- Paul Smoker - trumpet
- Michael Jefry Stevens - piano
- Joe Fonda - double bass
- Harvey Sorgen - drums
| Discography of Joe Fonda | 2000 |
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Lineup
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Recorded in 2000 live at the Bunker, Bielefeld, Germany
Released 2002 by Leo Records [LR 301]
| This CD can be ordered at the → Online Shop |
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Liner Notes by Robert Spencer [→ CD Reviews] |
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The music will tell you everything. It lies, simply, beyond words. When what is felt lies too deep, when what must be said and what's most strongly felt cannot be said, then people speak in their music. The most lasting truths are those that not only can be sung, but must be sung. That's when there's only music. And the best music isn't made to sell and sell quickly, but to endure. To warm cold days and cool hot ones. To take root in the soul and give it expression. It doesn't have to be complex or esoteric in order to do this. In fact, some of the most potent music through the ages has been simple and straightforward. But complex or simple, this kind of music can only be made by people who are honest to the core of their being. Joe Fonda, Michael Jefry Stevens, Paul Smoker, and Harvey Sorgen make honest music, music of the present moment, on this live recording. Their music brims with calm and deep joy and just as deep sorrow; it's driven throughout by nothing less than what's most precious to them. One of the glories of jazz and improvised music in general is that it's personal music. No one else is speaking but the musician. Listen to music by Louis, Duke, Miles, Coltrane, Anthony Braxton, Steve Lacy, Evan Parker, and the rest: it's just like listening to them talk about what they love most. That's the way it is here. In a world of lies, music is true. The music on this disc is powerful, personal, moving, exquisitely crafted, variegated, uncompromising, delicate, and strong. And oh, the images it brings to the mind's eye! Images of a millisecond's duration and ones that form a trace in the mind - images of beauty beyond telling, of love and hope and joy and pain. "Music atrophies when it gets too far from the dance," said Ezra Pound. The Fonda-Stevens Group never does - not from the brave and resigned reminiscences of "For Us" to the sunny front-yard folk of "Oh, Lord, It's Nice to Sit on Your Porch Today." Like all the music of Fonda, Stevens, Smoker, and Sorgen, it breathes the air of many worlds. Fonda is equally at home in Anthony Braxton's farthest-out large groups and with the gutsiest of electric bluesmen. Stevens tabs as his main piano influences the spectrum-opposites of Bill Evans and Cecil Taylor. Smoker can whisper and muse like Miles and blaze forth like a muezzin. Sorgen is right there no matter what kind of swing it is: swing swing, ballad swing, free swing, no-swing swing, or porch swing. "There is no separation in the music. It's all part of the same continuum," says Fonda. "I'm someone who's attracted to the entire spectrum of the music." Stevens concurs: "For me the basic aesthetic principle which exists in all my artistic endeavors is to create beauty. Fortunately I'm able to find beauty in many different styles, and all of these styles have become part of my musical vocabulary." What you get is music that's supremely accessible in the best sense. It doesn't condescend or traffic in cliches, but it doesn't ignore any of the places you can go to find music, either. In just a few moments at the beginning of "For Us," Stevens' solo encompasses a history of jazz piano. There are a lot of ballad performances in the world that call attention simply to themselves as examples of virtuosity in the balladic form; this one, on the other hand, with its delicately shaded colors, isn't just about itself. It evokes mist and midnight and images of love and loss. In other words, instead of being shallowly self-referencial, it tells a story. As does all great music - which is not to say that the music is merely a backdrop, or that those stories can or should be told in words. Indeed, all the music of this quartet is supremely evocative. Often as it struggles between order and chaos, it becomes unclear which is order and which is chaos. What is harmony? What is symmetry? There are no pat or easy answers. The finale sums it up in microcosm: "Oh, Lord, It's Nice to Sit on Your Porch Today," even more varied influences and strains are brought in - from Seventies pop-folk to the freest Taylorian sturm und drang. "And that's something we need to continue to do," says Fonda. "Always bring everything in, and see what you can do to make it new, you know?" It works: this song gave me an overpowering desire to sit on a porch and watch a summer sunset, with a Corona and a good friend, someone who could help me make it new. Make it new. That's the imperative of all great music: to wrap up all the influences, all the sounds that came before, to roll the universe into a ball, and make it new. The Fonda-Stevens Group makes new music on this disc. Sit on the porch and enjoy it. The music will tell you everything. All reviews written by Robert Spencer:
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CD Reviews
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Micah Holmquist for Jazz Review Improvised live performances have a tendency to begin awkwardly as even a group musicians that has long played together is likely to not gel perfectly at first. Then, as the players gain their barriers and feel each other out, the music gets better and some magic moments ends with a wonderful flourish that causes concert goers to forget the gaucheness of the start of the performance. Live at the Bunker could perfectly capture such an experience if the listener is willing to rearrange the tracks. As it stands, this music — that is, 6 tracks recorded on August 21 and 22, 1999 in Bielefeld, Germany — doesn't make up a coherent concert and feature some tracks that deserve to be heard and others that aren't worth much time at all. Live at the Bunker begins with "For Us" and more specifically with pianist Michael Jefry Stevens approaching his instrument like Cecil Taylor before falling into a smoky jazz club ballad mode. It is such a vibe that this quartet appears to be aiming for on this track but they fail almost exclusively because Stevens is unable to make up his mind as to whether or not to play in fashion similar to others or to pay homage to Taylor. The pianist is able to play in the music when he is at the forefront but Stevens reverts to a heavy handed style once anyone else steps up to the plate. At his worst, he mars what could have been a beautiful solo from trumpeter Paul Smoker by making it a real chore to not focus on the piano. "Borrowed Time," the second cut, begins as a decent free improv — the highlights of which come from drummer Harvey Sorgen and Smoker who puts in quite a showing on this disc as whole even if his whirlwind playing doesn't very all that much — before the players meld back together into a structure based on repeated stop-start climaxes with occasional insertions of bluesy interplay between bassist Joe Fonda and Stevens. "Don't Go Baby" is good hard bop played by a bassist, pianist, and trumpeter who have just finished listening to Ornette Coleman's Something Else! and a drummer who is solid but nowhere near as commanding as Art Blakey. That may or may not be a good thing. Fonda nibbles on the bass to open the excellent "Circle" before giving way to Smoker doing what he does best. By this point, some listeners will probably want the trumpeter to expand his horizons but since few players could do what he does repeatedly here just once, perhaps such criticism is harsh. On the whole, "Circle," is full of tension and moves to a definite conclusion which is nice. "Haiku" is a slow ballad showcasing all of the players that is good but not great. Do, however, note Stevens' work at the beginning and his excellent use of echoes. And then there is the fantastic closer "Oh, Lord, It's Nice to Sit on Your Front Porch Today." Smoker starts out with playing that is constantly referencing but not imitating "Saving Grace." Sorgen joins in and is soon followed by the other two as the music evolves into a nice funky groove and the four exuberantly singing the cut's title. Then comes a breakdown where all four seem to be forcing sounds out of their instrument. The music plays itself out and winds down before a dramatic respite that sounds like a piecing piece of music from Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver. "Oh, Lord, It's Nice to Sit on Your Front Porch Today" is proof positive that the commonalties in the works of Bernard Herrmann, Evan Parker, and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band are far greater than any differences. As detailed above, Live at the Bunker fluctuates wildly in quality. The weakest parts are at "interesting" at best while the best cuts are superb. In the end, the good outweighs the bad but not by much. Copyright© 2000 JazzReview.com®. All Rights Reserved. |
