Jazz Recommendations – 2015 Releases

I’m rather taken with the sophomore release of saxophonist Torbjørn Sletta Jacobsen.  Biting Tails is one of those recordings that hangs its hat on the shapeliness of its lyricism, and instills in its melodies an impressive malleability that allows them to conform to whatever shape best suits the prevailing tempo without doing anything to weaken their genuine beauty.

Spreading this approach out in its barest form, “Projektor” just lays the pretty melody on thick and dares the listener’s ear not to grow unconditionally infatuated with it.  There’s an appealing pop music quality to this tune, even while it sticks to Nordic Jazz territory.  Along those same lines, the fun title-track “Biting Tails” moves like a jitterbug and shapes the melody with that particular motion in mind.  The action on “On” is a bit more conventional and streamlined to let the catchy melody shine its brightest.  “UFO” adopts the same approach, but slides the tempo into cruise control.

At the quieter end of the spectrum, “Prabol” is a song that uses heartbreak as currency, and is very generous when dishing it out.  “Claudine” doesn’t stray too far from its predecessor, but aims its heartbreak inward as it cloaks itself in contemplation and introspection.  Overall, the album presents a nice mix of quirkiness to balance out the thick waves of serenity.  Plus, there’s a wildcard track like “Conion,” which adopts a determined step, and a driving tempo that adds a sense of urgency to the long exhalations of melody.  It’s a track that doesn’t fall neatly into either primary sound category, and it goes a long way to binding the two up.

Just a real enjoyable album where every tune has a melody that presents itself as a warm, friendly smile.

Your album personnel:  Torbjørn Sletta Jacobsen (alto sax, bass clarinet), Gunnar Halle (trumpet), Espen Eriksen (piano), Audun Ellingsen (bass) and Freddy Augdal Wike (drums).

Released on Curling Legs.

Listen to more of the album on the artist’s Soundcloud page.

Jazz from the Oslo, Norway scene.

Available at: eMusic | Amazon

Got a short list for you as we try to dig ourselves out of the hole of backlogged new releases.  Today, we’re serving up four relatively straight-ahead recordings, and the diversity of their sound goes a long way to illustrating just how varied even the ground at Jazz center can be.

But all that aside, this small batch should keep you occupied before the next pour.

Let’s begin…

Mike Holober – Balancing Act

Enjoyable recording from pianist and big band guy Mike Holober, who heads up an octet for his newest.  Nice opportunity to catch drummer Brian Blade and bassist John Hebert synch up, but it’s the duo-saxophone attack of Dick Oatts and Jason Rigby that results in the biggest fireworks.  Vocalist Kate McGarry’s contributions, both word and non-word, are pretty damn effective in the way she gets her parts to mingle in with the ensemble like snow settling onto the surface of a winter pond.  A rendition of “Piece Of My Heart” should’ve been a disaster, and it speaks to the strength of this outing that it actually has its moments.  The rest of the album achieves an even higher level of success.

Your album personnel:  Mike Holober (piano), Kate McGarry (voice), Marvin Stamm (trumpet, flugelhorn), Dick Oatts (alto & soprano saxes, flute), Jason Rigby (tenor sax, clarinet, bass clarinet), Mark Patterson (trombone), John Hebert (bass) and Brian Blade (drums).

Released on Palmetto Records.

Available at:  eMusic | Amazon

*****

Tobias Meinhart – Natural Perception

Saxophonist Tobias Meinhart is a pretty reliable guy.  His newest gives more of that style of modern post-bop that delivers a mix of heavy propulsion and moody reveries that are just as likely to glitter and sparkle like a diamond as they are to lay deep and heavy on the ocean floor.  Leading a quintet that includes trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, Meinhart serves up plenty of likable tunes, a tasteful sort of jazz that knows where its standing at the moment of its creation, two feet planted firmly in place.  The album’s oddball tune, a rendition of Bill Frisell’s “Throughout,” is arguably the strongest track, though the genial warmth and brisk cant of “You’re My Everything” could make a strong claim for that title, too.

