Beyond Jazz

Saturday Tiny Reviews special edition!

Featurning Chris Schlarb Making the Saint, Eric Hofbauer American Grace, and Alexander Turnquist Flying Fantasy.

Today’s column focuses on three guitarists, each releasing a solo project recording (well, one has guest musicians performing).  None of the recordings would qualify as jazz per se, though in some cases, the musicians have been involved in jazz projects.  These are just three albums that I find comforting and intriguing, and which continue to engage me regardless of the passing of time and frequency of listens.

I often leave the Saturday slot for the Something Different series or very blog-y posts and opinion pieces and columns.  Today, it’s just three tiny reviews of guitar albums I really enjoy.

Let’s begin…

*****

Chris Schlarb– Making the Saint

Making the Saint plays like a cathartic experience.  After a trio of intricate, highly-collaborative albums (Twilight & Ghost Stories and the two-part Psychic Temple release), guitarist Chris Schlarb became the recluse, retreating to an historic 140-year old cabin secluded in the San Bernardino mountains.  He brought with him a few guitars and some recording equipment.  He hit the record button and exhaled all of the creativity that had been building up during the time spent on previous projects, both in studio and on tour.

This is introspective guitar music, but sounds to be offered up with a genuine thought to sharing with others.  The 19-minute title-track opens the album with the susurrant hum of electronics juxtaposed against the calm poetry of electric guitar blowing sonic bubbles into the air.  The brief vocal conceit of “The Great Receiver” keeps the tranquility intact, and though it doesn’t quite stand up to the rest of the album’s tracks, there’s a heart-on-the-sleeve quality to the song that is difficult not to admire.

“The Fear of Death Is the Birth Of God,” with its deeper resonance and washes of electric guitar and electronics brings a sense of urgency to ambient music, an expressionism not unlike fellow-guitarist Roy Montgomery.  It’s a type of style where the truly profound is discovered in the confluence of sonic undercurrents.  The album’s coda is a charming little rendition of the standard, “My Foolish Heart,” which provides an interesting, additional perspective on where Schlarb’s creative center is versus a more traditional locale.  It’s an illuminating conclusion to an unobstructed view of an artist’s flow of ideas.

Your album personnel:  Chris Schlarb (acoustic & electric guitars, electronics, voice).

Released in 2014 on Asthmatic Kitty Records.

Available at:  Bandcamp | eMusic | Amazon: CD – MP3 – Vinyl

*****

Eric Hofbauer – American Grace

American Grace is the third installment of guitarist Eric Hofbauer‘s “American Trilogy” series, a sonic perspective on American society & culture, expressed through a mix of original compositions and selected renditions that speak to his point of view.

There are standards like “Stella by Starlight,” and there are takes on blues songs like King Oliver’s “West End Blues,” and “Blind” Willie Johnson’s “God Moves on the Water,” the Beatles’ “Dear Prudence” and a song from Willie Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.  There’s also “Idumea,” a sacred harp hymn, which comes from similar roots to that of the recent Dave Douglas-Uri Caine recording, Present Joys.  This rendition, in addition to a take on Ornette Coleman’s free jazz “Peace,” speak to the heart of Hofbauer’s vision and how he finds ways to express it concisely and consistently, no matter how diverse the source materials.

And regardless of whether songs move with a tranquil lull or furtive activity, there’s a contemplative nature to these tracks, so that even when all kinds of personality shines through on a particular song, there’s always the sense that something subtle is getting slipped under the radar.  This quality provides the necessary intrigue to songs that may only seem simple at first blush.

It’s a nifty facet of Hofbauer’s creative arc, and an interesting contrast to his contributions to other projects, like the Argentinean Jazz of Pablo Ablanedo’s Octeto and Jorrit Dijkstra’s Bolt.

Your album personnel:  Eric Hofbauer (guitar).

Released in 2013 on Creative Nation Music.

Available at:  eMusic | Bandcamp | CDBaby | Amazon: CD – MP3

*****

Alexander Turnquist – Flying Fantasy

The 12-string guitar of Alexander Turnquist is the sound of snow falling fast, and never quite touching the ground.  There is something so very peaceful and calming about this terrifically frenetic music.  The beauty of Flying Fantasy is viewed in stark contrast to pain and fear that preceded its creation, first, with the recovery period from nerve injury to Turnquist’s left hand, and then shortly after, a bout of meningitis.  It says something about how creativity is both a refuge and a launching point for hope and transformation.

