Caroline Davis - Alula: Captivity

November 9, 2023

Label: Ropeadope Records, 2023

Personnel - Caroline Davis: alto saxophone, synth, voice; Chris Tordini: bass; Tyshawn Sorey: drums + Val Jeanty: turntables, samples; Qasim Naqvi: modular synthesizer (#7,8); Ben Hoffmann: Prophet 6 (#10).

Saxophonist and composer Caroline Davis returns with her electro-acoustic trio Alula, featuring new faces - Chris Tordini on bass and Tyshawn Sorey on drums in place of keyboardist Matt Mitchell and drummer Greg Saunier. The trio is augmented with special guests for Davis’ first social justice album, where she delves into the topics of incarceration, the prison industrial complex, and abolition.

Inspired by activists and authors such as Maya Angelou, Angela Davis, Jennifer Teege, and Rabindranath Tagore, and incorporating relevant samples into most of the musical stories, Davis showcases compositional and experimental abilities that shine throughout the album. Fueled by a fast-pulsing vitality that comes from rock and techno music, “Burned Believers” was written in honor of accused heretics Agnes Franco and Huguette de la Cote, both burned alive in the 14th century. It’s a propulsive venture with expedite saxophone deliveries, impeccable drumming by Sorey, turntable scratching by Val Jeanty, and samples from speeches by Lorraine Hansberry and Astrid Delais.

“And Yet it Moves”, composed for Galileo, takes a more complex rhythmic approach and gains its zippy feel from Sorey’s stirring drumming. Davis’ authoritative saxophone statement are packed with purposeful motifs and high-pitched notes that reflect her sentiments about the sentencing of a truth seeker to life prison. "A Way Back to Myself" meanders along spacious balladic avenues with lullaby-like melodies, demonstrating compassion for Keith LaMar, a death row prisoner in the state of Ohio.

Written for Jalil Muntaqim, a political activist and former member of the Black Panther Party who spent almost 50 years in prison before his release, “Synchronize My Body Where My Mind Had Always Been” has the saxophone and bass standing shoulder to shoulder while various elements of the drum kit are brushed with sophistication. This story has continuation with “Terrestrial Rebels”, giving it a somewhat jarring electronics-infused conclusion.

Before the anthemic notes of the final track, “Put it on a Poster”, whose mix of ennui and hope provides a fascinating contrast, comes “I Won’t Be Back, Mrs. Susan Burton”, the standout track on the album. It’s a forceful improvised romp ingrained with a lot of energy, power, and determination. Davis composed it for Susan Burton, a South L.A. native who founded the nonprofit organization, A New Way of Life, to help formerly incarcerated women.

Strong sounds, a strong message, a strong fight back - Alula delivers a compelling musical and social justice statement.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Burned Alive ► 03 - And yet it Moves ► 09 - I Won’t be back, Mrs. Susan Burton

Caroline Davis - Portals, Volume 1: Mourning

August 23, 2021

Label: Sunnyside Records, 2021

Personnel - Caroline Davis: alto saxophone; Marquis Hill: trumpet; Julian Shore: piano; Chris Tordini: bass; Allan Mednard: drums; Mazz Swift: violin; Josh Henderson; violin; Joanna Mattrey: viola; Mariel Roberts: cello.

Alto saxophonist and composer Caroline Davis has emerged in recent years as one of the most sharply focused musicians. After investing in the fabulous trio Alula in 2019 - featuring keyboardist Matt Mitchell and drummer Greg Saunier - she returns with an excellent roster of players. Intertwining a jazz quintet with a pliant quartet of strings, they work through Davis’ 11 original cuts, which resulted from the mournful period after the passing of her often absent, workaholic father. The assessment of their difficult relationship, the recovering from the effects of trauma, and the process of healing are present throughout.

