Jazz Recommendations – 2011 Releases

Dec 21 2011

Tiny Reviews – Recapping the Best of 2011 (Part 2)

Tiny Reviews recapping the Best of 2011, featuring:  Ocean Sounds Quartet, Jeremy Udden, Mik Keusen’s Blau, Andy Sugg, and Tyler Gilmore’s 9th & Lincoln Big Band.

*****

Let’s continue with some of the albums that I think are highlights of 2011.  There’s gonna be five in this post and those going forward.  I know previously I said I’d do seven at a time, but five is feeling like a more manageable number per post, plus it may help with the load times on my screen to spread out the posts (and their accompanying embedded audio players) a bit more sparingly.

Let’s begin.

 

Ocean Sounds Quartet – Live at the Ship’s Company Theatre

I’m always curious about the relationship a band name and sound has with its surroundings, whether one influenced the other.  For instance, it’s easy to imagine sitting on the waterfront on a cool evening as the fiery yet introspective music of the Ocean Sounds Quartet drifts through the moonlight.

Trumpeter Paul Tynan brings together a quartet featuring Fred Kennedy (drums), Al Sutherland (guitar), and Dan Sutherland (bass) for a series of serene tunes just perfect for a night of sitting back and spending the night listening to great music.  The quartet refers to its music as a fusion of Maritime Celtic-Folk and Modern Jazz, and even if you’re not sure exactly what that implies, what to take away from that description is that here is an album that kind of sounds straight-forward, but outside elements are added to the compositions to render it a little bit different, a little strange, and very intriguing.  It’s not an uncommon story for excellent modern jazz albums to fly under the radar, but it never fails to surprise me every time it happens; Live at the Ship’s Company Theatre is yet another one of those excellent albums that deserves way more time in the spotlight than it received.

Apparently it’s become a tradition for this quartet to play a show at Ship’s Company Theatre on the Fundy coast of Nova Scotia.  Let’s hope their recording schedule also makes plenty of frequent returns.  Released on the solid Armored Records label, an hour of modern jazz.  Jazz from the Nova Scotia (Canada) scene.

There is one song on Paul’s site here to stream from the album.

Download a free album track from AllAboutJazz, courtesy of the artists.

Available on Amazon: MP3

 

Jeremy Udden – If the Past Seems So Bright

On his last album Plainville, Jeremy Udden presented a unique sound of folk jazz that I haven’t heard anything like before.  Mixing his Paul Desmond-like alto sax with banjo and an otherwise jazz ensemble, he created a series of languid back porch tunes of sublime peacefulness.  On his newest release, Udden is still making back porch tunes, but maybe now the neighbors are considering calling the cops to get him to turn the noise down a bit.  Adding some edge to the tunes, Udden shows he’s not satisfied with just making more of the good stuff, willing to risk a bit in order to build on past successes in search of something more.  Success is what he got.

Your album personnel:  Jeremy Udden (alto & soprano saxophone, clarinet), Pete Rende (Fender Rhodes, pump organ, Prophet, Wurlitzer), Brandon Seabrook (banjo, guitar, 12-string guitar), Eivind Opsvik (acoustic bass), RJ Miller (drums), and guests:  Nathan Blehar (nylon-string guitar, voice and guitar), Will Graefe (steel-string acoustic guitar), and Justin Keller (voice).

If it was a stretch to call Plainville a “jazz” album, then elasticity will be a greater concern, because If the Past… really seems like it removed its second foot from beneath the jazz tent.  Not sure that it really matters, other than I’m including it in a recap of the best jazz albums of the year.  But I’m willing to stretch the definition of the word ‘jazz’ if the result is to include a wonderful album like this.  Released on the Sunnyside Records label, who had one of the strongest set of releases in 2011.

Download a free album track from AllAboutJazz, courtesy of the artist and label.

Available at Amazon: CD | MP3

 

Mik Keusen’s Blau – Nalu

Reviewers using the word ‘cinematic’ to describe music has crossed over into the cliche, but there is still a time and a place for that word and, besides, sometimes cliches charm me into using them.  For me, when I call something cinematic, it’s because the music has connected with me cerebrally in a way that I uncontrollably daydream a series of images straight through the music, images which linger even after the album has ended.  Mik Keusen’s Blau‘s excellent album Nalu does exactly that to me.

