Dec 24 2017
Best of 2017 #25: Matthew Bourne – “Isotach” (Leaf Label)
Matthew Bourne had been spending his time lately experimenting with a moog. He put out a couple interesting recordings documenting those experiments. But for Isotach, the pianist returned to his home overlooking the moors of the Yorkshire countryside and recorded a solo piano work that is nothing short of stunning. Notes are allowed to hang in the air and slowly drift and fade, with the next volley only served up just before the previous blink out of existence. Bourne adds some cello here and there for texture, but only ever as accompaniment and never as the main course. Melodies spread across each song like moonlight… slowly, almost imperceptibly, until suddenly everything is lit in a magical glow. A truly beautiful recording, and a nice example of how the slightest emphasis can resonate like a hurricane.
Music from Yorkshire, England.
Read more on Bird is the Worm.
The music of Trickster possesses a strange and curious interface, as if a self-replicating alien language perpetually on the verge of translating itself into human words. The newest album from Miles Okazaki is driven by rhythmic forces that shape the melodies into their ultimate form, and the impression is that among the guitarist’s quartet of drummer Sean Rickman, bassist Anthony Tidd and pianist Craig Taborn, no one person is excluded from the opportunity to impose their will upon that motion. The result is a passive kind of addiction, where the album’s charismatic personality keeps the ear locked in place until the translation is complete, and what once seemed alien and strange becomes as welcome and familiar as a loved one saying hello.
The evolution of Diego Barber’s fusion of classical and jazz shows no sign of slowing down, nor does the fascination it generates reflect any sign of dwindling. Over the course of five albums, the guitarist has incorporated electronic, avant-garde and folk into his heady mix of classical music and various forms of bop, post- or otherwise. Percussionist Alejandro Coello and his use of vibraphone and marimba is an especially positive addition. That said, the way bassist Ben Williams and drummer Eric Harland cast a rhythmic spell over a track like “Jacaranda” to give the illusory effect of electronic dance music on a session using only organic instruments is pretty damn amazing. In a modern jazz landscape that is as diverse as it ever was, Diego Barber has developed a sound that differentiates itself from the herd, while simultaneously situating itself as a territory that others could gravitate toward. One Minute Later is yet more evidence of it.
If there exists a societal opinion that tuba is incapable of being the source of beautiful music, then Daniel Herskedal has something to send that premise crashing down. The Roc is arguably the most gorgeous recording of 2017. Built upon the tubist’s personal concoction of modern jazz, chamber and folk, Herskedal adds an intriguing influence of Arabic music to the mix, as well as expands his ensemble with a cellist and violinist. As with previous Herskedal recordings, The Roc is an album overflowing with cinematic imagery, thick beautiful harmonies and melodies as bright and clear as a forest stream. The addition of Arabic music creates a rhythmic environment that brings a life to those elements that breathes an entirely new way, and has the melodic effect of a shapely allure, of providing an enchantment impossible to ignore. This is a phenomenal album from a musician who just keeps raising the bar on his own projects, and exceeding it.
Dec 24 2017
Best of 2017 #24: Matt Otto with Ensemble Iberica – “Iberica” (Origin Records)
Music from Kansas City, MO.
Read more about the album on Bird is the Worm.
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By davesumner • Recap: Best of 2017 • 0 • Tags: Jazz - Best of 2017, Kansas City (MO), Matt Otto, Origin/OA2 Records