Taking inspiration from the rhythm of a quatrain from Omar Khayyam’s poem Rubáiyát, “Yesterday’s Seven Thousand Years” quickly assimilates a vibrant post-bop loaded with melodic ethos. The rhythm section - composed of pianist Julian Shore, bassist Chris Tordini and drummer Allan Mednard - is utterly supportive, but it’s the latter that lets us feel the burn of his chops during the piano solo. Before reinstating the theme, the quintet vamps to incorporate unisons from Davis and trumpeter Marquis Hill. Their brilliant tone and controlled attacks are also on display in the polyrhythmic “Acephalous Placebo”, which lucidly juxtaposes elements in 5/6 and 4/4 time.

The strings become salient on “Hop On Hop Off”, whose counterpoint, texture and color - especially during the tricky-metered theme - calls to mind some chamber music works. There’s a slower passage in five showcasing beautiful cello bowing from Mariel Roberts, who is later joined by a more optimistic violin pizzicato. In due course, we have exchanges between trumpet and saxophone. Similarly to this piece, “Highlighter Hearts” reflects memories of Davis’ father, shrouding the listeners in a mix of rapture and heartache. This number ends with a different atmosphere as if the saxophonist wants to look forward and move on.

If “How to Stop a Drop of Water from Evaporating” shudders with vast passion, then “Left” glints with sharp-edged observation. The former kicks off with violin on top of groovy drums, leading us to a matured orchestration that occurs in zippy fashion. Conversely, the latter focuses on the anxiety from being abandoned as a child, catalyzing those emotions via continual string fluxes, accents and turns in the rhythm, angular melody and deft interplay.

The record ends peacefully with “Wordliness and Non-Duality”, which is delicately woven by the combo with soft and warm layers in a perfect balance of colors.

This poignant, sometimes-riveting, well-orchestrated album shows how Davis uses her musical skills as tools for illustrating emotion.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Yesterday’s Seven Thousand Years ► 02 - Hop On Hop Off ► 08 - Left

Caroline Davis - Alula

June 20, 2019

Label: New Amsterdam Records, 2019

Personnel - Caroline Davis: alto saxophone, voice; Matt Mitchell: Prophet 6, Modular and ARP synthesizers; Greg Saunier: drums.

Brooklyn-based alto saxophonist/composer Caroline Davis debuts Alula, an adventurous project launched in 2016 with Deerhof drummer Greg Saunier. The duo was augmented to the current trio with the inclusion of sought-after keyboardist Matt Mitchell. This 11-track collection of originals was compositionally motivated by an anterior digit on a bird’s wing and comes charged with trippy flights and landings, rotating lines and looped impressions, taut yet organic beats, and synth washes with throbbing bass notes trailing rigorous paths.

“Alula” and its reverse “alulA” sound very peculiar, opening and closing the CD, respectively. The palindrome reads the same way, yet their sounds are distinct. The former, featuring Davis’ embedded vocals as a surprising layer, is deep-seated in a psychedelic avant-garde jazz on the edge of intervallic dissonance and it’s just a glimpse of what is to come. In turn, the latter, much shorter in time, displays parallel motions between saxophone and keyboards with Saunier’s unrestrictedly paving the lower level.

Inaugurated by sax and drums, “Flight” holds quite some funk at its core, advancing within a well-defined structure. Despite the energetic balance, this number doesn’t surpass “Wingbeat” in terms of danceability. Brought up with a sweeping splendor, the latter piece seems ready to ignite a fire with orbicular saxophone figures, effusive drumming, and the congruous bass conduction offered by Mitchell’s synthesizer.

“Remiges” is one of my favorite pieces, starting as an ambiguous droning exercise before catapulting expressive elliptical movements with an M-base-like urgency. The audacious propulsion serves Davis and Mitchell’s improvisations, while Saunier, naturally more confined to a rhythmic support function, doesn’t hesitate to fill the role with provocative drum swoops.

