The Round-Up

Here is some very good new music.

Juan Pablo Arredondo Trio – Piv Midi Toxi (Ropeadope Sur)

This trio session from guitarist Juan Pablo Arredondo, bassist Jerónimo Carmona and drummer Hernán Hecht isn’t afraid to flex some muscle to get its point across.  They snap off melodies with the same speed that spurs on their tempos, and both have moments punctuated with bursts of controlled fury.  But just beneath the surface, there’s a tunefulness that borders on catchy and a groove that seems determined to get the foot tapping.  It’s a quality less hidden when the trio slows things down and lets the music breathe, and it’s difficult to say exactly which form of expression represents the trio in the strongest light, because both instances see the music burning bright.  A nifty recording from the Buenos Aires scene.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp – Amazon

The Dissolute Society – Soldiering On (Babel Label)

What’s best described as a theatrical production, this wild session led by trombonist Raph Clarkson possesses a narrative script and a fearlessness to diverge from it at will.  Sung vocals, spoken word, a large ensemble jazz roar, and a chamber jazz deep introspection all play a part in this sprawling work that features a string trio, trumpeter Laura Jurd, and vocalist Fini Bearman among its numbers.  It’s a pretty thrilling album in its own right, but considering this is a debut, it makes it just that much more promising.  This is just one of those unconventional albums where stringing together descriptive words falls far short of the value from just hitting the play button and listening straight through to the album’s final note.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp

Edelman Bayón del Aguila – Trio (Self-Produced)

Nice bop trio set from pianist Nataniel Edelman, bassist Juan Bayón and drummer Nicolás del Aguila.  Featuring compositions by Parker, Ellington, and Sonny Rollins, the trio plays it straight.  Nothing fancy, nothing groundbreaking, just solid jazz at its most familiar.  The album ends on an upbeat note with a nifty rendition of Lou Donaldson’s “Cookin’.”  It, as much as any tune on this recording, signifies what this album is all about.  It’s also another nice example of the wonderful diversity of jazz coming from the Buenos Aires scene.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp

C.B.G. – Una Noche en Bimhuis (Kuai Music)

There’s an appealing casualness to this live session led by guitarist Guillermo Celano and drummer Marcos Baggiani.  Melodies are drawled out slowly and tempos seem haphazardly constructed.  The result is unmitigated personality.  Songs often reveal traits not immediately hinted at, and the initial direction a tune takes is rarely the same it ends with.  This live set at Amsterdam’s famed Bimhuis is free and unbound and strangely tuneful when least you’d expect it.  Rounding out the CBG sextet are multi-reedists Michael Moore & Joachim Badenhorst, tenor saxophonist Natalio Sued and bassist Clemens van der Feen.  And yet more music from the Buenos Aires scene.

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Pacho Davila – Invisible Fire (Self-Produced)

Likable free jazz session from saxophonist Pacho Davila & Mia Dyberg, drummer Marcello Busato, bassist Adam Woodwin, pianist Anette Wizisler and trumpeter Nils Ericson.  This music is the equivalent of a crowded room dashing about in a mad panic.  That said, each piece throws out a melodic fragment like a life ring to a drowning listener, and the ensemble returns to it frequently enough to ride out the song.  Loose and fun, this music’s enthusiasm becomes pretty embraceable as the album becomes more familiar.  Worth noting I have reason to believe this ensemble might go by the name Berlin Free Jazz Kollektiv.

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Dave Jorgensen – Astoria Sessions (Self-Produced)

Dave Jorgensen, a trumpeter by trade but multi-instrumentalist at will, recorded all of the instruments (aside from Luke Ydsti on upright bass) on this one-man show. The melodies are catchy as hell, and the rhythmic accompaniment lives to serve those melodies. I just found this album rather charming and wanted to give it a quick mention.

Artist site | Listen | Buy: Bandcamp – Amazon

Here is some very good new music.

Jim Black – Malamute (Intakt Records)

There’s a magnetic charm to the way Malamute simultaneously sighs and growls out a melody.  The quartet of drummer Jim Black, saxophonist Óskar Guðjónsson, bassist Chris Tordini and keyboardist Elias Stemeseder mesh ambient Icelandic jazz and blunt NYC edge into the same expressions, and the tonal contrast carries equal weight to their fascinating complementary interactions.  The ratio of each aspect shifts back and forth within the span of a song, and often quite dramatically.  Healthy infusions of electronic effects and samples bolster the organic instrumentation, and how they jostle for position is especially fun.  Nothing simple about this music, but the quartet’s delivery sure gives that impression.  Connections made easy.

