Miles Okazaki - Miniature America

Label: Cygnus Recordings, 2024

Personnel - Miles Okazaki: guitars, composition; Matt Mitchell: piano; Anna Webber: tenor saxophone, flute; Jon Irabagon: mezzo soprano, sopranino, slide sax; Caroline Davis: alto saxophone; Jacob Garchik: trombone; Patricia Brennan: vibraphone; Fay Victor: vocals; Ganavya: vocals; Jen Shyu: vocals.

First-rate NYC-based guitarist and composer Miles Okazaki is known for his fearless attitude and daring approach, usually blurring the line between notated music and improvisation with puzzling cells and powerful sequences within a proper and fluid structure. Escaping jazz conventions, his 12th album as a leader, Miniature America, features 10 wonderful improvisers, presenting a new concept that strings along with heavy-duty post-modern experimentalism. Here, little blocks of raw material were selected and then subjected to post-production for an optimum effect.

“The Cocktail Party” opens with juxtaposed voluble speech and deeply tender piano, leading to “The Funambulist”, which takes us off the beaten path with the rotational instrumentation creating intervallic surprise. Okazaki plays acoustic guitar on the latter, as well as on “Only Outer Space”, a duet with Fay Victor, who sings over his quirky accompaniment. The vocalist is also featured on “And the Deep River”, another duet anchored by plaintive fingerpicking on the electric guitar.

“The Funicular” embarks on an apparently out-of-phase conversation with pianist Matt Mitchell and vibraphonist Patricia Brennan before attaining a strange organic synergy with the arrival of guitar and saxophone, while “Open Road” has Jon Irabagon’s saxophone floating over a ghostly, atmospheric texture.

Quietly mystical in its searching path, “Promise Me” has the sounds of Okazaki and Mitchell seamlessly intertwined with each other, while “The Cavern” is an enjoyable duet between quarter-toned guitar and the melodious trombone of Jacob Garchik. In turn, “Venus Calling” offers a horn-infused classical dance with some irreverence coming from the swift and taut guitar work.

“The Firmament” is configured like an ethereal sacred hymn, while “Pulsation Station” is a tense exercise where Okazaki explores in unpredictable directions over a throbbing collective cadence. The bandleader slates “In the Fullness of Time” for six minutes, showcasing atmospheric layers in support of Ganavya’s dazzling Arabic chants, in one of the most enchanting pieces on the album.

Named after the artwork of American artist Ed Ruscha, Miniature America reveals an exquisite quality and contemporary taste, with the musicians directing their actions to polarities that never feel unfocused. It may not be Okazaki’s most immediate offering, but it’s certainly an opus that attentive fans of creative music will want to explore.

Favorite Tracks:
03 - The Funicular ► 06 - And the Deep River ► 08 - Open Road ► 11 - The Cavern ► 21 - In the Fullness of Time

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Dave Harrington / Max Jaffe / Patrick Shiroishi - Speak, Moment

Label: AKP Recordings, 2024

Personnel - Dave Harrington: guitar, electronics; Max Jaffe: drums, sensory percussion, effects; Patrick Shiroishi: saxophones, bells, tambourine.

The trio co-led by guitarist Dave Harrington, drummer Max Jaffe, and saxophonist Patrick Shiroishi delivers deeply improvisatory yet subtly nuanced performances in their debut album, Speak, Moment. Comprising five collective improvisations recorded in a single afternoon, the album explores atmospheric sonic environments with intuition and spontaneity.

The album opens with the guard-down rubato balladry of “Staring Into the Imagination (of Your Face)”, whose wispy contemplative tone results from tranquil saxophone melodies with slightly dissonant slips and vibrato, ambient guitar, and coruscating brushwork with incidence on cymbals. At the end, we can hear an arpeggiated sax phrase that repeats with electronics in the background. “How to Draw Buildings” has Harrington assembling droning persistence, Eastern melodies, and rock experimentalist over Jaffe’s shamanic percussion. The sounds become weepier as the piece progresses.

