Jazz Notes

THIRD'S A CHARM: Every artist has a favorite means of self-expression. For contemporary jazz guitarist Joyce Cooling, composing is the most personal and fulfilling way to satisfy her creative muse. "Songwriting is my panacea," says Cooling, a New York City-born musician who has inhabited the San Francisco Bay-area music scene for the past two decades. "Writing is the best part of making music. The task of putting it down on tape is where it can become stressful."

The guitarist, along with longtime musical partner/keyboard player Jay Wagner, composed all of the material on Third Wish (Sept. 11), her label debut for GRP/Verve. (Her two previous recordings were for the Heads Up International label.) Mixing lucid, melodic guitar lines with keyboard beds and percussive samba rhythms, the project, according to Cooling, "is a good reflection of who I am and of the musical elements that have influenced me." The guitarist admits to being enamored of the Brazilian rhythms that inform several of the tracks, but she notes that "I do not believe [I have] any Brazilian heritage, although [I] can't be 100% sure." However, Cooling says that the soft poly-rhythms are "deeply ingrained as a part of me."

Those touches are felt strongly on the track "Tamba," which Cooling dedicates to the Tamba Trio, a Brazilian group she has admired since childhood. Septuagenarian percussionist Helcio Milito, a member of the trio, performs on the track, augmenting its jaunty samba gait. Trumpeter Bill Ortiz appears on several tracks, too, contrasting the music's contemporary feel with his own straight-ahead timbre and values.

Cooling also brings Al Jarreau into the mix on the album's first radio single, "Mm-Mm Good," calling on the vocalist to provide his trademark joyous scats on the song's bridge. "Al is the youngest player I've ever played with, in terms of his approach to music," Cooling says. "He plays with the joy and spontaneity of a kid in a sandbox, just playing with sounds and making each note into a new adventure."

Cooling adds her own vocal touches to several tracks, scatting vocal lines around her guitar playing, and singing lead on the original pop/rock song "It'll Come Back to You."

While many players say they are drawn to their chosen instrument early on, Cooling's attraction to the guitar was more cerebral than instinctive. "I always loved three things in music—poly-rhythms, harmony, and a singing, voice-like quality," she says. "I tried percussion, but there was no harmony or vocal quality. Then I tried piano, which has the percussion and harmonies but still did not emulate a singing voice. When I picked up the guitar, it had all three elements, since you can play percussive rhythms, play harmonies, and bend and slide notes to sound like a human voice."

Although the tide is turning, Cooling says that people are still surprised to see a woman playing jazz guitar. "At first, people would say I was getting gigs just because I was a woman—and when I was starting out, they were probably right," she admits. "Maybe in the beginning, when I was just starting to play, I was not to be taken seriously. But you have to start somewhere. I just swallowed my pride, because I knew I had to be out there playing and learning.

"Women are out there, playing every instrument imaginable, and they are good. Just because we don't get all of the attention does not mean we don't exist."



NOTEWORTHY: Class of 2001 (Sharp Nine, Aug. 28), featuring trumpeter Jeremy Pelt, saxophonists Marcus Strickland and Julius Tolentino, pianist Jeb Patton, bassist Brandon Owens, and drummer E.J. Strickland, brings together "an assortment of guys who are friends, who work together, and who are paying their dues on the New York jazz circuit," according to label owner Marc Edelman. The release is the first in a projected annual "Class of . . ." series on the New Jersey-based label.

The Over the Edge label has inked a deal with Lightyear Entertainment/WEA for U.S. distribution. The first project under the deal, Goin' Home . . . A Tribute to Duke Ellington (released Aug. 14), features more than 21 artists, including Jonathan Butler, Jon Hendricks, and rapper Guru, as well as an 18-piece orchestra. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Duke Ellington Foundation and to a charity that supports the AIDS crisis in Africa.