Frankhouse at the Black Dog

When: Friday, July 24, 2009 • Where: Black Dog • Who: Dan Frankowski, trumpet and flugelhorn; Shilad Sen, saxophone; Karl Koopmann, guitar; Graydon Peterson, bass; Dave Stanoch, drums

Still to come: a review of Frankhouse's CD release at the Artists' Quarter in June. Tonight was their first performance since then, with more scheduled for the coming months: at the 318 in August, the Dakota in September. I like this group a lot, and their approach to music: serious with a sense of fun.

Their choice of covers and how they play them is revealing. Joni Mitchell's "All I Want," Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground," Michael Jackson's "Human Nature"--all songs we know, interpreted from a jazz/improv perspective (but not necessarily swing jazz, Frankowski explains). Then, out of the blue, Jackson's "Billie Jean" and Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy." Well, why not? (They also cover Kevin Washington's "Three Days," a beautiful ballad with a plaintive melody that's crying out for lyrics. What a torch song that would be.)

Where they really shine is on Frankowski's original compositions: bright, upbeat tunes like "Ambulatory;" "Enough," with its soaring theme (and intertwining horns); the sly, witty "Folly;" the menacing "Don't." He writes melodies that stay with you, that bear repeated hearings, that sound even better live, then you return home and put on their CD, Thought versus Emotion, and enjoy them all over again. Ed Jones at KBEM has said more than once that he thinks it's one of the best CDs of the year. Find it at CD Baby.

Starting out, the crowd at the Black Dog was small. Which may have something to do with the fact that Cirque de Soleil has literally pitched its tents for its latest touring show, Kooza, in the Dog's backyard and parking, always a challenge in Lowertown, is now impossible. Kooza runs through August 9.

Frankhouse's MySpace
Photo: Silly iPhone shot of the band and someone's not-yet-cleared dinner dishes. L to R: Stanoch, Sen, Peterson, Frankowski, Koopmann (hidden behind Frankowski).

Ellen Lease/Pat Moriarty Jazz Quintet

When: 3/1/08
Where: Studio Z, home of the Zeitgeist new music ensemble
Who: Ellen Lease (piano), Pat Moriarty (alto saxophone), Kelly Rossum (trumpet), Chris Bates (bass), Dave Stanoch (drums)

We snag the last three seats in a row in a small room that fills to standing room capacity. (The young man in the orange polyester zigzag trousers just outside the door keeps selling tickets.) I’m not familiar with Lease, Moriarty, or Stanoch but knowing that Bates and Rossum will play has brought me here tonight.

It’s the first CD release for the avant-garde quintet; Chance, Love, Logic is just out on Innova Recordings, the label of the American Composers Forum and home to George Cartwright, Carei Thomas, Steve Reich, and other interesting modern musicians and composers. All of the compositions on Chance, Love, Logic are originals by Lease and Moriarty.

Lease introduces “Phoebe” as “the oldest tune in our book.” It’s melodic and tuneful. “Phrenology,” named for the practice of determining one’s mental faculties and character by the shape of the skull, is next. Stanoch blows a toy trumpet and the band quotes from “Spinning Wheel,” the song by Blood, Sweat & Tears that in turn quotes “The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round.” It’s a tricky tune with a carny feel.

I think the next song is “Italy” but I can’t be sure. The two horns dance. I’m wishing Lease’s piano was miked, or her playing was a bit more muscular; I’m missing parts of her performance, especially the more lyrical passages.

Lease tells us that the title track was inspired by something she read by Robert Motherwell, who was a philosophy major before he was an artist. He called chance, love, and logic the “eternal values.” As I listen, I wonder if I’m hearing a love song, a melody of chance and improvisation, a logical work, or all three.

“Orange” is an homage to Matisse. The next tune has no title; Lease suggests a contest where we all submit suggestions to win a six-pack of a fancy microbrew. She lays down a thick carpet of arpeggios repeated over and over. Bates bows his bass; Moriarty and Rossum come in together, bending and sliding. I think the word "undertow." A potential name for the tune?

“Liner” leaves room for everyone to solo. “A Round with Sphere” is a bow to Thelonious S. (for Sphere) Monk. “Cloisters,” the final song of the evening, is thoughtful and spiritual; Stanoch plays sleigh bells.

Lease is an artist of subtlety and grace. Since this is the first time I have heard her, I hesitate to speculate on her style, but she doesn’t seem like someone who plays strident runs or splashy chords. I would like to hear her again. Until then, I’ll enjoy the CD by the quintet formerly known as “the best unrecorded band out there.”

Photo of the quintet by John Whiting.