May 9 2018
Escape Argot has got a process, and it starts with just a tiny bit of violence
So, what Escape Argot does is stomp through the glassware shop knocking everything off the shelves, and then, after the damage is done, the trio picks up the shards and rebuilds them as beautiful constructs of melody. This pattern fully emerges on the title-track for Still Writing Letters. The trio of multi-reedist Christoph Grab, pianist Florian Favre and drummer Christoph Steiner launches itself in all directions and throws their weight behind it. It’s almost a little startling how suddenly they’re able to shift into the most delicate phrasings, making the transition seem as natural as thunder to lightning, pressure into peace. Opening track “Die Besseren Ratgeber” hints at this pattern, but only in retrospect. First impression is simply that the trio has decided not to restrict itself to a thin range of tones. It’s only later that they reveal the magic as occurring not in the tonal range but with the shape of the transformations. It’s an impression that makes itself permanent in the way the punchy behavior of “Ueberbauen Mit Herr Mess” melts into a comforting pulse before gearing up to a glittering melodicism that achieves an intensity greater than the tune’s aggressive opening.
Not to be overlooked, however, is that many of those melody constructs are often quite catchy, too. “An Sich” lays the blues on thick and “The Ability to Adapt” takes its approach to subtlety seriously, but even here can be discovered moments of change sufficiently powerful to elicit a smile or an appreciative shake of the head.
Your album personnel: Christoph Grab (reeds), Florian Favre (piano, moog) and Christoph Steiner (drums).
Released on Traumton Records.
Listen to more of the album on the artist’s Bandcamp page.
Music from Zürich, Switzerland
2015’s Winter Light is a day in the life of the bleakest season. It begins, as we all do, at first light, and then gradually cycles through the stages of the day until nightfall and, finally, sleep. The opening piece “First Light Tundra” beautifully captures the expressive skies and icy volatility of a winter morning. It’s driven by the potent combination of sunrise serenity and the massive presence of snow and ice and frozen winds just waiting on the other side of the window to pierce your soul the moment you step outside. And really, from that point, the music alternates shades of the opening’s tranquility and intensity. “Night Tundra” gives a sense of the oppressive collapse of wintertime darkness upon the earth, but also the insight that its enfolding embrace possesses a certain comfort when experienced within reach of a fireplace and warm lights and loved ones. The soothing drone of “Afternoon Ice Fog” is the eye of the storm, those fleeting hours when the beauty of winter eclipses its talent for inflicting pain. “Evening Blizzard” is the reminder of what awaits outside the protective shell of the eye of the storm.
DuBois’ treatment of the autumnal season is more expansive than that of winter. Some of this approach reflects the difference between the nuance of Winter and the brilliant bursts of autumnal colors. And, perhaps, the guitarist was simply looking to expand the tonal palette of his ensemble. DuBois adds a string quartet plus and a woodwind trio to the same quartet that gave voice to the winter season. The result is a focus on change. There’s the change of colors in the trees and the merciful relief from Summer’s debilitating heat, and how this brings about a sense of tranquility. But autumnal change is also the massive upheaval of life into the hibernation of Winter. So the great fluttering of wings on “Early November Bird Formations” and the explosion of brilliant colors on “Autumn Aurora Borealis” and “Late October Changing Leaves” and the eerie calm of “Late September Dusk Walk” shift with great suddenness between states of serenity and volatility. And regardless of which state holds at any one time, there’s an undercurrent of tension, as if the world were nervously awaiting the final change to manifest, and the inevitable descent into the cold months of winter.
The combination of vibraphone and accordion together, one element dancing spryly from note to note while the other drifts harmonics across the surface of the song is pretty well intoxicating, and it’s just one of the many winning qualities on the debut recording from André Rosinha. Two saxophones help give the music of Pórtico some weight, and remind us that no matter how pretty a melody may be, there’s always the potential for it to reveal a cutting edge. The contemplative “Salto” is too lovely for words, and while it can be argued that the slower pieces on this album are the strongest, a better argument could be made that they wouldn’t resonate quite so strongly were it not for up-tempo pieces like “Marron” and title-track “Pórtico” leading into them as a point of comparison.
May 14 2018
The Round-up: You are always a mystery. We are always free.
Here is some very good new music.