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Sam Newsome – Sopranoville (Self-Produced)

The sub-title for this new exploration from saxophonist Sam Newsome is New Works for Prepared and non-Prepared Saxophone.  The scholarly vibe is accurate in its representation of what this album has got to give.  Not all of it is pretty, but all of it is compelling.  Newsome is willing and able to throw a punch with his soprano sax.  Sometimes he challenges the concept of music.  There’s 22 tracks and most clock in at less than two minutes.  There’s some overdubbing and some match-ups with other instruments.  Newsome likes to experiment, and part of the joy of his recordings are just simply seeing what shakes out.  I’m not sure that this album is meant to be enjoyed as music, but offered up with the goal to excite and inspire and illustrate the boundlessness of creativity… and if you enjoy it, so much the better.  An easy recommendation, as Newsome’s music often is.

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Andy Emler – Running Backwards (La Buissonne Label)

Composer Andy Emler doesn’t do anything normal, even when it sometimes sounds that way.  The pianist front-loads his pieces with all kinds of personality and textures, and they can range from massive statements to the most delicate nuance… and all of it resonates like mad.  To be honest, his newest release isn’t really among my favorite recordings, but every new Emler recording is noteworthy, and I’m happy for every opportunity to draw attention to his music.  Running Backward features a quartet with guitarist Marc Ducret, bassist Claude Tchamitchian and drummer Eric Echampard.  The music is very disjointed, and the melodies never seem to congeal into something one could hope to embrace, but there is a particular allure to that inaccessibility, and it can compel a strong need to examine every facet of every note in the hope of truly getting to know and understand what this music is all about.

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Proyecto Reutemann – Proyecto Reutemann (Discos ICM)

A very cool modern fusion session from the Proyecto Reutemann ensemble of trumpeter Matias Rivara, saxophonist Hernan Torres, guitarist Gaston de la Cruz, bassist Maxi Castillo and drummer Joaquin Waiman.  The influence of their Mar Del Plata, Argentina home turf is evident throughout.  What also shines through strong is how this quintet’s nonchalant delivery feeds into its loose grooves and catchy melodies, creating a music unison that is both addictive ear candy and structurally unbound creativity.  This is the second release on the (new to me) Discos ICM label, and I am now feeling very motivated to start digging into their catalog to see what else there is to spotlight.

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FB&I Trio – Live in Belgium and France (Self-Produced)

Pretty straight-forward piano session, and pretty typical to the modern scene.  The trio digs into a melody and doesn’t ever come up for a breath, and anything else that wants to participate does so at the service of that melody.  The FB&I Trio are plenty good at this formula on this collection of live performances.  Those melodies are more than a bit pretty and more than a bit catchy, and everything about the way they go about their business seems intended to make the kind of music good for just kicking back and letting go.  Nothing groundbreaking here by any means, but it’s good to have this kind of album in your music library.  Plenty here to like.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp

Here is some very good new music.

1000 – 1000 Anthems To Work On A Good End (El Negocito Records)

That the 1000 quartet says up front that their new album is based on the adaptation of national anthems probably wasn’t necessary.  Much of this music bleeds those traits common to that particular song form.  But knowing the premise does make their playful stabs at crazier renditions that much more fun.  Trumpeter Bart Maris, multi-reedist Jan Klare, bassist Wilbert De Joode and percussionist Michael Vatcher weave together the big statements and the reverential undercurrents for new takes on old pieces and a few of their own inventions to boot.  Very cool recording, and very fun, too.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp

M(h)ysteria – Family Drug (Jvtlandt)

There’s an alluring dark tone to this debut of the M(h)ysteria project.  Drummer Jakob Warmenbol, electric bassist Laurens Smet and Hammond organist Giovanni Di Domenico perform like they drank rocket fuel before the recording session.  The music is upbeat and psychedelic and unabashedly wild, but at no time does it sound like some blithe walk in the park.  There’s definitely a fun aspect to this music, but there’s also the sense that things could get ugly real fast and this music could suddenly turn around and punch someone right in the mouth.  That hint of danger makes all the difference, and frames the fun in a context of risk.

Artist site | Buy:  Wayside Music

Torben Westergaard – Tangofied III (Self-Produced)

Torben Westergaard‘s charismatic concoction of Nordic jazz and Argentinean tango just keeps getting stronger and more refined.  He brings a melancholy tone to the dance and incites excitable motion out of introspective thoughts.  His last installment in his Tangofied series got a strong recommendation on this site (go check it out), and his album III is a step up even from that plateau.  This is delightful music, especially when it sinks deep into a state of contemplation.  Pianist Peter Rosendal is a member of Westergaard’s ensemble, and he brings much of the same inventive eccentricities that he does his Old Man’s Kitchen project.

