Dec 1 2014
Recommended: Eva Kruse – “In Water”
A gorgeous session from bassist Eva Kruse, who constructs an album out of melodic fragments and delivers them with a stream-of-conscious flow that makes them all seem connected in very vital ways. The music possesses a natural poetry whether it adopts a chamber jazz sound, a Nordic jazz sound or charts a course that parallels something more straight-ahead in the modern sense. Mixing in oboe with the saxophones is an inspired decision and the occasional use of Fender Rhodes provides some extra personality. In Water is outright mesmerizing at times.
Your album personnel: Eva Kruse (double bass), Bugge Wesseltoft (piano, Fender Rhodes), Christian Jormin (drums, percussion), Uwe Steinmetz (alto & soprano saxes) and Tjadina Würdinger (oboe).
Elegance and fluid motion typify “Längtan” and “Felicia,” which serve also to highlight just how magnificently Kruse assimilates oboe into the scheme of things… especially in how Würdinger pairs it with Steinmetz’s saxophones.
Switching over to Fender Rhodes on “Süd/West” is a nice bit of contrast to the predominant elegance. Wesseltoft adds a playful groove to the affair, and the ensemble happily joins his game.
“Terrassa del Sol” finds a way to express itself with both elegance and playfulness, as woodwinds and piano maintain a stately posture even when drums and bass trigger a cadence with a cheerful bounce. No different with “Till havet,” which stretches out tastefully with some sultry melodicism.
The quintet treats tempo as an elastic medium on “Englein flieg” and “Die Ente,” with drummer Jormin spurring the musicians on to faster speeds or reining them in and shifting a gallop down a gear to a casual lope.
Album finale “When We Dance” brings the album back around full circle to the form of expression with which it began. The song, much like the album, possesses an alluring beauty, formed of motion and stated with an enduring elegance.
Released on Redhorn Records / Naxos.
Available at: eMusic | Amazon MP3
*****
Some of the introductory paragraph was used originally in the weekly new jazz releases column I write for Wondering Sound, so here’s some language protecting their rights to the reprinted material as the one to hire me to write about new jazz arrivals to their site…
“New Arrivals Jazz Picks” reprint courtesy of eMusic.com, Inc.
© 2014 eMusic.com, Inc.
As always, my sincere thanks to eMusic & Wondering Sound for the gig.
Dec 2 2014
Recommended: Jean Lapouge – “Plein Air”
And now, in 2014, Lapouge is at it again. Fresh out of the recording studio, Lapouge has assembled cellist Grégoire Catelin and drummer David Muris for Plein Air. And while this album is more guitar-centered than previous recordings, the cello-drums combination, thankfully, has it falling squarely outside conventional territory.
Immediately, the airy chatter of opening track “Par la côte” is a striking difference from past endeavors. The quick-stepped tempo and the dispersal of melody across its surface is a far cry from the patient, heavy expressiveness of prior recordings.
And it’s interesting to see how Lapouge’s guitar alters its shape now that he’s partnered with the elegance of cello, taking the spot once occupied by a burlier trombone, as well as the switching out of vibraphone for drums, substituting the vibes’ lyricism for drums’ more direct lines of communication. It results in an environment more conducive for Lapouge to follow melodic avenues as far as they’ll take him. An additional benefit is cello’s ability to follow right along at a comparable speed and a similar arc with drums setting down trail markers, either before or after the fact.
The smoky presence of cello asserts itself on “Acteur fétiche,” and the trio finds the sweet spot between ballad and blast-off, as the song shifts from a sound of enchantment to one far more volatile. And tracks like “Mario” and “Un hymne” open with languorous passages that shift into weightier passages that reach a frenzy.
“Anna Karénine” is perhaps the closest instance of revisiting a Temporare sound, as cello attains a booming resonance that serves the dual purpose of harmonic device and melodic propulsion.
The album ends with “Cloches,” a song expressed as a murmur and as unhurried as clouds in a calm sky. It’s the other side of the coin to album-opener “Par la côte,” and further illustrates how the new guitar trio dynamic provides Lapouge fresh melodic possibilities. It also reveals a new facet to Lapouge’s ability to create strange and unconventional music of a personable, unassuming nature. Odd, friendly and absorbing.
Your album personnel: Jean Lapouge (guitar), Grégoire Catelin (cello) and David Muris (drums).
Released on Musea/Great Winds Records.
Listen to more of the album on the artist’s Bandcamp page.
Cover art by François Lapouge.
Jazz from the Périgueux, France scene.
Available at: Bandcamp | Amazon
Other things you should probably know:
You can read my recommendation of Lapouge’s Temporare on this site by following this LINK. I still listen to this one often, too. The column is just a small synopsis that I included in my Best of 2011 recap, back when I first began this site.
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By davesumner • Jazz Recommendations, Jazz Recommendations - 2014 Releases • 2