The Round-Up

Apr 16 2018

The Round-up: Because there is always hope

 

Here is some very good new music.

 

Owen Broder – Heritage (ArtistShare)

This album is a beam of sunlight.  From the opening notes, it greets you with warm tones, chipper tempos and melodies like a wide smile.  Owen Broder bounces around between various early-American music forms, differentiating a bit here and there, but overall keeping things fluid by focusing on the commonalities that suggest at how everything is connected.  And it’s an interesting point of comparison to Broder’s Cowboys & Frenchmen ensemble, which hits upon works and expressions more akin to the modern scene.  It’s a nice cast joining Broder and his woodwinds: violinist Sara Caswell, pianist Frank Kimbrough, drummer Matt Wilson, trombonist Nick Finzer, vibraphonist James Shipp, trumpeter Scott Wendholt, and bassist Jay Anderson.  Wendy Gilles, Kate McGarry and Vuyo Sotashe add some vocals in a guest role.  Music from NYC.

Artist site | Buy:  Amazon

 

Janczarski & McCraven Quintet – Liberator (For-Tune)

If you’re out browsing the new release section and looking for something that hits your soul with a classic Hard Bop warmth and easy groove, then this session from the Janczarski & McCraven Quintet will definitely float your boat.  There’s some moments that shift into a modern form of expression, but, hey, the musicians live in today not 1965, so that’s gonna happen from time to time.  But when the Sunday night blues descend upon you, and you’re needing something to cheer things back up, hit the play button on Liberator.  Music from Warsaw, Poland.

 

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp – Amazon

 

Meyer/Slavin/Meyer/Black – Other Animal (Traumton)

There’s an appealing melodic flow to Other Animal that is as much indebted to ambient indie-rock music as it is the type of jazz that makes its home in European alpine mountain ranges.  The driving force of this quartet’s melodic focus is through the delicate forces of pressure from an active rhythmic attack… one that’s defined by its flurries and crosscurrents of percussion, but one whose touch is more that of a cool breeze on a summer day than a thunderstorm downpour.  The quartet is comprised of guitarist Peter Meyer, alto saxophonist Wanja Slavin, bassist Bernhard Meyer and drummer Jim Black.  They settle into a particular sound and spend the entire album exploring its nuances.  Music from Berlin, Germany.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp – Amazon

 

Gaute Storsve Trio – Attention: This Is Not A Toy, For Adult Collectors Only (Ellingsongs)

This personable album is the amalgamation of post-bop, modern European jazz and Cuban music.  The result is a delightful melody bouncing over the surface of a cheerful groove.  There’s an insistent sense that the trio of guitarist Gaute Storsve, bassist Petter Barg and drummer Henning Carlsen want to incite the listener into dance… or at least get the foot tapping along with the tempo and etch the melody into a memory.  It works, especially when the trio brings in a brass section to expand the textural options.  Music from Oslo, Norway.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp – Amazon

 

Trillmann – FŒN (Tangible Music)

There’s a quirky personality to this recording from the quartet Trillmann.  Saxophonist Fabian Willmann, trombonist Janning Trumann, bassist Florian Herzog and drummer Eva Klesse develop tunes with a punchy attitude and a sly sense of humor.  Melodies hint at something addictive, but then get warped and misshapen, and become more of a cerebral exercise than the emotional reaction they initially promised.  There’s an appealing quality to that sleight-of-hand.  Music from NYC.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp

 

By • Jazz Recommendations - 2018 • 0 • Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Apr 13 2018

The rundown of ECM Records ain’t over yet

 

We really need to have a talk about ECM Records.

 

Jakob Bro – Returnings

One of the qualities that made Jakob Bro‘s Balladeering trilogy so arresting was his willingness to be the wing man for the melodic desires of collaborators like Bill Frisell, Lee Konitz and Craig Taborn.  The guitarist can see an epic story of possibilities from the simple thesis statement of a melodic image, and that multi-perspective approach is what allowed him to simultaneously enhance and contrast his counterparts as they steered the ship (in their way).  It’s a big reason that Bro’s latest is so successful.  Palle Mikkelborg‘s trumpet beams through like moonlight, and Bro happily makes it sparkle in all the right places.  Bassist Thomas Morgan was there for those Balladeering triology recordings, so it shouldn’t come as any surprise that he syncs up with Bro seamlessly.  Morgan was also there for Bro’s ECM Records release Gefion, as was drummer Jon Christensen…  a modern master at setting down a rhythmic atmosphere where serenity thrives and volatility is allowed to flourish from time to time.  And it does, thankfully.  Title-track “Returnings” dishes out some heat and some dissonance, and some necessary context for all the beauty that came before.  Bro is one of my favorite guitarists on the scene.  Each new album is something more to treasure.

