Something Different

Jan 24 2016

Recommended: Christoph Merki Music.01 – “Psychedelic Mountain Vol. 1”

 

Christoph Merki - "Psychedelic Mountain Vol1"This is one of those unclassifiable recordings that come at your from all kinds of directions and each one of them is about as cool as it gets.  The first volume of the two-part Psychedelic Mountain release from Christoph Merki is quirky and imaginative and possesses all kinds of personality.  It’s a Something Different album that just wants to be your newest best friend.  Not for nothing, though, it is different.

Opening track “Doors of Perception (One for Aldous Huxley)” gets right to that point.  Bringing together elements of modern jazz, Eno-esque ambient pop, indie rock and Kraut-rock, it comes together as an ambiguous, but seriously catchy and undeniably potent concoction that goes down way smoother than one would expect from such a muddled list of ingredients.  This is pretty much how the whole album plays out.  Some tracks, like “Mountain 2 (Also Sprach),” veer crazily into avant-garde territory, but even those tend to return full circle to jazz-fringes territory with a well-placed trumpet solo or piano wind-sprint.

“Mut zum Moll” is a nice example of how the finely textured percussive tableau enhances the simple beauty of the ensemble’s well-crafted melodies.  Marimba and piano and keyboards and electronic blips and struck metal all combine as the glittering array of colors in the visible spectrum as seen through the lens of individual raindrops during a heavy storm.  “Mountain 5” adds a bit of vocals as one of many layers comprising the thick blanket of harmonies spread across the surface of the song.

“Bergsee-Sonate oder Für Livia (Ensemble Version)” colors a thick bright line of Steve Reich influenced repetition, whereas “Mountain 1C” has a loping cadence and a compulsion to groove.  “Mountain 5” also works in a groove with its space-age lounge vibe.  And every bit of these three approaches is immeasurably fun.

A very cool album doing something very different.

Your album personnel:  Christoph Merki (alto & soprano saxes), Daniel Schenker (trumpet), Ramon Ziegler (piano), Lars Schmid (Fender Rhodes, electronics), Mario von Holten (marimba, percussion), Stephan Athanas (electric bass), Tony Renold (drums) and guest: Andreas Schaerer (vocals).

Released on Unit Records.

Music from the Zurich, Switzerland scene.

Available at:  eMusic | Amazon

And, as I noted above, don’t forget that there’s a Volume 2 out there now, too.

By • Jazz Recommendations, Jazz Recommendations - 2016 releases • 0 • Tags:

Sep 4 2015

Recommended: Lars Greve – “Breidablik”

 

Lars Greve - "Breidablik"It’s the communion between the clarinet & sax of Lars Greve and his field recordings that is most striking about his new album.  Breidablik is subtle, and doesn’t attempt to overwhelm with its presence.  It exists almost entirely in a state of drone, mirroring the deep stillness of the countryside from which many of his field recordings originate.

And just like those natural surroundings, there are murmurs and twittering and the rustle of movements, so brief and then they’re gone.  There is the occasional burst of melodicism, of warm sunlight breaking through the clouds and laying a heavenly glow upon everything the ray’s tendrils reach out and touch.  And there is the soft touch of moonlight and the comforting hush of a world at sleep.

Breidablik counts as his solo debut, but Greve’s name should be relatively familiar to readers of this site.  He was a sideman on Copenhagen Art Ensemble‘s Reutersward and the Markus Pesonen Hendectet‘s Hum… albums that both earned a slot on the Bird is the Worm’s year-end Best Of lists for their respective years.  Greve also collaborates with Alex Jønsson, who himself has received praise on this site as a member of the nifty ensemble, I Think You’re Awesome.  And all of those projects have very different sounds from one another, so as you begin exploring Greve’s music, you’re going to find all kinds of fun surprises.

Go give Breidablik a spin, and then check out some of the links in the album titles above and explore even more.

Here’s an enchanting video that uses an album track…

 

Released on the Hiatus label.

Music from the Copenhagen scene.

Available at:  eMusic | Amazon

 

By • Jazz Recommendations, Jazz Recommendations - 2014 Releases, These are videos that I like • 0 • Tags:

Apr 5 2015

Something Different: Evan Tighe “Threadcount” & Rob Mosher “Polebridge”

A new edition of Something Different, which features albums that sit way out on the fringes of jazz territory, featuring Evan Tighe Threadcount and Rob Mosher Polebridge.

