Jul 25 2017
Recommended: PAJARO – “Lineas Ley”
What a beautiful album. The P∆JARO trio of tenor saxophonist Mauro Panzillo, guitarist Emmanuel Rotondo and drummer Francisco Jaime are a sea of tranquility, and their new album Líneas Ley rocks gently on the surface of gorgeous melodies and delicate rhythms. On this session, they are joined by Hikaru Iwakawa, and both his instrumental and vocal contributions amp up the South American folk music elements already present in the P∆JARO trio’s music. But more essentially, the additional diversity of instrument choices like quena and siku creates textures and nuance within a fabric resplendent with such features.
Another quality that stands out prominently is how the music is reminiscent of some of Bill Frisell’s early-period works on ECM Records and Nonesuch. Woozy harmonics unfolding from sharp melodic imagery leaves its mark throughout this recording. It figures into the serene opening tracks “Ascenso” and “Un Lugar,” as well as the peculiarly upbeat “Faro.” The guitarist, Emmanuel Rotondo, works in a nice complement of loops and effects to bolster his lovely melodic voicings, and how this contrasts with the wind instruments is just as fascinating as when its coalesces into their stream of thought.
The end is vastly different than what led up to it, and as a result, immensely satisfying. The quartet unsettles the placid surface with “Intro” before launching into dramatic waves of intensity on the finale “Cubo.”
What an outstanding, supremely enjoyable recording.
Your album personnel: Mauro Panzillo (tenor sax, piano), Emmanuel Rotondo (guitar, loops, effects), Francisco Jaime (drums, percussion) and Hikaru Iwakawa (quena, siku, voice, piano).
This album is Self-Produced.
Listen to more of the album at the artist’s Bandcamp page.
Music from Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Available at: Bandcamp
Sep 29 2017
Recommended: Various Artists – “Sky Music: A Tribute to Terje Rypdal”
Let me just get this out of the way right from the start: I am not a fan of the music of Terje Rypdal. I find the guitarist’s sound melodramatic and sometimes a little screechy. His albums veer too often into new age territory for my own tastes, and when he swings in the other direction with some guitar solo fury, it tends to burn away at any melodic beauty built to that point.
There are moments I enjoy. For instance, this album. And this one. And, hey, some stuff on this one, too. And then this one is arguably my favorite from his discography, viewed as a whole and not just bits of an album I like. But for the most part, I hear this and this and this, and I just can’t deal.
But, hey, you are welcome to like this guy’s music. There’s nothing wrong with that. And my personal dislike of his music isn’t offered up as some sort of repudiation of his standing in the music community. There’s a whole bunch of musicians who look up to Rypdal, and a bunch of those musicians are ones I’m a fan of. Take, for instance, this very fun tribute recording, celebrating Rypdal’s 70th birthday. Sky Music: A Tribute to Terje Rypdal brings together a cadre of the guitarist’s former collaborators, new generation followers, and just plain admirers, and the range of ways they channel his music is a pretty decent facsimile of Rypdal’s own. There’s a core group that perform Rypdal pieces for about half of the album, and then a series of guests that either perform solo-duo pieces (like Bill Frisell and Erik Friedlander) or join in with the core group (like Jim O’Rourke‘s excellent contribution on the album finale).
What’s particularly nice about how the album gets rolled out is that the core group unleashes all of the fury commonly associated with Rypdal’s music, while the solo and duo pieces highlight Rypdal’s melodic perspective… an attribute that sometimes gets lost in all of the intensity and electronic production.
This is a fun album, and one that I genuinely enjoyed. No, I’m not a fan of Rypdal’s music, but that opinion is one that has developed over time and with a lot of experience giving him a listen. An album like this, comprised of musicians expressing their own perspective on Rypdal works, it’s one more door to perhaps encounter a path to connect with the guitar legend’s music. Whether you’re a long-time fan of his music or if this is the first time you’ve heard of the man, I highly encourage you to check out this recording and Rypdal originals. There are a lot of music listeners who count Rypdal among their all-time favorites. It might be the same for you, too.
Your album personnel: Gard Nilssen (drums), Ingebrigt Håker Flaten (electric & double basses), Even Helte Hermansen (electric guitar), Hedvig Mollestad Thomassen (electric guitar), Henry Kaiser (electric guitar), Reine Fiske (electric guitar), Ståle Storløkken (keyboards) and guests: Erik Friedlander (cello), Bill Frisell (electric guitar), David Torn (electric guitar), Hans Magnus Ryan (electric guitar), Raoul Björkenheim (electric guitar), Nels Cline (electric guitar, bass, loops) and Jim O’Rourke (pedal steel guitar, guitar synthesizer, acoustic guitar, synth, double bass).
Released on Rune Grammofon.
Available at: Amazon | eMusic
And here’s the official EPK for the recording…
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By davesumner • Jazz Recommendations, Jazz Recommendations - 2017 releases • 0