Learn more at ECM Records.  Available at Amazon.

 

Kristjan Randalu – Absence

Oh my god, this is gorgeous.  And it’s on fire.  The beauty is multi-faceted and looks to scatter in all directions.  It’s the blossoming plume of fireworks in the sky as reflected on the rippled surface of the ocean.  Pianist Kristjan Randalu and guitarist Ben Monder just keep coaxing new and exciting facets out of each melody, while drummer Markku Ounaskari keeps a steady current of electricity spurring everything forward, no matter how many directions it breaks in.  The lulls and surges in pacing just make things that much more dramatic.  Randalu and Monder put out the duo album Equilibrium a handful of years ago, and you can hear the seeds of Absence in it, but this is a diamond with an entirely different shine.  Their sympatico relationship isn’t new to Absence, but its rewards are so much greater.  I’m pretty well addicted to this recording.

Learn more at ECM Records.  Available at Amazon.

 

Arild Andersen – In-house Science

I mean no offense to tenor saxophonist Tommy Smith or drummer Paolo Vinaccia, but I’d have been just fine had Arild Andersen put out a solo album.  I can’t say that about many bassists, even those I adore the most, but there is something about the deep resonance of Andersen’s bass tones that just pulls me right in and leaves me captivated as he prowls down a melody.  It was his 1997 release Hyperborean that first riveted my attention in place.  Ironically, it was a large ensemble affair, but something how Andersen’s bass would suddenly emerge from the thick harmonic fog of a string section made me a fan for life before my first listen of one of his albums was complete.  Now, with that out of the way, his trio sessions with Smith and Vinaccia have floated my boat previously.. specifically their 2008 release Live at Belleville.  Their newest effort, In-house Science, is also a live one, this time around in Bad Ischl, Austria.  It’s no less wonderful.  My favorite moments in this session are the same from the Belleville performance… when Andersen and Smith swiftly trade melodic flurries along the back of Vinaccia’s galloping tempos.  It’s exciting as hell, and enchanting like mad in the way the melodies patiently develop at high speeds.

Learn more at ECM Records.  Available at Amazon.

 

Jarrett/Peacock/DeJohnette – After the Fall

This is a new release, but it’s not new music.  After the Fall was recorded back in 1998 at a live performance in Newark, New Jersey.  Pianist Keith Jarrett, bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Jack DeJohnette are three of the greatest jazz musicians ever.  This is a pleasant album.  There’s nothing particular notable or monumental about its release.  It wasn’t some legendary performance believed to go unrecorded and it wasn’t a one-time collaboration of three jazz giants.  It’s a pleasant live session and it’s nice that ECM decided to get it out there.  My introduction(s) to Jarrett’s music came in the form of more unconventional sounds, so sometimes I find it a bit underwhelming to hear him in a straight-ahead jazz session.  But then his immaculate lyricism shines through, and I’m reminded just how special the guy is.

Learn more at ECM Records.  Available at Amazon.

 

Nicolas Masson – Travelers

There are times that Nicolas Masson syncs up with the trio of pianist Colin Vallon, bassist Patrice Moret and drummer Lionel Friedli, and it’s always when the saxophonist settles into the prevailing serenity instilled by Vallon over the session.  But when Masson wants to go flying with a great flutter of wings, a fracture appears straight down the center of the piece, and it feels like two different visions welded together into a single album.  That doesn’t cause any great ruination, but it does leave something of a dissatisfying aftertaste.  On piano, Vallon has repeatedly shown a talent for conveying the immensity of a storm with nothing more than a whisper.  It’s an atmosphere that has to be respected, and when there’s a deviation, everything seems out of sorts.  Masson’s desire to leap through the air or paint a thick melody upon the surface of the song just doesn’t snap neatly into place.  And it goes a long way to illustrating why his trio with guitarist Roberto Pianca and drummer-pianist Emanuele Maniscalco worked so well.  The duo had a way of drawing the map of the song while adapting freely to veer off trail in a way the complemented Masson’s lyricism.  There’s some powerful moments on Travelers, but they come in small doses.