Your album personnel:  Tobias Meinhart (soprano & tenor saxes), Ingrid Jensen (trumpet), Yago Vazquez (piano, Rhodes), Phil Donkin (bass) and Jesse Simpson (drums).

Released on Enja Records.

Listen to more of the album at the artist’s Bandcamp page.

Listen to the album track of that Frisell cover at Fully Altered Media’s Soundcloud page.

Available at:  Bandcamp | Amazon

*****

Oscar Perez – Prepare a Place For Me

Nice straight-ahead session from pianist Oscar Perez, leading a trio (plus frequent guest alto saxophonist), and gets a stellar performance from bassist Thomson Kneeland.  Old-school fans who like their jazz served up right over the heart of the plate will take to this one just fine.  The album’s standout track is a nifty take on Monk’s “‘Round Midnight,” which phases in and out of a Latin form, yet never threatens to leave the realm of the recognizable.  Just a solid outing.

Your album personnel:  Oscar Perez (piano), Thomson Kneeland (bass), Alvester Garnett (drums) and guest:  Bruce Williams (alto sax).

Released on Myna Records.

Available at:  Amazon

*****

Will Herrington – Solace

The debut of pianist Will Herrington is thick with the New Orleans sound and beats with a heart full of blues.  His trio set with bassist Jon Richards and drummer Andrew Boyle exudes all kinds of warmth, whether upbeat and chipper or deeply introspective.  Ambrose Akinmusire adds his trumpet on two tracks, and damn if those songs don’t sing with all kinds of feel.  Next time Herrington heads back into the studio, if he doesn’t schedule Akinmusire to work a full shift, he’s out of his mind.  This is one of those recordings that doesn’t necessarily make a huge first impression with those opening notes, but over the course of its duration reveals itself as a standout recording.

Your album personnel:  Will Herrington (piano), Jon Richards (bass), Andrew Boyle (drums) and guests:  Ambrose Akinmusire (trumpet) and Kiel Feher (percussion).

The album is Self-Produced.

Listen to more of the album at the artist’s Bandcamp page.

Available at:  Bandcamp | eMusic | Amazon

*****

Have a great time digging through the list!

And remember, it’s simple:  You like what you like.

Cheers.

***

Comparing each individual album track on Homes, the newest from guitarist Gilad Hekselman, you wouldn’t think these tunes would have any reason to hang out together in the same room.  The electric fusion sheen of “Cosmic Patience” is unlikely to find a common topic of interest with the acoustic guitar folk-jazz of “Home E-Minor.”  A wind sprint rendition of Bud Powell’s “Parisian Thoroughfare” would nervously tap its foot in silence while struggling to find a conversation starter to get things going with “Eyes to See,” with its inner-rock-anthem just waiting to come bursting out and drown out everything in the room.

A cheerful rendition of Pat Metheny’s “Last Train Home,” with its melody wrapped in a bluesy groove could probably swap stories with the gorgeous melody of the Hekselman original “Verona,” but, together, would stand silently as they watch the chipper “KeeDee” bop excitedly around the room, paying no mind to anyone in its path.  And then there’s the handful of brief pieces and interludes that behave as if they mistakenly received an invitation at the last minute and decided to show up anyway.

But Hekselman overcomes any problems this variation in sound and expression might present by crafting statuesque melodies, reflecting a thoughtfulness in planning and a meticulous construction, allowing them to stand out with sharp clarity.  And that he couches this characteristic by wrapping those melodies up with ethereal harmonies and rhythmic imagery akin to a map of stars, it’s why the songs, individually, can enter the room from any number of different doors yet come together like one big happy family.

There’s a pleasantly unassuming disposition to this album.  No one track gets right up in your face, keeping more to a rainy day ambiance that lets the music drift on in and settle in slowly.  This passivity, though, shouldn’t be mistaken for insubstantiality, because though the music’s strength is subtly exercised, it carries far and wide, and it doesn’t erode with the time of repeat listenings.  Homes will make a nice addition to your library, and pretty much is a must-buy for you jazz guitar fans.