“Dance of the White Shadow and Golden Kite” takes the form of a hypnotic elliptical dance with strange exoticism exuding from the rich timbres of the rhythm. There’s admirable saxophone work and effects here, and the overall picture transports us to some eclectic ECM albums by Jan Garbarek and Collin Walcott. Contrasting with the other pieces, “Ship Rock” channels the skronky guitarism of Sonny Sharrock, in a combination of shredding, staccato-infused electric guitar, fleet saxophone lines, and high-strung drumming.

The album concludes with “Return in 100 Years, the Colors Will be at Their Peak”, a foray into freer territory after walking a tightrope between Eastern and American sounds. Tidal guitar waves are pelted with distortion, the saxophone toggles between gravitation and compression, and the percussion mutates with elasticity. It ends with raspy droplets of guitar, while angular asymmetric saxophone lines fizz between the cracks. 

Sharing a positive and open affiliation, this trio delves into charming ambiances with an impulse to disrupt the norms and redraw the lines.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - How to Draw Buildings ► 03 - Dance of the White Shadow and Golden Kite ► 05 - Return in 100 Years, the Colors Will Be at Their Peak

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Hedvig Mollestad Weejuns - Weejuns

Label: Rune Grammofon, 2023

Personnel - Hedvig Mollestad: guitar; Ståle Storløkken: Hammond organ, synths, continuum; Ole Mofjell: drums.

Weejuns is the product of a productive collaboration between Norwegian guitarist Hedvig Mollestad, keyboardist Ståle Storløkken, and drummer Ole Mofjell. In this improvised session, experimental ambient segments provide a platform for bold metal-inclined forays that gradually merge in a control manner. The potential for creative expression is vast, and the music, far from feeling one-dimensional, becomes increasingly audacious as it unfolds. The trio fearlessly embraces atonal elements, allowing their notes and timbres to mingle and intersect. Those familiar with Mollestad's work will notice a different approach, especially due to the instrumentation, while her trademark guitar sound remains consistent.

On “Go at Your Peril”, they cook up a tense, bluesy rock stew with limited motion and explorative activity. Unison arpeggiated lines signal a shift in intensity, announcing the forthcoming improvisation. “Come Monday” takes a more spectral approach, with both dial and vibing electronic sounds, while Mofjell’s drumming reverberates in the background. It’s a well-ventilated experiment, though not as accessible as the subsequent piece, “Hug That Tree”. The latter, assembled from various components, starts with refracted drums responding to codified synth patches and irregular streams of shattering guitar. Multiple frequencies create a psychedelic effect before an odd-metered guitar riff emerges, underpinning sinewy keyboard layouts. The texture undergoes changes, and the roles are reversed when the synth bassline holds the groove for a ferocious guitar improvisation.

“I’ll Give You Twenty One” introduces ominous clouds, reflecting the trio's somber side through persistent drones and languid, sustained tones. Later, cyclic riffery takes on a groovy form. “Stay at Your Peril” immerses the listeners in a state of ambiguity and contemplation before transitioning to a jazzier atmosphere that segues into a seven-beat arpeggiated chord progression. Muscular drumming and the keyboard’s lower notes infuse a rock sensibility by the end. The album concludes with the Satriani-like “Pity the City”, a more emotional and polished piece with an asymmetric time signature {8+9}. The bars are subsequently equipoised for the guitar solo.

Weejuns haunts from the first note to the last but may require time for its alternation of precise and open moves be fully absorbed. While not as explosive and immediate as Ekhidna (2020) and Tempest Revisited (2021), it’s more risk-taking and ruminative. There’s more to delve into, but it already comes with the stamp ‘recommended’.

Favorite Tracks:
03 - Hug That Tree ► 05 - Stay at Your Peril ► 06 - Pity the City

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Darius Jones - fLuxKit Vancouver

Label: We Jazz Records / Northern Spy Records, 2023

Personnel - Darius Jones: alto saxophone, composition; James Meger: bass; Gerald Cleaver: drums; Jesse Zubot: violin; Josh Zubot: violin; Peggy Lee: cello.