Learn more at ECM Records.  Available at Amazon.

 

By • Jazz Recommendations - 2018 • 2 • Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Apr 10 2018

A rundown of some recent stuff from ECM Records

 

We really need to have a talk about ECM Records.

 

John Surman – Invisible Threads

I am convinced that John Surman lives somewhere the sun never quite breaches the horizon, where the soft glow of twilight forever hangs just tantalizingly out of darkness’s reach.  Time and again, the saxophonist captures the magnetic tranquility of those moments between nighttime’s end and daybreak’s release… where the hush settled over the earth is accompanied by the anticipation of those sitting awake and waiting for the change into day.  Surman’s latest is arguably his loveliest synthesis of those moments to date.  Joined by pianist Nelson Ayres and vibraphonist Rob Waring, the saxophonist rolls out variations on peacefulness.  Sometimes it possesses the vibrant ambiguity of dreams, sometimes it twitters with the pulsating light of a night full of stars, and then there’s those moments that sink into a simple melodic image and each of its facets, as if exploring the individual droplets of waves crashing the shore.  This is one of the most beautiful things I’ve heard all year.

Learn more at ECM Records.  Available at Amazon.

 

Bobo Stenson Trio – Contra La Indecisió

Look, I get the appeal of a Bobo Stenson recording, even if I don’t much feel it myself.  There’s something to the way the pianist lulls you into drowsiness with the sparsest outline of melody and then slowly pulls back the shades to reveal the liveliness at the heart of the piece.  For me personally, the atmosphere just gets too thick, and when a few fireworks are allowed to explode, the brilliance isn’t able to escape the gravitational pull of the torpor that came before.  But I can see how that approach could develop a following.  Hell, the dreariness of rain season can be oppressive without relinquishing its beauty.  Stenson exists in that convergence.  If kicking back on a peaceful evening and drifting off to the sounds of previous Stenson releases is something that rocks your world, you’re gonna enjoy adding his latest to your collection.  Stenson is joined by double bassist Anders Jormin and drummer Jon Fält.

Learn more at ECM Records.  Available at Amazon.

 

Andy Sheppard Quartet – Romaria

I’m liking this collaboration between Andy Sheppard and Eivind Aarset.  Sheppard has a touch on saxophone that provides acute reminders that the beauty of the sunrise is countered by its potential to burn.  So many of his works hints at a tranquility before surging up with a searing melodic heat.  Guitarist Eivind Aarset is responsible for some of the most atmospheric music this side of an Arve Henriksen recording, and while he’s certainly capable of generating plenty of heat all his own, it tends to possesses an ethereal presence.  Sheppard and Aarset meet each other half way, and how they temper one another’s tendencies toward either extreme really brings out their best qualities.  There’s a consensual embrace of perspectives that allows the music on their latest to really settle in and breathe.  That said, it would be a mistake to overlook the contributions of bassist Michel Benita and drummer Seb Rochford on this enjoyable recording.  Both Benita and Rochford have a proven track record working with mediums where cinematic atmosphere and nuanced lyricism are best able to flourish, where melodies are adaptable to either drifting aimlessly or following a specific arc.  The duo’s ongoing collaboration with Sheppard continues to pay dividends.  I’ve always been partial to Sheppard’s work, but I’m really enjoying this divergence.

Learn more at ECM Records.  Available at Amazon.

 

Shinya Fukumori Trio – For 2 Akis

This is one of those albums that starts out as a whisper… the rustle of drums, the sigh of saxophone, some raindrops on piano… and so strongly is it all woven together, that even when the temperature rises upward, the peacefulness of that opening whisper is the guiding force from first note to last.  Much of this winning quality can be attributed to the gorgeous craftsmanship applied to the melodies, where clarity rings loud and clear with their introduction so that any amount of exploring where the melody might go never allows the memory of what it once was to fade.  Drummer Shinya Fukumori, tenor saxophonist Matthieu Bordenave and pianist Walter Lang have put together a flawless performance on For 2 Akis.  This is the kind of gem that marks the modern-era ECM Records catalog… where tranquility reigns supreme, even when the intensity ratchets up to levels that would not seem conducive to calming effects.  Just a beautiful album.  (Also, a very cool video to accompany it.)