*****

 

Evan Tighe – Threadcount

Evan Tighe - "Threadcount"There’s an appealing edginess to the music of Evan Tighe‘s Threadcount.  It’s a cerebral set of avant-garde pieces that work the fine lines between jazz and contemporary classical.  Instruments often double back, sensing that other instruments are following them.  And they are.  The obliteration of melodies is made beautiful in their rebirth as lovely harmonies.

The double saxophone attack slices and dices melodies before they get in so much as a word, but it’s the contrast between the slow motion dissection and the brisk tempos that leaves such an unsettled feeling.  The opening “Folklore” executes this approach with a parade of motifs, each changing into something new before anything else can become old.  But then, with a track like “The Accident of Form,” the distillation of punctuated cadences and an illusory call-and-response results in a tune that, oddly, incites the kind of head-bopping more often associated with far catchier tunes.

And that’s what typifies the music of Threadcount… the tiny islands of simplicity in a sea of complexities.

Your album personnel:  Evan Tighe (drums, percussion, melodica, toy piano), Erik Hove (alto sax), Adam Kinner (tenor sax), Joshua Zubot (violin), and Remi-Jean Leblanc (bass).

This Self-Produced album was released in 2013.

Music from the Montreal, Quebec, Canada scene.

Available at:  Bandcamp | eMusic | Amazon

*****

 

Rob Mosher – Polebridge

Rob Mosher - "Polebridge"Rob Mosher describes Polebridge as “improvised chamber music for the Wild West.  Imagine Schumann and Prokofiev drunk at a saloon piano,” which certainly qualifies as a Genre Of One.  Mosher takes the mix of jazz, classical, folk and bits of other influences and guides it into a confluence of sound with its own particular flow.  He doesn’t switch between genres; it’s just a matter of which characteristics emerge within the stream of ideas.

The album’s first half is a display of odd meters and curious movements, whereas the second half of the album brings a melodic focus into play.

“Rango’s Tango” delights in bursts of locomotion that retain a stately elegance even when drawled slowly out.  “Marigold” scales tall heights, and then scrabbles back downhill to start all over again.  The mesmerizing “North by Northwest” has an icy beauty that emits some genuine warmth for its brief duration.  “Around the Bend” also offers up a crisp melody, but unlike its predecessor, Mosher’s ensemble spends time developing it in thrilling directions.  “Didn’t Ask (Breathe Now)” works both angles, switching between a tranquil drone and lively gestures… the result being a tune equally adept at lulling the ear into a peaceful sleep or keeping it alert with anticipation.

An album likely to elicit all kinds of intrigue.

Your album personnel:  Rob Mosher (soprano sax, clarinet, English horn), Micah Killion (trumpet), John Marcus (violin), Stephanie Nilles (piano, organ, vox), Andrew Small (acoustic bass) and guests: Peter Lutek (bassoon, contra alto clarinet) and Petr Cancura (mandolin).

This Self-Produced album was released in 2013.

Music from NYC.

Available at: CDBaby – Amazon

***

By • Beyond Jazz Reviews, Jazz Recommendations, Jazz Recommendations - 2013 Releases • 0 • Tags:

Dec 6 2014

Recommended: SKM Banda – “Panontikon”

 

SKM Banda - "Panontikon"The answer provided to the “Genre” question on ŠKM Banda‘s Facebook page is “Who cares?”  It would be a trite, almost cliche answer were it not for the fact that every note by this band shows they live and breathe by that motto.  A quartet consisting of a variety of stringed instruments and percussion, they mix in folk, jazz, pop, post-rock and dashes of plenty of other influences for a deliriously enjoyable concoction of what happens when you just don’t care about genre.  For this session, they’re titling it Panontikon.  A few sharper edges and more frequent bursts of intensity, but definitely comparable to recent albums by similarly genre-immune acts like I Think You’re Awesome and Tunto.  This Slovenian group just settles in and makes fun, tuneful music that greets the ear with a warm smile and a big embrace.  Difficult not to like.

That’s it.  I just wanted to get in a quick mention of them today.  I’m really enjoying this album.

Your album personnel:  Mitja Sušec (electric & acoustic guitar, ukulele), Iztok Koren (electric & 12-string acoustic guitar, banjo, kalimba), Jernej Koren (bass guitar, percussion), Jernej Sobočan (drums, xylophone) and Guests:  Dani Kolarič (cimbalom) and Miha Kavaš (violin).

Released on Kapa Records.

Music from the Beltinci, Slovenia scene.

Check out more music by SKM Banda on their Bandcamp page.