American saxophonist Darius Jones embarks on an intriguing stylistic experiment leaning on hallucinatory avant-garde jazz. His new release, fLuxKit Vancouver (its suite but sacred) is a four-movement opus designed with an advanced structure that incorporates formidable ensemble playing and individual spontaneity. The work pays tribute to Vancouver itself and its artist-run center, Western Front, which commissioned it. Jones plays alongside drummer Gerald Cleaver, a kindred spirit with years of experience, and a quartet of qualified string players - violinist brothers Jesse and Josh Zubot, cellist Peggy Lee and bassist James Meger - all making significant contributions to the exceptional outcome.

“Fluxus V5T 1S1” places Jones’ deliberate alto thoughts over the low-pitched underpinning of bass and cello, while the violins create slight dissonance. Cleaver’s enveloping drumming adapts to the changing scenarios, following the bass walks to increase the pace. A free-wheeling improvisation by Jones steals the show. As for the stringed instruments, they sound cadenced in their craft but quickly diverge in paths, claiming the spotlight in the final chamber section, right after animated 12-beat cycles cause a sensation.

“Rainbow” is an 18-minute narrative that begins with Cleaver’s tasteful and expert timbres. The bass sneaks in, followed by the laser-focused strings, which move both in counterpoint and parallel, creating a certain pulsation. There’s a strung-out, unaccompanied bass passage that leads to a triple-metered groove. At this point, the band salutes and embraces interplay.

“Zubot” is ignited with abstraction, presenting spunky percussion, saxophone cries, and squeaky violins. In the sequence of a rigorously articulated passage with angled corners but unequivocal expression, the Zubots are called to improvise. And they do it beautifully.

The album closes with “Damon and Pythias”, the album’s fiercest movement that stuns while channeling mystery, energy, and spirituality in a sequence of ingenious strokes. Jones’ intonation recalls Henry Threadgill and his tremendous technique extends to dark multiphonics and visceral growls. Still, it transitions from foreboding and spooky to a soulfully breathtaking waltzing mode in a final part that brings to mind Pharoah Sanders’ spiritual prayers.

The players forge into the heat of the inventive compositions, and Jones, capable of fleeting articulated flurries as well as even-tempered sequences, confirms he’s one of the most interesting saxophonists of our times.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Fluxus V5T 1S1 ► 03 - Rainbow ► 04 - Damon and Pythias

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PAN - I Had a Dream

Label: Creative Sources, 2022

Personnel - Jung-Jae Kim: tenor saxophone; Vít Beneš: electric guitar; Joel Haag: acoustic guitar; Shafeeq Alsadi: qanun; Farshad Saremi: kamancheh.

PAN is an international quintet based in Sweden with a peculiar instrumentation that includes saxophone, acoustic and electric guitars, qanun (an Arabic type of zither) and kamancheh (an Iranian bowed string instrument). The group has a different way of dealing with sound, running seven composed cuts (by saxophonist Jung-Jae Kim) in programmatic fashion. Their experimentalism often takes the form of avant-garde collages bound to suggest shadings and contrapuntal complexities.

“Air Dream” comes wrapped in sonic ambiguity, heavily contrasting with the motorized flux of sounds of “Road Driving”, where the sensation of speed and acceleration is notorious, and “Bricks Battery”, whose motivic patterns involve considerable warping. 

In a first phase, “Wave Voice” combines the multiphonic sounds of the saxophonist and the erratic bowing of the kamancheh player Farshad Saremi. Surrounded by a buzzing aura and immersed in a dreamlike state, they are joined by the incantatory plucking of the qanun, while the guitarists contribute slightly discording configurations. All tracks follow unconventional notation, but catchy melodic lines are introduced here with good judgement, taking a special effect on the Eastern-tinged “Radio Nostalgia”. This is a romantic, if poignant, number with vocalized expression. 

The exploratory tendencies of the quintet, which employs alternative techniques, are felt even more on “Siren Sopor”. This one, shaped up by noisy saxophone in tireless circularity, carries an ambient stillness created by the qanun, and some eerie, low-pitched tones in the background.

