The Round-up: All paths end, but each step is endless

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.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Amazon

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.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Amazon

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