Jul 26 2017

Recommended: Masaa – “Outspoken”

 

It’s remarkable how much the sound of Masaa has expanded over the course of three albums even as they drill down on the basic elements that embody the heart of the trio.  Rabih Lahoud, already bridging the expanse between Lebanese music and European jazz, expands his lexicon by incorporating French, German and English vocals into their new album Outspoken.  The trio of trumpeter Marcus Rust, pianist Clemens Christian Pötzsch and drummer Demian Kappenstein bring a huge presence to their music, which isn’t new, but the consistency of its application certainly is.  It also comes off as far more relaxed, reflecting an increased comfort with the inner workings of the quartet.  It’s an effect that leads to an even richer personality.

“Ta Voix” has the pulse of a street vendor scene, and by incorporating both the literal sounds of the streets and a tone that is quiet as a whisper, a shout above the crowd, and the many textures in between, the quartet captures the spirit of the scene both literally and metaphorically.  “Natra” is a mainline to the heart, embodying the beauty of sunrises over the mountains, sunsets over the water, the stars on a cloudless night, and all of the countless, far too few moments when life feels exactly as it was meant to be and your heart can barely contain the joy from the experience.

That way in which voice and trumpet run melodic lines in parallel and an intricate weave, and how piano traces the pattern of each while giving the melody a shape of its own, and that way in which percussion conjures up a storm that transforms a focused intensity into comforting whisper, this is the context of the drama this band is able to effortlessly generate and the dividends of its nuanced approach to melodic imagery and rhythmic dialog.  It’s how it all comes together.

Anyways, this was one of my Best of Bandcamp selections back when the album was released in May, but I wanted to get the spotlight on it again here on Bird is the Worm. It also provides the opportunity to mention that Afkar, Masaa’s last album, earned the #9 slot on this site’s Best of 2014 list (go check it out).

Your album personnel:  Rabih Lahoud (vocals), Marcus Rust (flugelhorn, trumpet), Clemens Christian Pötzsch (piano) and Demian Kappenstein (drums, percussion).

Released on Traumton Records.

Listen to more of the album on the label’s Bandcamp page.

Music from Berlin, Germany.

Available at:  Bandcamp | Amazon

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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

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Jul 24 2017

The Round-up: Coming back home is one of the best dreams ever

 

Here is some very good new music.

 

Theo Hill – Promethean (Posi-Tone Records)

On the latest from Theo Hill, only one of the album’s eleven tracks are an original composition, but the compositions he chooses to interpret are an interesting cast of jazz luminaries.  It’s particularly promising to see the trend of attention paid to the works of Kenny Kirkland.  The pianist also tackles two by Tony Williams, and a rhythmic language blossoms with a melodic voice.  The sole original composition is the track “The Phoenix,” and it’s one of the highlights.  The up-tempo piece has an engaging mix of melodic clarity and warm ambiance, and it suits the song’s brisk pace.  Hill opens the album with a take on Bobby Timmons’ “This Here,” and it’s the kind of thing that’ll probably want you to start a crowdfunding campaign to lock Hill in a room with just a piano and the Timmons songbook and not be allowed to leave until he has an entire album of new material.  Hill’s trio makes it a song for afternoon walks in the crisp Autumn air when all the leaves have settled into their new colors and everything feels alive and hopeful.  Bassist Yasushi Nakamura and drummer Mark Whitfield, Jr. join Hill on this session.

Artist site | Buy:  Amazon

 

Gerald Cannon – Combinations (Woodneck Records)

I know this album was recorded in a studio and I know that the various personnel came in at scheduled times and did their thing according to the studio schedule, but this joyful new release from bassist Gerald Cannon sounds like he gathered all his friends together in a bar with their instruments, and after the last-call drunks made their exit, everybody gathered around and just started playing.  There’s a real sense of togetherness on this straight-ahead session, and that leads to impressions of spontaneity and playing in the moment.  Just a real old-school feel to this album.  A special treat is a rendition of the Sam Jones (via Clifford Jordan) composition “One for Amos.”  By the way, some of those friends Cannon invites are Gary Bartz, Jeremy Pelt, Kenny Barron, Duane Eubanks and a number of other heavy-hitters.

Artist site | Buy:  Amazon

 

Grégory Sallet Quintet – Le Mouvement Crée la Matière (Label Pince-Oreilles)

What’s particularly interesting about this release from saxophonist Grégory Sallet are the instantaneous shifts between jazz-rock fusion, modern straight-ahead jazz and chamber.  And it’s not a seamless transition.  Its suddenness is jarring.  Initially, those quick changes are a bit off-putting, but time and familiarity with the quintet’s methods take some of the edge off, and the distinct before and after pictures between music expressions becomes increasingly fun and intriguing.  Worth noting that Sallet’s name isn’t new to these parts; he’s a member of the Anne Quillier 6tet and Trio Enchant(i)er.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp – Amazon

 

Hubert Dupont – Golan / Al Joulan Vol.2 (Ultrack)