PAN’s adventurous creative styling relies on curious themes that breathe, clink, clank, and noodle together, sometimes in a low simmer, other times in a controlled state of trepidation.

Favorite Tracks:
03 - Wave Voice ► 04 - Siren Sopor ► 06 - Radio Nostalgia

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Trevor Dunn's Trio-Convulsant with Folie à Quatre - Sèances

Label: Pyroclastic Records, 2022

Personnel - Trevor Dunn: bass; Mary Halvorson: guitar; Ches Smith: drums, timpani, conga; Carla Kihlstedt: violin, viola; Mariel Roberts: cello; Anna Webber: flutes; Oscar Noriega: clarinets.

Brooklyn-based bassist Trevor Dunn (Melvins, Nels Cline Singers) steps up the game started 18 years ago with his excellent powerhouse Trio-Convulsant (featuring guitarist Mary Halvorson and drummer Ches Smith) by expanding it into a septet with the addition of an improvisation-oriented chamber jazz quartet called Folie à Quatre. Together, they play seven Dunn compositions that, even getting darker and obscure in places, shine in their own way. The inspiration came from two directions: the album Blue Desmond (RCA, 1962) by American saxophonist Paul Desmond, and the Convulsionnaires of Saint-Médard, an 18th-century French Christian sect considered mystic, heretic and political. The result is a sinuous chamber-jazz-metal amalgam with plenty of energy and an insightful perspective.

“Secours Meurtriers” (French for ‘murderous reliefs’) inducts the bizarre practices with Anna Webber’s flute introduction leading to rock passages of progressive vision and complex meter (13/4). The cello of Mariel Roberts arrives confidently with delay effect, and after a few minutes of microtonal flute incursions, Halvorson’s rock guitar vamp solidifies the texture for Smith’s drum expansions. Dancing bass lines complete the scenario. 

On “The Asylum’s Guilt”, a bass figure delivered at a dodgy tempo makes us search, forming the core over which the rest of the instruments circle around with moderation. The polyrhythmic “Restore All Things” also plays with figures and tempos, flowing with a slight funk disposition and pedal-point passages that create eerie mystery. In turn, “1733” is based on numerology; a cinematic move that brings together the wild action of Tarantino and the supernatural thrillers of M. Night Shyamalan. After a bowed bass-cello-percussion inception reinforced with power chords, Smith thickens the path with rambunctious drumming before the group sinks down into atmospheric ambiguity. The final section is in line with power metal methodologies. 

One of the most brilliant pieces is “Saint-Médard”, which evolves with counterpoint, occasional polyphony, and a dazzling instrumentation. The tempos are uncommon (3/2, 5/2 and 8/8) and Halvorson’s buzzing guitar probes tones and textures with stereo ripples. If “Eschatology” is expeditious and intricate at the same time, featuring a fluid in-and-out solo by Oscar Noriega on bass clarinet and Halvorson’s flickering guitar fluxes, then “Thaumaturge” has Dunn opening the curtain for a contemplative 9/4 journey with no major startles.

Sèances captures the musicians in their heights and also demonstrates Dunn’s composing capabilities, being a well-invented mesh of sounds from different genres that collide around the space. 

Favorite Tracks: 
01 - Secours Meurtriers ► 02 - Saint-Médard ► 03 - Restore All Things

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Mattias Risbergs Mining - Krantzkommun

Label: Kullen Reko, 2022

Personnel - Mattias Risberg: keyboards, composition, lyrics; Jennie Abrahamson: vocals; Sten Sandell: voice, recitation; Fredrik Ljungkvist: saxophone, clarinet; Per Texas Johansson: saxophone, bass clarinet, bassoon, oboe; David Stackenäs: guitar; Stina Hellberg Agback: harp; Eva Lindal: violin; Josefin Runsteen: violin, viola, mallets, percussion; Dan Berglund: bass; Jon Fält: drums.

