This week’s edition of Mondays with Morgan is an interview between jazz journalist Morgan Enos and Ray Gallon, a revered pianist, composer and arranger who has worked with a number of leading lights.
Grand Company, his new trio album with bassist Ron Carter and drummer Lewis Nash, was released on 17 November via Cellar Music Group. Links to purchase the music and to Gallon’s website can be found at the bottom of this article.
Commit. At its essence, all improvised music flows from that directive: to command the moment with mastery and aplomb.
In more than three decades on the scene, pianist and composer Ray Gallon has come to embody the word – as any jazz veteran worth his or her salt should. And for an exemplar in this department, he looks to the one and only Maestro Ron Carter – jazz’s most-recorded bassist.
“He makes decisions very quickly and moves on; I’ve never seen him second-guess anything he does,” Gallon tells UKJazz. “There’s no hesitancy in that sense. He’s very thoughtful and yet remains spontaneous. He doesn’t waste words, just like he doesn’t waste notes.”
That’s a crucial attribute to engender in jazz, a realm where so many albums are recorded in mere hours. It’s also requisite to share the bandstand with Carter and the illustrious drummer Lewis Nash, who’s recorded with piano giants from Oscar Peterson to McCoy Tyner to Hank Jones.
“They immediately understand exactly what each piece needs and are able to provide it,” the pianist adds. And on Grand Company – despite some four decades of association, their first album as a trio – the musicians are further proven to be consummate providers.
Consisting of five Gallon originals (“Acting Up,” “Zombette,” ”Two Track Mind,” “Pins and Needles,” “Monkey Bar”) and four standards, the album is momentous in an understated way. (In the liner notes, celebrated pianist Bill Charlap didn’t call it “a milestone” for nothing.)
A no-nonsense, straight-ahead trio date, Grand Company is a satisfying culmination of a long collegiality. Read on for an interview with Gallon about how it came to be.
UKJazz News: Hearing you, Ron and Lewis is a joy; it lifted my morning. So, thanks for making Grand Company.
Ray Gallon: Thank you so much! It was a thrill making this album, that’s for sure. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for years – a straight-ahead trio record with Maestro Ron Carter and the magnificent Lewis Nash.
I’m so glad it came together. As busy as Ron and Lewis always are, it can be difficult scheduling a date that works for all. Fortunately, it worked out.
UKJN: How did you three come together? Can you describe the dynamic within the trio?
RG: Well, though we’d never actually worked together as a trio, my connection with these two master musicians goes back decades to the late ‘80s, when Lewis and I both played in Ron’s Quintet and Nonet.
The connection first began a few years before that, when I was a grad student at the City College of New York, where Ron was a Distinguished Professor. I was in one of his ensemble classes and he asked me to play a duo gig with him at Knickerbocker as a sub for the great Roland Hanna.
I was totally green – and so nervous I could barely keep my fingers from trembling. But somehow, it worked out and I wound up doing a recurring duo gig with him that lasted a couple of years. It was the most remarkable on-the-job training I could ever have hoped for.
UKJN: Wow. What happened next?
RG: After the Knickerbocker gig, Ron started calling me to make some gigs with his Quintet and Nonet; Lewis was the drummer.
Over the years, I’ve continued to work on and off in different settings with both Ron and Lewis. Ron has continued calling me to sub in his bands. In fact, I’m about to play the week in Birdland with Maestro Carter’s Great Big Band.
Lewis and I have played together as sidemen in a variety of settings, including some tours to Japan with [tenor saxophonist] George Adams. There’s supposedly a video on YouTube of that band at the Mount Fuji Festival where I have big hair and am wearing a big puffy shirt, as was the fashion of the day.
So, my connection with Ron and Lewis goes way back. They, of course, have worked together on countless gigs and recording sessions. They’re a true dream-team of a rhythm section; such a remarkable chemistry, with a connection that’s telepathic.
I’ve been extremely fortunate. For my first trio album, Make Your Move [2021], I was in the company of another great rhythm section – [bassist] David Wong and [drummer] Kenny Washington; two people who have each had huge impacts on my life and career.
