August 3, 2004

Discs reflect city's evolving music

By Howard Reich
Tribune Arts Critic

The economics of jazz may be tenuous these days, but in Chicago, at least, the music seems to be swinging harder than ever.

Listen to the latest wave of jazz recorded here, and it's clear that this city's musicians continue to produce visionary, often outlandishly inventive sounds. Releasing their work on independent or selfowned labels and, therefore, making no concessions to the marketplace, these artists record what they wany - utterly outside the reach and the influence of the tradition-bound major labels.

The results are often startling, with self-styled players offering precisely the unconventional, fiercely individualistic music that has been the hallmark of Chicago jazz for nearly a century. And though some releases prove a bit more persuasive than others, the sheer creative energy, technical aplomb and stylistic originality affirm this city's long-held position at the forefront of jazz innovation.

Perhaps the most dramatic artistic breakthrough comes from the pianist Jon Weber; who until the release of his "Simple Complex" CD (2ndCenturyJazz Records) had been typecast as a retro keyboard stylist in the tradition of Dick Hyman. Weber's long-running solo engagement in the lounge of Chicago's Four Seasons Hotel has done nothing to dispel that notion, because he generally reels off standards and other ancient fare to the delight of patrons sipping martinis.

But with "Simple Complex," Weber viscerally breaks free of his noteworthy earlier recordings, "Jazz Wagon" (1993) and "It's Never Quite the Same" (1998). Leading such estimable artists as trumpeter Roy Hargrove, singer Kurt Elling, bassist Avishai Cohen and Vibist Gary Burton, Weber unveils original music so unconventional in its scoring, unorthodox in its harmonies and unpredictable in its melodic course as to represent a nearly complete reassessment of his art.

Certainly anyone savoring the harmonic volatility of his "Hot Ice" or the fervent melodicism of his "While She's Dreaming" (with Paul McCandless' serene oboe) might doubt that this could be the work of a pianist better known for his renditions of Gershwin and Berlin. Hargrove's disarmingly lucid duet with Weber on the aptly titled "No More Words," Weber's crystalline pianism on the hard-boppish "Drastic Steps" and Elling's Coltrane-like incantations on "Is It Only Me?" prove that Weber indeed has soared into new regions of expression as composer-bandleader.

Who would have expected such a catchy, attractive hook on "Mister Kleckley" or such beguiling twists and turns of melody line on "Jolie?" If any recording can give Weber a fraction of the recognition he deserves, "Simple Complex" is it.