Employing a barrage of piano lines that effectively imitates falling rain, both in torrents over city streets or lightly on rooftops and tree cover, Keusen has recorded a beautiful album of elemental ambiance.  Joining him in his quartet are Sha on bass clarinet and alto saxophone, Anna Trauffer on double bass and Fredrik Gille on percussion.

Fans of Nik Bartsch’s Ronin will be right at home with this album, where Bartch’s piano is like falling snow to Keusen’s rain.  I’m sure ECM label junkies will get hooked on Nalu, too.  Quite frankly, not sure why Manfred Eicher hasn’t scooped this quartet up yet.  Released on the Tonus Music Records label, approximately 50 minutes of piano quartet jazz with strong Norweigan jazz influences

Download a free album track at AllAboutJazz, courtesy of the artist.

Stream the entire album on Keusen’s bandcamp page.

Available at Amazon: MP3

 

Andy Sugg – The John Coltrane Project: Andy Sugg Plays Trane

Andy Sugg achieves a multifaceted sound here, sorta like Andy Sugg covering Alice Coltrane covering John Coltrane. This is more than Andy taking ownership of the song; it’s a bit as if he’s also tipping his cap to the lineage of musicians who have given their take of John Coltrane.  I don’t usually care for tribute/cover albums, but Sugg’s Coltrane Project is a refreshing interpretation, and the inclusion of guitar is a very nice touch.  Really surprised that this album didn’t catch on more with listeners, but if Andy continues putting out albums like this, the spotlight will get trained on him soon enough.  He kills on Greensleeves, which I absolutely love hearing new takes on.  Jazz from the Melbourne, Australia scene.  Released on the Downstream Music label.

Your album personnel:  Andy Sugg (saxophones), Daniel Gassin (keyboard), Tom Barton (voice), Ben Robertson (bass), Nadje Noordhuis (trumpet), Natalia Mann (harp), Stephen Magnusson (guitar), and James McLean (drums).

A free album track is available at the AllAboutJazz site, courtesy of the artist.

Available at Amazon: CD | MP3

 

Tyler Gilmore’s 9th & Lincoln – Static Line

Big Band conductor Tyler Gilmore brings together some of Denver’s top jazzers, including trumpeters Cuong Vu and Brad Goode and Greg Harris‘s vibes, to create a recording of expansive sound and epic big sky sonics.
Replete with swirling melodies and electronic effects, Gilmore finds a way bring lush ambient harmonies into the mix without sacrificing the lighthearted joy so typical of a big band album.

Vu’s presence on the album is felt considerably, as Static Line has plenty of the fuzzy dissonance typical of many of Vu’s projects, but whether this is Gilmore’s thing, too, or he’s got the bandleader savvy to learn how to roll with the punches and incorporate outside influences into his own vision, the end result is a terribly intriguing album that fits well with both the quieter moments and those times when an infusion of jazz energy is called for.

A very exciting development on the modern big band front, as well as getting to see some of Denver’s talent. Released on the new Dazzle Recordings label (it’s a jazz club, too). Just under an hour of modern big band jazz.

You can stream the entire album on Gilmore’s bandcamp page.

A free album track is available at AllAboutJazz, courtesy of the artist.

Available on Amazon: MP3

 

Enjoy!

 

By • Jazz Recommendations - 2011 Releases, Recap: Best of 2011 • 0 • Tags:

Dec 18 2011

Mathias Eick – “Skala”

 

Skala is Mathias Eick‘s sophomore release, a follow-up to 2008’s sublime The Door, a rainy-day jazz album rich with Eick’s sonorous trumpet calls and textured with the highly imaginative (and successful) addition of a pedal steel guitar to the mix.  For Skala, Eick replaces pedal steel with harp, and trades The Door‘s organic acoustics for one with a smoother veneer and sounding much much more like a studio album.

What I found troubling about Skala (and still do at times) is that the emotions presented on the album felt a bit superficial.  To me, that seems like a fair complaint.  In addition to finding jazz engaging on a cerebral level, it’s really the contact it makes with my heart that has me addicted to the music.  And if an artist is going to try to connect with me emotionally, the last thing that he/she should end up accomplishing is causing me to be suspicious of their methods.  For me, much of that original magic was missing from Skala, and I think that therein was the rub… once gone, now I’m left to wonder if it wasn’t just an illusion all along.

