Dec 26 2011
Diego Barber – “The Choice”
The Choice is the sophomore release of guitarist Diego Barber, following up the wondrous debut Calima, arguably the best album of 2009. Infusing his classical guitar into a jazz setting, he presents a sound both terribly refreshing and quite unlike anything else on the scene.
Your album personnel: Diego Barber on guitar, Larry Grenadier and Johannes Weidenmueller share duties on bass, Ari Hoenig on drums, Mark Turner and Seamus Blake take turns on saxophone.
Inspired by and written during a trip across West Africa, Barber has created a series of musical vignettes of small moments in a vast big sky country. The opening track “Annie” is simply Barber’s unhurried guitar lines backed by the gentle patter of drums and wash of cymbals, an introspective moment further enhanced when Weidenmueller makes an entrance by bowing his bass, creating an effect like a lullaby whose intent is not to aid the listener to sleep, but to intrigue into wakefulness.
“Annie” leads into the second track “Contraste” without a note of silence. Barber’s guitar becomes more insistent. Mark Turner enters with a series of simple and unfussy sax lines that glide across the tune like tumbleweed across desert sand. And then the wind picks up… Barber’s intensity on strings grows, Turner’s sax rises in temperature, Grenadier’s bass lifts up to the higher registers, and Hoenig’s drum work could be trailing right behind or maybe it’s really pushing the whole thing along.
The pace continues to increase as the album progresses. This was an equation that worked well for Barber on Calima, and it continues to reap rewards on The Choice. Both albums began with openings that were serene but not sleepy, not unlike those mornings when a person wakes up to the sun, refreshed, not a bit drowsy, and just very there In The Moment. Barber’s guitar emanates that In The Moment feel, and it’s why even during frenetic tunes on the album like “Jose’s House”, it still feels like a calm album.
The heart of the tempo is at the heart of the album, and just as the The Choice opens with a languid atmospheric vibe, so it also ends. The wind down begins with “Pittaluga” (arguably the strongest track on the album), as Barber slowly takes his foot off the gas pedal.
The album ends with a beautiful solo guitar sonata, closing things out on the same notes of serenity and solitude that the album began.
Over an hour and ten minutes of modern jazz guitar w/classical influences. Released on the Sunnyside Records label.
Originally from the Canary Islands, Barber is now a part of the New York jazz scene.
2011 was a very strong year for jazz album releases, and Diego Barber’s The Choice deserves to be considered among the best 2011 had to offer.
– 
Jan 4 2012
Adam Kolker – “Reflections”
That confidence also manifests in the ease of the playing. On both the peaceful tracks as well as the frenetic ones, there is a reserved feel to tunes, a low center of gravity, as if all musicians are seated and only sound like they’re all bouncing around on a stage. A low center of gravity, when used correctly, it provides balance and strength, and it’s why a short man who utilizes it can knock out cold a man much taller and larger. The best punches are short and quick, and they ain’t flashy.
But I don’t want to equate this album to violence. The first track “Soon It’s Gonna Rain” is anything but violent.
Multi-instrumentalist Adam Kolker first envisioned a trio album with close colleagues, then more friends were brought into the fold. Your album personnel: Adam Kolker (tenor sax, alto flute, bass clarinet, flute, clarinet), John Hébert (bass), Billy Mintz (drums), with Guests: John Abercrombie (guitar), Russ Lossing (piano), Judi Silvano (voice), and Kay Matsukawa (voice).
Always a sign of talent when a bandleader can bring guests in for individual album tracks and assimilate their sound into the whole as if they’d been sitting in for the entire album.
I love how the second track, Monk’s “Let’s Call This” opens, how it transitions from the previous track, and really, just the whole damn thing.
The swinging hop-skip intro, Kolker’s stroll right in, the happy groove they settle into. I love it.
The title-track is a lovely ballad, serene and unhurried, and the perfect set-up for the next track “Boscarob”, an up-tempo piece with a nifty bit of scatting as accompaniment.
The other favorite track I’d like to call attention to is “Song Along the Way”…
It’s an extended stayover of serenity, Lossing’s piano lines like contrails across a wide open blue sky, Kolker flying overhead with sax, the wind rushing through grassy fields marked by delicate cymbal and brush work. Too beautiful.
2011 was yet another strong year for jazz releases, and Kolker’s has to be considered near the top of that Best of 2011 list. Ease and confidence make for an excellent album.
Released in 2011 on the Sunnyside Records label. Jazz from NYC.
The entire album can be streamed on Kolker’s bandcamp page.
Available on Amazon: CD
| MP3
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By davesumner • Jazz Recommendations, Jazz Recommendations - 2011 Releases, Recap: Best of 2011 • 0 • Tags: Adam Kolker, Recap: Best of 2011, Sunnyside Records