Frederick Moyer’s re-creational Jazz Arts Trio

Classical fans with long memories will recall Frederick Moyer’s close relationship with the old Indianapolis Museum of Art’s music program, which segued after a hiatus into a good connection with the Carmel Symphony Orchestra, run by former IMA staffer Alan Davis.

Wearing his jazz hat, Moyer teamed with old friends Peter Fraenkel, bass, and Peter Tillotson, drums, to form the Jazz Arts Trio. The group does something unusual: It uses well-regarded jazz recordings as though they were classical scores, reinterpreting them in contemporary studio environments. The latest program carrying out this artistic mission is “Swing of Many Colors” (JRI Recordings). The mainstay of this album is Ahmad Jamal’s “But Not for Me: Live at the Pershing” record, a bestseller from 1958.

The “Pershing Suite,” as this release titles the Jamal trio’s renditions, is an inspired tribute to the special qualities of that group — its relentless swing with a light touch and, in particular, the pianist’s delicate wit and inclination to highlight melody. Those gifts were sometimes misinterpreted a half-century ago, and Jamal was pegged by some as little better than a cocktail pianist. He was far more than that; he had a recreative imagination as keen as any of his contemporaries. Moyer, Tillotson and Fraenkel spiritedly recapture the rapport of Jamal with bassist Israel Crosby and drummer Vernel Fournier.

Filling out the disc are a couple of reconsiderations of Oscar Peterson performances (“Night Train” and “Fly Me to the Moon”), Red Garland’s imperishable romp through the folk song “Billy Boy,” a quirky, idiomatic excursion through Keith Jarrett’s “All the Things You Are,” Marian McPartland’s understated lyricism in “For All We Know” and a tangy Chick Corea essay called “Matrix.” These are all great as indications of the Jazz Arts Trio’s affinity for diverse trio styles, but the real treasure of this disc is the monument it raises to Jamal and his sidemen at that Chicago gig so many years ago.

http://blogs.indystar.com/upstage/2012/03/13/frederick-moyers-re-creational-jazz-arts-trio/

Concert pianist Frederick Moyer performs "Bosa Beguine" by Oscar Peterson, at The Center for Arts in Natick, Massachusetts on March 14, 2008. Accompaniment by bassist Peter Tillotson and drummer Peter Fraenkel. Video produced by Todd DeBonis.