There's a freshness here like spring after an extremely severe winter. Keith Javors' performance, as well as his compositions, culminates in a harmonic format free from predictable clichés, free from the over-powering influence of 18th century harmonic gravitational pulls, free from sameness. In some pieces the degree of simplicity is so beautifully full of child-like purity, honesty, and sadness that after an in-depth listening, one is tempted to ask him, "Who hurt you so deeply?" Personally, I'm impressed that the primary focus is not solely on energy in the form of volume and climatic improvisation, but on making music which encompasses nuances from a whisper to a virtual outcry of unfettered emotions. Keith has discovered the essence of creativity. The young front-line players are undoubtedly tomorrow's stars. Juan Carlos Rollan's dexterity and interpretive skills are absolutely awesome, Dane Bays is reality in the form of raw soul coming to you straight from the heart and Ray Callender represents the cutting edge of trumpet playing. The rhythm section swings without rigidity leaving the soloist room to soar freely. Ricky Ravelo does a marvelous job of locking in with Keith and John Davis, controlling the space and time in a way that serves the entire group. John is simply a dream of a drummer, virtually indefatigable and always inventive. To recapitulate, the man that put it all together, Keith Javors, is a singular individual who has made the entire world his resource area and now speaks with his own individual voice. Keith is a creative force with an urgent message that cannot be denied. Mo' City Jungle is a wonderful CD. Enjoy! Bunky Green Jacksonville, FL Nowhere in the universe has the old adage "those who can do, those who can't teach" been more resoundingly refuted than in the world of jazz. For more than a generation, great musicians like Jackie McLean, Kenny Barron, Cecil Bridgewater, Billy Hart, Rufus Reid, and Reggie Workman (to name more than just a few) have proven the falsity of that truism by taking their places in the hallowed halls of academia as leaders in the field of jazz education while remaining key players in the development of the music as regularly performing purveyors of the art form. While the true merit of this relatively new association between jazz and the academy remains debatable, the number of excellent musicians that have come out of the system is undeniable. Keith Javors is both a part of this system and a product of it - an esteemed graduate of one of the country's oldest and most prestigious jazz programs and a highly acclaimed educator at the University of North Florida, where he has taught for the past three years in the jazz program headed by legendary alto saxophonist Bunky Green. All the while, he has remained a constantly developing player who on this, his third record as a leader of a small group, demonstrates his considerable talents as a potent pianist, a creative composer, and an inspired improviser in addition to the leadership ability he clearly displays as the person in charge of this fiery, hard hitting ensemble. Javors was born in Carbondale, Illinois on October 15, 1971 and started playing music when he was only three years old, picking out familiar themes from radio and television programs on his family's defunct player piano. He began formal studies at the age of eight, but his introduction to jazz didn't come until several years later when as a teenager he heard John Coltrane's My Favorite Things and Dave Brubeck's "Plays Cole Porter". He recalls becoming immediately hooked on the freedom the music allowed; its earthiness and "feeling." On the recommendation of a teacher, Javors moved to Denton, Texas in 1989 to pursue his interest in jazz at the University of North Texas, where he matriculated for seven years while on a scholarship and teaching fellowship and received Bachelors and Masters degrees in Jazz Piano Performance. While there he got his major "tutelage" freelancing professionally in the Dallas/Ft. Worth region, working regularly as a member of the Dallas Jazz Orchestra and the Brad Turner Quartet, as well as playing in the University's famed One O' Clock Lab Band. In 1996 Javors relocated to pursue his doctorate in Music Education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, which he earned while freelancing in Chicago and throughout the Midwest, clinicing and performing. It was there that he first met alto saxophonist Dane Bays, who would introduce him to Alex Brooks and Lou Smoltz. The three, who Javors calls "great friends and wonderful 'streetsmart' musicians from Detroit," joined the pianist for his impressive second recording "From Here To The Street". The group was together on and off for four years, until Javors moved to Florida to take his teaching position at UNF. Bays has remained Keith's