Jazz Recommendations – 2013 Releases

Tiny Reviews edition!

Featured album:  Blake Lyman Quintet Eponymous.

Plus:  Tar Baby The Ballad of Sam Langford, Adam Bartczak Republic Grass is Greener, Kikoski/Carpenter/Novak/Sheppard From the Hip, Enrico Bassi Libera Muziko Viro Potenco, and Giovanni di Domenico & Oriol Roca Sounds Good.

*****

Blake Lyman Quintet – Eponymous

Melodically driven and rhythmically headstrong, the sophomore release of tenor saxophonist Blake Lyman is the kind of music that descends from Clifford Jordan’s noirish hard bop of the 70s.  Lyman’s quintet is firmly rooted in a post-bop environment, but it’s the same cinematic treatment of melodies, compact show of force, and definitive, flowing percussion that typified some of Jordan’s best work.  It’s also representative of one of the burgeoning Portland, Oregon jazz scenes.  Nice follow-up for Lyman, who was equally impressive on his debut, Anthology, For Now (a review, HERE, on eMusic).

Your album personnel:  Blake Lyman (tenor sax), Noah Bernstein (alto sax), Andrew Oliver (piano & keys), Arcellus Sykes (bass), and Sam Foulger (drums).

Released on PJCE Records.

Available at:  eMusic | Bandcamp | CD Baby | Amazon MP3

Other Albums of Note:

Tarbaby – The Ballad of Sam Langford

New release from the Tarbaby trio of Orrin Evans on piano, Eric Revis on bass, and Nasheet Waits on drums (plus, guests Oliver Lake on alto sax, Ambrose Akinmusire on trumpet, and Matthew Evans on finger piano).  A modern version of the in/out jazz that drove spirited classic releases like Eric Dolphy’s Out to Lunch and Larry Young’s Unity.  Music that makes the head bop and the body groove, even though it often veers into territory more associated with the avant-garde.  Thoughtful music with plenty of tides and deep waters to go swimming in all day long, and keeping coming back for more.

Released on Hipnotic Records.

Available at:  eMusic | CD Baby | Amazon CD & MP3

Adam Bartczak Republic – Grass is Greener

Trombonist Adam Bartczak leads a nineteen piece ensemble of Denver area musicians in a nifty session of modern big band compositions.  And while the sections that resemble car chase scenes are sure to grab the ear, there are interludes of beautiful harmonic structuring that could melt Rocky Mountain snow with their warmth.  His debut album, which is a very promising sign.  Bartczak was a member of Tyler Gilmore’s 9th & Lincoln ensemble, another intriguing modern big band, and who released one of 2011’s better albums.

Released on Dazzle Recordings.

Available at:  eMusic | Bandcamp | CD Baby | Amazon CD & MP3

David Kikoski, Dave Carpenter, Gary Novak & Bob Sheppard – From the Hip

Yes, it’s an album of standards, but, damn, they really bring the old songs some new life.  I’m not saying this is a mind-blowing album or anything…  you shouldn’t expect a re-envisioning of “Autumn Leaves” or anything.  But the quartet of pianist David Kikoski, tenor saxophonist Bob Sheppard, drummer Gary Novak, and bassist Dave Carpenter (who, regrettably, has since passed) recorded a live performance to a small audience and offered up a wonderful set.  They close it out with a fantastic rendition of “Mr. P.C.” and it goes a long way to illustrating how much vitality this quartet is able to draw out of the well-worn compositions.  Good stuff.

Released on BFM Jazz.  Available at:  eMusic | Amazon CD & MP3

Enrico Bassi – Libera Muziko Viro Potenco

Compelling avant-garde session, one that brings a vast array of instruments to the table, spread out amongst a busy quintet.  Some moments that mesmerize with an anxious drone, others that emit warbled sounds like a forest at night.  There are some qualities to this music that draws me right back in.  Four long tracks, none less than 22 minutes long, and keeps to an appealing ebb and flow.

