Nov 19 2012
Brad Mehldau Trio – “Where Do You Start”
Another lovely album by Brad Mehldau, who has to be considered one of modern Jazz’s vanguard artists. The music from Where Do You Start originates from the same recording session as his previous release Ode, but, here, Mehldau forgoes original compositions in favor of interpretations of the music of a disparate group of artists like Clifford Brown, Jimi Hendrix, Toninho Horta, Sonny Rollins, Sufjan Stevens and Nick Drake.
Mehldau’s sound on piano is so distinct that I stopped worrying long ago that he might get lost in the weeds of the music of others. It’s a risk of doing covers, that the artist might wind up sounding more like the original composer than themselves. But not Mehldau, who has made a nice niche for himself by applying his talents to songs of the modern era (not to mention, helping develop a modern Songbook for a new generation of jazz artists).
Your album personnel: Brad Mehldau (piano), Larry Grenadier (bass), and Jeff Ballard (drums).
Best album track is his cover of Sufjan Stevens’ “Holland.” Mehldau pinpoints the simmering tension hinted at in Sufjan’s wispy tune, and he lets it blossom with dramatic effect. Coming in a close second is Mehldau’s interpretation of Toninho Horta’s “Aquelas Coisas Todas,” which, actually, is a good match for Mehldau, as he displays the same dynamic proficiency with harmonies as Horta, but gives his version a snappy jaunt in contrast to Horta’s mellower propulsion.
Two other tracks worth noting…
One, Mehldau’s adaptation of Hendrix’s “Hey Joe.” I like the original, but it’s one of those songs that too many people have covered already, and now anyone else who covers it is greeted with a reluctant exhaustion. Mehldau’s take on it, thankfully, rises to the level I’ve come to expect from him. The two aspects I find most appealing about his rendition is the staggered cant he applies rhythmically, accenting beats to effect a delectable push and pull cadence. Also, Grenadier launches into sections with a serious gusto that really gives the song some heart.
Two, he covers Nick Drake’s soul-crushing heartbreak song “Time Has Told Me,” and further proves that the Drake songbook may be as difficult to crack as any out there. I’ve yet to hear someone really really pull off a great Drake cover, and while there’s nothing inherently wrong with Mehldau’s version, there’s also nothing laudably special about it either.
But overall, this is yet another excellent Mehldau recording. When I look through my music library and cd shelves and see all the fantastic albums he’s put out, and then realize how often I still listen to each of them, it makes me want to proclaim that no other modern jazz artist has been so exceptionally prolific. Omer Avital, Esbjorn Svensson, Bill Frisell and Guillermo Klein all spring to mind as counterarguments, but none of those names shoot the Mehldau assertion out of the water. When people ask who are the Coltranes, the Monks, the Davis’s of the day… Mehldau is one of those names I immediately offer up. And there’s a bunch of reasons for that.
The best song covers make you forget the original, however briefly. Mehldau does this better than anybody.
Released on the Nonesuch Records label.
Jazz from NYC.
Dec 24 2012
Jeremy Udden – “Folk Art”
Working with two ensembles and constructing his album around his “Folk Art Suite,” saxophonist Jeremy Udden offers more of his fascinating blend of folk-jazz on 2012’s Folk Art. Udden’s Plainville ensemble albums are sublime recordings, sometimes slow and easy, sometimes deconstructed and free, but always the stuff of lazy afternoons spent on back porches.
A creative arc is apparent after three Plainville ensemble albums. The first of those recordings, the 2009 release titled Plainville, was full of the comfort of warm melodies and a cheerful banter of percussion. The second album, 2011’s If the Past Seems So Bright, toyed with the melodies a bit, rendering some of them less friendly than its predecessor, and giving a bit of darkness and edge to many of the tunes. On new album Folk Art, Udden not only continues on the path of disassembling those back porch serene tunes, but also with the configurations of the ensembles that portray them.
It displays yet more facets of Udden’s unequivocally singular and fascinating sound.
Your album personnel: Jeremy Udden (alto & soprano saxes), Brandon Seabrook (banjo), Jeremy Stratton (bass), Kenny Wolleson (drums) and Eivind Opsvik (bass), Pete Rende (Rhodes, Wurlitzer), Will Graefe (guitar), Nathan Blehar (guitar), RJ Miller (drums).
The album opens with “Prospect Part 1,” a mix of scattered percussion cut through with strings and buoyed with some inquisitive lines from sax. It’s an eerie sound hinted at in Udden’s previous two recordings, but now he’s putting it right up front. He’s made a statement that it’s not business as usual. A track like this was made for Wolleson’s percussion talents, with a similar touch being used on recordings by Bill Frisell and John Zorn… that right mix of the beautiful and the dangerous.
Second track “Train” has Graefe’s guitar plucking its way through a pleasant interlude. The tune’s gentle beauty is nice as a contrast to the dissonance of the previous tune, and also as a transition into the fuller, freer “Up.”
Third track “Up” continues the seemingly looser construction of tunes. Percussion and strings spill everywhere, bouncing off one another and crossing lines while sax skitters over the top. Seabrook has some ferocious moments on banjo, just flying through notes like a bat careening through a swarm of mosquitoes. It further demonstrates the distances the group stretches out to as they explore Udden’s folk jazz sound.
But the ensemble doesn’t forget to look back over its shoulder at what has come before. Fourth track “Portland” harks back to the previous two recordings. Languid sax lines, rustic strings like raindrops, and the gentle steady patter of drums.
“Dress Variation” is a two-and-half minute Blehar solo on a nylon-stringed guitar. It’s got soul, but it’s also got a dour disposition reminiscent of some of Leo Kottke’s darker tunes. It plays on the theme of “New Dress” (from If The Past Seems So Bright), while also serving as a wonderful transitional interlude between “Portland” and subsequent track “Alexander Part 2.” Udden’s fluttering sax lines twist around Stratton’s bass, while Wolleson adds chipper statements on drums. It’s a construct later revisited on “Our Hero,” but where “Alexander Part 2” goes out quietly, “Our Hero” brings a simmer to a boil, ending with a wash of sound.
“Bartok” displays the course Udden’s path has taken from the original Plainville. “Bartok” lays down a choppy cadence that many post-boppers utilize as they straddle the line between straight-ahead and modern avant-garde. The track sounds like an original model disassembled then reorganized into a new but familiar structure. It ain’t pretty, but it’s easy to see how it once was. It’s also a welcome development. As much as I freely rave of the sublime beauty of Plainville, it’s a healthy sign to see Udden experimenting with the formula in If The Past Seems So Bright and then breaking it down to its elements with Folk Art. It prevents things from getting stale. It also adds anticipation for what might come next.
The final two album tracks are “Jesse,” a growling tune that brings a lovely contrast between an earthy electric guitar and Udden’s fluttering alto sax. The album finale is “Thomas,” a track that was also featured on If the Past Seems So Bright. The current rendition falls right in line with the previous one. It also lines up well the music of the previous two recordings, so that even as Udden stretches further away from his starting point, he hasn’t lost sight from where he first began. It ties everything together nicely, and promotes a sense of both the new and the familiar. Just a great way to end this wonderful album.
Released on the Fresh Sounds Records label.
Jazz from the Brooklyn scene.
Available at eMusic. Available at Amazon: CD | MP3
Like this:
By davesumner • Jazz Recommendations, Jazz Recommendations - 2012 Releases • 0