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Strange City is the third album from the
Herbie Nichols Project,
a group led by
Frank Kimbrough
and
Ben Allison
that is dedicated to the music of pianist and composer
Herbie Nichols
(1919-1963). Nichols was one of a number of creative pianists championed over the years by Blue Note producer Alfred Lion. (Others on this illustrious list included Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk and Andrew Hill.) Nichols' compositions always had interesting rhythms and harmony and a subtle sense of humor. They should appeal to those who like Thelonious Monk's writing. Nichols was recorded in trio settings by both the Blue Note and Bethlehem record labels in the 1950s, but never broke through to commercial success and had to take a lot of non-jazz gigs to survive. Nor was he able to realize his desire to record with horns before his premature death from leukemia.
There has gradually been more interest in Nichols since his death in 1963—Mosaic Records issued a set of his Blue Note recordings in 1987 with extensive notes by trombonist and Nichols friend Roswell Rudd. (The recordings themselves were subsequently issued by Blue Note itself in 1997.) Rudd himself later recorded two albums of previously unrecorded Nichols compositions on The Unheard Herbie Nichols (CIMP, 1996).
Even earlier, in 1982, Nichols fan and soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy teamed with Dutch pianist Misha Mengelberg to record Regeneraton for Soul Note—one side of the LP had Nichols compositions, the other side had ones by Thelonious Monk. (Sidenote: Lacy had a pianoless group with Rudd in the 1960s that only played compositions by Monk.) Mengelberg then teamed up with Lacy, Geroge Lewis and Han Bennink for the all-Nichols recording Change of Season (Soul Note, 1984). And also in that year, Misha Mengelberg's ICP Orchestra recorded a program of Nichols compositions. The group included Lacy, Bennink, Wolter Wierbos on trombone, Michael Moore and Sean Bergin on altos, and Ernst Reijseger on cello and others.
The Herbie Nichols Project gradually came together through the efforts of pianist Frank Kimbrough, bassist Ben Allison and trumpet player Ron Horton. The Project had its debut performance in 1994 as part of the Jazz Composers Collective. The Project has given Nichols even wider exposure in recent years as they have created new arrangements for Nichols' compositions, expanded them to use horns and recorded newly discovered compositions: Ron Horton found almost 30 unrecorded Nichols compositions in the Library of Congress and eight of them have been recorded for the first time on their new CD.
As if to emphasize the expansion of Nichols' trio recordings to include horns, the album Strange City opens with the sound of brass and reeds on "Moments Magical," before being joined by the rhythm section. The song features a tender soprano sax solo over bass and drums.
"Enrapture" starts with a romantic, sunny sounding flugelhorn. Matt Wilson's drums not only keep time but also lay down a commentary of accents and fills that keep the music moving. "Blue Shout" features trombonist Gordon Wycliffe and tenor saxophonist Ted Nash and has a polyphonic interplay that reminds me of early jazz, as does Wilson's drum solo. "The Happenings" opens with an intro by the bass and muted "jungle" trumpet. It has an odd blues structure and I think the melody would fit in a Halloween celebration. Wilson gets in a melodic drum solo and Blake has a nice, pushing soprano sax solo. His tone here reminds me a bit of Steve Lacy.
To add variety, the album uses different combinations of musicians on some of the tunes. For example, "Karna Kangi" is performed as a piano, bass and drums trio. The tune has an upbeat, song-like start, start and stop drums that go into a melodic drum solo and a quirky, almost stride-like piano solo. And the beautiful ballad "Change of Season" is played as a piano and bass duet.
Through this album, the members of the Herbie Nichols Project have done a beautiful job of helping to keep the legacy of Nichols' music alive.
— Alan Lankin, December 2001
Release Date: 2 October 2001
Strange City (Palmetto)
1. Moments Magical (5:49) / 2. Enrapture (5:21) / 3. Delights (7:29) / 4. Blue Shout (4:42) / 5. Strange City (4:38) / 6. Karna Kangi (5:11) 7. The Happenings (3:36) / 8. Change of Season (5:23) / 9. Some Wandering Bushmen (6:39) / 10. Shuffle Montgomery (5:00)
Personnel:
Frank Kimbrough: piano / Ben Allison: bass / Ron Horton: trumpet, flugelhorn / Ted Nash: tenor sax / Michael Blake: soprano sax / Wycliffe Gordon: trombone / Matt Wilson: Drums
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last update 19 December 2001