The Round-Up

Jan 15 2018

The Round-up: Falling becomes flying becomes light

 

Here is some very good new music.

 

Eric Revis – Sing Me Some Cry (Clean Feed Records)

Eric Revis has a way of setting fire to the blues that is pretty damn thrilling, and he also has a way of directing the flames to leave ashes that, also, sound a lot like the blues.  In between, when the conflagration of Sing Me Some Cry is in full force, it’s all combustible fury burning bright, and it’s not so much about determining the nature of the sound as it is just appreciating the strength of the explosion.  Tenor saxophonist Ken Vandermark, pianist Kris Davis and drummer Chad Taylor help the bassist with the dramatic transmutations.  Music from NYC and L.A.

Artist site | Buy:  Bandcamp – Amazon

 

Courtney Pine – Black Notes From the Deep (Freestyle Records)

Courtney Pine is a long time veteran of the jazz scene, so it really should come as no surprise that he’s able to deliver such a soulful album with such a laid-back sound.  Some ballads and some blues and some solid vocal contributions from Omar Lye-Fook MBE is the equation that leads to the success of Black Notes From the Deep.  This is an album you want playing while you’re sitting around with a drink in one hand and your broken heart in the other.  If Omar’s name sounds familiar to readers of this site, it’s because of his powerful contribution to a track on Kairos 4tet’s excellent 2014 release Everything We Hold.  Music from London.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp – Amazon

 

LUMI – A Love Drunk Poem (Havtorn Records)

There’s a structure to these tunes easy to follow, but each is delivered with a looseness that that makes them feel wide open and free to roam where they please.  The LUMI quartet of drummer Pontus Häggblom, double bassist Alex Littorin, pianist Martin Jutéus and saxophonist Emil Nerstrand deliver strong takes on thick melodies, then go about stretching and twirling them around in any way that amuses them to do so… and often with a boisterousness that’s positively addictive.  And, so, the title A Love Drunk Poem either dictated the album’s boozy lyricism or was the logical choice once everything was done and all that was left was the give the album its name.  Either way, the result is bundles of fun.  Music from Malmö, Sweden.

Artist site | Buy:  Amazon

 

Lucas Brode – I Lick the Kerosene of Progress (Self-Produced)

This solo guitar set from Lucas Brode is simultaneously gripping and laid-back.  It demands attention, but doesn’t necessarily require you to sit up at edge of your seat.  The roll-out of melodies is the album’s transformative moment, time and again.  Sometimes the melody appears like the dawn over the horizon, sometimes it’s stuttered out like a nervous tic, and other times it eschews form and structure for a pervasive cinematic ambiance.  Very cool.  Music from NYC.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp

 

Lena Bloch & Feathery – Heart Knows (Fresh Sound New Talent)

It’s an interesting transformation from Lena Bloch‘s debut to her sophomore release Heart Knows.  The debut’s updated true-blue expressionism has morphed into something with thicker ambiance and an emotional amplification bordering on spiritual.  Bloch still brings an adroit lyricism even in the moodier atmosphere, and, actually, that may be the contrasting element that makes this album resonate as strongly as it does.  The tenor saxophonist brings a solid cast with pianist Russ Lossing, bassist Cameron Brown and drummer Billy Mintz.  Music from Brooklyn.

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Jan 11 2018

The Round-up: When the city sleeps, it dreams of you

 

Here is some very good new music.

 

Mikkel Ploug – Alleviation (Songlines Recordings)

Mikkel Ploug has a remarkable talent for creating music that is highly conversant, yet still casts a palpable serenity.  The guitarist attains this balance flawlessly when matched against the vocal harmonics & electronics of Sissel Vera Pettersen and clarinetist Joachim Badenhorst with the trio Equilibrium, and it’s no different with his trio of bassist Jeppe Skovbakke and drummer Sean Carpio.  So, it comes as no surprise that the same potent combination of activity and tranquility is present when Ploug offers up a solo session recording.  As far as influence goes, Alleviation has an ephemeral nature, not owing itself to any one allegiance or school.  But this is the kind of album where the only thing worth doing is sitting transfixed by its sheer beauty and just allowing that to become the atmosphere you breathe for as long as the album continues.  Music from Copenhagen, Denmark.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp – Amazon

 

Holophonor – Light Magnet (World Galaxy Records)