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Richard Cochrane for Musings Fonda-Stevens Group: Live at the Bunker Joe Fonda & Xu Fengxia: Distance Joe Fonda is a powerful, technically facilitous bassist whose presence on the American jazz scene continues to grow. He's ne of those people who speaks of jazz as "the music"; an old-fashioned jazzman, in other words, albeit an unusually catholic one. Like his sometime employer Anthony Braxton, he's excited about the whole of jazz, and although the music his qaurtet plays on Live At The Bunker can be angular and freewheeling, it's rarely "free jazz" per se. Opening with a sweet, beautifully-handled post-bop ballad worthy of Clifford Brown, the group sets out its stall as a proper jazz band, with proper chord changes and cool, smouldering solos. This opener is one of three compositions contributed by the pianist — the other three are Fonda's. Stevens's Don't Go Baby is a funky modal piece strongly reminiscent of Miles, but Haiku has a mysterious, undulating quality which feels rather unique, with Smoker sounding like a rather sultry Freddie Hubbard, then transforming himself for a beautifully tremulous duet with Fonda arco. All three pieces are strong, but they're as different as can be, which seems to be a part of what this group is about. The bass player's own compositions are more spikey affairs, wih sharp corners all over the place, liberally peppered with free sections but always structured. The opening of "Circle" shows him to be an accomplished soloist, too, with that rare ability to create drama and old the attention on an instrument which seems sometimes insufficiently declamatory for such a purpose. The band throughout prove themselves to be unspeakably swinging. Smoker on the aforementioned "Circle" almost catches fire, but elsewhere he smooches up to the mike and plays fine ballad solos. Stevens really does seem to have whole swathes of the jazz tradition under his fingers (apparently he cites Evans and Taylor as influences, as if rather self-consciously making a poitn, but it's a valid point anyway). Sorgen is a swinger, but his free playing is capable and supportive, finding sensible and proactive things to do in an environment in which most straightish jazz drummers often flounder. Fonda, throughout, is a monster, as he is on Distance; and a more different record you culd hardly hope to ask for. Quite what kind of music this duo plays is something of a mystery, but it's infectious, exciting and barrels of fun. The guzheng sounds like some kind of silk-stringed koto, perhaps tuned down a little because the strings sound loose and floppy, and are open to being bent up some considerable distance by means of pressure on the opposite side of the bridge. Xu plays it with rhythmic fervous, making it shudder and shimmer with a kind of elasticated bounce. Fonda leaps into the fray, pushing the pulse home where there is one, revelling in the freedom when there isn't. Xu has a melodic side, too, as evidenced in the opeing of A Journey Into The Desert, in which her notes seem to curl up off the soundboard, twist in the air for a moment and then expire. The results can be breathtakingly gorgeous, but there's always a sense of mischievous fun in this music which never quite lets it get too serious. Highly recommended. Reprinted with permission. Copyright © 2006 Richard Cochrane. All reviews written by Richard Cochrane:
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Steve Koenig for JazzWeekly Man, it's hard to believe that Leo's up to the 300s already, and with an amazingly consistent track record, as has the group here. "For Us" sounds like a standard, and it should be. Starting with a Messiaen-like fluttery piano intro, follwed by romantic chords, a strong bass line and Smoker smartly skittering into the verge of off-key, this ballad grips immediately and sustains. There's an awkward applause fade. In a different manner, they continue with "Borrowed Time," a free improv which turns into what seems composed, each phrase tauntingly repeated or mutated by the next. This kind of call and response, using lots of space, teases the way