Released on Novalia Records.  Available at:  eMusic | CD Baby | Amazon MP3

Giovanni di Domenico & Oriol Roca – Sounds Good

Frenetic rhythms, spastic melodies, yet oddly tuneful.  I’ve been poking around drummer Oriol Roca‘s music for a couple years now, and he always finds a way to gain interest, and pianist Giovanni di.Domenico is an excellent foil for Roca on this recording.  Totally random, but would be interested to learn if the song “Hermafrobeat” sends anyone else’s cats into a crazed tailspin like it does mine.

Released on Spocus Records.  Available at eMusic | Amazon MP3

*****

Portions of these reviews were originally used in my Jazz Picks weekly article for eMusic, so here’s some language protecting their rights to that reprinted material as the one to hire me to write about new jazz arrivals to their site…

“New Arrivals Jazz Picks,“ “New Arrivals Jazz Picks,” and “New Arrivals Jazz Picks,” reprints courtesy of eMusic.com, Inc.
© 2013  eMusic.com, Inc.

As always, my sincere thanks to eMusic for the gig.  Cheers.

There is something positively exuberant about Worlds Put Together, the debut album by Matt Parker.  It’s the kind of thing that, as spectacle, one can’t help but smile while witnessing it.  The effusive boisterousness is heaped on in large portions, and just when it seems like the train will jump the tracks, the floor drops away and leaves behind a skittering piano solo or a harmonic interlude… all before the cacophony returns at full tilt.  This is the drama of the theater, playing out one scene at a time.

Your album personnel:  Matt Parker (tenor & soprano sax), Reggie Quinerly (drums), Alan Hampton (bass), Jesse Elder (piano), Julio Monterrey (alto sax), Josh Mease (guitar), and guests: Mikkel Hess (drums), Jimmy “Taps” Sutherland (tap dance), and Zeynep, Noah, Bora, Ezra, Charney, Sharon, Shana Bromberg (vocals on one track).

The “Eye of Rico” opens the album with the skronking of saxophones, piano that leaps off a cliff, and a rhythm section that treats percussion like a wall built to crash through.

“I Can’t Help It” is a conversational aside, a tangential discussion carried out by Parker’s sax and Mease’s guitar.  Elder makes an entrance on piano, and steers the song to a cheerful conclusion.

The tone does a full reverse on third track “Lists,” which has an ominous presence played out as a moody piece.  Quinerly’s drums sulk and crash in equal measure as the saxophones of Parker and Monterrey hum nervously.

“WPT” and “New Bossa” return to the album’s boisterous persona of the first act, but whereas the the former track can barely contain itself, the latter proceeds with a resolute patience.

“Up and Down” is a chorus line raging on amphetamines that gets swept up in the tornado that is “Alien Baby,” a song that begins with fury and ends with brooding.  This leads to the one cover, that of “Darn That Dream,” a song that Parker recalls from his time performing with the Maynard Ferguson Big Bop Nouveau Band.  Parker’s rendition has a low center of gravity, but a high dispersion rate.  This differs from the up-tempo “Full Sun,” a song that hustles straight ahead, with melody riding on the shoulders of Hampton’s bass and Quinerly’s drums.

The album ends with, first, with the whimsical “Zeynep’s Piano,” a song with the cheerful celebratory nature of a spiritual jazz tune, with a sing-song melody, the rattle of percussion, and a children’s chorus.  The finale is “New Bossa (Reprise),” a (slightly) pared-down version of the album’s fifth track.  It gives the sense of the band walking off stage, still playing their instruments, and marching right out of the theater.

Released on BYNK Records, which appears to be Parker’s own label.

Jazz from the Brooklyn scene.

The cool album cover designed by Lauren Webster.

Available at:  eMusic MP3 | CDBaby CD/Digital | Amazon CD/MP3

*****

Other Things You Should Know:

Parker’s drumer on this session, Reggie Quinerly, has a wonderful album of his own, which Parker contributes to.  Music Inspired By Freedmantown very nearly made my Best of 2012 list, and I still think fondly of it.  Read the review HERE, on this site.

