Oran Etkin - What's New? Reimagining Benny Goodman '2015

Tracks list

       Those looking to preview some of the most interesting jazz offerings due
to arrive in any given year know that New York's Winter Jazzfest is the place to
do it. For more than a decade, this annual January happening has had its finger
on the pulse of the jazz world, giving the press, the fans, and curious jazz
newcomers an opportunity to hear the best of what's around and the best of
what's to come.

The 2015 edition of the festival was no different in that respect, and one of
the most memorable performances this writer encountered was Oran Etkin's tribute
to Benny Goodman. While it lacked the pre-fest buzz factor of some of the other
events (i.e. David Murray's shows, Trio 3's meeting with pianist Vijay Iyer,
etc.), it wasn't lacking in any other way. Etkin managed to present a set of
music that was both respectful to its subject and adventurous in nature. This
album—arriving about eight months after that performance and eighty years
after Goodman's famous Swing Era-launching concert at the Palomar Ballroom in
Los Angeles—does the same.

Etkin tips his cap to the King Of Swing in a variety of ways, covering classics
from his repertoire, delivering some originals (re)made in his image or his
honor, creating some unique, Goodman-sourced derivatives, and convening a
quartet of clarinet, vibraphone, piano, and drums—the same
instrumentation Goodman used in his famed color barrier-breaking quartet. The
musicians that Etkin works with even speak to the substance of Goodman's quartet
mates in certain respects. Pianist Sullivan Fortner often seems to have the
whole history of jazz at his fingertips, but he zones in on a classy, Teddy
Wilson-esque sound while working behind guest vocalist Charenee Wade on "After
You've Gone"; drummer Matt Wilson manages to evoke thoughts of Gene Krupa with
his swing flair and zaniness; and Etkin and vibraphonist Steve Nelson capture
the spirit of Goodman and vibraphone pioneer Lionel Hampton during the chipper
"Running Wild."

Elsewhere, as on "Be Good Lady," where Etkin uses a four note cell from
Goodman's introduction to "Lady Be Good" as the launching pad for an outré,
klezmer-tinged number, this quartet's work is almost antithetical to the Goodman
ethos. But antithetical or not, it's a winning performance. Other album
highlights include a rubato, walk-through-the-clouds take on "Where Or When," a
cheery trip through "King Porter Stomp," and Etkin's soulful and moving "When
Every Voice Shall Sing," written to commemorate Goodman's role in the fight
against segregation. If anybody thinks Benny Goodman and/or his music are
passé, they need only spend a little time with this album to be proven dead
wrong. Etkin does right by Goodman while still managing to maintain his own
voice on this thrilling date.

Personnel
Oran Etkin; clarinet, bass clarinet, tenor saxophone; Sullivan Fortner: piano;
Steve Nelson: vibraphone; Matt Wilson: drums; Charenee Wade: vocals (3, 9).

1.01 - Oran Etkin - Prelude (1:59)
1.02 - Oran Etkin - Dinah (3:02)
1.03 - Charenee Wade - Why Don't You Do Right (5:52)
1.04 - Oran Etkin - Running Wild (3:03)
1.05 - Oran Etkin - When Every Voice Shall Sing (4:43)
1.06 - Oran Etkin - What's New? (4:04)
1.07 - Oran Etkin - Brink (6:08)
1.08 - Oran Etkin - King Porter Stomp (4:00)
1.09 - Charenee Wade - After You've Gone (4:00)
1.10 - Oran Etkin - Be Good Lady (4:08)
1.11 - Oran Etkin - Where or When (3:53)
1.12 - Oran Etkin - Sing, Sing, Sing (3:33) 

Related artists