Learn more at ECM Records.  Available at Amazon.

 

Kit Downes – Obsidian

I’ve really got to give ECM Records credit for signing Kit Downes to put something down from his organ explorations.  The pianist has been doing this organ-saxophone duo with Tom Challenger over the last handful of years, as well as his Tricko Tareco duo with cellist Lucy Railton.  It’s really quite different, especially in the context of his other projects:  Albums where Downes is the session leader, his contributions to The Golden Age of Steam, Threads Orchestra, Troyka, and as part of Thomas Strønen’s Time Is A Blind Guide ensemble.  For this session, Downes hits up some churches in London and Suffolk and makes use of their organs and their acoustics for some dramatic effects.  It’s all solo, except for one piece that Challenger sits in on.  I go back and forth on this recording.  I find it works best first thing in the morning, myself.  In any event, I wanted to get a quick mention in about this recording.  I think it’s pretty cool for ECM to be featuring one of the new generation on a project that doesn’t take a conventional path.

Learn more at ECM Records.  Available at Amazon.

 

By • Jazz Recommendations - 2017 releases • 1 • Tags: , , , , , ,

Mar 26 2018

The Round-up: It was Sunday night and warm light filled the room as darkness sat outside the window and watched

 

Here is some very good new music.

 

Danny Fox Trio – The Great Nostalgist (Hot Cup Records)

Thoughtfulness at high speeds, of notes hanging in the air even when the space between them is ever so slight.  That’s the lingering impression made on this straight-ahead session from the trio of pianist Danny Fox, bassist Chris van Voorst and drummer Max Goldman.  The brisk pace never gets in the way of an articulate voicing of melody or its eventual development into an engrossing conversation.  This session is in the mold of a standard modern piano trio recording, but the little turns of phrase and keen modulations of pacing have the great impact of raising things up to something outside the accepted archetype.  Those nuanced differences are one way to make cerebral music extroverted and fun.

Artist site | Buy:  Amazon

 

Wooley/Dumoulin/Flaten/Verbruggen – kaPSalon (Ratrecords)

“This music,” Buster Keaton, reincarnated, would announce. “It will be the soundtrack for my next silent film.”  And why not?  This live performance recording by trumpeter Nate Wooley, pianist Jozef Dumoulin, double bassist Ingebrigt Håker Flaten and percussionist Teun Verbruggen is all about emoting through motion.  Idiosyncratic and volatile as hell, the music signifies the personality quirks of characters and their physical manifestations… the relation of many things that defy the need for words.  And though wholly avant-garde in nature, the blues and jazz bubble up to the surface frequently and at just the right moments, making a resolute statement that this wild, untamed music willingly tethers itself loosely to music of the past.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp – Amazon

 

Tamaya Honda – ICTUS Trio (Song X Jazz)

Much in that way Paul Motian could imply the whisper of a hurricane during the recitation of a lullaby, the trio of drummer Tamaya Honda, bassist Takashi Sugawa and pianist Koichi Sato establish an appealing balance between serenity and volatility.  This modern piano trio recording is perfect for a rainy day, and that means for when it’s a torrential downpour or when the comforting patter of raindrops soothes the soul.  The Motian comparison isn’t happenstance.  This album is dedicated to Masabumi Kikuchi, a pianist who thrived in exactly this kind of environment, and, logically, collaborated with Motian himself on a number of recordings.  Carla Bley compositions comprise nearly half of the album tracks, which adds an interesting quality, as does Sugawa switching over to cello.  Music from Tokyo.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp

 

Ed Jones – For Your Ears Only (Impossible Ark)

There’s something particularly resonant about this straight-ahead release from Ed Jones.  Perhaps it’s the beautifully crafted melodies or perhaps it’s how the saxophonist’s quartet keeps referencing it as the pace and distance from its introduction increases, and maybe it’s the way a patient exhalation of the melody contrasts with a galloping tempo.  But whatever the reason, this is one of those albums that sparkles like stars with each volley of notes, each turn of phrase, each expression of melody.  Pianist Ross Stanley, bassist Riann Vosloo and drummer Tim Giles round out the quartet, plus a guest spot from vocalist Brigitte Beraha.  Music from London.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp – Amazon

