#jonathan finlayson

Steve Coleman and Five Elements: Skopje Jazz Festival, 2017

A good look at Steve Coleman and his Five Elements in its outstanding 2017 incarnation: Jonathan Finlayson on trumpet, Anthony Tidd on bass and Sean Rickman on drums. They make it look so simple.

-Nick Moy

Live at the Village Vanguard, Vol. 1 (The Embedded Sets) by Steve Coleman

It’s a bit deceptive to state simply that Five Elements has been around for a few decades. While it’s true chronologically, the statement obscures the fact that 5E is constantly changing, the base workshop for altoist/composer Steve Coleman’s relentless conceptual and musical imagination. There are musical constants — intricacy, density, and tons of rhythmic momentum — and some longstanding personnel, too. But what makes Coleman’s music so vital is how he keeps turning over and reinventing his sound, even as his alto and compositional imprint are unmistakable.

Mary Halvorson | Away With You

My quest to check out great women jazz musicians continues even after I’ve already done the special episode of my radio show, and one of the last albums I bought prior to that special was this one, which is one of the more recent (but not the most recent) albums by guitarist Mary Halvorson.  Halvorson’s style is definitely out; her music is usually either classified as avant-garde jazz or free jazz.  It’s not the most jarring or abrasive by far, though - if you can stomach the likes of Ornette Coleman, Eric Dolphy , or Vijay Iyer, you won’t have any issues with Mary Halvorson.  Her music is often built on fairly simple and melodic guitar lines with more and more layers added via the horn section, sometimes rising all the way into a free jazz cacophony.  Sometimes her lines remind me a little bit of the mathematical quality of Ned Goold’s original compositions.  

Moving Still

by Jonathan Finlayson & Sicilian Defense

Moving Still

by Jonathan Finlayson & Sicilian Defense

by Samuel Weinberg 

Steve Lehman is an alto saxophonist, composer and conceptualist of the first order. He has been involved in a host of projects which have pushed many boundaries of genre and concept, most notably on his 2009 octet releaseTravail, Transformation and Flow (Pi). WIth the synthesis of aspects of his doctoral study into “spectral harmony” with a decidedly non-traditional instrumentation, Lehman’s octet sounds unlike anything else. This week, Lehman has been given the opportunity to showcase his octet—along with a new book of music—at The Stone. This is a rare occurrence, for generally the curators highlight  many aspects of their musical lives. But this is not in any way a derision, as Lehman’s octet is surely worth the extended residence. I talked to Steve about his forthcoming week at The Stone, which you can read below!

You've been given a week to curate The Stone and you've done something unusual in choosing to present one band for your whole slot. Why?

Well, you know, it something that I think is incredibly rare these days, especially when it comes to creative music. There's been a lot of enthusiasm for the music that my octet plays, but it's still a pretty specialized music. And developing it in this way -- playing in the same place, with the same musicians, for 5 nights -- is something that you just can't do. You can't do it at The Kitchen, you can't do it at Lincoln Center, and and you can't do it a The Village Vanguard (though there are, thankfully, some occasional exceptions to that). So, I'm really excited to see how the music develops and to then be able to record it right after the run.

Can you talk a bit about the members of the octet and why you chose them for the project for Travail, Transformation, and Flow? 

Sure. I could kind of go on and on about everyone in the band. So, I'll try and avoid that. Before the octet came together I had a quintet with Chris Dingman, and Drew Gress. The one and only Eric McPherson was the original drummer. And then Tyshawn Sorey joined the group. And we did some playing and recording with Mark Shim as the second horn and then some more playing/recording with Jonathan Finlayson. And this all happened between 2002-2007. And all of those guys are just incredible. They really have it all. They all have musical identities that are instantly recognizable. They all know the history of this music and contributed to it (!) in many cases. And and as improvisers they can work with very limited composed materials, but they can also transform highly structured musical settings just as easily. Then there's Jose Davila, who's really one of a kind on tuba. He just knows how to make the music sound better and he's done it with everyone from Ray Charles to Eddie Palmieri to Andrew Hill to Henry Threadgill. Same for Tim Albright -- a dazzling soloist and incredible technician who can do so many different things that the trombone isn't supposed to be able to do!

  Has your compositional concept for the octet changed at all since the first record?

I think it has. I certainly hope it has. And in some ways, I tried to set things up to sort of force my compositional approach to change a bit. About half of the new pieces for the group incorporate live electronics, which is something new. And then I also had a set of vibraphone bars specially tuned for 3 of the pieces. So, that opened up some new possibilities as well. In some ways, it's impossible to reinvent yourself every 5 years. And that's probably not even desirable in the long run. So, there's certainly a good deal of overlap as well between the first and second book of compositions for this group. On our first record we did an arrangement of the GZA's "Living in the World Today." And this time around, in spite of my best efforts (!), I ended up writing a piece called "Chimera" that sort of morphs into an octet arrangement of Camp Lo's "Luchini."

  How has this band grown? 

That's a little hard to say at this juncture. Everyone in the band has certainly grown as individuals over the past 5 years. We just did a short U.S. tour in November. And it was striking to me how quickly the music came together. A lot of it is very challenging, but I think everyone has a clearer understanding of how I try to use notation and how I try to set up different frameworks for improvisation. So, that sort of accelerates the process of bringing the music to life.

  For this new batch of octet music, you've arranged some Bud Powell tunes. Why Bud Powell, and why the songs you chose to arrange?

Well, you know, I just love Bud's music. And I think he's still a little underrated as a conceptualist and an experimentalist. And I find his music very difficult to approach without falling into a kind of hollow or vacant admiration. So, most of the pieces are somewhat radical reimaginings of the original material -- Glass Enclosure, Parisian Thoroughfare, and his intro to Autumn in New York. Then there's Bud's connection to musical communities in both New York and Paris, and his affinity for French (Polish) composers like Chopin, which I also share. And finally, I guess I feel a sort of special connection to his music as a result of studying with Jackie McLean, one of his most accomplished proteges. And we actually worked quite a bit on Bud's music. Learning the "Un Poco Loco" and Bud's solo on that piece. Learning pieces like "Bud's Bubble" and hearing how Bud taught it to Jackie. So, I've tried to use that tutelage to inform what I do in some way.

  On many of your recordings (Artificial Light, Travail, Transformation and Flow and Dialect Fluorescent) you've featured your song "Alloy". I also heard you play it when I saw the octet a few months ago. It's a particularly rich and complex tune. What is its significance to you, such that you've played it in so many contexts? 

Right. Well, you know, I try to compose music that rewards repeated performance and inquiry. So, I've recorded a lot of my compositions multiple times. Alloy, Fumba Rebel, Foster Brothers, Rudreshm -- I've recorded all of those pieces 2 to 3 times. A lot of musicians write a new book of music for each recording they do, and then kind of discard it when the next record comes around. And I can certainly relate to that approach to keeping your music in a constant state of evolution. But, for me, I find it more challenging to compose music that will have real longevity -- as opposed to producing more and more new music at a rapid clip.

What's some recorded music that you've been listening to recently? 

To be honest, I'm so swamped with writing projects and chasing after my 14-month-old son, I don't have that much time to listen to new music. I've listened to some new recording by my friends Jonathan Finlayson, and Craig Taborn, and Vijay Iyer, and Rudresh Mahanthappa, which were all wonderful. Alex Mincek had a recording come out a couple years ago that I thought was really special. Same for George Lewis's last recording on Tzadik. That's what comes to mind in terms of recent releases. 

  What are you looking forward to in 2014?

Jonathan Finlayson strides out with his own project Moment and the Message