An enjoyable straight-ahead set from the septet Holophonor.  The complementary melodic interactions between vibraphone and the wind instruments goes a long way to getting to the heart of this album’s success.  Equally effective are how the ensemble coalesces around the various soloists, adding strength to those moments that call for intensity and providing nuance when softer voices are the course of action.  Good stuff.  The album is produced by Wayne Shorter, which can’t hurt to know.  Music from L.A. & NYC.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp – Amazon

 

Sjøvaag/Seglem/Hole – West Wind Drift (Shipwreckords)

This album may well be a cloud… ephemeral and hazy and a tendency to drift.  But every now and then, the album suddenly darkens, the music gains a presence that wasn’t there before, and then suddenly the rains come pouring down.  That’s the fallout of this live, improvised performance by the trio of drummer Jonas Sjøvaag, saxophonist Karl Seglem and bassist Sigurd Hole… an album that doesn’t ask anything of your attention until it suddenly grabs it tight and won’t let go.  Music from Oslo, Norway.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp – Amazon

 

Jim Hart & Alfred Vogel – Come Rain, Come Shine (Boomslang Records)

This interesting little duo collaboration between vibraphonist Jim Hart and drummer-percussionist Alfred Vogel certainly casts its charm via a diverse rhythmic display, but it’s how they shape melodic fragments between one another, as if passing an idea back and forth in quick succession, is where the real intrigue lies.  That said, the twitchy rhythms and elastic tempos go a long way to supplying the fun, too.

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Bruno Delucchi Grupo – Las Meninas (Kuai Music)

There’s a lighthearted nature to this lovely album from pianist Bruno Delucchi, and it balances nicely with its deeply felt melodicism.  Delucchi’s quintet hits the right balance between dedication to the composition and freedom to deviate from the preordained path.  The influence of Argentinean folk is prominent, and how it brings out the album’s lyricism is a welcome effect.  Very easy to fall for this one.  Unfussy and gets right to the point.  Music from Buenos Aires, Argentina.

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Dec 7 2017

The Round-up: Your life in messages

 

Here is some very good new music.

 

Geof Bradfield – Birdhoused (Cellar Live)

That this live set at Chicago’s Green Mill could be considered straight-ahead by today’s standard illustrates just how much things have changed since the bop era, and, tangentially, how much things still sound like they ever did.  The post-bop delivered at this 2017 show has a greater willingness to stomp than to swing, and a predisposition to giving its melodies some edge and sharp angles than an effortless flow.  It was like that, too, decades ago when musicians began to search for the next stage of evolution after hard bop.  This music sounds like it could be just at home in 1967 as it does 2017… the same as it ever was.  And like many of those inside-out musicians from back in the day, tenor saxophonist Geof Bradfield keeps roots tethered to the blues, even if he’s so disposed to warp them beyond recognition at times.  There’s always a sense of his music being part of something greater and more lasting than the date on a particular recording session.  2013’s Melba and 2015’s Our Roots established this characteristic.  His newest, Birdhoused, is just part of the evidence trail.  Representing Chicago strong with trumpeter Marquis Hill, alto saxophonist Nick Mazzarella, trombonist Joel Adams, bassist Clark Sommers and drummer Dana Hall.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp – Amazon

 

Guilhem Flouzat Trio – A Thing Called Joe (Sunnyside Records)

There’s a very laid-back feel to this set, and it comes off as seriously old-school, like those wonderful Red Garland Trio recordings on the Prestige label, where the fading electricity of Saturday night bleeds into the peacefulness of Sunday morning, and things are both lively and tranquil at the same time.  It makes sense, too, because the trio of drummer Guilhem Flouzat, bassist Desmond White and pianist Sullivan Fortner play it straight on old tunes from Monk, Byard, Arlen, Zawinul and others.  Old-school feel on old-school tunes, and it’s Sunday morning whenever this album plays.

 

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Erika Stucky – Papito (Traumton)

If the challenge were to create an album that possessed a Tom Waits holiday ambiance, Papito might just win the prize.  Vocalist Erika Stucky has a delivery that sounds half don’t-give-a-shit boozy and half soul-laid-bare.  Sometimes her backing strings lay it on nice and thick, and sometimes there’s some odd effects and haunting accompaniment.  In addition to some original compositions, there’s renditions of pieces by Cole Porter, Randy Newman, Billie Holiday and Stephen Sondheim.  Something about the whole production gives the sense of singing holiday songs in a tavern, near the fireplace, and maybe improvising most of the lyrics because the originals just won’t do.  It’s cheerful and depressing and pretty damn intriguing.

