the past, while pointing ever forward to new territory. Don't ever stop, Joe.