Dave’s review of “Without A Net” can be read at TheTalkhouse.com.

Thrilled the other night at Jazz Standard to see keyboardist Jim Beard! I heard him in several different Wayne Shorter groups around the time I moved to New York, between 1984 and 1989 or so. Beard played all of the Atlantis material with Shorter, as well as playing on the album Phantom Navigator and in subsequent live performances. Since writing about Shorter’s new work for The Talkhouse, I have had several interesting conversations about it, and Jim Beard had some observations that hadn’t occurred to me.

We talked about the contrast between Shorter’s meticulously crafted scores and the freedom with which his current quartet plays. The music I used to hear Beard play in those bands was so complicated, and they played it note perfect! Incredible harmonies and gnarly bass lines, all written out with crossed t’s and dotted i’s on every page of the beautiful handwritten scores, almost like a graphic novel or super hero comic book.

The contrast between that precise notation and the freely improvised approach of the current band is stunning. You would almost think it was a different musician, so different is the attitude. And yet, Shorter pulls it off and makes it make as much sense as music can make.

The beautiful and precise scores still inhabit Shorter’s writing, it’s just that his intention in performing it with this quartet is not tethered to any specific rendition of what is on the page. You could say it’s an about face. Or you could say it’s a radical reinvention of what it means to notate and perform music. You could also go back to Shorter’s earlier work and wonder if all of this was already lurking in the pages when it was created.

The shows at Jazz Standard are filling up for this week — please call to reserve your tickets now. We encourage you to go for the late shows that tend to be more available at this point. -GLM HQ

“To stop the flow of music would be like the stopping of time itself, incredible and inconceivable.”
– Aaron Copland

Jim asked me to pick 5 recordings to share on the occasion of my 50th birthday. Difficult to do as compositions are like children — how would you pick your favorite? Also like children, they grow and change over time. I would certainly play all of these pieces differently today. Recorded music is an excellent document of a moment in time, but even this fixed medium changes as we perceive things differently. The exhilarating thing about playing music is that as you play you have absolute freedom in time. Move forward, move back, the more the merrier.

Out In The Cold from In Our Lifetime — This was a tribute to the recently launched Hubble Space Telescope. Imagining it out there in orbit, seeing farther out and farther back in time than anyone ever has. Still hearing James Genus and Joey Baron’s hook up on bass and drums so popping on this take.

Constellations from Constellations — Tiny Bell Trio with Jim Black and Brad Shepik. We recorded this in the middle of a European tour and at the time I had begun studying with Laurie Frink. She deserves a lot of credit for my playing on this one! (Sorry, Laurie).

Spring Ahead from Stargazer — This tune is kind of a cross between Lester Leaps In and Coltrane’s 26-2. It was fun and challenging playing this with the sextet, Chris Speed, Josh Roseman, Uri Caine, James Genus, Joey Baron. Epic recording day because of storms and re-schedulings that year. Thanks to Joe Marciano at Systems Two for making it happen! Planning to re-release this record on Greenleaf next year.

Charms Of The Night Sky — Thanks to Guy Klucevsek, Mark Feldman, and Greg Cohen for bringing such subtle and powerful emotion to this piece. Also thanks to Joe Ferla for again capturing the sound with such warmth and feeling.

The Infinite — Adding the dynamic, explosive Clarence Penn to the band and bringing in the fender rhodes was a big inspiration for me! This record was also a chance to consider all the gifts we received from one of my biggest musical heroes, Miles Davis. Great to play with Chris Potter, Uri Caine, James Genus, Clarence Penn.

Be Still My Soul and Time Travel — from my two most recent releases. With Aoife O’Donovan, Jon Irabagon, Matt Mitchell, Linda Oh, and Rudy Royston. I look forward to playing with them this week at Jazz Standard! Come down if you can.