A very cool mix of jazz and Middle-Eastern music on this live set from bassist Hubert Dupont.  The folk influence comes on strong, but the assertive voice of the modern jazz side of things is an excellent counterweight, and together the two influences combine for some textured melodies and a propulsive rhythmic force.  At times, the music attains a cinematic allure, hinting at imagery for a film never recorded.  Oudist Ahmad Al Khatib, percussionist Youssef Hbeisch, flautist Naïssam Jalal, violinist Zied Zouari and clarinetist Matthieu Donarier comprise the Golan project.  There’s a Volume 1 also available, but I feel that it lacked the focus of its counterpart, was more diffuse in presentation and structure.  Still, though, pretty intriguing.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp – Amazon

 

Ed Neumeister & hit NeuHat Ensemble – Wake Up Call (Meistero Music)

Enjoyable big band session that attains the right balance between textural density and fluid motion.  A mix of traditional and modern conventions, and Neumeister’s NeuHat Ensemble deftly blurs the line between the two so that the transitions are subtle and, consequently, dramatic in an odd sort of way.  He brings an all-star line-up that includes names like Adam Kolker, Billy Drewes, Dick Oatts, John Hollenbeck, Hans Glawischnig and a bunch of other musicians who’ve received praise on this site.

Artist site | Listen | Buy: Amazon

 

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Jul 23 2017

Your Sunday Morning Jazz Album: Ron Miles – “Heaven”

 

Sunday morning is when the serenity comes down.  Sunday morning is the cocoon from the heavy exhaustion of too much Saturday night fun.  Sunday morning is when the city agrees to use its inside voice.  Sunday morning is when a hush settles in over the land.  It is a time for sitting still and listening to quiet music and silently praying the aspirin and coffee do something to stop your head from exploding.  Drama and stress are strictly forbidden on Sunday morning.

Your Sunday Morning Jazz Album is just for you, for times just like these.  If you possess the freakish compulsion to get-up-and-go when the clock strikes Sunday morning, this music is not for you.  Go and listen to a Spotify EDM playlist or something.  But whatever you decide, just do it quietly and far away from those of us who appreciate the true solemn nature of a Sunday morning.

Trumpeter Ron Miles and guitarist Bill Frisell both know how to treat a melody.  They each have their way of patiently nurturing it, getting every last drop the melody has to give and making each of those drops resonate like mad.  The two had collaborated prior to the duo recording Heaven.  They both hailed from the Denver, Colorado scene, and Miles performed on Frisell’s 1996 recording Quartet, which is arguably the best thing Frisell has ever done.  On this 2002 session, it’s just the two of them, and the totality of their past collaborations and their complementary approaches to song paid huge dividends on this sublime set of tunes.

The lovely, gentle melodicism of the Miles original “Coward of the Country” sets the tone for this album, and so when Miles turns up the heat briefly on “Beautiful” and “Just Married” and the duo kicks up a little dust on “We See,” it’s only to give a little nudge of wakefulness to music set for peacefulness.  The duo perform renditions of comps by Duke Ellington, Bob Dylan, Thelonious Monk, Jelly Roll Morton and Hank Williams, and it’s a rendition of the latter’s “My Cheatin’ Heart” that serves as one of the album’s highlights and as exactly the kind of music one needs on a lazy Sunday morning.

You need this album today, right now.

  • Artist-Title:  Ron Miles – Heaven
  • Personnel:  Ron Miles (trumpet) and Bill Frisell (guitar).
  • Proper Use:  1) Staring vacantly into space and silently hoping that the hangover gets bored and just wanders off, 2) Sitting on the windowsill and watching the rain fall and turn the whole world green, or 3) Cat, lap, sofa, nap.

Released in 2002 on Sterling Circle Records.

Music from Denver, Colorado.

Available at:  Amazon | CDBaby

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Jul 22 2017

These are videos that I like: What’s been playing

 

Today’s first featured videos is a nifty audio-visual of how the album cover was created for the new I Think You’re Awesome release, Books (go check it out).

And here’s an official promo video for the Bill Frisell & Thomas Morgan collaboration that led to Small Town (go check it out).  Can’t help but love the various shots at the Village Vanguard, where the recording took place.

Next up is a promo video for the new album from site favorite Michel Portal.  On Eternal Stories, the bassist is joined by drummer Richard Héry, keyboardist Xavier Tribolet and the string quartet Quatuor Ébène.  Their method of blending jazz and classical is one of the more amazing examples of third stream music that I’ve encountered in some time.

It’s been released on Warner/Parlophone.  You can purchase the album on Amazon.

And let’s wrap up with an official video for Ryan Keberle & Catharsis and their new album Find the Common, Shine a Light (go check it out).  It’s an interesting rendition of the Bob Dylan tune “The Times They Are a-Changin’.”

And if you want to skip the write-up and just go check this album out, you can listen and purchase it on the artist’s Bandcamp page.

 

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