Jan 11 2018
The Round-up: When the city sleeps, it dreams of you
Here is some very good new music.
Mikkel Ploug – Alleviation (Songlines Recordings)
Mikkel Ploug has a remarkable talent for creating music that is highly conversant, yet still casts a palpable serenity. The guitarist attains this balance flawlessly when matched against the vocal harmonics & electronics of Sissel Vera Pettersen and clarinetist Joachim Badenhorst with the trio Equilibrium, and it’s no different with his trio of bassist Jeppe Skovbakke and drummer Sean Carpio. So, it comes as no surprise that the same potent combination of activity and tranquility is present when Ploug offers up a solo session recording. As far as influence goes, Alleviation has an ephemeral nature, not owing itself to any one allegiance or school. But this is the kind of album where the only thing worth doing is sitting transfixed by its sheer beauty and just allowing that to become the atmosphere you breathe for as long as the album continues. Music from Copenhagen, Denmark.
Artist site | Listen | Buy: Bandcamp – Amazon
Holophonor – Light Magnet (World Galaxy Records)
An enjoyable straight-ahead set from the septet Holophonor. The complementary melodic interactions between vibraphone and the wind instruments goes a long way to getting to the heart of this album’s success. Equally effective are how the ensemble coalesces around the various soloists, adding strength to those moments that call for intensity and providing nuance when softer voices are the course of action. Good stuff. The album is produced by Wayne Shorter, which can’t hurt to know. Music from L.A. & NYC.
Artist site | Listen | Buy: Bandcamp – Amazon
Sjøvaag/Seglem/Hole – West Wind Drift (Shipwreckords)
This album may well be a cloud… ephemeral and hazy and a tendency to drift. But every now and then, the album suddenly darkens, the music gains a presence that wasn’t there before, and then suddenly the rains come pouring down. That’s the fallout of this live, improvised performance by the trio of drummer Jonas Sjøvaag, saxophonist Karl Seglem and bassist Sigurd Hole… an album that doesn’t ask anything of your attention until it suddenly grabs it tight and won’t let go. Music from Oslo, Norway.
Artist site | Listen | Buy: Bandcamp – Amazon
Jim Hart & Alfred Vogel – Come Rain, Come Shine (Boomslang Records)
This interesting little duo collaboration between vibraphonist Jim Hart and drummer-percussionist Alfred Vogel certainly casts its charm via a diverse rhythmic display, but it’s how they shape melodic fragments between one another, as if passing an idea back and forth in quick succession, is where the real intrigue lies. That said, the twitchy rhythms and elastic tempos go a long way to supplying the fun, too.
Artist site | Listen | Buy: Bandcamp
Bruno Delucchi Grupo – Las Meninas (Kuai Music)
There’s a lighthearted nature to this lovely album from pianist Bruno Delucchi, and it balances nicely with its deeply felt melodicism. Delucchi’s quintet hits the right balance between dedication to the composition and freedom to deviate from the preordained path. The influence of Argentinean folk is prominent, and how it brings out the album’s lyricism is a welcome effect. Very easy to fall for this one. Unfussy and gets right to the point. Music from Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Artist site | Listen | Buy: Bandcamp – Amazon
La Saboteuse is a statement album. It’s Yazz Ahmed illustrating who she is as a musician, and how the fuzzy math of past experiences, current environment and future aspirations equate to the composite of the notes she composed for her 2017 release and those that were adapted along the way. This isn’t unusual. In fact, it’s the foundation of any sincere creative endeavor. But that her 2017 release also possesses the quality of being a universal statement on the modern jazz and improvised scenes, of throwing open a window to a view of where the music can go for any that choose to launch themselves into it… that’s not so common at all. In fact, it’s pretty damn special, and that is one of the primary drivers of why the trumpeter’s La Saboteuse is the Bird is the Worm 2017 Album of the Year.
The music of Jaimie Branch is constructed with the sounds of things falling apart. Fly or Die is the echo of metal ripped in half and set to fire with wires as the kindling. It’s not pretty, and yet it has a serious allure. It’s laid back and casual, and yet has a charismatic appeal that locks the attention in place. And when it all comes together with a laser beam melody and harmonic surge breaking through the dissonance like the morning dawn through darkness, everything just falls into place and begins making sense again. The trumpeter’s core unit of cellist Tomeka Reid, bassist Jason Ajemian and drummer Chad Taylor are birds-of-a-feather, and certainly no stranger to the art of building through deconstruction. These are musicians that see the poetry of decay, and how that leads to the rebirth of things anew. Jaimie Branch’s debut album not only cycles through both states, but gives the impression that they’re not viewed as even being separate. Everything about this album is different. It’s a strange vision Branch delivers, and yet it’s so simple to embrace. In a year that saw an astounding collection of singular displays of personality, Branch’s stands out as the most individualistic. This easily could’ve been the album of the year.
This music is emotionally uplifting. This music is whip-smart. Exploring the connections between Indian music and the works of John and Alice Coltrane, the Brooklyn Raga Massive doesn’t obscure its ties to their inspiration, and still finds a myriad of ways to make this music sound all brand new and different. Their 2017 release Coltrane Raga Tribute elicits the complexities of John’s and Alice’s works without scrounging on the joy and intensity that drove it. And so it’s just as easy to immerse oneself in contemplation on “Africa” as it is to do a little dance around the room as it bursts from the speakers. The effect is much the same on “Journey in Satchidananda,” where the avenues to deep contemplation are just as plentiful as those that lead to a compulsion for motion. Everything about this album is wonderful, and it sets a gold standard for reinterpreting the classic songs of the past. This easily could’ve been the album of the year.
Jan 13 2018
Recommended: Kinsmen – “Window to the Ashram”
Most tracks take on a peaceful ambiance to start, and then slowly coax the intensity level upward. What’s particularly arresting is that they gradually increase the maximum temperature with each successive track, and so the subtle dramatics on a tune like “Water” resonates that much stronger in comparison to all that came before it.
Window to the Ashram is a curious little album, and its peculiarities, rather than present themselves as an obstacle, are actually the reason the music is so easy to embrace.
Your album personnel: Dhruv Sodha (sitar, synths), Shailesh Pillay (tabla) and Muhammad Dawjee (tenor saxophone).
The album is Self-Produced.
Listen to more of the album at the artist’s Bandcamp page.
Album cover art by Mongezi Ncaphayi.
Music from Pretoria, South Africa.
Available at: Bandcamp | Amazon
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By davesumner • Jazz Recommendations - 2017 releases • 0 • Tags: Kinsmen, Pretoria (South Africa), Self-Produced, sitar, tabla