FEBRUARY 1996
BUELL NEIDLINGER
Blue Chopsticks: A Portrait of Herbie Nichols
K2B2 3169
Blue Chopsticks / 2300 Skiddoo / Portrait Of Ucha / The Gig / Love, Gloom, Cash, Love / Cro-Magnon Nights / Step Tempest / The Lady Sings The Blues / Query / Nick At T's / Applejackin'. 62:53
Herbie Nichols is one of the definitive cult Jazz artists. A pianist/composer of inestimable abilities, he recorded only a fifth of his compositions. He labored, mostly in obscurity, playing with Dixieland combos to eke out a living. (It was the equivalent of Anton Webern conducting Carl Orff.) In his lifetime he made virtually no impact except on a small number of modern musicians with whom he recorded for Blue Note and Bethlehem, and then towards the end of his life (early '60s) there was a small coterie of up and coming musicians who clustered around him. Musicians like Roswell Rudd, Steve Lacy and Archie Shepp. Archie Shepp likened this period to a guru/apprenticeship program.. They came, heard, learned and spread the word. Europeans picked up the message. Misha Mengelberg and his I.C.P. Orchestra became a Herbie Nichols repertory aensemble for a while (7/89, p.87)
Buell Neidlinger was a member ot that early '60s grouping but, to the best of my knowledge, he has never recorded any of Nichols' compositions. With Blue Chopsticks, Neidlinger pays it all back. Nichols had always had ambitions of working beyond the piano trio format (the only way he recorded). He had a desire to orchestrate his compositions for different formats and larger ensembles. Neidlinger has arranged eleven of his compositions for a reed player, brass player and string trio. Those familiar with Neidlinger's earlier recordings of Monk and Ellington compositions, Across the Tracks, may have a rough idea of what to expect from Blue Chopsticks. But this is a far better realized project, perhaps because it's a labor of love. (Perhaps, too, that's the reason it took Neidlinger so long to put it together.)
But while this project is dedicated to one of Neidlinger's "mentors," it is Neidlinger's individual approach to the Nichols legacy. The most unusual feature is the lack of drums in the ensemble. Nichols viewed drums not only as a strong rhythmic force but also as a melodic element. He frequently ended compositions with a trail-off phrase from the drums. While that element is missing here, there is no problem with flaccid rhtyms. Everything here pushes along with rhythmic force and assurance courtesy of the string trio. Even a piece as drum-oriented as "Cro-Magnon Nights" moves froward with a stength and force that seems built into the compositions. It's rendered by Neidlinger and company with exceptional verve. Another facet of Nichols that's brought out in these arrangements is his wit. It's there in the jaunty exuberance of "Portrait Of Ucha." In their solos, violist Ross and Schick on his muted cornet sound like they're having a grand old time. So does Marty Krystall in his bass clarinet solo on "Query." "The Gig" is turned into a crazed hoedown that echoes one of Neidlinger's earlier groups, Buellgrass. "Love, Gloom, Cash, Love" is a boozy, bittersweet waltz in Nichols' interpretation Neidlinger stays true to the original's mood although this version may be a bit tipsier. It's all Nichols but equally important is that it is also all Neidlinger.
It sounds like a lot of time and effort have gone into these arrangements and it's been worth it. Sure they're idiosyncratic. But they need to be if these compositons aren't going to become calcified museum pieces. Roswell Rudd once wrote hat anyone who plays a song of Nichols' makes this planet a better place. Neidlinger has done this and more.
- Robert Iannapollo