Of course, I’m always willing to extend the benefit of the doubt, and overall, suspicions aside, I think Skala is a beautiful album that I do have an emotional connection with.  And besides, when winter hits, I’m totally a sucker for the melancholia.  Once I personally let go of how I thought Skala should sound like an extension of The Door and judged the album on its own merits, I found a real beauty in it and felt it deserving of mention in a best-of-the-year column.

Your personnel for this album: Mathias Eick (trumpet), Tore Brunborg (tenor saxophone), Andreas Ulvo (piano), Morten Qvenild (keyboards), Sidsel Walstad (harp), Audun Erlien (electric bass), Torstein Lofthus, Gard Nilssen (drums).

On its face, Skala seems to lack the emotional depth of its predecessor, but where The Door had hopeful notes among its sorrowful compositions, I find the opposite with Skala… despair and sadness envelop what sounds like happy tunes.  Ultimately, the depressive music is evident in both albums, it’s just that Skala tries to hide it.

Opening with long drifting notes on title-track “Skala”, Eick doesn’t reveal his hand, keeping the emotions close to the vest.  On the second track, “Edinburgh”, he keeps up the deception, hiding behind a rapid fire rhythm section underpinned by bursts of piano, but Eick repeatedly hitting notes that don’t exactly ring with hope.

The third track “June” tries for some happy with Eick’s trumpet ending each note with a bright sound and Walstad’s harp giving gentle encouragement from the background.  But all that goes away with the driving intensity of “Oslo” as pianist Ulvo teams up with the rhythm section to turn the song to black; when they let up, Eick’s trumpet sounds darker than in the opening.

The second half of the album is the stronger of the two sections.  Eick’s trumpet lead in the opening notes on “Joni” sets a mood drenched in melancholia, and even the happy face piano and bass attempt to display aren’t sufficient to overcome it.  The oddly pop-ish vibe of “Day After” seems obscenely out of place, serving to enhance the sadness than to dispel it.  The album ends with “Epilogue”, in the same place that it began.  It’s also, arguably, the strongest tune on the album.

So, have I written a review that makes Skala seem like one big friggin’ downer?  Maybe.  Hell, I’d be unsurprised to learn that’s exactly how Eick intended it.  Needless to mention (but I will anyway), results for others may vary.  Besides, there is an innate beauty in sadness, accentuating the memories of when times were better, and as a result, those memories lift the sadness a bit.  That, and Skala is a wonderful album by some excellent musicians.

It is very much an ECM label album, with pristine sound, and some of the sleepy-sparse aesthetics often associated with that label’s output.  But it’s definitely more lively and textured than the ECM stereotype, and depending how much edge a listener prefers to their jazz, this would be a nice choice for those who seek out something softer.

Skala is 41 minutes of modern trumpet jazz released on the ECM label.

Available on eMusic (some regions).  Available on Amazon: CD | MP3

By • Jazz Recommendations, Jazz Recommendations - 2011 Releases, Recap: Best of 2011 • 0 • Tags:

Dec 17 2011

Jazz New Releases: Week Ending November 08, 2011

Featuring Tiny Review recs of:  Craig Taborn, MSMW, Taylor Ho Bynum, Vazytouille, Jan Kopinski’s Reflektor, The South Trio, Mark Weinstein, Erik Charlston, and Ultra High Flamenco.

*****

The following is kinda copied from the weekly article I write for emusic.com, giving a rundown of mini-reviews of interesting jazz new releases.  Once I get caught up on the older recs, I’ll post them once a week, adding some artwork and extra links and modifying the text a little bit.  When I write the mini-reviews initially, I’m under a serious time constraint, but now I’ve had time to listen more closely to the music and think about it, so some of the reviews will change, but some may not.  They were initially called “Jonah’s Jazz Picks”; the reason why is not a complicated story or a long one, but sufficient banal to just overlook.

This was the third installment of my recs.

 

Hey again, everybody.  This week’s drop seemed to be dominated by some unusual & intriguing sounding albums in a mix of nice straight-ahead fare.