lovers do when they know just how to touch each other, and just when to... pull back. "Don't Go Baby," by contrast with the opening pair, is merely good. "Circle" continues that way, but a few minutes in they hit a stride: Stevens arpeggiating and Fonda walking askew, and hear Smoker go off on his fierce free thing. The head returns, and I wish it were all so free, but I have no complaints about the trip, especially as Sorgen takes an expected solo, again using space, changes of pace and texture, to make your ears sit up. At first I thought it a bowed cymbal, but Fonda plays a resiny, itchy sequence at the bottom of the bridge, until they take it again to the head. "Circle," too, starts off just okay, but they hit a powerful mood shortly, with strong intermingling of lines by the smoldering wah-wah and humanoid voice of Smoker's trumpet, and the scratch of Fonda's bass. It and the following two tracks, if you don't watch the CD counter, are a seamless suite of wonderful jazz and improvisation. (I've misfiled my copy of their Leo disc "Haiku," so I can't make comparisons.) "Oh Lord..." opens with Smoker playing a gospel dirge, underlined by bass. Stevens' piano brings a romantic rush of cold air chords in, again with gospelized arpeggios, and Sorgen plays free, both loose and tight: brushes, cymbals and kick. Again, I find the playing and the structure stronger than the writing, especially when a trite piano vamp changes the rhythm, and despite Smoker's wild wind, hearing these guys sing "Oh Lordy..." makes me cringe. Stevens piano turns admirably Pullenesque, and the deep sonics of the bass and Sorgen's percussive richness (you can hear the air pressure inside them change with each blow) give you chills. The recording quality is superb, with the piano sounding like a piano, and the Fonda's various timbres revealed. What is always special to me about Fonda and Stevens is that not only do they "play," but they infuse it with such joie de vive that you just want to throw their other discs in the machine in turn. As an encore, I played another Fonda reach-to-the-roots, "Down To The Delta," my favorite track on Live at Brugge on De Werf Records, which gets frequent play in this house. For a special treat, dig Fonda's 1999 solo bass disc When It's Time on the Belgian label Jazz'Halo. Reprinted with permission. Copyright © 2006 JazzWeekly and Steve Koenig. All reviews written by Steve Koenig:
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January 2001 by Dân Warburton for Paris Transatlantic "Not the retro bullshit, not the nauseating smooth jazz, not the young-lions crap, but the real jazz: the way jazz music should have been had it not been high-jacked (sic) by big business, glossy magazines, brainless DJs, prostitute journalists, and brainwashed festival promoters." Ouch! So writes Leo Feigin in one his more, shall we say, ebullient Press Releases (prefaced by the way with the words: "I, Leo Feigin.. hereby confirm" etc.). As a declaration, it certainly stands out from the run-of-the-mill hyperbole that normally constitutes Press blurbs, though if I were Joe Fonda or Michael Stevens I'm not sure how I would feel. Certainly, this is a damn fine album, a superb live recording (complete with audibly clunking, whooshing piano pedals) made in yet another European jazz club going by the name of Bunker, this time at Bielefeld in Germany, and I'm in broad agreement with Feigin that jazz today should be moving in this general direction, i.e. be unafraid to work with emotionally direct material and strong group compositions while at the same time being open to "outside" playing, but certain points of Leo's release text bear closer scrutiny in relation to the music they aim to sell. Reprinted with permission. Copyright © 2006 Paris Transatlantic and Dân Warburton. All reviews written by Dân Warburton:
