A rundown of recent ECM Records releases: Wolfert Brederode, Dominique Pifarely, Iro Haarla and Andrew Cyrille

Every now and then I give a rundown of recent releases on the ECM Records label.  They were one of the early advocates of what’s loosely termed Nordic Jazz (typically serene, ambient to the point of flirting with new age or minimalism, and often imbued with folk music from Norway or thereabouts) as well as the even more loosely termed World Jazz (jazz with specific or vague regional folk influences).  In any event, me and the music of ECM Records go way back and some of my very favorite albums were released by the label, so out of fondness if nothing else, every now and then I write up a column like this one and put down a few words about recent releases of note.

Let’s begin.

Wolfert Brederode Trio – Black Ice

There’s an undeniable beauty to this trio set from pianist Wolfert Brederode, double bassist Gulli Gudmundsson and drummer Jasper van Hulten.  It’s moody and it’s tranquil and the lines of melody are drawn out as long as the horizon.  Black Ice falls right into line with a host of modern ECM Records piano trio sessions, perhaps doing the whole ambient jazz thing better than most.  What truly separates the best from the crowd is the ability to instill a huge presence when subtlety and silence are two of the main ingredients.  ECM label-mates, the Marcin Wasilewski Trio are a prime example of how to get that done.  Their music is quiet and peaceful and yet they build a massive tension, as if watching a storm approach from the distance.  The dark cloud banks are moody as hell and the way daylight is refracted off the grey skies is gorgeous and the soft rumble of distant thunder is comforting… but the anticipation of the oncoming violence, of a torrential downpour and shriek of the wind… it’s an ominous feeling, and suddenly peaceful music doesn’t seem like such a refuge anymore.  That’s the kind of presence needed to make something more special than just another pretty album.  I’m not sure Black Ice really accomplishes that.  There’s nothing particularly memorable about the recording.  But as I opened with, the music has an undeniable beauty, and if you’re like me and enjoy a serene ECM piano trio recording for your first music of the day, then I’m sure you’ll enjoy this album as much as I do.  It just doesn’t have much appeal to me other than in that confined scenario.  Consider Black Ice highly recommended, but understand the scope and context which drove the rating.

Your album personnel:  Wolfert Brederode (piano), Gulli Gudmundsson (double bass) and Jasper van Hulten (drums)

Released on ECM Records.

Available at:  Amazon

Dominique Pifarély Quartet – Tracé Provisoire

Now this is what I’m talking about.  Drone and dissonance.  A brisk chatter and a luxuriant sigh.  Melodies thick and bold, and then strung out and warped and wound in odd and curious shapes.  This quartet date led by violinist Dominique Pifarély displays all kinds of personality.  It creates flaws and disturbances and uneasy tones, and all of that (and more) are the ingredients to its arresting beauty.  Pianist Antonin Rayon is just as deft at setting down layers of wavering harmony as he is punching up unconventional melodic lines in a strange approximation of the blues.  Double bassist Bruno Chevillon and drummer François Merville show a remarkable mutability between Nordic Jazz expressions and bursts of bop and swing.  None of this music is straight-ahead by the definition and rules of any idiom in play here, and it shouldn’t have been any other way.  A very cool recording, and definitely one you should think about scooping up.

Your album personnel:  Dominique Pifarély (violin), Antonin Rayon (piano), Bruno Chevillon (double bass) and François Merville (drums).

Released on ECM Records.

Available at:  Amazon

Iro Haarla – Ante Lucem for Jazz Quintet and Symphony Orchestra

The music of harpist-pianist Iro Haarla has received plenty of kind words on this site (and my various other outlets).  Her 2011 release Vespers was listed among this site’s best for that year.  Her ability to get her sound to resonate with such strength even when keeping to expressions that stick to serenity is no small part of her appeal.  Unfortunately, that effect is drowned out by the symphony orchestra that joins up with her quintet on Ante Lucem.  The waves of harmony just overwhelm the quintet, and other than some rare moments, they never rise up to the surface.  Individual players get their voices heard at times.  Saxophonist Trygve Seim is the notable example of this.  His long cries on soprano elevate above the crowd, but this is nothing particularly special… that’s just about soloing.  A Haarla recording at its best is far more than that.  It’s about the ensemble and how it coalesces around everything, including and especially the soloists.  The opening of the third section “And the Darkness Have Not Overcome It” teases the possibility of giving Haarla’s quintet some room to breathe, but it never materializes.  It’s not a bad album.  I enjoyed giving it a spin.  It just doesn’t ever allow for Haarla’s better qualities to stand out.

Your album personnel:  Iro Haarla (piano, harp), Hayden Powell (trumpet), Trygve Seim (soprano & tenor saxes), Ulf Krokfors (double bass), Mika Kallio (drums, percussion), Norrlands Operans Symfoniorkester and Jukka Iisakkila (conductor).

Released on ECM Records.

Available at:  Amazon

Andrew Cyrille Quartet – The Declaration of Musical Independence

There’s lots of old-school ECM sound in here.  Not a surprise, since drummer Andrew Cyrille, and the guitarist in his quartet, Bill Frisell, go back decades with the label.  And for this session, they bring some of their old-school expressionism into today.  There’s the strangely-timed electronic washes and the melodic strikes that suddenly veer off in unexpected directions, and also, naturally, the percussive attack that eclipses any moodiness that had been stockpiled up to that point.  All of it results in some interesting chatter, a conversational style that is anything but conventional and comes from decades of collaborating with diverse sets of musicians and influences.  One of the more intriguing albums released lately by ECM.

Your album personnel:  Andrew Cyrille (drums, percussion), Bill Frisell (guitar), Richard Teitelbaum (synthesizer, piano) and Ben Street (double bass).

Released on ECM Records.

Listen to an album track on the ECM Records site.

Available at:  Amazon

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