Tiny Reviews edition!

Featured album:  Drye & Drye Open Letter.

Plus:  Busk Nur Eins, Cirrus Meli Melo, Ale Möller & Bohuslan Big Band Pegasus, Bill Carrothers Love and Longing.

*****

Drye & Drye – Open Letter

An enjoyable bop session from the father-son team of Howard and Brian Drye, who each bring an equal share of compositions to the table… all original, and all themed around the influences in their lives, both musical and personal.  Tunes possess a driving force, a definitive linearity, regardless of whether they’re speeding right along or taking a casual stroll through the countryside.  While this is a straight-ahead jazz recording, some tracks, like “Blues for Jimmy” are straight out of the past, whereas a track like “Ossification” has a tone that’s clearly modern, yet never endangers the album’s cohesion.  Strongest moments are when melodies spring from the heart of lovely harmonic development.

Your album personnel:  Howard Drye (baritone sax), Brian Drye (trombone), Jeff Hermanson (trumpet, flugelhorn), Mike McGinnis (clarinet, alto & soprano saxes), Dan Fabricatore (bass), and Vinnie Sperrazza (drums).

Released on NCM East.

Available at:  Bandcamp | eMusic | CDBaby | Amazon: CD/MP3

Other Albums of Note: 

Busk – Nur Eins

Trio of Anders Filipsen on piano, Thomas Rehling on bass, and Lasse Ehn on drums.  Released on the ILK Music label, and this is exactly the kind of piano trio session one would expect them to release… an uneasy serenity, strategic utilization of silences, and moments of spontaneous acerbity.  Sunday morning music for the avant-garde fan.

Released on ILK Music.  Available at:  eMusic | Amazon CD | Amazon MP3

Cirrus – Meli Melo

Cirrus is the quartet of Eva Haugen (vocals), Inge Breistein (saxophone), Stein Inge Brækhus (drums), and Theodor Onarheim (bass).  Quiet tunes for quiet rooms.  Out of Norway, so there’s gonna be some expectation of serenity, but this album has got some bite to it from time to time… but it’ll get its teeth into you very calmly.  An album with some personality.  Neat stuff.

Released on Norcd.  Available at:  eMusic | Amazon MP3

Ale Möller & Bohuslan Big Band – Pegasus

Multi-instrumentalist Ale Möller and the Bohuslän Big Band straddle the dividing lines between big band jazz and European folk and throw in little electronic eccentricities here and there.  Music that’s more often to stretch out for a sweeping grandeur, even when the moments are quiet and reserved.  Music that will keep a listener’s interest, either via its beauty or its differentiation from conventional big band albums.  Plenty of nice sections, but especially those contributions of trombonist Karin Hammar.

Released on Prophone Records.  Available at:  eMusic | Amazon MP3

Bill Carrothers – Love and Longing

Bill Carrothers has a quiet energy on piano, one which often expresses itself like a firefly… a tiny light that can be seen from far away, enchanting in the way it dances through the air.  On his newest, Carrothers presents a set of solo tunes, including a few where he adds vocals (with some dramatic effect at times, not unlike the evocative effect of a Tom Waits love song).  It’s a nice laid-back affair, an informality that increases the intimacy of the recording.  For an alternate facet of Carrothers’ music, try his trio recording To the Moon, reviewed on Bird is the Worm.  Also, there’s a nice interview of Carrothers on NPR’s A Blog Supreme.

Released on La Buissonne.  Available at:  eMusic | Bandcamp | Amazon MP3

*****

The Drye & Drye review is original to Bird is the Worm, but portions of the other reviews were originally used in my Jazz Picks weekly article for eMusic, so here’s some language protecting their rights to that reprinted material as the one to hire me to write about new jazz arrivals to their site…

“New Arrivals Jazz Picks,“ “New Arrivals Jazz Picks,” and “New Arrivals Jazz Picks,” reprints courtesy of eMusic.com, Inc.
© 2013  eMusic.com, Inc.