Let’s begin.

 

Craig Taborn – Avenging Angel

Craig Taborn – “Avenging Angel”

Fans of the ECM label impatiently awaiting the next drop on emusic can tide themselves over with this solo outing of pianist/composer Craig Taborn.  Known for their tendency to produce introspective piano-led albums, ECM lets Taborn stretch out and build piano lines that challenge and engage; if you need an album to fall asleep to, this ain’t gonna be your best choice.  I don’t know if this album will appeal to Taborn fans, fervent or casual, who have fallen in love with prior albums, but I can’t imagine it will disappoint.  There are some beautiful moments recorded here.  For those who are unfamiliar with Taborn, one of the brightest stars on the jazz scene, it might be a decent idea to start with earlier albums like Light Made Lighter, which features the excellent Gerald Cleaver on drums and Chris Lightcap on bass, or Eldorado Trio, which features Louis Sclavis on sax & clarinet and Tom Rainey on drums.  Both of those trio albums will give the listener all the bite of Taborn’s sound, but in a trio environment that could make for an easier introduction to his music.

Here is a link to emusic, where the album can be purchased.

 

MSMW – Live: In Case the World Changes Its Mind

MSMW – “Live: In Case the World Changes its Mind”

Jazz jam band Medeski, Martin, and Wood have been collaborating with jazz guitar legend John Scofield, and presented here is a double-disc of a live performances from their 2006 tour.  Replete with their characteristic electric piano grooves, guitar effects, and a command of rhythm that effortlessly shifts between funk, rock, gospel, and jazz, MMW has incorporated Scofield’s science-leaning guitar equations and transmuted them into a strong and seamless element of their crazily infectious tunes.  Part of the joy of the ongoing collaboration between MMW and Scofield, who could be said to represent opposite ends of the what-is-jazz spectrum, is in how enthusiastically they embrace their respective sounds, resulting in a series of albums that sort of makes the whole jazz argument irrelevant.  Nearly two hours of music released on the Indirecto Records label.

Here’s a link to MSMW’s myspace page, where you can stream the album.

Here’s a link to emusic, where the album can be purchased.

 

Taylor Ho Bynum Sextet – Apparent Distance

Taylor Ho Bynum – “Apparent Distance”

Avant-garde musician Taylor Ho Bynum leads an expanded ensemble in a four-part suite, commissioned through a 2010 New Jazz Works grant from Chamber Music America and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.  With a line-up of Bynum on cornet, Jim Hobbs on alto sax, Bill Lowe on bass trombone; regular collaborator Mary Halvorson adding her unique sound on guitar, Ken Filiano and Tomas Fujiwara rounding out the rhythm section on bass and drums, as typical of Bynum’s work, this is a difficult recording to corral.  It’s easy to say avant-garde and leave it at that, however, the phrase is increasingly used as a substitute for noisy and frenetic.  So, while the maniacal solos typical to Bynum compositions are there, so also is a Pharaoh Sanders world-groove on the second track “Strike”, and on the following track “Source”, Halvorson’s oddly melodic guitar lines tread close to latin and surf territories just before pulling back into the framework of the tune.  This album isn’t going to be for everybody, but between the talent of the personnel, the musicianship evident in the composition, and the vacillation between challenging experimentation and head-bouncing fun, this is the kind of album that a typically adventurous music listener is going to take a chance on… and probably should.  Released on the Firehouse 12 label.

Here’s a link to Bynum’s myspace page, which doesn’t seem to have any music from this album but has a whole lot of music from other albums.

Here’s a link to emusic, where the album can be purchased.

 

Vazytouille – Vazytouille

Vazytouille – “Vazytouille”

Intriguing big band album from French music collective Zoone Libre.  This fourteen piece orchestra takes a modern approach to the big band medium without sacrificing any of the euphoric bombast inherent in its roots.  There is almost a musical de rigueur among modern big bands that they must come to the table adorned with rock sensibilities.  And while that approach has yielded some amazing results, there is plenty of territory still to explore in the big band compositions of the past.  Vazytouille adopts both attacks.  There are obvious indie rock strolls that yield some addictive juxtapositions of blue melodies and bouncy rhythms, as well as some guitar work with plenty of sharp rock ‘n roll teeth.  But it’s when the ensemble deconstructs conventional pieces and reassembles them into a new sound that still speaks of the past where they are most successful.  Fans of Darcy James Argue’s big band-rock fusion will surely enjoy this, as should, say, fans of classic pop-infused big band compositions of Phil Kelly.  And the thought I can’t shake off (and likely will later regret adding) is that fans of electro-pop ensemble Stereolab (and its line of descendants) might find this a nice spot to venture into jazz territory.