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Pull – Pull A String, A Puppet Moves (Loumi Records)

A quirky debut from the quartet Pull.  Plenty of cross-genre action, and the quartet really seems to relish charging from one influence to the next.  Sometimes the music has the boisterous enthusiasm of a beer hall anthem and other times the solemn tones of Sunday morning reverence.  Of particular interest is the track “Stargazing,” which comes straight out of the Todd Sickafoose-Chris Lightcap school of indie jazz.  It’s the album’s strongest track and the most promising sign of the direction this band might embark upon for their next recording.  But ’til then, this fun album should help fill the void.

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Dave Chisholm – Instrumental (Outside In Music)

The latest from Dave Chisholm is a multi-media project, featuring a graphic novel about trumpet misfortunes and, this, the novel’s soundtrack accompaniment.  After an enjoyable big band debut, Chisholm switched things up and has since gone with a post-rock influence.  It’s a style that increasingly suits him with each subsequent project, and Instrumental is arguably his best attempt yet at balancing his dramatic melodicism with a moody ambiance.  It’s a stylistic choice that seems to be about more than music, if one were to interpret the influences and plot reflected in the novel this soundtrack partners with.  It’s an intriguing project.

Artist site | Listen | Buy: Bandcamp – Amazon

And buy the graphic novel Instrumental, too: Amazon – Bandcamp

Here is some very good new music.

Hear In Now – Not Living In Fear (International Anthem)

There’s a brutality and a grace to this work from the Hear In Now trio of violinist Mazz Swift, cellist Tomeka Reid and double bassist Silvia Bolognesi.  Sometimes jagged melodies lash out and strike and other times they are as soft to the touch as moonlight on naked skin, and just as magical.  This music transcends genre and influence.  It would be easy to mention modern jazz and classical and avant-folk, but when it comes to music that makes grand statements, itemizing its components undersells its true impact.  Dissonance and unity sweep back and forth like the tides, and it’s those exact moments when those elements exist in a state of complete equality that the album resonates the strongest.  Vocalist Dee Alexander sits in for the title-track, adding further texture to an album that’s got plenty to its name.

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Papanosh – A Chicken in a Bottle (Label Vibrant)

Terrifically effusive session from the Papanosh quintet of saxophonist Raphaël Quenehen, bassist Thibault Cellier, percussionist Jérémie Piazza, pianist Sébastien Palis and trumpeter Quentin Ghomari.  Even when they slow things down and let the melody breathe on tracks like “Plain Gold Ring” and “Hermanos,” there’s a sense of a simmer ready to boil over at any moment.  The heart of this album, however, lies in the upbeat title-track.  The album shifts imperceptibly between old and modern schools of jazz, with hard bop, soul, funk and post-bop all just textures to paint a solitary picture.  Every moment of this album seems designed to get each and every one of you dancing.  A very fun recording.

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Arthur Vint & Associates – Death Rides A Horse (Ropeadope)

Last year, Arthur Vint released a very fun, very intriguing debut Through the Badlands (go check it out).  It was an album that captured the spirit of the land and music of both his Tuscon, Arizona and NYC home turfs.  It also earned the #27 slot on this site’s Best of 2016 list.  On his follow-up, he keeps with the country-folk-jazz sound.  He also brings new arrangements to the soundtracks of Ennio Morricone originally created for the Sergio Leone trilogy, Man With No Name.  It’s plenty enjoyable, though lacks some of the inspired moments and sense of freedom of his debut.  It wouldn’t be poorly argued to attribute this change to the fact that the debut had Vint original compositions, and it also wouldn’t be wrong to hope to see more of Vint’s own work on his next recording.  Plenty here to like, though.  All-stars like Jon Cowherd, Tony Scherr and Yvonnick Prene are among Vint’s Associates.

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Will Wedmedyk – Awakening (Self-Produced)

Plenty to like from the debut by vibraphonist Will Wedmedyk.  His quintet sticks to modern territory and a straight-ahead sound, even when he blurs the lines between post-bop and pop.  The stronger pieces are those that lead out with a conceptualized version of an ultimate melody… not quite a fragment, not quite a finished product… and then just begins exploring all the possible directions to take it.  Wedmedyk’s quintet is a nice glimpse at the music scene happening at the University of Cincinnati.