UKJN: To backtrack a little, how would you describe your history in the trio format?
RG: I love playing trio, but I came to it a little later than most. After first playing with Ron, I worked for years on the road as a sideman with numerous bands. I was never very aggressive when it came to my career. I was busy and happy working as a sideman. I was just trying to improve and play better.
I was always writing music and doing occasional gigs of my own, but it wasn’t until I got a full-time teaching position at City College, and then went through a somewhat serious health crisis, that I spent less time on the road and started leading regular duo and trio gigs in town.
These regular gigs allowed my trio concept to blossom. No matter how much you practise at home, the real growth comes from playing gigs. Getting to play my original compositions on a regular basis allowed them to evolve; I also started developing personalised arrangements of some of the standards I love to play. All of this organically evolved on the bandstand.
At this point, for me, it’s hard to beat playing in a trio setting, especially with the right bass player and drummer. Obviously, I’ve been pretty fortunate in that regard.
UKJN: In my time here, I’ve come to understand that one’s first trio album is typically a big moment – a watershed, something you really build up to. Did you feel that way?
RG: Absolutely! That’s why I waited so long to record in a trio setting. I wanted to feel I had a personal trio concept to offer; something to say. One of the biggest challenges of playing straight ahead in a traditional trio setting is sounding fresh and distinctive. I wanted it to be something special, with the sense of a real trio dynamic.
I spent a lot of time preparing for this album, knowing that, before the recording session, we’d only have time for one brief rehearsal, just to run through the heads and any arranged passages, without any soloing. What you hear on the recording are actually the very first times Ron, Lewis, and I as a trio played through each of the pieces in their entirety.
Ron and Lewis are so remarkable that way. They’re such masters and have so much experience. They immediately understand exactly what each piece needs and are able to provide it – while at the same time, infusing every note with their distinctive musical personalities.
UKJN: “A real trio dynamic.” What is that, from your perspective?
RG: First of all, the rhythmic feel has to be locked in; relaxed yet intense; nothing forced. We each need to really listen to each other, be willing to take chances, and be able to trust each other. Every note needs to count and sound inevitable.
When recording in a trio setting, I do like to have, to some degree, pre-arranged concepts for each of the tunes. I find that working within a preconceived framework usually strengthens my concept for the improvisational sections.
So, when I record a standard, there’s often some degree of a personalised stamp on it – re-harmonisation, rhythmic hits, bass line figures doubled by the piano. All of this is written into the charts for each of the tunes.
I guess this reflects the influence of my mentors, John Lewis and Ron Carter. Though both could certainly do gigs by just winging it, they always came to their gigs fully prepared with set lists and arrangements.
Artists such as Monk, Bud, Horace Silver, Ahmad Jamal, Hank Jones, Ray Bryant, Cedar Walton, etc., who all had such specific, personalised trio conceptions, were also huge influences who never cease to inspire.
UKJN: Before we go: I’ve interviewed Ron once or twice, and he was one of the most interesting people I’ve ever spoken with. Give me some Ron insights.
RG: Maestro Carter is a truly unique individual. He is, without a doubt, the most disciplined and principled person I have ever met.
One of the many things that has always struck me about him is his ability to completely focus on whatever he’s doing. He makes decisions very quickly and moves on; I’ve never seen him second-guess anything he does. There’s no hesitancy in that sense. He’s very thoughtful and yet remains spontaneous. He doesn’t waste words, just like he doesn’t waste notes.
He’s remarkably loyal and generous to those he considers friends. When I was going through the health crisis I mentioned earlier, he offered help and support in a way that was truly astonishing. Yet, if you in any way fail to take care of business – either musically or personally – he will not hesitate to call you out and set you straight, no matter who you are!
Also, given how intimidating a presence he certainly can be, it may come as a surprise to some that he has a great sense of humour; there’s often a lot of laughter involved when you’re around him. As you can clearly see, Maestro Carter has had a profound impact on my life.
