I always have a high level of anticipation for a new Jon Herington release. The Jon Herington Group has released excellent record after excellent record.
Adult Entertainment was no exception in 2016, but the afterglow of that release wasn’t as satisfying since Herington didn’t take his band on tour beyond the confines of their New York safe haven.
My exposure to jazz legend Jim Beard is much spottier. I love his 2013 release Show of Hands as well as Revolutions with Vince Mendoza, but only just picked up his album Lost at the Carnival. Beard’s career as a frontman and sideman is even longer than Herington’s.
What glues the two together for me is their ongoing tenure in the Steely Dan Band. These long-term members have provided new insight and passion to the familiar Becker/Fagen catalog. Chunks and Chairknobs finds the Beard and Herington imbuing similar nuanced passion to a few standards, and well-chosen originals.
Beard’s title track kicks things off in beautiful fashion. Taken from the aforementioned Lost at the Carnival album, “Chunks and Chairknobs” is a confident ride. Here with just acoustic piano and electric guitar, the song’s essence shines through. Its playful New Orleans vibe is evident as Beard’s piano and Herington’s guitar playfully dance. It’s a fun contrast to the original.
“Double Blind,” written by Jon Herington, co-founded me at first. I could not recognize the melody. Herington’s intricate initial rhythm patterns and the stark piano patterns hinted at melancholy. Yet there is an unmistakable beauty. The mind-meld between the two musicians is unmistakable and Beard’s mid-song solo is perfection and grace, which seems to have inspired an equally rousing solo from Herington.
“Baubles, Bangles, and Beads,” the well-worn songbook tune, sounds lovely in this duo context. Herington, a master of lead guitar, provides a Brazilian-flavored rhythm that supports Beard’s piano. Beard’s solo is a tad too short, though. Just as they begin to bring the fire, the song is over.
“Hope is Woe,” another Jon Herington original, shines in this setting. The guitarist spices things up with his staccato rhythm work and Beard’s piano provides splashes of color to the collage. The mid-song time-signature change and rollercoaster ride of a piano solo conspire to make this one my favorite of all these gems – or at least my favorite, this week.
Their update of “Hand to Hand,” a Jim Beard composition from his 1997 album Truly, brings Chunks and Chairknobs back down to a simmer. The ballad, which seems simple at first, builds in complexity and vitality. The interaction between Beard and Herington only enhances the song’s emotional impact and beauty. The recapitulation of the central theme further creates a synaptic bond with the listener. This is pretty heady stuff.
The album closer is a bit of a surprise, as the duo tackles one of the most polished songs in the Steely Dan canon: “Gaucho” in the duet setting is still a gem, however. Beard and Herington strip the song down to its melodic core revealing a song which is still great, even in this minimalist setting. The arrangement is close to the original, yet even with just Herington’s guitar and Beard’s piano, they occupy every space which needs to be filled.
Chunks and Chairknobs is a joy. Obviously, the original songs are powerful, and the covers stand the test of time. Beard and Herington infuse everything with a freshness and vitality, making each essential listening and one of my favorite jazz releases for 2019. Hopefully, between Steely Dan dates this year, we can get a few live shows in from Jim Beard and Jon Herington.
Autographed copies of Chunks and Chairknobs are available for preorder through Nov. 7, 2019 via Jon Herington’s online store; the album is out Nov. 15.
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