Lucian Ban & Alex Simu - Free Fall (2019)

More a decade since his passing, woodwind master Jimmy Giuffre has remained an inspiration to improvising musicians of many stripes. Giuffre’s long career spanned nearly six decades, over wide stylistic varieties, from the swinging big band of Woody Herman and the chamber jazz experiments of the West Coast of the 1950s to the avant-garde flights of his own classic trio with pianist Paul Bley and bassist Steve Swallow. It was the music of this trio that inspired pianist Lucian Ban and clarinetist Alex Simu to partner and release their new album, Free Fall.

Ban was introduced to Giuffre’s classic 1950s recordings with guitarist Jim Hall and bassist Ralph Peña during his formative years in Romania. As he furthered his piano and jazz studies, Ban was more and more drawn to the work of the great Paul Bley, a singular voice on the instrument. It wasn’t long before Ban was drawn to the three Giuffre trio recordings: Fusion, Thesis and Free Fall.

These recordings have remained the standard bearers for introspective, small group improvisation and have thus inspired two generations of improvisers, including Ban, who has utilized similar sentiments in his own playing since arriving to the United States nearly twenty years ago. Ban’s own musical style owes much to his interest in classical chamber music and its flirtations with jazz and improvised music, most notably on his and John Hébert’s collaboration, Enesco Re-Imagined (Sunnyside, 2010).

Simu, who, like Ban, is a native of Romania, began his study of the clarinet at 8 years old, mostly training in classical and folk idioms. He had heard Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw by the time he moved to the Netherlands to study at Groningen but they weren’t enough to hold his attention on clarinet, as he switched exclusively to tenor saxophone. Under the direction of John Ruocco at the German Youth Music Academy, Simu was introduced to Giuffre’s music and began to rediscover his love of the clarinet, on which he has become one of the world’s foremost virtuosos and developers, including modifying the instrument in a myriad of intriguing ways.

Ban and Simu hadn’t known each other in Romania but their stylistic preferences of chamber music and improvisation eventually led them to one another. Ban proposed a tour of Romania in early 2018 where the duo would perform in a manner inspired by Giuffre’s music. These dates were not tribute concerts but were billed as such to give the duo a framework for their interpretations of Giuffre pieces along with those of Simu, Ban and directions for their free improvisations, forcing them to really inhabit the music and the ethos of Giuffre’s method.

The February 7th performance at The French Cultural Institute in Bucharest was recorded for Free Fall. The recording shows the duo at their best, having internalized the music world of Giuffre and the brand of meditative improvisation struck between members of his trio.

The recording begins with Ban’s lilting “Quiet Storm,” which takes its name from a term of endearment from composer and jazz legend George Russell bestowed upon Giuffre at the time of his death. “Free Fall” is a free improvisation showcasing the dynamic interplay between the clarinetist and pianist. Carla Bley’s nearly impressionistic “Jesus Maria” follows, its subtle weaving lines and modest melody echoing folkloric pieces Ban and Simu grew up playing. “Mysteries” is another free improvisation, which begins hazily atmospheric, churning just enough to disrupt the ghosts before quietly evaporating away again.

Simu showcases his customized bass clarinet, which offers an expanded lower range, on a solo performance of his own “Near,” which was written to highlight the influence of Giuffre and Eric Dolphy on the approach to jazz bass clarinet playing. Simu composed “The Pilgrim” spontaneously with Folkert Oosting on their Improvisie recording; it is reinterpreted here with an attempt to capture the flavor of the blues and traditional New Orleans jazz. Giuffre’s plainchant “Cry, Want” is a clear evocation of the blues led by Simu’s crying clarinet. The recording concludes with Giuffre’s “Used To Be,” a piece that wasn’t originally issued (first issued in 2016) but shows an overwhelming charm as performed by the duo.

Coming together under the sway and inspiration of jazz great Jimmy Giuffre, Lucian Ban and Alex Simu found a freedom of expression that captures ear and imagination on their new recording, Free Fall.

Lucian Ban - piano
Alex Simu - clarinet, bass clarinet