Evan Parker / Matthew Wright, Trance Map+ - Etching the Ether

Label: Intakt Records, 2023

Personnel - Evan Parker: soprano saxophone; Matthew Wright: live electronics, sound design; Peter Evans: trumpet, piccolo trumpet; Mark Nauseef: percussion.

This recording reunites the British saxophonist Evan Parker and his fellow countryman, the electronic musician, turntablist and sound designer Matthew Wright. Together, they are Trance Map, a project in constant mutation. As usual, ambiguity and experimentation prevail, with two talented guest musicians helping them build something unique on the spur of the moment. The participation of trumpeter Peter Evans and percussionist Mark Nauseef, and the way they deal with sound and texture, makes Etching the Ether a much more exciting record than the previous, Crepuscule in Nickelsdorff (Intakt, 2019).

Putting today’s technology at their service, the foursome begin their inexhaustible post-jazz excursion with “At Altitude”, combining high-pitched whistles, droning electronics, infinite soprano roundabouts, growling trumpet multiphonics, sparse gong vibrations, and a mix of tinkling, rattling, and metallic percussion sounds.

With tense layers of sound as their grooves, and a fusion of circularity and obliqueness as their language, “Drawing Breath”, at nearly 21 minutes, is an instigation with breadth of vision. There’s an intensification of the percussive tract at an early stage and a buzzing tapestry over which Evans unpacks swift trumpet phrases with an excitable temperament. Parker joins him to probe orbicular and elliptical trajectories that, occurring in parallel, create an intensively flickering stimulus on the ear. Riffing in ecstasy, they reach magnitudes of sound whose color, shape and motion are difficult to anticipate. By the end, electronic murmurations accommodate dark synth-like waves and noisy patterns of different pitches.

For “Engaged in Seeking”, the leaders gave full rein to Nauseef, who created an elusive background in post-production. He contributes heavily to a wider and deeper dimension of the music, whose intensities are masterfully commanded by Parker and Evans. They reach a climax before the quiet finale, with the trumpeter stretching erratically over a granular texture. This stirring, free-flowing ride is best experienced in sequence.

Favorite Tracks: 
02 - Drawing Breath ► 03 - Engaged in Seeking

Donny McCaslin - I Want More

Label: Edition Records, 2023

Personnel - Donny McCaslin: tenor saxophone; Jason Lindner: synths, wurlitzer; Tim Lefebvre: electric bass; Mark Guiliana: drums. 

Saxophonist, composer and bandleader Donny McCaslin has taken modernist directions in music that allowed him to carve out a niche of faithful devotees. His new album, I Want More, is an eclectic blowout, all tracked to blazing saxophone solos, oozy synth layers, and trance-like, sometimes even hard-hitting beats and rhythms. McCaslin’s extraordinary ensemble features keyboardist Jason Lindner, bassist Tim Lefebvre and drummer Mark Guiliana. All four had an important role in the outcome of David Bowie’s last album, Blackstar (ISO Records, 2016).

“Stria” exposes an immediate catchy sound, with delayed saxophone riffs over a weave of synth lines that, together with bass and drums, build dynamic texture. Over time, it falls into a dance-pop/rock line that sustains an outgoing saxophone solo. It all sparks epic emotions. Like the aforementioned opener, “Fly My Spaceship” has Lindner’s hand in the electronic production. This particular piece blends the diverting glitch-hop vibe of Flying Lotus and the dub incursions of Jah Wobble and The Orb.

The energetic “Turbo” and the rousing “Landsdown” are rhythmic machines; the former is redolent of Nine Inch Nails’s industrial precision; while the latter, written by McCaslin and Lefebvre, alternates krautrock-infused electronic music with gentler string passages. Strings also appear on “Big Screen”, which is propelled by this big round backbeat outlined by Guiliana.

McCaslin ranges all the way through a concoction of genres. The pop/rock accessibility of “Hold Me Tight” provides strong bass lines that guide us through the harmony, and a breathtaking tenor statement with all that jazz. Co-penned by McCaslin and Lindner, “Body Blow” is a rich stew of progressive jungle-leaning EDM, funky breaks, and anthemic punk-rock. The riffery is powerful, the pulse gains trippy effects, the sound is dark and robust, and there’s an electronica-laden section that is both playful and explosive.

Wildly original, with a defiant and confident attitude, I Want More closes with the title track - a spectacular funkified exercise with a soulful melody à-la Kamasi Washington that pushes genre boundaries as it maintains an abrasive dance mode alive but with cool tones.

McCaslin’s compact work worths its weight in artistry as well as in sound. The future of jazz? A valid current for sure, one that hits the spot thanks to its aural kaleidoscopic phenomena.

Favorite Tracks:
04 - Body Blow ► 06 - Turbo ► 08 - I Want More

Anteloper - Pink Dolphins

Label: International Anthem, 2022

Personnel - Jaimie Branch: trumpet, electronics, percussion, vocals; Jason Nazary: drums, synth + Jeff Parker: guitar, bass guitar, percussion, synth; Chad Taylor: mbira (#2)

Anteloper is a modern duo of intense improvisers whose versatility and layering capabilities make them sound bigger than a simple duo. The co-leaders, razor-sharped trumpeter Jaimie Branch (Fly or Die) and exciting drummer Jason Nazary (Darius Jones Trio), invited guitarist Jeff Parker (Tortoise) to play in and produce this five-track electro-hop-jazz meets punk-rock album. Pink Dolphins, their third release, is the follow-up to Kudo (2018) and Tour Beats Vol.1 (2020).

“Inia” starts the proceedings by carving out a pinpoint grid of caustic electronics, synth, and snappy drums for a trippy experience. At its crest, we spot Branch’s trumpet lines, which may take the form of coiled freakazoid wires or simply composed observations. With a similar posture, “Baby Bota Halloceanation” alludes to the Wadada Leo Smith type of vibrations but with an abreast rhythmic design that creates shuffling momentum.

Special guest and respected drummer Chad Taylor plays mbira on “Delfin Rosado”, a more tangible piece with an-easy-to-follow melody and an adroit pulse. The approach is, nevertheless, disarming, as they mitigate the chasm between indie rock, electronica, and avant-jazz. These guys do this better than many other outfits around. Like the track I’ve just described, “Earthlings” has the finger of Parker, being very much jazzified by his electric sound. Still, Branch is the one who steals the show with her singing. There’s this irresistible swirling of the drums stitching the texture, a blurry emotional chorus that sounds awesome, and that settlement between the boisterous and the mellow makes it the elected alternative rock tune of the summer.

Clocking in at nearly 15 minutes, “One Living Genus” is the new-psychedelia effort that concludes the album. It comes packed with synth washes and a regular 4/4 rhythm in its early stage; then it bubbles more than crunches with successive doses of flamboyance before prolonging for seven minutes the static atmospheric restraint with which it ends.

This is provocative music for curious ears. Definitely fresh numbers with singular moods and in-context progressive modernity.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Delfin Rosado ► 03 - Earthlings