Baroque Sketches

On the eve of releasing the Luce Trio’s first CD, I picked up Art Farmer’s Baroque Sketches at Academy Records yesterday. Jazz Trio with Baroque orchestra, arranged by Benny Golson! How could I resist.

This record is everything I wanted it to be. I had to laugh at the first entrance of the swinging hi-hat over the baroque orchestra, a la Jacques Loussier and many other baroque jazz crossovers of the 50’s and 60’s.

My late grandfather was a friend and fan of John Lewis, a pianist who recorded baroque music combined with jazz improvisation on numerous occasions, and one of his pieces is featured on this Art Farmer record. Then of course there are the great arrangements of Nina Simone’s trio, like this: For All We Know. Recently I heard Bach Goes To Town by Benny Goodman’s band, a really nice chart full of the exuberant spirit of baroque music and swing. It’s also closest to the vibe of this Art Farmer record.

Jazz inflected harmony, simplified counterpoint, and improvisation over Bach progressions are all in line with what I am doing with Luce, the main difference being the focus on swing.

Many of these earlier efforts superimpose a swing feel on straight eighth note heavy music, similar to the early mambo music of Machito and Dizzy Gillespie, where jazz rhythm sections played side by side with traditional Cuban percussionists.

This juxtaposition is fascinating, and I don’t think it could be reproduced today. This perhaps being because swing was closer to a folkloric rhythm at the time, not as easily turned on and off as by today’s versatile drummers. Jazz was synonymous with swing.

The Luce Trio takes a less swing oriented approach to interpreting Bach and Handel, though practicing swing is a huge part of my daily practice and will no doubt come through in some of the playing. These early efforts are inspiring, for their energy and ingenuity, whether the results were successful or not. I’m trying to make this music work for our time and our aesthetic.