Several tracks, like “House of Insomniacs” and “Finding the Butterfly” bring in vibes, cello, and vocal harmonics to add some richness to the sharp complexion of 12-string guitar.  The addition of piano accompaniment to “Wildflower” adds a new dynamic, a bit of warmth in contrast to vibraphone’s iciness, and a slower cadence to contrast with 12-string guitar’s wind sprints.  The same can be said for the color of French horn to a track like “Red Carousel.” Title-track “Flying Fantasy” is just the occasional strum of guitar, some loops and the sparse twitter of effects.  The silence of this track is almost startling.  The album ends much in the way it began- “Cloud Slicing” keeps a brisk pace, marked by the intermittent murmur of piano.

Just a gorgeous recording.

Your album personnel: Alexander Turnquist (acoustic 12-string guitar, grand piano, Hammond B3 organ), Pamela Stein (vocals), Christopher Tignor (violin), Marlan Barry (cello), Jeremy Thal (French horn), Matthew O’Koren (vibraphone, marimba), and Andrew Hiller (snare drum).

Released in 2014 on Western Vinyl.

Available at: eMusic | Amazon: CD – MP3 – Vinyl

One of the more captivating albums I’ve encountered lately is Northern Tapes, by the Ola Kvernberg Trio.  Possessing a strong folk sound and presented in cinematic washes, this is music with an aggressive personality that is as alluring as it is positively arresting.  Lithe, fluid, but with a serious gravity.

On strings, Kvernberg howls with a majestic sonority.  Percussion is a consensual aggregation of many conversations rising into a single, multifaceted din.  This is active music that makes it simple to sit back and simply drift away.

The rhythm trio of bassist Steinar Raknes and drummer/percussionists Erik Nylander and Børge Fjordheim lock in together to create some seriously dynamic rhythmic patterns for Kvernberg to float across.  A track like “North” has bass bubbling up to the surface and popping with a satisfying regularity while drums and percussion mimic the ripples caused by the tiny eruptions.  Its effect is hypnotic.  It’s a different kind of effect on the focused rhythmic propulsion of “Leaving Lotte,” a song that has Kvernberg soloing over the top like riding drafts in a stormy sky.

Kvernberg switches between a variety of stringed instruments, sometimes within the span of a single song.  The most powerful of these options is his use of bass violin, which emits a resonant soulfulness and gripping lyricism similar to how bass clarinet, when wielded deftly, can capture the moment with a tumult of rhythmic activity.  And then there’s the way it enters with a haunting beauty on “Best Intentions,” a song that twitters with life but keeps to an inside voice until it can no longer contain itself.

The use of electronics and effects is done with a certain modesty and tastefulness.  It isn’t something kept to the back of the room; on the other hand, it doesn’t stick its beak into every moment of every song.  Some loops, like with mandolin on the opening track “Wood Village” add some texture to an already rich vein of percussion.

Other tracks mimic a slow, cool breeze drifting through mountaintop forests.  The haunting beauty of “Poweryard” shimmers briefly then disappears, gone too soon, but there’s great value in leaving the ear with a want for more.  “Cooper’s Joe” is a peaceful stroll, eschewing burgeoning intensity for some casual dips in sunlight.

The album ends with more peacefulness.  “Lillesara” drifts languidly, strings and percussion both exuding a calm patience, even when volume and pace get kicked up a notch.  The song doesn’t end so much as simply fade away, growing ever softer until it goes silent.

Just an absolutely gorgeous recording.

Your album personnel:  Ola Kvernberg (viola, violin, bass violin, cello, mandolin, ukulele, autoharp, percussion, Hammond B3, drums, electronics), Erik Nylander (drums, percussion), Børge Fjordheim (drums, percussion, autoharp), Steinar Raknes (double bass).

Released on Jazzland Recordings.

Music from the Trondheim, Norway scene.

EDITOR’S NOTE:  New Retail Options:  eMusic | Amazon MP3

Man, I hate linking to iTunes, but it appears to be one of the only places for U.S.-centric retail sites selling this fine recording… iTunes Link.  It looks like the Italian and German Amazon stores have it available, too.  The label, Jazzland Recordings, suggests purchasing from Gube Music.  They seem to have some nice file formats available.  If he begins retailing it at U.S. Amazon or eMusic or Bandcamp, etc, I’ll add the links later and send out a notice via Twitter and Facebook.

Also worth noting that Kvernberg is a member of Liarbird, along with Mathias Eick and others.  I’ll be reviewing their 2011 release in the near future.  Stay in touch.