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Bryant/Fabian/Marsalis – Do For You? (CAP Music)

This is music you want playing when you’re sitting alone at the neighborhood dive, elbows on the bar, whiskey glass in your hands.  The blues have a starring role on this trio set from saxophonist Lance Bryant, bassist Christian Fabian and drummer Jason Marsalis, and when the music swings to and fro or bops right along, it’s with a bit of the heaviness of knowing what the world is all about.  When Bryant adds some vocals, it’s a straight-forward delivery of those same facts imparted by the music on its lonesome.  You want this music playing, because you already got the blues in your heart, and the whiskey just won’t kill it, so it’s nice to hear some music that lets you know it’s not just you, you’re not all alone in feeling that weight, and that somebody out there is making music for just those moments for people just like you.

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Ghost Train Orchestra – Book of Rhapsodies Vol. 2 (Accurate Records)

Ghost Train Orchestra does their own thing.  The source of inspiration may change a bit, but mostly it’s re-imagined music from the Roaring Twenties and straight through the Depression Era.  That’s their thing.  The newest thing is Volume 2 of their Book of Rhapsodies, and for this one, they re-imagine the works of 1930’s ensembles who were dabbling in the Third Stream classical-jazz fusion thing.  This is what GTO does, and they do it really really well.  They make it pretty damn enjoyable, even if it’s not necessarily your thing.  Each one of these albums, I’ve gone into it with a poor attitude of, well, I’ll give it a listen even though I know what I’m getting into and it’s not something I’m much into.  But it isn’t long after I’ve hit the play button that I find myself really into it, and then it becomes my thing.  Especially their third album Hot Town.  It really grew on me the more times I popped it into the stereo, and with each subsequent iteration, my motivation to give it another listen increased, and sometimes I found myself raving about it on social media.  So, that’s the thing with this ensemble.  Go give their new album a listen.

Artist site | Buy:  Amazon

 

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Dec 4 2017

The Round-up: Isolation games are a game of you

 

Here is some very good new music.

 

Burke/Chakrborty/Magnusson/Evans – Barlines & Beyond (Jazzhead Records)

The fusion of modern jazz and Indian Classical on Barlines & Beyond is more than a little bit fascinating.  Saxophonist Rob Burke, Indian Classical slide guitarist Debasis Chakroborty, electric guitarist Stephen Magnusson and tabla-percussionist Sam Evans create melodies that can either flicker like a candle flame or melt like its wax.  And in either instance, that melody is likely to be a little catchy.  The talkative chatter from tabla is an essential balance to all of the melodic intrigue, and gives strange music a friendly personality.  There’s a meditative quality to many of these tracks, which is kind of remarkable considering how effusive things get.  Music from Agra, India and Melbourne, Australia.

No artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp – Amazon

 

Hunter Gather – Getting To Know You (Table & Chairs Music)

There’s a charismatic quality to the dreamy folk-jazz of Hunter Gather.  Whether the trio adopts a solemn tone on “I Want To Be An American” and “The Expatriot” or jack up the heat a bit on title-track “Getting To Know You,” the way in which melodies drift hazily across the horizon of a song keeps the attention riveted in place.  Saxophonist Levi Gillis, electric guitarist Ronan Delisle and percussionist Evan Woodle don’t perform these tunes so much as exhale them, and the patience in which they develop doesn’t prevent spikes in intensity anymore than it becomes a default stance of tranquility.  Music from Seattle, WA.

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Ernesto Cervini’s Turboprop – Rev (Anzic Records)

Ernesto Cervini‘s sophomore release with his Turboprop ensemble is even more delightful than the eponymous debut.  Rev keeps mostly to new-school territory, but isn’t afraid to show its roots, either by slipping in a streak of blues on “The Libertine” or just swinging the time machine by for a quick stop in the sixties with a take on “Pennies From Heaven.”  On Rev, Turboprop expands by two, adding saxophonist Tara Davidson and trombonist William Carn.  The sextet formation works in all kinds of benefits, drawing out dimensions of Cervini’s sound that might not have emerged so clearly on the debut.  Bonus points for a nifty cover of Blind Melon’s “No Rain.”  Music from Toronto, Ontario.

