Jazz Recommendations – 2015 Releases

Excellent debut as ensemble leader from bassist Carlos Henriquez, who doesn’t do anything particularly fancy with this Latin Jazz recording, just throws a four-seam fastball right over the heart of the plate.  Key to the success of The Bronx Pyramid is that the rich rhythmic delivery, in perpetual motion, is never an obstacle to the band patiently laying down some solid melodic formations.  Exhibit A would be “Cuchifrito” and the way the rhythmic attack allows the ensemble to shift gears and let soloists take the melody for a ride at a number of different speeds.  Furthermore, that rhythmic-melodic foundation allows a track like “Al Fin Te Vi,” a duo of Henriquez’s bass arco and the spry dancing motion from trumpeter Michael Rodriguez, express something that is cut from a different mold, yet retain album cohesion.

The lovely ballad “Joshua’s Dream” may be this ensemble at its best, but the heart of the album lies in tracks like “9 O’Clock Bomba,” “Brook Avenue” and “Descarga Entre Amigos,” with their abounding warmth and intoxicating chatter.

My favorite recordings that fall under the (very broad) Latin Jazz category are those that are plenty lively but are still a perfect fit for a lazy Sunday morning.  I’d argue that nobody has achieved that particular synthesis of qualities better in 2015 than Carlos Henriquez has with The Bronx Pyramid.  It’s also, arguably, the Latin Jazz pick of the year.

Your album personnel: Carlos Henriquez (bass), Michael Rodriguez (trumpet), Robert Rodriguez (piano), 
Felipe Lamoglia (tenor sax), Ali Jackson (drums
), Bobby Allende (congas) and guests: Rubén Blades (vocals), Pedrito Martinez (batas), Renzo Padilla (coro) and Kike Gonzalez (coro).

Released on Blue Engine Records.

Jazz from NYC.

Available at: eMusic | Amazon

The dreamy lyricism of saxophonist Olivier Bogé typically gets told with the comforting allure of bedtime stories.  Though, like any good story told on the borders of sleep, it possesses qualities that aren’t always conducive to sweet dreams:  Bits of edginess to give intoxicating melodies a little bite, rhythmic surges that threaten to wash lush harmonies out of the picture and sudden shifts in emotional tone that sweep the floor right out from under.  Both 2012’s Imaginary Traveler and 2013’s The World Begins Today worked those qualities to great effect, and, undeservedly, both recordings flew under the radar.  Bogé’s newest album, Expanded Places, is a fuller, more confident vision of what has come previously, and it’s not nearly as likely to pass people by this time around.

Representative of the album is “Icarus’ Dream” and how it rolls out a thick melody and then just keeps wrapping it around the shape of the song.  And even as the harmonies rise and the percussion becomes more pronounced, the effect is one of genial beauty and gentle light.  Opening track “Red Petals Disorder” charts a similar course, but hangs its hat, instead, on the harmonic qualities.

“The Fairy & the Beard Man” and title-track “Expanded Places” have Bogé switching over to, respectively, acoustic guitar and piano, and the change in instrumentation, if anything, leads to imagery even more vivid than that which preceded it.  The addition of a cellist on “Sound of the Endless River” has the same effect on a song with a more conventional structure.

“What People Say” and “Wings of Desire” are nice examples of how Bogé and crew are able to instill a heavy moodiness upon a tune without bogging it down in somber introspection.  It’s an approach that led to seriously addictive effects on bassist Nicolas Moreaux‘s excellent 2013 recording Fall Somewhere… on which both Bogé and drummer Karl Jannuska also contributed to.  With Expanded Places, it’s a formula they continue to mine for sonic diamonds like these.

Just a gorgeous album.

Your album personnel:  Olivier Bogé (alto sax, piano, guitars, Fender Rhodes, vocals), Nicolas Moreaux (bass), Karl Jannuska (drums) and guests:  Manon Ponsot (cello) and Guillaume Bégni (French horn).

Released on Naive Records.

Jazz from the Paris scene.

Available at:  eMusic | Amazon

It’s been fun watching the career of violinist Adam Baldych develop over time.  Of particular interest has been the number of collaborative projects he’s involved himself in that feature different pianists.  I first became acquainted with his music back in 2011 and his excellent recording Magical Theatre.  It’s an album with immense melodic depth and some well-placed dramatic surges to really get those melodies to shine brightly.  It also saw Baldych in a piano-less quintet.  But since that recording, Baldych had joined forces with pianists Iiro Rantala, Yaron Herman and Jacob Karlzon , and each instance has resulted in Baldych wielding tighter lyrical control.  His expressions have become more concise, and the dramatic intensity he dished out so generously on Magical Theatre is now served up with a sharper clarity.  His newest recording, Bridges, matches him up with another pianist, Helge Lien, and the Helge Lien Trio for a delightful storybook session.

The title-track opens the album with thin filaments of melody that slowly intertwine into a woven pattern that is quite striking.  The song is firmly in the modern jazz-folk music territory that both artists have camped out in previously, where ambiance and atmospherics are the driving forces.  It’s typical of about half of the recording, and it’s nicely complemented by a series of tunes that hone the melodies as a way of crafting song structures that rival the catchiness of pop tunes while retaining the intricacies and flavor of music of a finer vintage.

