RVANews

Stablemates: A new record label brings Richmond’s jazz players together

David Tenenholtz — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 15:18:35 +0000

Over the course of the summer, two long-time members of Richmond’s music scene have worked closely to build an independent record label. Bassist Jason Jenkins and guitarist Alan Parker present 32 Bar Records, which as they describe, “…looks to champion unsigned musical talent, assisting in both album production and visual promotion of their art, as well as distribution. Along with jazz and non-jazz releases from its co-founders, the label’s early roster will include some of Richmond’s finest, with albums from these artists coming soon.”

The roster they speak of includes some of the finest musicians in the Richmond and Charlottesville areas:

Jason Jenkins
aP Connection
Larri Branch Agenda – pianist Larri Branch’s engaging leader project
Charles Owens, a masterful jazz saxophonist with serious street cred having held court at Small’s Jazz Club in New York City for many years.
Vocalist Sharon Rae North, who sings a flavorsome mix of R&B and jazz

In an association of this caliber, there are going to be some exciting releases coming at you very soon.

On Friday, October 19th, there will be a CD release for The Larri Branch Agenda at The Camel, they’ll go on at 9:30 PM, and will be followed by the NO BS! Brass Band. The door charge is $7.00.

32 Bar’s new holiday album A Season to Remember will be out soon, with a CD release at Capital Ale House Downtown on November 13th. The night is scheduled by The Richmond Jazz Society. The proceeds from A Season to Remember will go to benefit The Children’s Hospital of Richmond. Advance tickets are $15, and $20 on the day of the show.

Current releases

aP Connection – Juke

Alan Parker, who’s been one of Richmond’s leading voices on guitar for some years despite his youth, has a unique confidence and maturity in his playing. This trio outing features a mix of bop-inflected jazz, with hints of rock and backbeat driven funkiness at times. The sounds that Parker achieves even from a clean tone can range from silky smooth to brittle and almost brass-horn like. His skills as an improviser are abundantly present on each track, as are those of his grooving bandmates, Matt Hall (bass) and Billy Williams, Jr. (drums).

Jason Jenkins Quartet – Cole Porter Songbook

Bassist Jason Jenkins leads a band that features Alan Parker (guitar), Devonne Harris (drums), and Kevin Simpson (saxophones). They are joined by Newport News vocalist Charles Darden on two tracks that interpret Cole Porter’s most treasured songs. The band’s comfort level in swinging these standards makes this album cozy and relaxed.

The Larri Branch Agenda – Vol. 2

Labragenda (the short form for pianist Branch’s group) is a “working band,” meaning that the same musicians play each gig, and appear on each release. So it’s a close-knit unit, its own brand, and they offer a contrasting approach to standards and originals that is idiosyncratic in tone and texture. The interconnectedness among the members of the band, since they’ve been together for a decent gestation period of a couple years already, is what makes Labragenda such a kick.

Vol. 1, along with a CD of holiday music, have both worked to bring this group into their own. Chris Ryan’s guitar provides the urbanity, and the visceral statements of many melodies on the tracks. The hook-up of the bass and drums, by Brian Cruse and C.J. Wolfe respectively, has been something of a Richmond gem. They frequently work as a pair in other projects, and continue to develop as a rhythmic unit that emphasizes taste. Branch’s playing, from the first track, shows his wit and roots in gospel and the blues (I’m thinking of Otis Spann, Wynton Kelly, Joe Sample, and Vince Guaraldi in one tasty blend). The arrangement of Bud Powell’s “Tempus Fugit” is one that appears regularly in their live gigs. The short Salsa montuno that emerges as a part of the arrangement and gets brought into the solos is a delightfully clever and adventurous touch.

Charles Owens Trio – A Wealth in Common

A master saxophonist who relocated to Charlottesville after many years as a veteran of the New York jazz scene, Charles Owens leads a trio on this album of jazz favorites from the Great American Songbook as well as works by saxophone greats Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane among others. The trio comprised of sax, bass, and drums has an audacious spirit with no chordal backing instrument to supply instructive pathways for the improvising by Owens. He is free to phrase and explore harmony according to his own methods, and his interplay with drummer Devonne Harris and bassist Andrew Randazzo make this record daring and high-spirited.

Looking to the future

In the spring, the marvelous up-and-coming trumpeter Victor Haskins and his working band will record an album for the label, and other artists will be added, with hopes to bring classical artists as well as other non-jazz groups into the mix.