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Ichiro Fujiya & Takeshi Kurihara – Elephant and a Barbar (Musilogue)

There’s a dreamy presence to this album that is seriously arresting.  Led out by the bassist-sax duo of Ichiro Fujiya and Takeshi Kurihara, this quintet makes a lullaby out of each melody and the rhythms like the comforting sounds of raindrops on a windowsill.  There’s a flash of edge from time to time, but nothing that ranges far from the prevailing tranquility that defines this recording.  Interesting music coming out of Tokyo, Japan.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp

Here is some very good new music.

Theo Hill – Promethean (Posi-Tone Records)

On the latest from Theo Hill, only one of the album’s eleven tracks are an original composition, but the compositions he chooses to interpret are an interesting cast of jazz luminaries.  It’s particularly promising to see the trend of attention paid to the works of Kenny Kirkland.  The pianist also tackles two by Tony Williams, and a rhythmic language blossoms with a melodic voice.  The sole original composition is the track “The Phoenix,” and it’s one of the highlights.  The up-tempo piece has an engaging mix of melodic clarity and warm ambiance, and it suits the song’s brisk pace.  Hill opens the album with a take on Bobby Timmons’ “This Here,” and it’s the kind of thing that’ll probably want you to start a crowdfunding campaign to lock Hill in a room with just a piano and the Timmons songbook and not be allowed to leave until he has an entire album of new material.  Hill’s trio makes it a song for afternoon walks in the crisp Autumn air when all the leaves have settled into their new colors and everything feels alive and hopeful.  Bassist Yasushi Nakamura and drummer Mark Whitfield, Jr. join Hill on this session.

Artist site | Buy:  Amazon

Gerald Cannon – Combinations (Woodneck Records)

I know this album was recorded in a studio and I know that the various personnel came in at scheduled times and did their thing according to the studio schedule, but this joyful new release from bassist Gerald Cannon sounds like he gathered all his friends together in a bar with their instruments, and after the last-call drunks made their exit, everybody gathered around and just started playing.  There’s a real sense of togetherness on this straight-ahead session, and that leads to impressions of spontaneity and playing in the moment.  Just a real old-school feel to this album.  A special treat is a rendition of the Sam Jones (via Clifford Jordan) composition “One for Amos.”  By the way, some of those friends Cannon invites are Gary Bartz, Jeremy Pelt, Kenny Barron, Duane Eubanks and a number of other heavy-hitters.

Artist site | Buy:  Amazon

Grégory Sallet Quintet – Le Mouvement Crée la Matière (Label Pince-Oreilles)

What’s particularly interesting about this release from saxophonist Grégory Sallet are the instantaneous shifts between jazz-rock fusion, modern straight-ahead jazz and chamber.  And it’s not a seamless transition.  Its suddenness is jarring.  Initially, those quick changes are a bit off-putting, but time and familiarity with the quintet’s methods take some of the edge off, and the distinct before and after pictures between music expressions becomes increasingly fun and intriguing.  Worth noting that Sallet’s name isn’t new to these parts; he’s a member of the Anne Quillier 6tet and Trio Enchant(i)er.

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Hubert Dupont – Golan / Al Joulan Vol.2 (Ultrack)

A very cool mix of jazz and Middle-Eastern music on this live set from bassist Hubert Dupont.  The folk influence comes on strong, but the assertive voice of the modern jazz side of things is an excellent counterweight, and together the two influences combine for some textured melodies and a propulsive rhythmic force.  At times, the music attains a cinematic allure, hinting at imagery for a film never recorded.  Oudist Ahmad Al Khatib, percussionist Youssef Hbeisch, flautist Naïssam Jalal, violinist Zied Zouari and clarinetist Matthieu Donarier comprise the Golan project.  There’s a Volume 1 also available, but I feel that it lacked the focus of its counterpart, was more diffuse in presentation and structure.  Still, though, pretty intriguing.

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Ed Neumeister & hit NeuHat Ensemble – Wake Up Call (Meistero Music)

Enjoyable big band session that attains the right balance between textural density and fluid motion.  A mix of traditional and modern conventions, and Neumeister’s NeuHat Ensemble deftly blurs the line between the two so that the transitions are subtle and, consequently, dramatic in an odd sort of way.  He brings an all-star line-up that includes names like Adam Kolker, Billy Drewes, Dick Oatts, John Hollenbeck, Hans Glawischnig and a bunch of other musicians who’ve received praise on this site.

Artist site | Listen | Buy: Amazon