Music
BLUE STREAK – Astral Project
Dagradi, Masakowski, Singleton, and Vidacovich are names that collectively and individually are so synonymous with the local jazz scene that their likenesses could comprise a Big Easy Mount Rushmore of the genre. On their 30th anniversary, Astral Project has released “Blue Streak,” a testament to the durability and ever-escalating artistry of New Orleans’ flagship contemporary jazz group. As the title suggest, the 11-song collection evokes the influences of the blues as a sub-genre of jazz – sometimes directly through musical form and structure, sometimes through elements of melodic and harmonic content; and at times by simply translating emotion and mood through instrumental mastery. The lion’s share of material for the disc comes from a 7-song suite of material composed by Dagradi. “Cobalt Dreams,” the tune for which the suite is named, is an exquisite bluesy minor key excursion that evokes scenes of smoke-filled clubs of yesteryear. Masakowski’s “Once Was” is a funeral dirge for the city that will be forever changed, and Singleton’s “Dike Finger” further highlights the occasional Katrina undertones of the collection. Three decades of exploration, refinement, cohesiveness, and passion for their craft come together in this collection that introduces blues elements while staying true to the group’s contemporary roots.
LIVE IN NEW ORLEANS – Astral Project
There is much to savor in Astral Project’s five studio recordings. But onstage is where saxophonist Tony Dagradi, guitarist Steve Masakowski, bassist Jim Singleton and drummer Johnny Vidacovich best showcase their telepathic communication, coupled with an undiminished joy for challenging one another via collective improvisation within a compositional framework. “Live in New Orleans,” the group’s new combination CD and DVD release, captures the quartet in its natural element – the stage. Recorded on March 12, 2005, at Snug Harbor, the band’s longtime home base in Faubourg Marigny, it is Astral Project’s first live release. Dagradi lays down a lovely melodic extended tenor sax solo, Vidacovich dances over the cymbals amid the occasional excursion on this toms, Singleton shows off his particularly elastic bass lines, and Masakowski teases out a place for his own nimble guitar meditations – and that’s all within the CD’s 11 minute opening track. Save a cover of Billy Strayhorn’s “Blood Count,” they focus on original material, from the lyrical to more challenging avant-garde. The 98-minute DVD provides a visual record, as well as 25 additional minutes of music. But simply hearing Astral Project in action affirms their status as the masters of modern jazz in New Orleans.
THE LEGEND OF COWBOY BILL – Astral Project
These diversely involved players-saxophonist Tony Dagradi, guitarist Steve Masakowski, bassist James Singleton and drummer Johnny Vidacovich-direct their creativity to many fronts as educators, leaders and sidemen in various projects. In reality, Astral Project could certainly be deemed an all-star band that greatly benefits from the rarity of a long, satisfying history. The results, as heard on The Legend of Cowboy Bill, is the unique quality of an identifiable group sound that also regales in the distinctive voices of each of its hugely talented musicians. The Legend of Cowboy Bill is a rich tale with lots of twisting plots and no dull moments.
BIG SHOT – Astral Project
Astral Project’s new CD, Big Shot — the fourth from the Crescent City’s home-team modern-jazz band — is a work of unexpected maturity. Wholly realized and vibrantly executed, Big Shot is a big-deal kind of jazz statement. These four extremely talented fellows have individually achieved a level of maturity and have aged sufficiently as a cooperative ensemble (the band celebrates its 25th anniversary next year). In any case, what Astral Project has laid down here is modern jazz at its very best, intuitively played, lyrically composed, emotionally moving, the kind of work only a group of genuinely like-minded souls with considerable experience playing together can even hope to pull off.
Sweet Remembrance is Tony Dagradi’s “Love Supreme.” The saxophonist draws the spiritual base of his music from devotional hymns of the Sant Mat tradition. Dagradi, whose Coltrane-influenced tone also utilizes the soulful sound of Michael Brecker, plays with an assured inner peace that translates into respectful passion rather than new age monotony. Overall, “Sweet Remembrance” is in the vein of Coltrane’s “Welcome” and “Dear Lord”; relaxed and spiritual but never superficial. Pianist Fred Hersch, bassist Harvey Swatz, and drummer Bob Moses all contribute deep and thoughtful playing throughout, helping make the record one that should not be ignored.
DREAMS OF LOVE – Tony Dagradi
For over a decade, Tony Dagradi and Astral Project have set a high standard for modern jazz in New Orleans. An alumnus of both Professor Longhair and Carla Bley’s bands (how’s that for diversity?), Tony is a virtuoso instrumentalist on tenor and soprano saxophones and a first-rank composer. But the whole band is made up of New Orleans heavyweights, among them the world-class drummer and fellow Professor Longhair alum Johnny Vidacovich. Included here are six originals plus the standard “I Cover the Waterfront.”
PARADING – Tony Dagradi Trio
On the new CD, Dagradi on tenor and soprano saxophones along with Astral Project cohorts John Vidacovich on drums and James Singleton on bass romp through six Dagradi originals and a tender reading of Billy Strayhorn’s “A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing”. The attitude is definitely cutting edge. The absence of a chordal instrument allows the three longtime associates to stretch out and really push the parameters of rhythm and harmony. Recorded in 1983 at the now defunct Composers’ Recording Studio, this project was originally released in 1990 as “Images From The Floating World” by the German Core Record label. The Mirliton CD marks the first time the recording has been available in the states.
LIVE AT THE COLUMNS – Tony Dagradi Trio
This is a wonderful record. A beautiful live recording of a sensitive ensemble breathing together with a decade’s worth of shared musical past, with every subtlety of their performance documented in breathtaking relief. The trio are master craftsmen all, both in solo and ensemble playing. Listening to this, you can literally feel the weight of the years of study, experience and play shared by these men. Four standards and four Dagradi originals move through a variety of different moods, but all share a loose-limbed New Orleans feel. Not surprising, since Dagradi, Singleton and Vidacovich are longtime Crescent City players, and all are members of the New Orleans-based improvisational ensemble Astral Project. The sound is very open, very airy. Dagradi is free to explore without the confines of a chordal instrument like piano or guitar. The single exception is their reading of Body and Soul on which they’re joined by guitarist Steve Masakowski, himself a member of Astral Project. Don Turnipseed’s excellent recording merits its own praise. It is simply transparent, and must be absolutely spectacular on high-end systems. Its beauty is in it’s honesty and simplicity, and its ability to transport you to another place and time. Close your eyes, and you’re in the ballroom of an antebellum hotel in New Orleans’s Garden District with a tequila and grapefruit in your hand. In 1997, this is a most welcome find.