Krantzkommun, a multifaceted opus where several genres are entwined, is the last installment of Mattias Risbergs Mining trilogy, which started in 2019 with Live in Stripa and continued in 2020 with Zauberberg. The septet featured in the first two acts is expanded into an 11-piece ensemble here, allowing for a peculiar instrumentation with extra reeds and strings, recitation, and harp. Risberg keeps setting down his memories of Bergslagen, the historical Swedish mining district where he grew up.

Combining English lyrics and Swedish recitation, the album kicks off with “Overstyr”, whose percussive noise, abrupt interruptions (giving place to a mix of prog-rock and cabaret music), as well as impetuous guitar and synth stabs give an idea of what to expect next. Over this provocative fusion, we have Jennie Abrahamson’s vocals and the deep recitation of Sten Sandell creating a swelling, eerie atmosphere. It all ends up in a classical pool of serene strings. The title track - worthy of both popular burlesque and riotous proto-punk performance - relies on a vigorous rhythm that alternates with quieter vocal passages. You can think of it as an elaborate fusion of hard and sophisticated rock approaches (Rammstein, Can, and Kate Bush come to mind) and experimental avant-garde sounds to which the horns contribute actively.

With harp, keyboards and strings at the center, the cinematic “Flee” feels achingly lyrical in an almost surreal way. It shares some musical qualities with the enigmatic “Extend”, which doesn’t hide the influence of Kate Bush in the narrative. It also doesn’t get anywhere near the dynamic pulsation of the following chapter, “Ping Pong”, whose syncopated patterns contrast with a more playful pop/rock side, or even the concluding track, “Who Needs a Story”. This latter piece is launched in nine, morphing into a propulsive triple time flow when accommodating the horns. The last section is powerful, built in ecstasy, with the phrase “the mine is mine” being throbbingly repeated.

Krantzkommun is an ardent work rather than coldly metallic. Being personal and bold in the conception, it’s so unlike any other music being made at the moment that it will certainly put some listeners into a kind of trance.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Krantzkommun ► 05 - Ping Pong ► 09 - Who Needs a Story

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Nate Wooley - Ancient Songs of Burlap Heroes

Label: Pyroclastic Records, 2022

Personnel - Nate Wooley: trumpet, amplifier; Mary Halvorson: guitar; Susan Alcorn: pedal steel guitar; Mat Maneri: viola (#2); Trevor Dunn: electric bass (#4); Ryan Sawyer: drums.

Impregnated with chilly dystopian-like vibes, the sophomore release of trumpeter Nate Wooley’s Columbia Icefield is a suite whose three main parts and four interludes derive from heroic inspirations. A film by Frank Heath accompanies Ancient Songs of Burlap Heroes, which creates a cinematic universe of its own through otherworldly sonic sensations and field recordings. The ensemble remains with no alterations, transversing modern jazz forms and experimental foundations specified in Wooley's composition.

“I Am the Sea that Sings of Dust” stealthily steps in, attempting to mediate the struggle between the natural world and the human expression. Sparse guitar chords, background electronic noise, and effusive drumming by Ryan Sawyer draw a distinction to an early phase that plunges further into a downcast chamber atmosphere accentuated by plaintive trumpet lines and the pastoral glissandi winks that pour from Mat Maneri’s viola. This disenchanted impression is transferred to the interlude that follows: a suspended mode with moderately warped guitar sounds and trumpet tranquility.

Clocking in at nearly 15 minutes, “A Catastrophic Legend” was penned for the late cornetist Ron Miles. The constant vigilant state of the piece hypnotizes more than shakes in the initial phase, when Wooley and Halvorson engage in unpredictable parallel moves over a quiet substratum reinforced by guest bassist Trevor Dunn. The texture then varies in intensity, falling in with rock-infused distortion and asymmetric progression. After a trumpet solo, there’s a convoluted passage with electronics and rollicking drums.