Your album personnel:  Gilad Hekselman (guitars), Joe Martin (bass), Marcus Gilmore (drums) and guest: Jeff Ballard (drums).

Released on Jazz Village.

Jazz from the Brooklyn scene.

Available at:  eMusic | Amazon | Artist site (which has all kinds of swag combos)

The newest from the Underpool studio & label might just be their best-to-date.  It’s the way big statements emerge from out of nowhere, and how incisive melodicism evolves from within the randomness of improvisation.  Underpool 4 ranges in expression from electro-acoustic groove to straight-ahead post-bop to a shimmery Brian Blade Fellowship nu-jazz, and all of it is anchored to strong melodies and driven along by conversant rhythms.

Bringing together various artists from the Barcelona scene for short-term collaborations, the Underpool studio & label provides an outlet for musicians to contribute compositions to the session while learning to adapt to and improvise on the compositions of their ensemble mates.  For the newest, it’s a quintet formation, and the way they come together is solidly reflected in the bold, anthemic passages.

It starts out with a bit of sleight-of-hand, not immediately revealing the trait that will come to define the album.  The seemingly innocuous mumbling of “Impro 1,” through sheer force of will and sonic accumulation, becomes a heavy drone with a heavy presence.  This feeling of intensity and depth hits a full bloom on “Praia de Moreré,” with its thick melody warm as sunshine and bold as the sun.

The trumpet-tenor sax duo of Àlvar Monfort and Lucas Martínez blasting away on the melody on “Plus” is plenty dramatic, but resonating even stronger is when the ensemble drops the intensity to the floor, and the guitar of Jordi Matas entwines with saxophone around the melody, stating it much more sweetly while letting the beauty shine as strongly as it roared.  That it’s immediately preceded by a deceptively languorous opening and an undeniably chaotic middle only makes the effect that much more profound.

Drummer Pep Mula has a nifty way of guiding a tune at a brisk pace and yet still freeing his quintet mates to choose slower speeds when the moment seizes them.  “Tot es Desfà” has a song in its heart and practically whistles out the melody, but it’s the way in which that melody is strung out across the peaks of the cadence, notes allowed to linger in the air, building anticipation for the next expression.  And then in the latter half, when the song displays its combustible side via electric guitar, the resulting directness creates a tantalizing bit of contrast to the extreme patience displayed in the opening.  And all of this is shaped by the preceding ballad “Song for Alba” and the way it points to the path ahead with moonlight, thick with melancholy and just as soft.

The quirky “Una de Zombies” is something of the exception that proves the rule.  Electronic murmuring accompanies fragmentary melodic statements that take an indirect route to their final destination.  There’s no fireworks and there’s no huge pronouncements, and the way this song diverges from the predominant mold that other album tracks have been cut from is abundantly obvious and strangely compelling.  In much the same way a black sheep can give further definition to the group identity, so does the meandering “Una de Zombies.”

The album ends with “Impro 2,” the mirror vision opposite of opening track “Impro 1.”  The finale works an electro-groove and euphoric shouts of melody for some laid-back tunefulness.  Bolstered by the groundwork set by keyboardist Abel Boquera, each of the quintet members raise up their voices with an off-the-cuff looseness that sometimes trails away in opposite directions and sometimes converge upon one another, creating new sounds out of old.

Just another very cool, very engaging new release from the Underpool Collective.  Expect me to be writing more about that label’s other recordings, but start buying now.

Your album personnel:  Àlvar Monfort (trumpet), Lucas Martínez (tenor sax), Jordi Matas (guitar), Abel Boquera (keyboards) and Pep Mula (drums).

Released on Underpool.

Visit an artist site.

Listen to more of the album at the label’s Bandcamp site.

Available at:  eMusic | Bandcamp | Amazon

And speaking of other writing on the Underpool label, here’s a LINK to a write-up of their second collective release, Underpool Dos!