Dec 24 2017
Best of 2017 #24: Matt Otto with Ensemble Iberica – “Iberica” (Origin Records)
That Matt Otto’s collaboration with Ensemble Ibérica is drop-dead gorgeous doesn’t come as a huge surprise, but it is remarkable just how welcoming a personality it possesses. When confronted with beauty set to stun, the tendency is to experience it from a distance… a sort of defensive detachment meant to open lines of communication that might otherwise be overwhelmed by the emotional reaction. That posture isn’t necessary on Ibérica. The tenor saxophonist and Spanish music ensemble bring a peaceful seaside ambiance to music that might otherwise turn out the lights. The use of instruments like oud, steel guitar, cavaquinho, cello and Cuban tres speak to the album’s rich personality, and the many avenues at its disposal to express all that beauty.
Music from Kansas City, MO.
Read more about the album on Bird is the Worm.
Matthew Bourne had been spending his time lately experimenting with a moog. He put out a couple interesting recordings documenting those experiments. But for Isotach, the pianist returned to his home overlooking the moors of the Yorkshire countryside and recorded a solo piano work that is nothing short of stunning. Notes are allowed to hang in the air and slowly drift and fade, with the next volley only served up just before the previous blink out of existence. Bourne adds some cello here and there for texture, but only ever as accompaniment and never as the main course. Melodies spread across each song like moonlight… slowly, almost imperceptibly, until suddenly everything is lit in a magical glow. A truly beautiful recording, and a nice example of how the slightest emphasis can resonate like a hurricane.
The music of Trickster possesses a strange and curious interface, as if a self-replicating alien language perpetually on the verge of translating itself into human words. The newest album from Miles Okazaki is driven by rhythmic forces that shape the melodies into their ultimate form, and the impression is that among the guitarist’s quartet of drummer Sean Rickman, bassist Anthony Tidd and pianist Craig Taborn, no one person is excluded from the opportunity to impose their will upon that motion. The result is a passive kind of addiction, where the album’s charismatic personality keeps the ear locked in place until the translation is complete, and what once seemed alien and strange becomes as welcome and familiar as a loved one saying hello.
The evolution of Diego Barber’s fusion of classical and jazz shows no sign of slowing down, nor does the fascination it generates reflect any sign of dwindling. Over the course of five albums, the guitarist has incorporated electronic, avant-garde and folk into his heady mix of classical music and various forms of bop, post- or otherwise. Percussionist Alejandro Coello and his use of vibraphone and marimba is an especially positive addition. That said, the way bassist Ben Williams and drummer Eric Harland cast a rhythmic spell over a track like “Jacaranda” to give the illusory effect of electronic dance music on a session using only organic instruments is pretty damn amazing. In a modern jazz landscape that is as diverse as it ever was, Diego Barber has developed a sound that differentiates itself from the herd, while simultaneously situating itself as a territory that others could gravitate toward. One Minute Later is yet more evidence of it.
Dec 24 2017
Best of 2017 #23: Tyshawn Sorey – “Verisimilitude” (Pi Recordings)
Music from NYC.
Read more on Bird is the Worm.
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By davesumner • Recap: Best of 2017 • 0 • Tags: Jazz - Best of 2017, New York City, Pi Recordings, Tyshawn Sorey