— ∮∮∮ —

Recording, mixing, and mastering on all of these releases have been completed here in Richmond by Lance Koehler at his studio, Minimum Wage Recording. CDs are for sale at the upcoming gigs, and also available online on iTunes and Spotify.

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Jason Jenkins Group – Scenic Roots

Dean Christesen — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 03:01:58 +0000

Bassist Jason Jenkins has released a new album less than a year after his last. Scenic Roots features some of his favorite Virginian musicians, like saxophonist Kevin Simpson, guitarist Alan Parker, drummer Billy Williams, and trumpeter Marcus Tenney. The first prominent voice the listener hears, though, is of tenor saxophonist Charles Owens, the longtime leader of a weekly jam session at Smalls Jazz Club in New York and a current resident of Charlottesville.

Owens takes the longest solos of the group, but he is by no means the star. Through compositions like Jenkins's "Hypotenuse," the Chico Buarque tune "Essa Moça 'Ta Diferente" featuring Bossa Brava vocalist Bernadette Stephens, and Wayne Shorter's "JuJu," the group's fiery energy -- and especially that of the rhythm section -- sets the tone. One of three compositions by Jenkins, "Cross the Pettus Bridge (1965)" is inspired by the Bloody Sunday civil rights era march and features the bassist like no other track does.

Listen to "Cross the Pettus Bridge (1965)":
[audio: http://media.rvanews.com/04%20Cross%20the%20Pettus%20Bridge%20(1965).mp3|titles=Cross the Pettus Bridge (1965)|artists=Jason Jenkins Group]

Track listing: Scenic Roots; Hypotenuse; Essa Moça ‘Ta Diferente; Cross the Pettus Bridge (1965); JuJu; I Got It Bad; Whisper Campaign.

Personnel: Jason Jenkins, bass; Alan Parker, guitar; Billy Williams, drums; Charles Owens, tenor sax (1,2,5&6); Kevin Simpson, tenor and soprano sax (4&7); Marcus Tenney, trumpet (4&7); Bernadette Stephens, vocals (3).

Purchase Scenic Roots on CDBaby or visit Jason Jenkins online at jenkinsmusik.com

Disclaimer: The writer participated in creating separate promotional material for this album. This post serves to act as news of the album's release rather than criticism of its content.

The Jason Jenkins Group – Synchronicity (2009)

Dean Christesen — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:45:39 +0000

Jazz fans will find many treasures in Synchronicity, and the layman should find it an accessible intro to modern swinging jazz. It's the fourth release as a leader from Richmond bassist Jason Jenkins and showcases five tunes, four of which are originals penned by the leader. Most clock in between nine and 11 minutes, but there are so many great things happening on each track that it ends up being a reward, not a qualm.

Local drummer Billy Williams joins Jenkins along with pianist Toru Dodo, a native of Japan, Berklee graduate, and current New Yorker whom Jenkins has occasionally played with at Cleopatra's Needle in NYC. Appearing on various tracks are also Richmonders James "Saxsmo" Gates on alto saxophone and Kevin Simpson on soprano saxophone, as well as Brooklynite trumpeter Duane Smith, a past fellow student of Jenkins's at Hampton University.

Jenkins's penchant for the staccato follows the bounciness in his bass walking. His sharp attack is powerful and assertive, but he's just as able to produce smooth lyrical lines like he does in the album's only non-original, Benny Davis's "There Goes My Heart." In the theme of the tune, Gates is soulful in bemoaning his lost love.

Todo is a fine accompanist to Jenkins, adding quirkiness and interjecting when appropriate, and is a thoughtful and exciting soloist, often jostling between singable melodic lines and angular leap-filled ideas. In "Decatur Chant," Williams energizes him by creating a basin of rapid and undulating cymbals and drums.

Williams's superior riling abilities also contribute to Smith's solo on the title track, helping him progress with energy and activity. The drummer solos twelve bars at a time, creating micro-themes, miniature stories, each time.

Since time in the studio wore thin and the Dodo originals that were supposed to be included were not recorded, we're left with a cliffhanger until next time. Till then, an imaginative novel lies before us.

Track list: The Decatur Chant, There Goes My Heart, Cause Celebre, Almost Invisible, Synchronicity.

Personnel: Jason Jenkins: bass; Toro Dodo: piano; Billy Williams: drums; James Gates: alto saxophone; Kevin Simpson: soprano saxophone; Duane Smith: trumpet.