Here’s a link to emusic, where the album can get purchased.

 

Jan Kopinski’s Reflektor – Mirrors

Jan Kopinski – “Mirrors”

Blending jazz with Polish folk music, on Mirrors, Kopinski has developed a sound that is uniquely his own.  Founder of 1980’s experimental improv-funk ensemble Pinski Zoo and a veteran of multimedia projects and movie soundtracks, Kopinski’s compositions are full of imagery and bare emotion, but intuitively leaves it up to the listener to determine exactly how it manifests.  Tenor & alto sax, viola, bass, piano, drums, and vocals.  Haunting melodies cutting through an ambient hush, austere sax darting over earthy rhythm sections, vocals melting icy piano chords, each tune is a scene and the album is a book, and its one that you should get on your shelf.  Highly recommended.  Released on the 33 Jazz label.

Here’s a link to Jan’s artist site, where you can stream some of the album.

You can download a free track from the album at AllAboutJazz, courtesy of the artist.

Here’s a link to emusic, where the album can be purchased.

 

The South Trio – Elegy For A Raver

South Trio – “Elegy for a Raver”

Worthy of mention, even if it arguably leaves a trail of breadcrumbs too long to find its way back to the land of jazz.  The South Trio takes a recipe for jazz, but when the timer dings and the album is removed from the oven, it appears the trio has baked something closer to indie stadium rock.  Heavy on the electronic effects and the beats, this trio blasts its way through a series of tunes that are amazingly catchy despite the music’s indelicate approach.  The second half of the album shakes off much of the dissonance prevalent earlier on the album, and leaves the anthems behind for more accessible indie-inspired jazz tunes, similar to that of jazz bass wunderkind Ben Allison.  Elegy is another one of those albums that  transcends the question of what is jazz and makes a musical statement of originality far more important than under which genre its filed on the shelf.  Released on the Shift Records label.

ELEGY FOR A RAVER by thesouthtrio

Here’s a link to emusic for my extended review of the album.

Here’s a link to emusic, where the album can be purchased.

 

Mark Weinstein – El Cumbanchero

Mark Weinstein – “El Cumbanchero”

Latin jazz innovator Mark Weinstein has a new album out, and just in time for those of us who live in places who see snow and single digit temperatures on the horizon.  Adopting compositions of Aruan Ortiz as his own family, Mark gives us an album of tunes as warm as any fireplace.  Giving a modern jazz flute twist to the traditional Cuban form of Charanga, Mark displays both his respect and love for the music.  While I can certainly rave about experimental music that engages me cerebrally and compels me to sit up and take notice, but I am equally adoring of a jazz album that lovingly presents a series of seemingly uncomplicated tunes which I can sit back and simply luxuriate in.  El Cumbanchero is one of the latter, and I am thankful for it.  Released on the Jazzheads label.

Here’s a link to Mark’s blog, which is pretty neat.

Here’s a link to Mark’s myspace page, where you can stream the album.

Here’s a free track from the album at AllAboutJazz, courtesy of the artist.

Here’s a link to emusic, where the album can be purchased.

 

Erik Charlston – Essentially Hermeto

Erik Charlston – “Essentially Hermeto”

A strong Brazilian jazz album put out by Erik Charlston, a talented vibes and marimba player.  Charlston gives the jazz treatment to compositions of Brazilian composer Hermeto Pascal, and creates a series of terribly infectious tunes that grabbed me on the first listen.  Listening again to it a little over a month later, my enthusiasm hasn’t waned.  Perhaps coloring my opinion a bit is that I am positively addicted to the sound of vibes when the weather turns cold (as it is here), and their bright warm sound is so wonderfully contradictory to the brisk chill outside my windows.  Plus, it’s just a really good album.  Another excellent release by the Sunnyside label.

