Tiny Reviews: Bruno Heinen, Frank Rosaly, Charles Loos, Charles Kuklinski, & Brode Vier

Tiny Reviews edition!

Featured album: Bruno Heinen Sextet Karlheinz Stockhausen Tierkreis.

Plus:  Frank Rosaly Cicada Music, Charles Loos, Steve Houben, & Ali Ryerson Vagabondages, Lars Kuklinski Suite C-sharp Minor, & Brode Vier Instinct to Play.

*****

Bruno Heinen Sextet – Karlheinz Stockhausen Tierkreis

Another album, another theme.  Bruno Heinen put out one of 2012’s best albums, Twinkle Twinkle, a recording centered around compositions based on the children’s song.  On his newest, he returns with an expanded line-up for an album themed around Karlheinz Stockhausen’s “Tierkreis,” a composition based on astrological symbols and incorporating music boxes as part of the performance.

Heinen’s family owned four of the music boxes used by Stockhausen in his original performance, and he used them here, on his newest recording, the aptly-titled Karlheinz Stockhausen Tierkreis.

Some album tracks that flirt with an avant-garde demeanor, and the music boxes possess a playfully haunting disposition.  Other tracks take a more straight-ahead approach… some that bop, others that take a turn at the ballad form… and how the differing sound commingle into a cohesive whole is just one of this album’s alluring qualities.

Your album personnel:  Bruno Heinen (piano, music box), Andrea Di Biase (bass), Jon Scott (drums), Fulvio Sigurta (trumpet), James Allsopp (bass clarinet), and Tom Challenger (tenor sax).

Released on the Babel Label.

Jazz from the London scene.

Available at:  Bandcamp CD/Digital | eMusic MP3 | Amazon MP3

Other Albums of Interest:

Frank Rosaly – Cicada Music

An album that features a ridiculous amount of talent from the Chicago improv/experimental scene.  Led by drummer Frank Rosaly, he leads the ensemble through a set of tunes functioning as a movie car chase scene, veering left, swerving right, slamming down on the gas pedal, then slamming down on the brakes.  But listen to the hypnotic beauty of “Adrian” or the serene drift of “Driven,” and there’s the evidence that this album offers up more than one face.

Your album personnel:  Frank Rosaly (drums, percussion, piano, electronics), James Falzone (clarinet), Jason Stein (bass clarinet), Keefe Jackson (bass clarinet, contra bass clarinet, tenor saxophone), Jason Adasiewicz (vibraphone), and Jason Roebke (bass).

Released on Delmark Records.  Available at:  eMusic MP3

Charles Loos, Steve Houben, & Ali Ryerson – Vagabondages

At its core, it’s a trio of the piano, flute, and sax of Charles Loos, Ali Ryerson, and Steve Houben.  The addition of a quartet consisting of bass, drums, guitar, and violin add texture that presents a quirky type of languor.  I know flute immediately turns many jazz fans off… too many times it behaves like the chihuahua of the instrument family.  But it’s capable of an array of dialogues, and this recording is a good example of that.  The flute’s interaction with sax on “Californian Gospel” and with violin on “La Source de l’oubil” is quite haunting and lovely.

Your album personnel:  Charles Loos (piano), Steve Houben (flute, sax), Ali Ryerson (flute), and guests:  Phillipe Aerts (double bass), Jan De Haas (drums), Fabien Degryse (guitar), and Jeannot Gillis (violin).

Released on the Igloo Records label.  Available at eMusic MP3

Lars Kuklinski – Suite C-sharp Minor

Trumpeter Lars Kuklinski leads a quartet that includes cello, guitar, and drums/percussion.  At times, it presents a classic guitar jazz sound, and then other times it takes an experimental bent.  Both demeanors present plenty to like, and while this recording does lack a certain cohesion, its sense of adventurism more than compensates.

Your album personnel:  Lars Kuklinski (trumpet), Hartmut Kracht (guitar), Jörg Brinkmann (cello), and Peter Eisold (drums)

Released on Laika Records.  Available at eMusic MP3

Brode Vier – Instinct to Play

Fascinating session, led by pianist Matthias Brode, where spontaneity and interplay win the day.  Yes, the album sounds free and sort of out, but there’s a playfulness about the music that makes it surprisingly accessible.  A good album for those of you who would like to expand your collection into noisier terrain, but fear a one-and-done listen… this is the kind of music the ear will get along with.

Your album personnel:  Matthias Brode (harmonica, piano), Claudio Puntin (clarinet, toys), Oliver Potratz (bass, electronics), and Alex Huber (drums, percussion).

Released on Jazzwerkstatt Wien.  Available at eMusic MP3

*****

The Bruno Heinen Sextet review is original to Bird is the Worm, but portions of the other reviews were originally used in my Jazz Picks weekly article for eMusic, so here’s some language protecting their rights to that reprinted material as the one to hire me to write about new jazz arrivals to their site…

“New Arrivals Jazz Picks,“ “New Arrivals Jazz Picks,“ and “New Arrivals Jazz Picks“ reprints courtesy of eMusic.com, Inc.
© 2013  eMusic.com, Inc.

As always, my sincere thanks to eMusic for the gig.  Cheers.