“Returning to Drawn Myself, Finally” is based on a Swedish dalakoral (religious song). The trumpet lamentation leads to a modernist abstraction delineated by Halvorson, an electric guitar innovator whose loose-fitting phraseology can be heard concurrently with Alcorn’s pedal steel electrification. Serenading activity replete with ostinatos takes us to a closure.

Emphasizing more the collective than the individual, Wooley explores creative approaches to music making by combining strange and foreboding elements. This is a curiously atmospheric if not essential album.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - I Am the Sea that Sings of Dust ► 04 - A Catastrophic Legend ► 06 - Returning to Drawn Myself, Finally

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Juanma Trujillo - Collage

Label: ears & eyes Records, 2022

Personnel - Juanma Trujillo: electric and acoustic guitars; Sean Conly: acoustic bass; Francisco Mela: drums.

Venezuelan guitarist Juanma Trujillo has been living in New York since 2014, forging his own path in the improvised/experimental music scene. For this gorgeous trio album titled Collage, he works with two judiciously chosen musicians equally keen on open settings: the assiduous American bassist Sean Conly (Darius Jones, Michael Attias) and the in-demand Cuban-born drummer Francisco Mela (McCoy Tyner, Joe Lovano). They share a mutual conscience and enhance freedom in their explorative temperament here while playing five Trujillo compositions and one impromptu presentation.

The guitarist love for cinema is reflected in “Araya”, a volatile piece inspired by the 1959 documentary of the same name by Venezuelan filmmaker Margot Beacerraf. The folksy tone of his acoustic guitar is magnetically strange, favoring abstraction and enchantment. The sounds of Liberty Ellman come to mind, and the enigmatic chordal voicings compel us to discover more.

Trujillo’s electrified axe resounds vibrantly with crunching notes on “Rebote”, in which he mixes folk and rock with a peculiar bounce; and also on “El Santo”, a noise-infused attack with a proclivity for psychedelic rock aesthetics. His expert manipulation of sound is laid down over bass pedal points and adroit snare-and-cymbal patterns. In the last segment, one finds great percussive rebounds by Mela providing added weight to a nice conclusion.

The bandleader is the trio’s guiding light, exploring space from different angles. That aspect is demonstrated not only on “Himno”, a chorale-like piece that, not being totally predictable, takes us to discernible melodic trails, but also on the fully improvised “El Chivo”, an expressionistic invention that falls between the rustic and the modern. The latter revels in unremitting acoustic folk interlocks, bowed bass for a slightly eery effect, and anxious drumming with no particular timekeeping. 

The trio wraps up the set with “Simultaneo”, a laid-back crossover jazz in the vein of Bill Frisell and Charles Lloyd, which contains elements of Americana, South American folk, and some American and European classic connotations. This trio works splendidly, revealing an excellent sense of moment throughout. Trujillo, totally transparent in his multiple influences, also throws in a lot of stuff that is undoubtedly his own.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Araya ► 03 - El Santo ► 06 - Simultaneo

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Marta Warelis - A Grain of Earth

Label: Relative Pitch Records, 2022

Personnel - Marta Warelis: piano.

Polish pianist Marta Warelis has been based in the Netherlands since 2010, having collaborated with intrepid avant-jazzers such as saxophonists John Dikeman, Ada Rave and Michael Moore, bassist Ingebrigt Haker Flaten, violinist Carlos Zingaro, and more recently with trumpeter Dave Douglas, in his 15th-century-art-inspired album Secular Psalms.

A Grain of Earth is her first solo essay in which she addresses creation and destruction with both intrigue and an appetite for communicating with the listener almost in a visual way. Gliding through measures and frequencies, “Echoes” sort of takes us to the origin of things, starting a journey that culminates with a thrown of ashes to the sea. The impressionistic opener is underpinned with percussive and pitched beats created by prepared piano, and streamlined with both tranquil and supple melodies in the upper register.

The following piece, “(into) Body in Pieces” plays like an offbeat collage of sounds ranging from incisively piercing to percussively scratchy to spine-chilling sweepy. The same type of experimentation can be heard on “Miniature Creatures”, where the conversational prose expands, and also on “Invisible Threads”, whose corrosive droning legato results from bowing the strings of the piano. 