Julian Siegel Quartet – VISTA (Whirlwind Recordings)
Nothing fancy, just some solid modern straight-ahead jazz from the Julian Siegel Quartet. Siegel is often the one leading the charge, but there are plenty of moments when one of pianist Liam Noble, double bassist Oli Hayhurst or drummer Gene Calderazzo exert their influence upon the proceedings. In particular, when Siegel goes low with his tone, the brighter shine of Noble’s melodic lines adds some excellent contrast in that way shadow and sunlight can transform a simple patch of grass into a magical tapestry of shapes and textures. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing at all not to like with Siegel on saxophone, but, damn, when he switches over to bass clarinet, he leaves me wanting more. Music from London.
Artist site | Listen | Buy: Bandcamp – Amazon
BRASSIC – Patina of Brassic (Musilogue)
It’s pretty easy to fall for the brass band stylings of BRASSIC. The flavor of New Orleans traditional enters into things, but the Tokyo-based sextet of saxophonists Takeshi Kurihara, Junya Kondo, Hiromu Takahashi, trumpeter Yochi Masago, trombonist Daisuke Maeda, sousaphonist Mayuko Hiraki and drummer Shigekazu Otake flit about between approaches to the music, keeping things light and unpredictable. Warm tones and hopping tempos are like a wide smile, a perfect demeanor for music that seeks to make everything alright. Music from Tokyo, Japan.
No artist site | Listen | Buy: Bandcamp – Amazon
Mopo – Mopocalypse (We Jazz Records)
Even when they slow things down a bit, the hard-driving Mopo trio brings a huge sound. And while their sound possesses the strength to drive a hole straight through the base of a mountain, the tone more often than not is one of party-time atmosphere rather than wielded as a show of strength. Saxophonist Linda Fredriksson, bassist Eero Tikkanen and drummer Eeti Nieminen stake their territory in the modern era, but a track like “Niin aikaisin” shows that some cool blues and swing isn’t out of their range or reach. Otto Eskelinen contributes the workings of a Farfisa organ to the affair, which adds a nice harmonic texture. As does Tikkanen when he switches over to violin. Fun music from Helsinki, Finland.
Artist site | Listen | Buy: Bandcamp – Amazon
MAST – Thelonious Sphere Monk (World Galaxy Records)
There’s no mistaking this re-envisioning of the Thelonious Monk songbook as belonging to the modern era. Today, really, and maybe even a little bit belonging to tomorrow, too. But even an obstinate old-school fan is going to appreciate the way MAST (aka Tim Conley) gets the original melodies out front and center, allowing them to lead the way through unfamiliar interpretations of old tunes. Electronic effects introduce sound textures never emergent on the original pieces, while cuts of Monk interviews dropped throughout the recording bring things back home, and in some important ways are reminiscent of the Monk documentary Straight, No Chaser. The best approaches to take when performing the songs of the past are to make it very personal or very different… MAST does both. Joining Conley are an A-list of personnel, many of whom have been featured on this very site: Anwar Marshall, John Fraticelli, Makaya McCraven, Brian Marsella, Jonah Levine, Chris Speed, Daniel Rosenboom and Gavin Templeton. Music from L.A.
Artist site | Listen | Buy: Bandcamp – Amazon
Zahariev-Roko/Bodurov/Semov – Mixing Vanity (Optomusic)
This album is made from moonlight and meant to accompany the moon as a soundtrack late into the night. The trio of trumpeter Rosen Zahariev-Roko, pianist Dimitar Bodurov and drummer Dimitar Semov express a melody with the most exquisite care and patience, and the spike of anticipation from hearing them develop is how this album gets its hooks in ya. They add some electronics and percussion in tasteful doses, and it behaves more as quirks of personality than novelty. Seriously arresting music, and an album that appears to have flown beneath the radar. Let’s fix that. Music from Sofia, Bulgaria.
Artist site | Listen | Buy: Bandcamp
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By davesumner • Jazz Recommendations - 2018 • 0 • Tags: BRASSIC, Dimitar Bodurov, Dimitar Semov, Helsinki (Finland), Julian Siegel, London, Los Angeles (CA), MAST, Mopo, Musilogue, Optomusic, Rosen Zahariev-Roko, Sofia (Bulgaria), The Round-Up, Tokyo (Japan), We Jazz Records, Whirlwind Records, World Galaxy Records