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December 1, 2000 by Glenn Astarita for AllAboutJazz The Fonda-Stevens Group is arguably one of the finest and hardest working modern jazz outfits in the business. And while Leo Records is synonymous with producing improvised, free jazz and music that is largely unclassifiable, the label generally skirts the bleeding edge of what some refer to as new music. Therefore, this quartet's new recording titled, Live At The Bunker marks a slight yet welcome shift in strategy for this legendary UK-based label. The quartet opens this set with soulful balladry on the piece titled, "For Us" as trumpeter Paul Smoker exudes heartfelt lines in conjunction with pianist Michael Jefry Stevens' velvety undercurrents. However, the musicians pull a 360 degree turnaround on the second track, "Borrowed Time" which is marked by Smoker's genial muted trumpet lines, linearly performed unison choruses, engaging call and response improv and a brief swing motif. On this piece, the band prominently exhibits the virtues of being in synch, as there is little margin for error amid these odd-metered rhythms, cleverly constructed themes and intricately executed passages. Yet the band also excels at integrating a loose vibe which affords the soloists ample breathing room for reinventing the compositional subject matter. Bassist Joe Fonda and drummer Harvey Sorgen anchor the intense momentum for the soloist's climactic choruses and catchy melodies on "Don't Go Baby", whereas the quartet finalizes the brisk proceedings with the gospel induced "Oh, Lord, It's Nice To Sit On Your Porch Today". Here, the band pursues crashing cadenzas along with Stevens' lush interludes and Smoker's deviously constructed yet altogether playful lead soloing. Without further ado, Live At The Bunker is a magnificent release and a late entry into this writer's hypothetical top ten list for 2000. Folks, modern jazz doesn't get much better than this! Rating: 5 stars (Out of 5) Reprinted with permission. Copyright © 2006 All About Jazz and Glenn Astarita. All reviews written by Glenn Astarita:
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Peter Margasak for Jazz Times A wonderfully inclusive quartet date — recorded live in Germany in 1999 — that makes no fuss over its broad range; whether tackling pianist Michael Jefry Steven's gorgeous, richly lyrical ballad "For Us" or leaping into the freedom of bassist Joe Fonda's open-ended "Circle," this group plays with equal precision and passion. The big attraction here may be the presence of the similarly multifaceted, big-toned trumpeter Paul Smoker. On the episodic "Borrowed Time" the Iowa native shifts gears like Richard Petty, uncorking garrulous, mute-kissed abstractions on the tune's free passages and blowing lines of pure, cleanly articulated melody with an endearingly sweet tone during the swinging parts-drummer Harvey Sorgen is right there behind him, subtly driving the proceedings, from one end of the spectrum to the other. In the liner notes Fonda, a veteran of both blues bands and Anthony Braxton, says, "There is no separation in the music. It's all part of the same continuum." These six compositions more than bear out that philosophy without any clever po-mo hopscotching. "Don't Go Baby" resembles an early Blue Note-era Jackie McLean tune, while "Oh, Lord, It's Nice to Sit on Your Porch Today" simply trusts its own arresting instincts, morphing from the feel of an old spiritual to an aggressive shuffle replete with spectacular plunger-mute growls from Smoker and sheets of hyperactive piano from Stevens; along the way the quartet good-naturedly warbles the title, exuding the same sort of palpable joy one can sense when they speak with their instruments. A modest gem. Source: CD Reviews section from the May 2001 issue of JazzTimes |
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Steven Loewy for All Music Guide There is some amazing music in this version of the Fonda-Stevens Quartet, which, in addition to bassist Joe Fonda and Michael Jefry Stevens, includes the wonderful trumpet player Paul Smoker and the drummer Harvey Sorgen. Like other performances by this group (with shifting personnel), there are many elements of free jazz imposed on conventional structures. The results continue to intrigue, in the same way that Mingus incorporated a mélange of styles. Smoker is sometimes more restrained than usual, conscious, perhaps, of his role as sideman and sole horn. The compositions are complex, with tricky rhythms and tough chord changes, and he seems to enjoy it all. Stevens is a fine soloist, with a broad range of tricks that keep everyone on their toes. The sound quality is less than perfect, which is most noticeable on the vocals on the romping "Oh, Lord, Its Nice to Sit on Your Porch Today." The joys are immense, though, and the angular and challenging melodies bring out the best in the players. Reprinted with permission. Copyright © 2006 All Media Guide, LLC and Steven Loewy. All reviews written by Steven Loewy:
