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In 1986, jazz critic Stanley Crouch wrote, “the vast majority of those who were considered avant-garde twenty years ago represented the first generation in the history of the art who were incapable of meeting the technical standards set by their predecessors.” Perhaps that was the case in New York, perhaps it was the case 20 or 40 years ago, or perhaps the quote represents Crouch’s myopia where the avant-garde is concerned. In New Orleans, some of the leading players in improvised music are often equally present in more traditional scenes.
Astral Project’s James Singleton played bass in trad jazz bands and behind James Booker. Rob Wagner was also a Klezmer All-Star, and Steve Masakowski and members of the Monk Institute Jazz Ensemble have participated in Sunday night improv gigs at the Hi Ho Lounge. The line defining what is and isn’t worthy jazz may exist in the minds of fans and critics, but it’s not nearly so clear to musicians.
“Free improv with really great musicians is a great way to grow,” Masakowski says, and Jeff Albert found the opposite is also true. “I don’t think we can deny the other aspects of what we do,” he says. “Having spent some time playing in the LPO and with Ronnie Kole, in cover bands in Chicago and salsa on Frenchmen Street—it all goes into it.” The Jeff Albert Quartet recently released the excellent Similar in the Opposite Way, but you may recognize him as the big trombone player for a number of horn sections around town. He’ll play behind pianist Ronnie Kole during the French Quarter Festival Saturday, April 18 at 3 p.m. in Jackson Square. Each gig, no matter how different, affects his music.
His background in free jazz goes back to growing up in Lafayette, also the hometown of fellow quartet member Ray Moore. “The first time I sat down and really listened to Ornette Coleman was with Ray,” he says, and he played a Coleman piece as part of his senior recital at Loyola. “On the record, Ornette stays around E flat and stay in time,” Albert says. “We played that head then went totally free. It became a waltz at one point.” His decision to play free jazz came after Tony Dagradi ended an improvisation class by turning out the lights and telling the students to listen and play. “That was a real turning point for me.”
On Similar in the Opposite Way, there is a composed element for each piece, something that establishes a rhythmic, textural or melodic reference point, the most extreme being “Could Have Been a Napkin.” The title comes from a brief melodic line small enough to be written on a bar napkin. Albert told band members they could use, but didn’t have to. “We all reference it at points,” he says. “And Ray and I even end up playing a lick together, which adds a level of cohesion.” Such devices, he says, “put you in a different level of attentiveness. It hedges the bets in our favor a little bit—and for the audience. These structural elements allow me to put the record together in a way that you get you whacked out, crazy stuff, but a little bit later you get a groove. And a little bit later, there’s a melody so you have something to hang on to.”
But free jazz doesn’t pay the bills easily, so he has played with the variety of musicians he has and found something valuable in the experiences. He talks a lot about “honesty” in conversation, something he associates with George Porter, Jr. At a wedding reception, Porter was asked to sing “What a Wonderful World” and was so concerned about it that he asked keyboard player Mike Lemmler to cover the bass so he could focus on the vocal. “He did this really deep, soulful, honest presentation of those words. Everything that he does is really honest musically, and there’s a depth to George that if you get into booty shaking, it’s easy to gloss over. George is a genius.”
Kole is a very different gig, but it has been rewarding as well. “Ronnie is such an incredible piano player,” Albert says. “My first impression him when I was 18 was that his shoes match his pocket square, which matches the inside of coat, and this is really frightening. But he’s a beautiful cat, he treats us well.” His dedication to getting reactions from his audience inspired Albert. “It’s fun to watch how that will happen, and then I’ll think, ‘What can I do to keep people’s attention?
“My goal for the reaction might be different. George’s band, the goal might be to make them dance and have a good time. In Ronnie’s band, the goal is to make them laugh and buy CDs. We might be trying to make them think or cry or maybe test their will to not run out screaming—for brief periods of time. But the exchange of energy is part of what makes it rewarding, and there’s no law that says it has to be easy to listen to music. It’s okay if the audience works a little bit, too.”
Published April 2009, OffBeat Louisiana Music & Culture Magazine, Volume 22, No. 4.