Here’s a link to Erik’s artist site.

A free track from the album is available on AllAboutJazz, courtesy of Erik & Sunnyside.

Here’s a link to emusic, where the album can be purchased.

 

Also, let’s quickly mention…

Ultra High Flamenco – “Bipolar”

Ultra High Flamenco – Bipolar

This likable flamenco album on which the ensemble lets their classical and jazz backgrounds bleed into their love of flamenco is all high-energy and pretty neat, to boot.  Violin, guitar, double bass, and percussion should take care of your flamenco fix.

Here’s a link to UHF’s artist site, where the album can be streamed.

Here’s a link to emusic, where the album can be purchased.

 

I’m gonna call that a wrap for this week.  As always, too many albums to mention, so little time and space.

See you next week.

Cheers.

 

Here’s some language to protect emusic’s rights as the one to hire me originally to scour through the jazz new arrivals and write about the ones I like:

“New Arrivals Jazz Picks”, courtesy of eMusic.com, Inc.
© 2011  eMusic.com, Inc.

My thanks to emusic for the freelance writing gig, the opportunity to use it in this blog, and the editorial freedom to help spread the word about cool new jazz being recorded today.

 

 

By • Jazz Recommendations, Jazz Recommendations - 2011 Releases • 0

Dec 16 2011

Recapping the Best of 2011: Dick Griffin – “Time Will Tell”

Don’t get me wrong; I love modern jazz.  A lot of it doesn’t sound too much like it was recorded in 1959 (widely viewed as the greatest year in jazz recordings).  And I’m okay with that.  When I want to listen to music that sounds like it was recorded in 1959, then I’ll find a cd on my shelf that has the 1959 date on it.  I want my jazz to sound like it was recorded in the present day.

However, every now and then, I am gratified to hear a jazz album that accomplishes sounding both modern and 1959ish.  God bless ya, Mr. Griffin, you just made my day.

Dick Griffin - "Time Will Tell"

Time Will Tell is pretty much an old-school jazz album.  A jazz vet calls up a bunch of his fellow jazz pros, gets them in the studio, shows them some straight-ahead compositions, and then just plays the heck out of ’em.  This here is great jazz, pure and unadulterated.  I’ve always felt for a jazz album to be great, it’s gotta make a statement.  One of the simplest, yet powerful statements to make is, here is the soul of jazz, now listen while we celebrate it.  Ain’t a tune on this album that isn’t joyful like crazy.

The bluesy opening track sets the table for the enjoyable blowing session to follow.  On the second track, “Home Song,” James Spaulding makes a ridiculous entrance on sax, as if he’d taken his original idea for an opening chord progression then twisted it and turned it onto its head; it’s a short but very compelling moment.  “For the Love in My Heart” speaks of longing and heartbreak, Cecil McBee’s bass lines an underpinning of sadness.  The sixth track “Mind Over”, my favorite on the album, comes blaring right out of the gate with the blues and fire of Griffin’s trombone, and George Cables’ piano lines are live wires while Spaulding and Victor Lewis just cook like mad when Cables steps back.

Every player on this album has strong jazz roots.  Album leader Dick Griffin on trombone, Cecil McBee on bass, George Cables on bass, James Spaulding on alto sax & flute, and Victor Lewis on drums.  Serious jazz fans will recognize these names immediately; casual or newbie jazz fans, maybe not.  A good tactic to have when first starting to discover jazz is following the bread trail of band members to other albums they appear on or lead.  Every name here will be a solid source of other wonderful jazz albums to discover on your own.

Time Will Tell clocks in just under fifty-two minutes.  It’s released on the Ruby Records label, but I think this might really be self-produced, and Ruby Records is Dick’s label. Also, on his website, Dick mentions that if you buy the cd and email him, he’ll autograph it via Skype. A nice touch.

Time Will Tell art

Dick Griffin is also a painter, and the cd has some neat examples of his work.  Here’s one…

 

Here’s a link to Dick Griffin’s artist site.

Here’s a link to a free track featured as the AllAboutJazz Download of the Day, courtesy of Dick Griffin.

Available at Amazon: CD| MP3

Some wonderful bop, some wonderful blues, a wonderful album.