Taking us to serene places, “Coverts” shines with even-tempered melody, silky harmonization, and a combination of snare drum distinctiveness and cymbal grit. It feels like a restorative tonic against the hectic excitement of tunes such as “Scapulars”, a fruitful, sometimes turbulent encounter between indie rock and avantjazz marked by the tearing passion of the saxophone, ultra-modern synth effects, and agitated drum automation providing strength.

Eclecticism is something valuable that the bandleader doesn’t want to step aside. Hence, the shape-shifting “Vortex Generation” mixes elements of folk, jazz, and electronica with taste and freedom.

Committed to moving forward as an artist, Davis makes her most daring album with Alula, pushing boundaries through a fresh, powerful material that, being willfully challenging, opens new horizons. This work will definitely attract bold listeners.

Favorite Tracks:
04 - Remiges ► 05 - Scapulars ► 08 - Vortex Generator

Caroline Davis - Heart Tonic

March 21, 2018

Label: Sunnyside Records, 2018

Personnel - Caroline Davis: alto saxophone; Marquis Hill: trumpet; Julian Shore: piano; Tamir Shmerling: bass; Jay Sawyer: drums + guests Rogerio Boccato (percussion); Benjamin Hoffmann: organ.

Alto saxophonist Caroline Davis lived a great part of her musical life in Chicago, but was recently relocated to New York. The move served as an inspiration for her new album, Heart Tonic, as well as the woes related to her father’s heart arrhythmia. The quintet she gathered has Marquis Hill on trumpet, Julian Shore on piano, Tamier Shmerling on bass, and Jay Sawyer on drums.

Manifesting a permanently genteel touch throughout, “Footloose and Fancy Free”, the opening track, is all rhythmic sophistication. Convulsive electric bass notes work in consonance with the lithe drumming, having Shore’s Fender Rhodes supporting the compelling horn improvisations. Despite the complexity of the arrangement, which thrives with shifting tempos, noble rhythmic gesticulation, and melodic lines delivered both in unison and counterpoint, one can feel the grace in Davis’ music. This gives our ears an illusion of easiness and simplicity. Admirably, nothing sounds obvious, which forces you to stop, focus, and ultimately enjoy the sumptuous progressions followed by the group.

The same principle applies to “Constructs”, the longest piece at 10:30 minutes, whose introductory synchronism between bass and piano is unerring. A double horn epiphany emphasizes the flexibility of language, after which saxophone and piano corroborate ideas until an intriguing flow, carried by the drummer’s methodical attacks, takes a sudden swinging direction. Occasionally, it seems we are hearing a big band such is the power of music. The improvisations were assigned to Hill, Shore, and the bandleader, whose motifs and eloquence mirror the logic behind her music.

Featuring Brazilian percussionist Rogerio Boccato as a special guest, “Loss” is a feel-good 4/4 post-bop ride with a slinky pulse and a great improvised moment by Davis, whose in-and-out movements spark off instinctive reactions in the pianist. After interspersing chords and single-note phrases with devotion in his individual statements, the latter enhances a final vamp magnetized by the unbridled exchanges of Davis and Hill. This sort of conversational mode is adopted once more on “Dyonisian”, a contrapuntal post-bop adventure whose stimulating give-and-take by the end has Davis and Shore as protagonists.

There’s a short interlude mounted with effusive drumming and the woozy organ sounds by Benjamin Hoffmann, another guest appearance. It separates two pieces heavily influenced by Wayne Shorter. The first one, “Fortune”, is a ballad where the drummer employs brushes for softness and the bassist delivers a responsive solo. “Penelope” is, in fact, a Shorter composition, here re-ignited with no major syncopation but an enjoyable pair of improvised moments.

Caroline Davis penned her compositions with zeal and intelligence. Tackled by open-minded musicians, they translate into a warm, cliché-free contemporary jazz that transpires confidence all around. Highly recommended.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Loss ► 03 - Constructs ► 07 - Dyonisian