 

The Housewarming Project – at_home/at_play (Self-Produced)

There’s a special kind of chemistry to the trio of pianist Jeremy Siskind, vocalist Nancy Harms and multi-reedist Lucas Pino.  There’s a sense of musicians fated to come together because it was willed by elemental forces.  Their 2012 release Finger-Songwriter was one of the very best things to come out that year, and since that time, the trio has released another recording and been on a dedicated tour of living room shows.  Their new release compiles some of the moments from those shows, and it displays that the magic conjured up by the three is nowhere even close to waning.  Harms’s smoky delivery is a perfect match to Pino’s languid expressions of melody, especially when he switches over to bass clarinet.  On piano, Siskind’s accompaniment is almost reverential.  It all plays out like moonlight on a small patch of earth, where everything inside the beams seems more alive than anything else on the planet and nobody wants to move or speak for fear of breaking the spell of enchantment.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp

 

By • Jazz Recommendations - 2018 • 0 • Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Mar 21 2018

The Round-up: The path to you

 

Here is some very good new music.

 

Indigo Kid – III: Moment Gone In the Clouds (Babel Label)

Dan Messore’s Indigo Kid unit keeps switching things up, and every damn time the changes kick up all kinds of interesting developments.  For the third installment, much of the quirky, angular expressionism is swapped out for a free flowing lyricism.  The guitarist also brings in a new line-up with flautist Gareth Lockrane, bassist Calum Gourlay and drummer Tim Giles.  The addition of Lockrane has the most obvious effect on the transformation in sound from previous albums to the current one, but if it weren’t for the Gourlay’s and Giles’ ability to keep light on their feet while adding depth to the melodies, the music might get so light as to be insubstantial.  Instead, the feathery presence unleashes the presence of a bird in flight, wings flapping mightily as it soars effortlessly skyward.  Music from London.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp – Amazon

 

Kelp – Intake (Self-Produced)

I can’t help but like this album.  Its raw energy and wild enthusiasm are pretty damn addictive.  Intake is a recording that is likely to make you react with an amused smile and a jaw dropped to the floor.  The hyperactive piano trio Kelp starts out the album slow, then gradually acquires a head of steam that sees them hurtling to the finish line like runaway train that left the tracks encased in a ball of flame.  And exploding.  Definitely some explosions should get included in the metaphor.  Crazy fun music from Fukuoka, Japan.

No artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp

 

The Mo’ Times – The Mo’ Times (Self-Produced)

The Mo’ Times really sink their teeth into a classic hard bop sound.  Plenty of warmth and exuberance generated by this quartet of saxophonist Mickaël Pernet, pianist Jules Le Risbé, bassist Charles Huck and drummer Valentin Jam, and it’s catchy as hell.  Their reference of McCoy Tyner’s “Passion Dance” during an interlude of their own “Garlix Blues” and the opening stanzas of “Les Indiens” is probably all you need to know about how this quartet’s heart beats.  So much fun.  Music from Montpellier, France.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp

 

Dreaming of White Horses – Dreaming of White Horses (Self-Produced)

There’s an appealing laid-back feel to the self-titled debut from Dreaming of White Horses.  Front and center is how soprano sax and fiddle fall into a comfortable lyrical embrace.  Guitar, piano, bass and drums circle around, occasionally enfolding the pair, and creating an ebb and flow of nuanced intensity that makes all the difference.  That the temperature perpetually hovers near fireplace cozy is why the music is always just a little bit lively and just enough conversational to ever let things devolve into sleepy territory.  Easy to like this one.  Music from Glasgow, Scotland.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp

 

Chris Whiter – Encapsulation (Self-Produced)

There’s an enveloping moodiness to this experimental work from Chris Whiter.  Joined by tenor saxophonist Riley Stone-Lonergan and pianist Vince Webb, Whiter infuses live electronics into the mix with his own baritone sax and bass flute.  The deeper tones present some startling contrasts with the electronic frisson and effects, as well as the burgeoning tension from his counterpart’s instruments.  The pattern is a melody slowly emerging from a steady pulsing drone, as if a dream of harmony transforming into a brand new melody.  Music from London.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp

 

By • Jazz Recommendations - 2017 releases • 0 • Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

« Older Entries Newer Entries »