By • Jazz Recommendations, Jazz Recommendations - 2011 Releases, Recap: Best of 2011 • 0 • Tags:

Dec 15 2011

Tiny Reviews – Recapping the Best of 2011 (Part 1)

Featuring Tiny Reviews of Best of 2011 Jazz Albums by:  Marcin Wasilewski Trio, Susana Santos Silva, Steven Lugerner, Francis Drake, Jean Lapouge, Omer Avital, and Fabrice Sotton.

*****

Hey.

So, I’m gonna briefly hit on some of the albums that were standouts for 2011.  There were a lot, and those are just the ones I know about, so this series may not end for awhile.  Tentatively, I’m thinking I’ll keep this series limited to seven tiny reviews per post, an album for every day of the week.

Let’s begin…

 

Marcin Wasilewski Trio – Faithful

This follow-up to the Marcin Wasilewski Trio’s 2008 release January doesn’t build anything different or wander off in strange new directions.  This is not a bad thing, though, because January was one of the 2008’s best.  Wasilewski’s sound on piano is sometimes introspective, sometimes meditative, and it rarely ever lifts a fist up in anger.  Slawomir Kurkiewicz is mostly a wallflower, but when he does step forward, the sound he attains in the spotlight is quite dramatic while also understated.  Michal Miskiewicz has a consistent pitter patter, like stones skipping over the water.

It’s a fine line between serene and sleepy, and Wasilewski has displayed a talent at keeping things interesting.  Even at its quietest moments, Faithful has a tiny fire lit under the composition that keeps the brain anchored on the tune.

Released on the ECM label.  Over an hour of serene modern piano trio jazz.  Jazz from Poland.

Available at Amazon: CD MP3

 

Susana Santos Silva – Devil’s Dress

Devil's DressThe debut album for Susana Santos Silva‘s quintet was one of the more exciting developments of 2011.  Devil’s Dress is an exhilarating fusion of jazz and indie rock, replete with twisting melodies, surging guitar licks, percussion that seamlessly alternates between jazz and rock rhythms within the space of one tune, and just a fun vibe that brings out both the joy of jazz and the bop of rock.

Your album personnel:  Susana Santos Silva (trumpet), Zé Pedro Coelho (tenor sax), Andre Fernandes (guitar), Demian Cabaud (bass), and Marcos Cavaleiro (drums).

Santos’s sound on trumpet is so warm, even when she’s warping a melody into some indescribable shape.  I’ve been listening to this album since it came out in April, and I still find it as compelling and fun as the first time.  Fans of Ben Allison and Todd Sickafoose, who also employ inventive compositions to incorporate the sounds of rock and indie music into their tune, should take to Devil’s Dress pretty easily.

Released on the Toap label.

Here’s a link to a free download from the album on the AllAboutJazz site, courtesy of the artist.

Available at Amazon: MP3

 

Steven Lugerner – Narratives

Steven Lugerner - "Narratives"Outstanding debut album by multi-reedist Steven Lugerner.  Leading a septet with an array of instruments consisting of alto & tenor & soprano sax, clarinet, trumpet, flute, guitar, piano, bass and drums, Lugerner tells a simple story with plenty of depth.  By eloquently stating the melody and returning to it throughout, he’s able to let the instruments loose to develop as much texture as they want, because the tunes keep coming back to that essential melody, like looking at a photo of home when life on the road grows too long.

Your album personnel:  Steven Lugerner (soprano & alto saxes, clarinets), Lucas Pino (tenor sax & flute), Itamar Borochov (trumpet & flugelhorn), Angelo Spagnolo (guitar), Glenn Zaleski (piano), Ross Gallagher (bass), and Michael W. Davis (drums).

It’s an aptly titled album, as the recording has the intimate feel of a good epic novel.  Lots of ebb and flow of emotional intensity.  The layering of sounds is just phenomenal, really keeps my attention wanting to linger on every detail.  Lugerner has a nice light touch on the sax and it serves him well as he binds all the various part of the ensemble together with his notes.  Has sort of a Guillermo Klein meets Brian Blade feel to it.

Narratives is Self-Produced.

Jazz from the Brooklyn scene.

A free track from the album is available at AllAboutJazz, courtesy of the artist.

Available to stream, and purchase, at the artist’s Bandcamp page.