As always, my sincere thanks to eMusic for the gig.  Cheers.

One of the more intriguing under-the-radar recordings discovered during my weekly sweep of the new arrivals lists comes courtesy of guitarist Raphael McGregor and his debut recording Fretless.

It’s not easy incorporating a lap steel guitar into a jazz session.  I’ve documented a handful of attempts on this site, and most of them either fall under the Nordic Jazz subgenre… an approach that allows plenty of space for a lap steel (or pedal steel) to slot its warped notes in between the beats.  For instance, Mónókróm by guitarist Andrés Þór, Einar Scheving‘s Land Mins Fodur, and Mathias Eick‘s The Door.

There was also Ellery Eskelin‘s Mirage, an avant-garde recording masked as a love song, from an artist whose innovative approach doesn’t seem out of line for incorporating unconventional instruments into the mix.  Other notable recordings surround the Americana Jazz of Bill Frisell, the nu-jazz of Brian Blade, and the indie-jazz sound of the Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey… all of them musicians who have gone a long way to establishing their particular individualistic sounds.

So, I find it interesting to stumble upon the debut of Raphael McGregor, an artist who is still, relatively, at the outset of his creative development, and who sets off on that path with lap steel guitar as his method of putting voice to all of the ideas and dreams and experiences bouncing around inside an artist’s head.

Your album personnel:  Raphael McGregor (lap steel guitar), Oran Etkin (alto sax, clarinet), Nick Russo (guitar), Jason Sypher (bass), and Vinnie Sperrazza (drums).

McGregor is clearly searching here.  The album varies from song to song in terms of how the lap steel is presented.

The interludes of “Cornflower,” “Alice,” and “Lapocalypse” recall the eerie beauty of Bill Frisell’s Americana Jazz sound.  A peaceful ambling cadence, notes refracted like a setting sun through an evening haze, and a glimpse of the darkness about to descend… a prowling nature and a haunting beauty.  But it’s not just Frisell’s serene personality this music bumps up against.  “Staircase” is a country-fied version of the jazz-rock hyperfusion of the 70s.  Etkin has a nifty part on alto sax right after some electric guitar burn.

Some of the other tracks take more to a roadhouse display of unrestrained ferocity.  On “TVM,” Russo unleashes a high voltage attack on guitar, straining the balance of the jazz-rock blend way to side of the latter element, but his contribution is sandwiched between statements of melody offered with a dance floor sway.

There’s also the strangely amorphous “Southern Border,” which hints at the eerie Tuscon-based music of Howe Gelb and Giant Steps, but then goes through two unlikely transformations… first launching into a Klezmer influenced section, led by Etikin’s clarinet, and then sliding seamlessly into a catchy post-jazz cadence, with Sypher’s bass steering the quintet into territory with scenery that looks a lot less like that of Tuscon desert and more akin to that of Chicago’s Tortoise… before ending back with a brief return to the eerie alt-country of the Southwest.  It goes a long way to illustrating how McGregor is experimenting with his instrument, in a genre that doesn’t come with a lot of rules of engagement for lap steel guitar.  These are intriguing glimpses of what may come to be if McGregor keeps up his search.

What has to be the most promising of the tracks is the one which comes closest to a proper jazz tune.  “Orangerie,” is a slowly swaying ballad, with Etkin’s clarinet flickering like candlelight and Sperrazza’s brush work creating an environment in which lap steel’s strange flight patterns sound right at home.  The song moves at an unhurried pace, and the patience with which the melody is expressed brims with confidence and lands it solid.

It’s a very nice sign of things to come, on an album that provides some very intriguing views of the present.  An auspicious debut.

The album is Self-Produced.

Jazz from the Brooklyn scene.

Available at eMusic MP3 | Amazon CD | Amazon MP3 | CD Baby