NED GOOLD, THE FLOWS, SMALLS 43.
Without a piano, Ned Goold’s Straight-Ahead trio emphasizes the kind of freedom in Jazz that comes with having enough space to interpret good music. Horizontal space between notes and phrases, as well as ample vertical harmonic space, gives the ensemble an adhesive quality: it holds the listener in tow, as the threesome makes every note count. Recorded in performance at various indoor and outdoor locations while on tour, the album includes nine originals and vivid interpretations of seven classic tunes. Goold’s dry tenor saxophone tone and fast-paced technique mark his performance with indelible Bebop honors. Walking bass and a distant drummer give the leader solid support. Both take frequent solos, but it’s Goold who makes this session sing with verve.
In much the same manner that Charlie Parker would invert a melody or reassemble it in disguise, Ned Goold likes to re-create pieces that appeal to the intellect of the listener (and performers). The sessions do not swing much. Nor does the saxophonist indulge in pyrotechnical displays. Rather, Goold prefers to keep his Straight-Ahead sessions moving forward, with a three-man interaction that creates foot-tapping frenzy among his listeners. The saxophonist prefers clusters of notes, strung together linearly, that maintain a horizontal direction. His range lacks variety, staying mainly in the middle register.
Several of the tracks end abruptly with awkward disjunction. Throughout the album, I was distracted by squeals and conversation from the audience. Neither of these annoyances, however, is strong enough to outweigh the unique character of Goold’s performance and the fresh growth in Straight-Ahead Jazz that his music represents. Jim Santella
Review of Ned Goold / The Flows in Down Beat, June 2004. **** Four stars.
A much more vertical player [compared to Ned Otter in preceding review -- LMK], Goold navigates his trio through a maze of customized tonal structure on The Flows. His sense of extended harmony -- which constantly reminds of the melody to Thelonious Monk's Epistrophy -- emerges from the get-go on the short solo intro to the opening track. Rather than use the customary in/out/in approach to advanced soloing, Goold constantly keeps the listener on his toes with an out/in/out approach that sounds downright upside-down.
With Goold ever super-imposing his ideas over standard progressions (as well as his own originals), an underlying bitonality results, giving each cut a distinct, off-center slant that screams originality. Bassist Ben Wolfe follows the leader closely, showing a firm grasp of Goold's concept as he walks the pocket and solos aggressively. Check out how Goold and Wolfe switch roles on "Edsol," with the saxophonist holding down the tune's three-beat signature to accompany the bassist extended hemiola in four.
Quality of material, expert performance, and sheer inventiveness help Goold and his trio rise above such unfavorable recording conditions as loud audience chatter, cable/tape noise and varying degress of poor bass clarity. The Flows represents Goold's finest trio work to date; too bad the sound has to suffer. Ed Enright
All About Jazz - Italia - Valutazione: * * * *
Ned Goold è il direttore artistico della big band di Harry Connick Jr.: vi pare un pessimo biglietto da visita?
Certo, l'immagine belloccia e malinconica di Connick, le sue doti vocali non eccelse, possono mettere sulla difensiva, ma l'orchestra è fra le migliori in circolazione e non sarebbe male ascoltare bene composizioni e arrangiamenti del cantante, forse l'aspetto più trascurato e pregevole della sua produzione.
Goold spesso apre i concerti della big band, suonando in trio, sulla scia del Rollins primi anni Sessanta, ma con un'emotività cool, che ricorda Warne Marsh. La sua musica, pur collocata prima delle avanguardie free, non è certo di facile ascolto: Goold ha sviluppato un metodo originale di sostituzione armonica, che applica a standard spesso poco battuti, esplorati da cima a fondo e resi con suono scuro, incedere melodico allusivo, concezione ritmica personale. L'emozione è sottoposta a un filtraggio severo, che elimina ogni declamazione, opta per allusioni oblique e ironiche.
I due notevoli compagni d'avventura (Ben Wolfe, Rolf Steen) sono con lui da tempo e la lunga consuetudine si sente in un interplay colmo di swing, privo d'incertezze o vuoti.
«The Flows» - terzo CD da titolare - è tratto da numerosi concerti del 1999 e presenta un'accorta selezione di brani originali e standard. Un lavoro dotato di spessore insolito, che si apprezza con l'ascolto ripetuto e presenta un artista maturo, da gustare anche in «Other Hours», primo CD strumentale di Connick per la Marsalis Music (ma il secondo dopo «Lofty's Roach Souffle» pubblicato nel 1990 dalla Columbia). Valerio Prigiotti
The New Yorker:
"Ten favorite CDs from 2003" - Harry Connick, Jr., "Other Hours" (Rounder)
With a whip-smart quartet that features the tenor saxophonist Charles (Ned) Goold, Connick sharpens tunes he wrote for the short-lived Broadway musical "Thou Shalt Not." No matter what the songs sounded like onstage, on the recording they are strikingly melodic, and they elicit an improvisatory spirit. That the leader sticks to Monk-influenced piano and never opens his mouth to sing is only a plus.
The Boston Pheonix:
Granted, drummer Arthur Latin II alluded to a rootsy New Orleans shuffle throughout the night, but Connick and tenor-saxophonist Ned Goold favored solos full of understated, odd, fragmentary lines. Goold in particular is fascinating in his use of dynamics and his variety of timbres, his use of rests, his shifts into double-time passages, his slippery phrases that are now light and pure, now rich in glottal rumbles.
The Daily Cougar:
"Every time I record, I hope to happen upon magical musical moments," Connick said. "They're completely unpredictable and usually rare. You can never count on them. "But thanks to some extraordinary musicians that blessed me with their presence on this recording, you can," Connick continued. "Ned Goold's tenor solo on 'Change Partners' is a classic. I was just lucky enough to be in the studio when it happened."
Jornal Do Brasil:
Translation from Portuguese: Charles ' ' Ned '' Goold - received one of 12 coveted grants last year from the Chamber Music Organization - is a fine saxophonist, with a "cool" sound, but with direct and incisive phrasing a la Sonny Rollins.
All About Jazz:
"Saxophonist Charles Goold brings a nice compliment to Connick’s lyrical style. With vibrancy and depth, his reedy tenor voice along with Connick’s innate sense of melody is humbly reminiscent of the great Thelonious Monk collaborations with tenor saxophonist Charlie Rouse."
Marsalismusic.com:
"Ned's approach is very deep and complicated," Connick marvels, "but we share the same ideals in music. He likes to be funky, he thinks bebop is great, and he understands the value of a pretty sound. He plays my music as well as anybody could."
All About Jazz interview with Ben Wolfe:
"Stephen A. Smith for AAJ: You describe yourself and Ned as “musical partners.” Is he a factor, present in your mind, when you’re composing? BW: He’s a factor, in that I know that I’ll have my favorite musician on the planet playing, who I know will play a melody a way that I will be glad it was played that way. I don’t have to tell Ned anything. I love the way he plays. He’s a complete artist, man. That’s his thing. He’s very dedicated to art. And he plays that way. He’s a very rare musician, because he doesn’t try to knock people out. He doesn’t show off. He works on things, and he plays what he believes in, even if people don’t notice it. I love the way he plays. "