The band’s name refers to a local hero of World War II, Stefan Kovac-Marko.

Available at:  eMusic | Bandcamp | Amazon MP3

 

By • Beyond Jazz Reviews • 2 • Tags:

Nov 1 2014

Recommended: Sylvain Rifflet & Jon Irabagon – “Perpetual Motion (A Celebration of Moondog)”

 

Sylvain Rifflet & Jon Irabagon - "Perpetual Motion"With Perpetual Motion, the saxophone duo of Sylvain Rifflet and Jon Irabagon offer up a brilliant re-imagining of the music of eccentric composer, musician, and poet Louis Thomas Hardin aka Moondog that is as intelligent as it deliriously enjoyable.  Embracing Moondog’s adventurous creativity and unconventional expressionism, it’s a performance that might be considered avant-garde if the music weren’t so massively approachable.

Recorded live at the 2013 Banlieues Bleues Festival, the ensemble incorporates the vastly disparate elements of Moondog’s original compositions… classical, jazz, blues, ambient, rock, folk and more… into a different sounding mix that is just as intoxicating as the originals.  It’s not always easy to pick out the Moondog composition the ensemble is performing, but the spirit is clear as day.

Opening track “Oasis” immediately sets the tone for the recording, switching from a mix of percussion, electronics and sampled voices to a moonlight swoon of poetry to a free-jazz firestorm

“Heat On The Heather” starts out in the same direction but ends up in an entirely different place.  It opens with the field sounds of a man spare-changing on a city street near a construction site.  The ensemble juxtaposes those sounds with percussion of their own to develop a nifty cadence, which becomes the launching point for Rifflet and Irabagon to fly into a bluesy New Orleans jazz passage that becomes increasingly boisterous and cheerful as the song proceeds.

“Bird’s Lament” is one of the more recognizable tunes.  Referencing the original’s hypnotic melody, the ensemble digs into a catchy groove, with saxes and electric guitar taking turns riding its shoulders and shifting its gears.  Electric harpsichord and drums work opposite ends of the groove, creating a delicious bit of tension between a lagging rhythm and one charging forward with a head full of steam.  Even with its abundance of free-spirited energy, the ensemble mirrors the heart of the Moondog original, which was expressed patiently and with a touch of melancholy.

“From One to Nine” circles like a caged animal looking for a way out, growing increasingly agitated by its confinement.  Piano is key to things.  On the other hand, the sparseness of “Black Hole,” with the occasional rattle and rush of percussion, ignites with a sudden fury.  Saxophones growl deeply to the crash of guitar chords and the relentless strike of drums.

The delightful “Aska Me” features a children’s chorus singing out an aggressive refrain, with percussion and woodwinds punctuating the cadence with strong blows.  No less fun is the abounding euphoria of “Maybe” and the comforting lullaby of “My Butterfly,” the other tunes the children’s chorus makes an appearance.

Flute, electric harpsichord and guitar on “Fleur De Lis” possesses an exotic melodicism.  The song has a huge presence and a light touch, pretty and substantive, both.  It pulses with an hypnotic cadence.

The ensemble take the charming ditty “From The Jazz Book No. 2” and ramp up its enthusiasm and playfulness by several degrees.  It leads into “From The Jazz Book Extended,” one of two original tunes utilized in the performance (in addition to the murmuring saxophone of “Round Paris”).  Melodic lines chase their own tail, with start and end bleeding into one another to where it becomes a whirling coalescence, beautiful and alluring and trembling wildly.

The peaceful, restrained tune “Santa Fé” ends the album on an inspired note, providing a calm sense of finality for a recording that displays nothing but boundless, volatile creativity.

A remarkable album.

Your album personnel:  Sylvain Rifflet (clarinet, tenor sax, electronics), Jon Irabagon (alto & tenor saxes), Joce Mienniel (flutes, synth), Eve Risser (piano, electric harpsichord), Philippe Gordiani (guitars), Benjamin Flament (percussion, treated metals) and guests:  children’s choir, consisting of students from Collège Jean Vilar in La Courneuve, Collège République, Collège Pierre Sémard and Jean Ziener Conservatory of Music in Bobigny.

Released on Jazz Village Music.

Jazz from the Paris (Rifflet) and Brooklyn (Irabagon) scenes.

Available at:  eMusic | Amazon CD | Amazon MP3

You can also by the DVD & CD combo from the Harmonia Mundi store.

By • Jazz Recommendations, Jazz Recommendations - 2014 Releases • 0 • Tags:

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