Available at Amazon: CD

 

Francis Drake – Stories

Francis Drake is the trio name for musicians Max Frankl (classical, acoustic, and electric guitars), Max von Mosch (tenor & soprano sax, clarinet), Henning Sieverts (bass & cello).  On Stories, they’ve created an ambiance of intermittent sharp busts of sound in a quiet setting.  Like the wild chirping of birds just before dawn, Mosch’s reeds cry out in the darkness while Frankl’s guitar is a flash of motion seen between the trees and bushes nearby.  Sieverts is the darkness, especially when he lays thick cello lines over the sound of everything else.

Fans of modern releases on the ECM label will probably like this, as would fans of Christope Pays album Ellipse.  On the Double Moon Records label, fifty two minutes of modern jazz trio. Jazz from Germany.

Here’s where you can stream three songs from the album on Max’s site.

Available at Amazon: CD MP3

 

Jean Lapouge – Temporare

Some music just sounds pretty when all evidence indicates that it shouldn’t.  Jean Lapouge’s Temporare makes for an excellent Exhibit A.  Lapouge’s trio consists of his guitar, the trombone of Christiane Bopp, and the vibes of Christian Paboeuf (who also double on oboe on a couple tracks); not a typical jazz trio.  And the compositions don’t exactly bring it back wholly in the jazz tent.

There is a palpable tension in the harsh calls of Lapouge’s guitar against the skittering vibes, and against the backdrop of blaring trombone notes.  But then guitar grows gentle and the trombone is a friendly word in the ear and the vibes are bright and warm, and an odd serenity sets in.  As dreams can be both serene and terrifying, Temporare shows no inclination to draw a dividing line between the varied emotions this album evokes.

Lapouge, a founding member of the Noetra Collective (would fit right in with early ECM world-jazz like Oregon and Terje Rypdal), may not have seen much commercial success from his music, but the development of his sound has resulted in a genuinely unique voice.  Tempoare, a 2011 release on the Musea Records label, is gonna appeal to fans of Bill Frisell’s Quartet.  It is an album of eerie music that happens to also be quite beautiful.

A free download from the album is available on the AllAboutJazz site, courtesy of the artist.

Available at Amazon: CD MP3

 

Omer Avital – Free Forever

An outstanding quintet date album from one of the great composers and bassists on the jazz scene.  Straight-ahead jazz with Omer’s unique modern voice.  An album so powerful at times it can make the listener sit and shout, not unlike Ellington’s masterful performance at Newport. Recorded live in Italy, with Omer Avital (bass, composer), Joel Frahm (soprano & tenor sax), Avishai Cohen (trumpet), Jason Lindner (piano), and Ferenc Nemeth (drums)… all jazz heavyweights.

I’m still amazed to be reminded that it’s only a quintet date; the sound is rich that at times I’d guess there were twice that many musicians on the bandstand.  I’m gonna stop there, since I plan to write a more detailed review in the very near future.  But let me leave it that this was truly a top album of the year.

Released on the Smalls Records label, approximately 70 minutes of pure unadulterated jazz.

Here’s a link to Omer’s site, where you can stream a few songs from the album and a whole lot of other music he’s involved with.

Available at Amazon: CD MP3

 

Fabrice Sotton – L’attente

A very engaging release from pianist Fabrice Sotton.  Fabrice switches from traditional to electronic piano with zero drop-off in quality.  Compositions have mysterious strings slicing through the interludes.  Fabrice’s sound has the introspection of an Abdullah Ibrahim solo piece with transitions to the playful bounciness of a Vince Guarldi tune.

Just a series of fun and pretty tunes.  A few solo pieces, some duo with percussion, flourishes of South African style jazz, a bit of neo-classical and a little bit of funk.  Sotton mixes the sounds up without ever losing the albums center; or said differently, it doesn’t sound like a compilation of songs from various albums.

Self-Produced, fifty minutes of piano jazz.  Jazz from France.

Here’s a link to Fabrice Sotton’s site, which seems to be hosted on a french music site platform.  Basically, if you give them an email, you can stream all his stuff.

Available at Amazon: MP3

 

By • Jazz Recommendations, Jazz Recommendations - 2011 Releases, Recap: Best of 2011 • 2 • Tags:

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