Purchase Synchronicity at CD Baby or visit jenkinsmusik.com for more information

Sights from the 2nd Street Festival

Dean Christesen — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 22:04:00 +0000

The Jackson Ward community came alive this weekend with the 18th annual 2nd Street Festival. The festival kicked off on Friday night with a dance party featuring Johnny Houston & The Legends, but it wasn't until Saturday that all four performance stages would show some of Richmond's best musicians.

From 2nd Street Festival

I started off early Saturday afternoon at the Waverly R. Crawley Main Stage to catch a little bit of Saturday's first performers, the Johnny Peyton Renaissance Big Band. Slightly unimpressed by their first tune, "In A Mellow Tone," (although an hour later I would hear them from a block away playing "one more time" and "one more once" from Count Basie's arrangement of "April in Paris," which heightened my impression of the band) I made my way over to the Joe Kennedy Jr. Jazz Stage. The Jazz Stage tent would become my home base for the festival.

The Kip Williams Quartet (Williams: drums; James "Saxsmo" Gates: saxophone; Steve Kessler: keyboard; Matt Hall: bass) launched things off at the jazz stage. Gates played with impressive tone that would not be out of place on R&B and smooth jazz recordings, but he still managed to sound just as inspired by Maceo Parker as he is by Charlie Parker.

QuintEssential Jazz (William Prentiss: flute, tenor saxophone; Christopher Moseley: trumpet, flugelhorn; Keith Wallace: keyboard; Sam Craddock: bass; Keith Henderson: percussion; Jacob Price: drums) had a great smooth sound, perfectly equipped with polished solos. Seeking something a little more earthy, I walked over to the Bistro Stage.

Ban Caribe calls its music "clave soul." Singer and steelpan drummer Kevin Davis led his band of three vocalists, electric guitar and bass, drums, congas, and flute in music clearly influenced by Afro-Cuban and Caribbean musics. Leading a cute sing-along about a "signifyin' monkey," Davis taught the children (and the rest of us) about the music's underpinning heart of the clave and about the art of storytelling through music.

Jason Gay's SoulArmy (Gay: tenor saxophone; Brian Mahne: keyboards; Alan Parker: guitar; Derrick Englert: bass; Kevin Gaines: drums) was Saturday's highlight for me. With every solo, Gay got the audience hollering for more, and Parker was equally as electrifying. An original entitled "Barack Obama" got the Obama supporters in the crowd (what seemed like every one of the festival's attendees) into the music. Covering The Police's "Walking on the Moon," Gay began with a solo, using overtones and percussive effects. A light one-drop reggae came into play and the piece eased into an extended jam of great soloing.

Sunday began in the afternoon with the Jason Jenkins Quartet (Jenkins: bass; Kevin Simpson: tenor saxophone; Anthony Dowd: keyboard; Keith Willingham: drums) on the jazz stage. Remembering the amazing lunch I had eaten the day before from Hidden Treasure restaurant, I came hungry*. I sat down with lunch from Hawk's BBQ and listened to the quartet go through standards like "Tune Up" and "Softly As In A Morning Sunrise." Simpson and Dowd both delivered exciting and climactic solos.

Vocalist Jim Branch sat in on a couple tunes and wooed the crowd.

Voices of Virginia, led by Will Griffin, felt like a church service right on 2nd Street. The youth gospel choir, accompanied only by drums and keyboards, sang and rejoiced. A young girl in the front row of the choir sang with enthusiasm and movements that were contagious. I walked away from the Community Stage uplifted.

Richard D'Abreu's "Jazz in the Spirit" (D'Abreu: alto sax, soprano sax, keyboards, vocals; Weldon Hill: keyboards; Mike Hawkins: bass; Billy Williams: drums) continued Sabbath celebrations at the festival back on the Joe Kennedy Jr. Jazz Stage. D'Abreu described his group as a "combination of gospel and jazz," noting that the two "really spring from the same root." The very first tune, "By and By," took the same energy I had just seen from Voices of Virginia and ran with it. Three female singers (Wanda Tiller, Joyce Cook, Parthenia Wallace) joined the group for "Count Your Blessings." The infectious reggaeton with a sing-along chorus felt just like a seaside party, although at times D'Abreu's alto saxophone playing sounded right out of Mardi Gras.

"Jazz in the Spirit is about building community," D'Abreu emphasized. Whether it was under the jazz stage tent or within Richmond city limits, the 2nd Street Festival ensured that community was inta

ct and thriving.

*The food was easily my second favorite part of the festival. The amazing sights and smells of foods and drinks were everywhere, and the food that I did have easily stood up to the great music.