Feb 24 2015
Recommended: Whahay Trio – “Whahay”
An intriguing album released at the tail-end of 2014 is Whahay, the self-titled recording from the Whahay trio of bassist Paul Rogers, drummer Fabien Duscombs and multi-reedist Robin Fincker. The trio digs into the songbook of Charles Mingus, using the original compositions as the foundation from which to leap into a series of improvisations.
Much to the album’s benefit, the trio tethers their renditions tightly to Mingus’s original melodies rather than offer up some pro-forma statement as an excuse to just to do whatever the hell they wanted to do in the first place. “Better Git It In Your Soul” works the melody like a charm, both in its pristine form and also with slight variations for extra flavoring. The tempo isn’t the hyperactive burner of the original, possessing, instead, more of a choppy motion. Plenty of free association going on within that framework, but the occasional returns to melody keep the song centered and easily located. This is an approach typical throughout the album.
“Jump Monk” comes right out with the tension, a sense of being one spark away from complete combustion. A huge bass solo… the kind that reminds how powerfully lyrical the instrument can be all by its lonesome. It’s another strong bass solo that opens the rendition of “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” before the trio slowly rolls out the wistful melody.
There’s plenty of intensity throughout the recording; it’s just a question of how much the trio choose to modulate it. Their take on “Pithecantropus Erectus” builds up to a firestorm. On the other hand, “Canon” works it more like a strong undertow. And then there’s the unadulterated power on the thrashing “Bird Call.”
There’s some compelling displays of bass arco. Rogers’ furious extended opening to “Work Song” is just as captivating as the lovely harmonics between his arco and Fincker’s clarinet on “Ecclusiastics.”
A very cool album. The trio brings some serious intelligence to accompany the music’s emotional punch.
Your album personnel: Paul Rogers (7-string double bass), Fabien Duscombs (drums) and Robin Fincker (clarinet, tenor sax).
Released in 2014 on the Mr Morezon label.
Jazz from the Toulouse, France scene.
Listen to more of the album on the artist’s Bandcamp page.
Apr 14 2015
Recommended: Wesseltoft Schwarz Berglund – “Trialogue”
“Valiant” is the first to delve into those qualities. The quavering bass arco opening is swept up by the occasional melodic flourishes of piano. When the tempo finally unfolds, it possesses a slow, almost ponderous gait that does as much to accentuate the atmospherics as it does the shape of the song.
The jaunty cadence of “Headbanger Polka” is instilled with the melody’s sense of urgency, and conversely, the melody adopts a bit of the rhythm’s joyful bounce. Similarly, “Take a Quick Break” is a matter of shared propulsion.
“Movement 11” continues the symbiosis of urgent melodies and cheerful tempos, but given new life with huge washes of harmony from guest bass trombonist James Kent and a string trio from the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg. Its counterpart, “Movement Seventeen,” swings in the opposite direction, with tranquility and a coasting tempo ruling the day.
However, the roots of this collaboration extend further back to Wesseltoft’s and Shwartz’s exploration of the places where a Nordic-style jazz serenity come together with highly-charged electronic music. And so while the album’s final two songs give the impression of a movie that goes in an entirely new and unexpected direction for its conclusion, it’s really not that huge of a surprise.
The first of the album’s final two songs is the electric groove & effects of “This Is My Day.” It continues the album trend of toying with tempo and slippery cadences, and its use of voice sampling and a near-contemporary jazz sheen present a song that is nothing like anything that preceded it. The album concludes with a similar approach but a different sound with an intriguing electro-acoustic take on Monk’s “Round Midnight.” It makes for a more satisfying diversion than “This Is My Day,” which really puts a dent in the album’s cohesion. Even the album’s opening track, “Interlude,” with its electric fuzziness and hazy atmospherics keeps beneath the album’s enfolding canopy.
But this is a small criticism of an album that provides all types of reasons to dive right in and enjoy.
Your album personnel: Bugge Wesseltoft (grand piano, rhodes, synthesizers, percussion), Dan Berglund (double bass), Henrik Schwarz (computer, percussion) and guests: James Kent (bass trombone), Damien Pardeon (violin), Jean-Marc Apap (viola) and Laurence Vautrin (cello).
Released in 2014 by Jazzland Recordings.
Music from Oslo, Norway.
Available at: Amazon
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By davesumner • Jazz Recommendations, Jazz Recommendations - 2014 Releases • 0