closest musical associate, a strong melodic voice in his compositions, with "surprisingly similar musical and aesthetic tastes," according to the pianist. The altoist is a protégé of veteran Detroit saxophonist Larry Smith, who also mentored Kenny Garrett; which explains the striking similarity in their searing sound and Tranish approach. Bays was Javors' symbiotic second on their debut recording, the duo outing "Mantra." Chicago trumpeter Ray Callender was another member of Javors' group in Urbana, joining the band at the impressively early age of seventeen. While this young man's primary influence on his horn is clearly Freddie Hubbard, there are also discernible stylistic resemblances to Lee Morgan and Woody Shaw, giving him a well rounded approach that is both spirited and intelligent. Callender has been involved in the Betty Carter's Jazz Ahead at the Kennedy Center and the Steans Institute for Jazz (Rivinia Jazz Festival). Tenor saxophonist Juan Carlos Rollan, a Florida native, was formerly one of Javors' standout students at UNF. He's a passionate player who exhibits a broad range of favorites (from Trane to Turrentine to Brecker) and a taste for soul and R & B, making him a good match for Bays. As Keith notes, "The two have a similar quality which brings a cohesion to the group that I like." Javors is joined by two more Floridians in the rhythm section. Bassist Ricky Ravelo is a colleague of Keith's at UNF and the oldest member of the group. "I met Ricky when I got to Florida," the pianist remembers, "He was on one of the first gigs I played in Hilton Head, SC. His musical and personal spirit enhances any situation." Ravelo has toured and recorded previously with Marcus Printup on the trumpeter's Nocturnal Traces album for Blue Note, and also with Travis Shook. Drummer John Davis is a current student of Javors. Javors says, "He brings a real sense of creativity to the group, and provides a nice groove and foundation for straight ahead through soul." "Mo' City Jungle" effectively exhibits Javors' distinctive writing style in a variety of moods which display his diverse tastes. He elucidates saying, "I like to try and write songs that are highly accessible from an audience's perspective, yet challenging from the musician's standpoint." The title track is a double minor blues reminiscent of Kenny Garrett's "Tacit Dance" from the Black Hope album. The composer notes, "It is open ended in working as either or both an Afro-Cuban and straight ahead feel, and is stylistically typical of the fire and soul in Detroit." The next two tunes are familial dedications by the leader. "My nephew Zach's first birthday present was a tune I recorded previously on FHTTS," he notes. "Then came another nephew and niece, and thus more songs. Here are movements two and three of the 'suite', Sierra Nicole's Bossa and Ian Keith. Hopefully the listener hears a simple and childlike beauty in all three of the tunes." Javors says, "In a way, Symbiotic Interlude is the oldest composition on the record. Dane and I began playing together in the duo format from the beginning in 96' and the trading you hear on the end of the cut is a vibe we've been trying to refine for years. In Essence is a mellow Messengerish theme reminiscent of certain Wayne Shorter-Bobby Watson compositions. Keith wrote Afternoon in Roatan after repeated trips to Honduras. He explains, "I continue to be amazed by people who have much less than us and yet have such a positive, unassuming quality. I hope there's a certain soulfulness to the tune that reflects that feeling." The music's poignant beauty does just that. Conclusion of the Matter is a sextet arrangement by Javors based on a defining verse in Ecclesiastes. Its close, dense horn voicings, extended form, and rhythm section drive and interaction give it an anthemic quality that hearkens to Walter Davis Jr.'s work with Art Blakey. Keith describes The High Road as "an extended and reflective piano piece which culminates in an unexpected all-out soul groove with Dane and the rhythm section and remarks, "It's a feeling of overcoming obstacles on the way to self-betterment." Keith Javors is clearly destined to achieve self-betterment. His exemplary work as a musician and educator is defined by a philosophy with humanity at its center. Unlike those teachers the old adage claims "can't," he is one who certainly can and does, traveling a high road that steers clear of the Ivory Towers and chooses instead more interesting places. Like "Mo' City Jungle". Russ Musto New York, NY All compositions by Keith Javors and published by Keith Javors Music (ASCAP). Recorded at Starke Lake Studios, Ocoee, FL on August 5-6, 2002 by Andy de Ganahl. Mastering by Bob Katz. Photography: Ron Breaker. Package design: 2712 Design Ltd., New York. Produced by Keith Javors. Executive producer: Joachim Becker.