 

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FAB1 – Fab1.2 (Self-Produced)

Drummer Alexander Belkov and pianist Araik Vietinghoff take a simple melodic phrase and then spend as much time as necessary exploring every little facet.  This results in a series of lovely melodic ripples that continuously layer atop one another.  The sense of repetition is mitigated by the nuanced changes from passage to passage.  Every now and then, with a track like “Bad to the Power of 2,” they’ll toss in something with the succinctness of a pop music tune.  And then there are moments, like on “Bipolar Disorder Intermezzo” where the sense of structure is allowed to erode.  These qualities simply add definition to the longer melodic reveries.  Music from St. Petersburg, Russia.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp

 

Alkestrand-Pedersen Duo – Medium (Self-Produced)

This is a pretty stunning work.  This EP by saxophonist Rasmus Alkestrand and drummer Jonas Pedersen is a heavy drone that comes on like a thick fog and fades away only after hitting its peak.  Extra percussion and some healthy servings of electronics go a long way to achieving that effect.  Just three songs, and all of them seriously mesmerizing.  Music from Malmö, Sweden.

No artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp

 

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Dec 2 2017

The Round-up: The unseen was just us all along

 

Here is some very good new music.

 

Tony Allen – A Tribute to Art Blakey (Blue Note Records)

The collaboration between drummer Tony Allen and Blue Note Records is resulting in all kinds of wonderfulness.  First up is this four-track EP tribute to the music of Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers.  Renditions of “Moanin’, “Night in Tunisia,” “Politely” and “Drum Thunder Suite” give Allen all the material he needs to draw the parallels between his own afro-beat background and the African influence inherent in a creative arc of his counterpart’s career.  It’s stunning how the differences emerge from a foundation of the familiar.  “Politely” is transformed into a smouldering beauty, almost moody in how the melody is delivered.  “Moanin'” becomes the theme for a spy thriller.  “Night in Tunisia” is a get-up-and-dance tune.  “Drum Thunder Suite” relinquishes some of the original’s locomotion to put a little bounce in its step.  And as thrilling as the inspired changes are, what it all comes down to is that this is a very fun album.  By the way, Allen’s other Blue Note release is The Source.  That write-up posts on Tuesday, 11/5/17.  Music from Paris, France.

Artist site | Buy:  Amazon

 

theBABAorchestra – Another Ride On the Elephant Slide (Thirsty Owl Records)

17-piece theBABAorchestra pokes around in different genres, and sculpts forms of expression that aren’t ever going to be considered a conventional medium.  It’s especially enjoyable when they harness the strength of their numbers and stir up a storm.  The harmonic force this experimental big band generates is pretty thrilling all on its own, but when it transitions into a passage of delicate melodicism on “t.i.m.e. [the immediate measure (of) energy],” it becomes clear that the lyrical poignancy of the ensemble shouldn’t get lost in the joy of the intensity.  Music from L.A.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp – Amazon

 

Santi de la Rubia – Broken Line (Underpool)

A solid straight-ahead session from the trio of tenor saxophonist Santi de la Rubia, double bassist Marc Cuevas and drummer Roger Gutiérrez.  Some new- and old-school bop, but the trio situates itself in a place where the shift between eras doesn’t require a sea change in expressionism.  The trio isn’t so much about dialog between the musicians as building a unified flow of conversation.  This leads to some nifty changes in speed and articulation.  For instance, the contrast of the combustible “MT” and how the melody grows delicate just as the tempo leaps forward.  Plenty here to like.  Music from the Barcelona scene.

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Courtois/Erdmann/Fincker – Bandes Originales (La Buissonne)

This captivating session from the trio of Vincent Courtois, Daniel Erdmann and Robin Fincker isn’t looking to make a soundtrack any more than they’re out to cover one.  Instead, they reminisce on favorite movies and channel it into their own vision.  But it’s not an alternate soundtrack… it’s a pronouncement on the power of lasting images and how they shape the sounds of today.  The instrumentation of a cello and two saxophones is a combination that leads to all kinds of strangely upbeat and deeply contemplative passages.  Music from Paris, France.

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Lisbeth Quartett – There Is Only Make (Traumton)

It’s always a good idea to stay in touch with what Charlotte Greve is up to.  The saxophonist’s latest is a nice straight-ahead session that allows her to highlight both her innate lyricism and strong compositional skills.  This quartet session (which includes a guest appearance by saxophonist Christian Weidner) mixes some shorter improvisations between the longer pieces, with the former being more disjointed and formless than the latter… sort of the alternating scenery of a hiking trail that requires some rock climbing between covered forest paths.  In addition to her own quartet, other Greve projects and collaborations include Wood River, Asterids, The Choir Invisible, Malte Schiller’s Red Balloon and the Stefan Schultze Large Ensemble.  None of that stuff sounds alike and none of it walks the straight-and-narrow, and I definitely recommend checking it out.  Music from Berlin, Germany.

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