“Polesie” is the first statement of intent to chart this course, and subsequent track “Mosaic” expands on it with a more textured, and effusive, interplay between the melodic and rhythmic elements.  It’s also the first real show of the quartet’s method of allowing both the jazz and folk influences to express themselves with greater individual authority, and not get so caught up in maintaining level ratios of one to the other.  In fact, those wild swings from jazz influence to folk to a midway point are a nifty indirect method of bringing some drama to the affair.

“Riese” is a bit amorphous, but it does make regular pit stops at the melody.  “Requiem,” on the other hand, is a thick wall of mist that gives the impression of motion.  It’s not dissimilar to the effect of “Karina,” though in this instance, the melody is the emergent factor in fueling the song with a huge burst of propulsion.

“Dreamer” has a melody that’s plenty addictive and a cadence as welcoming as a warm smile that means it.  “Missing You” doesn’t dial it back much either, though it provides Baldych and Lien some space to take flight with a couple fitting solos.  “Up” jacks up the voltage big time, and though it often feels ready to burst at the seams, the layering across of solos with tiny emphases of the melody elicits a surging momentum that is as much about cohesion as it does intensity.

The album ends a bit flat.  The tune “Lovers” teases with melodic intent, but never really commits to it, and then the finale, a by-the-numbers rendition of Massive Attack’s “Teardrop” that doesn’t really possesses any kind of notable personality that would indicate why it was even included on the album in the first place.  But these are small criticisms of an album that has plenty enjoyment to offer.

Your album personnel:  Adam Bałdych (violin), Helge Lien (piano), Frode Berg (bass) and Per Oddvar Johansen (drums).

Released on ACT Music.

Available at:  Amazon

It’s a rather startling debut from saxophonist Mette Henriette Martedatter Rølvåg.  A self-titled double-album that features, for its opening frame, a trio format where she’s joined by pianist Johan Lindvall and cellist Katrine Schiøtt. and then the second half has her with with her 13-piece sinfonietta.  While there’s plenty to differentiate between the trio album and the large ensemble, it’s remarkable just how joined they are at the hip when it comes to a united vision.

The trio pieces are a crosshatch of contemplative reveries and can’t-sit-still fidgeting.  They are both tranquil and lively, and the trio display a deft touch at handling that very delicate combination.  “A Void” and “In Circles” show how a little bit of dissonance can go a long way to rounding out the serenity, punching the melody up with streaks of personality that transcend the sublime.  “The Taboo” is an instance where Rølvåg adds just enough heat to singe the edges of the melody while leaving the heart of its lyricism unharmed.

But mostly what you’re in for are solemn, almost heartbreaking tracks like “I Do,” “O” and “.oOo.”… songs that would be just as home in the rafters of an ancient church as they would as the stand-in for a morning sunrise over snow-capped mountains.  Lindvall and Schiøtt snap right into place with Rølvåg’s impressionistic touch.  Complementing both the sharp melodic streaks that mark these tunes and the implied rhythmic possibilities that could emerge within the gaps of relative silence, the pianist and cellist bring a fullness to these tracks that might otherwise seem either too sparse or too fussy were the emphases served up in anything but exactly the right amounts.  There is a pervasive sense of constant motion, even when the music achieves a supreme calm.

Part 2 of this double-release has Rølvåg’s opening trio expanded out to a 13-piece sinfonietta.  It’s where Rølvåg lets all the personality loose that her trio hinted, suggested, alluded to on the album’s first half.  It begins with the dreamy “Passé” and its faint echo of fellow Norwegian tenor saxophonist Jan Garbarek.  Thankfully, if there was any influence here, it was only a brief one… something that’s settled immediately, first, with the sing-from-the-heart folk dance of “Pearl Rafter,” then the lush, droning harmonies of “Veils Ever After” followed by the punchy “Unfold.”

An interesting quality to the album is how it’s dominated by a large number of very short pieces.  Approximately half of its 35 tracks are under two minutes in duration.  The dual benefits provided by this approach are, one, Rølvåg doesn’t mess around with shaping the melodic center of songs, staying quick and to the point, and, two, the brief but striking ambiance that enshrouds those melodic fragments like fine mist leaves the ear wanting more.  That said, on those tracks were Rølvåg takes more time to flesh her ideas out, the effect of the music is no less profound.  The untamed cries and roar of “Wildheart,” the thick introspection of “All Ears” and the epic scene changes of “I” all add to the burgeoning drama and vivid serenity that define this lovely debut.

Your album personnel:  Mette Henriette (tenor sax), Johan Lindvall (piano), Katrine Schiøtt (violoncello), Eivind Lønning (trumpet), Henrik Nørstebø (trombone), Andreas Rokseth (bandoneon), Sara Övinge (violin), Karin Hellqvist (violin), Odd Hannisdal (violin), Bendik Bjørnstad Foss (viola), Ingvild Nesdal Sandnes (violoncello), Per Zanussi (double bass) and Per Oddvar Johansen (drums, saw).

Released on ECM Records.

Jazz from the Trondheim, Norway scene.

Available at:  Amazon