KEY POINTS:
Very good local jazz albums are not uncommon, but great albums are rare - so those who love this art form tend to cherish the few gems available.
It has been more than 20 years since saxophonist Brian Smith made his memorable, self-titled album which danced a thin line between poise, innovation and excitement.
Smith, who has released only a few albums since, has dropped a worthy successor to that early 80s release, Taupo, which is credited to Brian Smith and Friends.
These friends are senior players Billy Kristian and Kevin Haines (electric and acoustic bass respectively) and trumpeter Kim Paterson, mid-career guitarist Lance Su'a, and from a younger generation, pianist Kevin Field and drummer Alain Koetsier.
That cross-section of experience, enthusiasm and musical sensibility is here brought to service on 10 effortless tracks, four of them originals including the sprightly studio improvisation Big Kids At Play, which makes you yearn for more such exploratory work from these musicians.
No one would argue that Smith and Friends are pushing envelopes here. But Moon and Sand, for which Smith brushes off his bass flute, the gentle swing of It Ain't Necessarily So, the rippling lines of Su'a and Kristian's punctuating bass, the richness of their melodic invention, Field's moving ballad Madame Butterfly, and the sheer comfort of the mutual intelligence and respectful interplay make this a local album which stands apart.
If some jazz musicians go too long between albums, that isn't a problem for Wellington pianist Charmaine Ford, whose Live at Sandwiches follows almost breathlessly on the heels of her Busy Silence, released six months ago.
This new one - recorded late last year - is a steaming session which kicks off with a muscular account of her original Blues For Guppy (the title track of her album which was nominated for jazz album of the year in 2004). Bassist Nick Tipping gets a real workout on his solo (and later on the visceral Nick's Blues).
Elsewhere, Ford picks up some standards - a lively It Could Happen To You, a brisk, lightly Latin-influenced Nature Boy and a delightfully fragmented Bye Bye Blackbird initially driven by drummer Richard Wise, which increasingly rocks out.
But mostly this delivers her accomplished originals with the vigour you'd expect from a club date.
And speaking of the time between, it has been almost 50 years since Dave Brubeck made his classic album Time Out, with the hit Take Five.
Brubeck has travelled many miles since, although he doubtless regrets going to Tyler in Texas in March - he sat on a bed there and a protruding metal rod injured his leg.
But the next day, the 86-year old flew to New York and the day after that began recording his Indian Summer album. In two days he put down 72 minutes of solo piano - each track only one take. That's quite some work ethic.
Brubeck has, unsurprisingly, been in a reflective mood recently and this collection is no exception. There is a wistful intimacy to these short pieces (most under five minutes), and the deliberately slow and considered dropping of notes makes for an exceptionally intimate album. Saying "you feel like you are in the room" is such a cliche it doesn't bear repeating - yet here ... No allowance for age need be given for Indian Summer because Brubeck can convey an expressive lilt, oblique reference or melancholy mood within a few deliciously considered phrases.
From the almost miniaturist Autumn in our Town (written with his wife of more than 60 years, Iola) through the telling I'm Afraid the Masquerade Is Over to the title track at the end, this is an album of quiet reflection but with no trace of sentimentality. Quite exceptional.
And finally something from the other end of the musical spectrum. Drummer Paul Motian (now in his mid-70s) may be not far behind Brubeck, but with saxophonist Joe Lovano and guitarist Bill Frisell (in their mid-50s) he still makes music which sounds utterly contemporary and cutting edge.
They have played together in this bass-less trio since the early 80s, and on Time and Time Again they caress rather than cajole, tease out melodies rather than test them, and everywhere convey a weightlessness propelled by Motian's melodic drumming, Frisell's shimmering guitar and Lovano's fluttering flights.
You may hear the influences of Ornette Coleman (notably on the seven-minute In Remembrance of Things Past) and Thelonious Monk, but mostly this is a singular and esoteric vision by three of the finest jazz musicians of our time.
Lovano enjoyed acclaim as a post-bop player early in his career, but in this context he lays right back on tenor as Motian's feather-light work acts as a restraining and subtle hand. Delicious stuff.
BRIAN SMITH AND FRIENDS: Taupo
(Manu/Ode)
Verdict: Auckland saxman effortlessly polishes up another gem
Herald rating: * * * *
CHARMAINE FORD: Live at Sandwiches
(FMR)
Verdict: Wellington pianist captured live and lively in her hometown
Herald rating: * * *
DAVE BRUBECK: Indian Summer
(Telarc/Elite)
Verdict: Age shall not weary him, although the octogenarian gets reflective
Herald rating: * * * * *
MOTIAN/FRISELL/LOVANO: Time and Time Again
(ECM/Ode)
Verdict: More esoteric but grounded improvisation from three masters
Herald rating: * * * *
*More album reviews from Graham Reid can be found at www.elsewhere.co.nz