A more familiar avant-jazz narrative is offered with “Trip on the the Light Toe”, which brings a variety of tone qualities during the exquisite melodic entanglements that often crash into a low-pitched explosion. Without signaling any particular change of direction, “In Waves” emerges as another crucial point in the sonic developments. It gains the form of an incredibly hypnotic dance at once exotic and familiar. The beautiful title track, “a Grain of Earth”, is gracefully honed piano escapism performed on a very profound level. Melody becomes meaningful and thoughts are intimately expressed.

With notable technique and inventiveness, Warelis finds her place in the modern improvised sphere. The qualities in her playing suggest a career filled with many inspiring and experimental musical moments to be shared with the world.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Echoes ► 05 - In Waves ► 06 - a Grain of Earth

Brandon Seabrook - Exultations

Label: Astral Spirits, 2020

Personnel - Brandon Seabrook: guitar; Cooper-Moore: diddley bow; Gerald Cleaver: drums.

Brandon Seabrook, a guitarist of rhythmically inventive force, boasts a curious style in which he effortlessly draws from the avant-garde, free improvisation, experimental and indie rock genres, including punk and math rock. Exultations emphasizes his energetic chops on top of the structurally rhythmic riches provided by kindred spirits Cooper-Moore, a dexterous pianist here exclusively dedicated to the diddley bow, and Gerald Cleaver on drums. 

Powerful aural transmissions occur throughout a mesmerizing record that opens with “Flexing Fetid and Fecund”, a sinewy and muscled noise-rock exertion involving athletic drumming and distorted diddley bow slaps. Faithful to his strenuous, agitated vocabulary, Seabrook expands the freedom to “Dark Bogs”, a mechanical, somewhat droid-guided march where he engenders out-of-the-box textures and opens new communicative channels with both digital-oriented proficiency and industrial sonic conception.

Cooper-Moore and Cleaver often adhere to a sort of krautrock precision, and if “Behavioral Tub” implants electronic music influences in the experimental affairs, then the wildly inventive “Along Comes Diddley” proposes a fluttery funk feel conveyed by breakneck guitar actions spilled out with abandon, fire and flair. Whereas the former piece is permeated with carefree guitar noodling, fiery fretwork easily morphing into ostinatos processed by spacious effects, and drum rudiments fleshed out over a droning texture; the latter provides pointillism and synth-guitar clouds over a blistering rhythmic ambiance. 

Trapped in a post-punk trance appended with glitchy sounds, “Cudgel Majik” differs considerably from both “Essential Exultations”, an atmospheric tour with some diaphanous minimalism, and “Absurdities in Bondage”, where the trio finds a special way to swing. Still, all pieces share the rigidly interlocked rhythms of Cooper-Moore and Cleaver in addition to Seabrook’s manifold strengths, which include the ability to mutate his playing from sharply angular to quizzically atmospheric.

The originality and inventiveness of the trio translate into unconventional textures that make this experimental work starkly fascinating.

Grade A

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Dark Bogs ► 03 - Behavioral Tub ► 07 - Along Comes Diddley

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Claudio Vignali - Rach Mode On

Label: Auand Records, 2019

Personnel - Claudio Vignali: piano, Korg MS20, synth, electronics; Rob Mazurek: piccolo trumpet, electronics; Daniele Principato: electronics, real time loop remix, midi guitar.

Classically-trained Italian pianist/composer Claudio Vignali delves into hypnotic manipulations of sound, and the result is a genre-defying ‘lab’ album titled Rach Mode On. Playing alongside American trumpeter Rob Mazurek and fellow countryman Daniele Principato, who co-wrote the pieces and is at the helm of the real time loop remix, the pianist explores nine originals whose skeletal structures incorporate electronics, improvisation and tradition.