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Philippe L. Renou for Improjazz Ca commence à se savoir, plus timidement en France qu'ailleurs en Europe où cette formation se produit régulièrement depuis des années : le Fonda-Stevens Group est l'un des meilleurs messages d'espoir en provenance de la planète menacée du jazz. Entre le mercantilisme qui propulse chaque saison ses pelletées de faux prophètes et le cercle des intouchables de l'improvisation, bannis de toute arène un tant soit peu publique, il est bien difficile pour des hommes qui croient encore au jazz (oui : le "swing" -au risque de complications-, formes et formules) de se frayer un chemin vers un public qui, nous en sommes persuadés, n'attend qu'eux et ne le sait pas. C'est avec la conviction que cette musique a encore un avenir que se sont associés Joe Fonda, par ailleurs bassiste de Braxton, et Michel Jefry Stevens, que l'on pourrait, par facilité, désigner comme le Dave Douglas du piano (clarté, élégance, intelligence jamais prise en défaut, et un cœur gros comme ça...). Le présent enregistrement illustre l'extraordinaire potentiel du groupe et de ses leaders. C'est en effet un quartet de transition qui nous livre un album parfaitement achevé ; pris sur le vif, il ne laisse rien filtrer du drame que fut pourtant la séparation d'avec Mark Whitecage qui formait avec Herb Robertson, indisponible lors de cette tournée d'octobre 99, une époustouflante première ligne. Paul Smoker, seul, a donc relevé le gant. Avec succès. Puissant, volubile à l'occasion, toujours précis, grand manieur de sourdine, continuateur de Bubber Miley ou de Cootie Williams comme de Bill Dixon, sa prestation dans Haiku, devenu ici un véritable concerto à son intention, donne la pleine mesure d'un impressionnant talent multiforme. Telle est la cohésion du quartet que jamais on ne se sent en présence d'une formation si réduite. Le jeu de Stevens, soliste inspiré, accompagnateur idéal dont chaque note porte, sa densité constamment mesurée ; la solidité de Fonda, ses carrures, son nerf ; la battue de Sorgen (ce Janus est "aussi" le batteur de Hot Tuna !) généreuse et pesée avec une science consommée des couleurs -tout cela se fond en une musique constamment excitante. On y repère un sens profond du blues, un goût des structures complexes mais fortement charpentées, un usage peu fréquent de toutes les dynamiques, et une joie, une immense joie de jouer. Le secret d'une telle réussite réside sans doute dans l'adéquation totale entre un répertoire original fort, dû à parts égales à Fonda et Stevens, et les qualités de stylistes des musiciens impliqués, formidablement complets et complémentaires. Trop rares sont aujourd'hui les disques auxquels on peut revenir encore et encore pour ignorer celui-ci... on pourra alors remonter aux précédents : Parallel lines (Music & Arts / 979), Evolution (Leo / CDLR 260), et suivre le fil des discographies pour découvrir l'ampleur d'une œuvre qui nous tend les bras. Enfin, pour la petite histoire, il est rare qu'un producteur voué à des musiques plus "radicales" et peu enclin à des déclarations fracassantes, sorte sur ces mots de sa réserve : "Je, soussigné Leo Feigin, producteur de ce CD, confirme par la présente que j'ai attendu un enregistrement de cette sorte pendant vingt ans." Suit une bordée de qualificatifs décrivant la situation actuelle du jazz qu'il serait dommage de traduire. Profitez de l'occasion pour les découvrir sur le site de Leo Records. Reprinted with permission. Copyright © 2006 Improjazz and Philippe L. Renou. |
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2001 by Gerard F. Tierney for Rubberneck The aforementioned Mr. Fonda co-leads a group with pianist Michael Jefry Stevens, though Paul Smoker on trumpet is perhaps the best-known 'name'. Drummer Harvey Sorgen completes a well-rounded group that plays easily in a number of genres. It's surely one of the most straight-ahead jazz groups Leo have released, and lots of fun to boot. Evans-impressionism leads to Mingus-blowsiness in front of an appreciative German audience. There's a little piano funk, some authoritative free playing, and a cheerful vocal piece. I know Fonda best from his work with the great Wadada Leo Smith, and he's just as strong and versatile here. Reprinted with permission. Copyright © 2006 Rubberneck and Gerard F. Tierney. All reviews written by Gerard F. Tierney:
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