Whereas “Little Light” is invaded with a muffled beat, glitchy and computery elements, and trumpet melody, the title track features a more regular, impulsive heartbeat, erudite classical piano, spoken word samples, and the ethereal choir-like vocalizations of guests Selena Zaniboni and Enrico Ferri. You can think of it as an improbable crossing between Vangelis, Rachmaninoff, and Brian Eno.

“Dark” and “A Ship in the Abyss” are noir experiments. The former has classical piano moves morphing into trance-like synth-heavy stuff underpinned by breakbeats, while the latter, wrapped up in a mix of dreamy and gloomy tones, has soft electronic components enriching its minimal motions. Both tunes benefit from Mazurek’s dramatically expansive lines, which wander off with no particular destination.

Electronically emulating a string quartet, “Il Fauno” starts as a sort of thrilling chamber piece but ends with snazzy jazzy vibes capable of making you dance. The piano becomes arpeggiated on “Hexagonal”, an avant-garde cut whose intimate observations soar with both cool and coiling trumpet activity, distorted drum machine vibes, and ambient synth.

Silhouetted with sturdy low-pitched movements, “Sublimination” concludes this futuristic voyage within a minimalist atmospheric current that recalls some of Philip Glass’ works.

Rach Mode On is crafted with a carefully planned electro-acoustic sound design that should attract alternative electronic audiences rather than habitual jazz followers. Ear-openness is the key factor to get into this music.

Grade B+

Favorite Tracks:
04 - Dark ► 05 - A Ship in the Abyss ► 06 - Il Fauno

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Michael Attias - Échos la Nuit

Label: Out of Your Head Records, 2019

Personnel – Michael Attias: alto saxophone, piano.

Saxophonist Michael Attias, a paragon of perspicacious playing and exceptional leadership, releases his first solo album, in which he plays two instruments, sometimes simultaneously. While his left hand holds the alto sax, a carrier of awe-inspiring tone colors, the right hand plays the piano, whose individual notes and chords work as melodic/harmonic pivots, promoting contextualization and, consequently, facilitating our reading of the music. Turning down overdubs, this recording takes you to a few singular places in Attias’ active musical mind. By tailoring a stripped-down aesthetic with distinctive approaches to each instrument, he proposes a sleek, sometimes undemonstrative distillation of timbres that can be more or less complicated to apprehend.

Two distinct versions of “Echoes” bookend the eleven tracks on the album. The first part, “Mauve”, enhances the beautifully contrasting colors between saxophone and piano, bright and poignant, respectively, within a cerebral mood. The second part, “Night”, offers a melodic reflection that often lands on a resolution. Still, the ambiguity of the piano and some spellbinding unison passages make us alert. The approach is low-key, unfussy and intriguing. Experimental, in a way.

“Trinité” insists in unison ideas occasionally interpolated with intervallic surprises. The piano work is not as tantalizing or emotionally charged as in the introductory section of “Fenix III”, a snappy creation whose quirky chord has a strong connotation with Attias' former collaborator, the late Japanese pianist Masabumi Kikuchi. Domineering cyclic phrases driven by pitch allure are balanced through prolonged notes replicated on the piano. Something like knotty explorations whose elements are in a permanent state of affairs.

The piano-less “Rue Oberkampf” feels like an incantatory chant brimming with slightly popping patterns inspired by saxophonist's early studies of the Schillinger technique. Great note choices are brought effortlessly with grandiose, mesmerizing shifts in timbre before three consecutive woodwind cascades bring it to an end. The reverberation is from the room and is even more noticeable over the course of “Circles”, where the intensity keeps fluctuating.

The nocturnal mood and fascination of “Sea In The Dark” are impressive, combining dark bass notes and delicate phrases for an illustrative intonation that coaxed me to search for more. Some other pieces, like the slow-moving diptych “Autumn”, justifies lethargic reactions through its vagueness and pallor.

Listening to this album was such an oddity. Each track feels like looking at perplexing pictures whose thin focus is on the closest object while the background keeps immersed in obscurity. Indistinctness means forever open and this very personal album is beyond style.

Grade B

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Echoes I: Mauve ► 08 - Rue Oberkampf ► 11 - Sea In The Dark

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