JEFF SWANSON & CASE-FITTER - FATHOMS (Bace Records, 2020)
Personnel - Jeff Swanson: guitar, OP-1; Greg Ward: alto saxophone; Dustin Laurenzi: tenor saxophone; Paul Bedal: keyboards; Matt Ulery: electric bass; Greg Arty: drums, percussion.
Chicago-based guitarist/composer Jeff Swanson reunites his Case-fitter group and releases his second album of originals. The material consists of 10 disciplined, eclectic tracks delivered with a strong sense of texture. The opener, “Gaussian”, is built in conformity with an iterative idea as a theme, just like “Tre”. They showcase the bandleader in a fine guitar solo and Ulery’s authority on the lower registers, respectively. “The Accutron”, a guitar-driven 3/4 ballad, has Swanson throwing in some eligible bluesy lines, while “Fyra” is an ostinato-drenched collage that veers into psychedelic territory. The multi-dimensional impression of Arty’s drumming is noticeable on “Elisha”, a piece that starts as a reflection but then blooms with a deft combination of snare, hi-hat and bass drum. The pieces on the album were shaped in quartet, excluding four tracks where saxophonists Greg Ward and Dustin Laurenzi add extra color: the unruffled, odd-metered “Roads”, the danceable “Replicants”, the happily electronic “Farvel”, and the indie-meets-classic rock “Let The Children Play”. [B]
ANDRE MATOS - EARTH RESCUE (Robalo Music, 2020)
Personnel - Andre Mastos: guitar, bass.
Portuguese guitarist Andre Matos continues his solo work with another album, Earth Rescue, the successor to Muquina (2016) and Nome de Guerra (2017). The sea of calm he dives into is meant to be slowly absorbed and comes reflected on “Castelo dos Mouros”, the poignant and spacious opener; “Future Memories”, which is bathed in polished textural washes; “Borboletas”, where the harmonics make me think of the wings of a butterfly at rest in opposition to the chordal movement; and the title track, a contemplative look at the Earth’s urgency to breathe and flourish again. “Carlos” is busier yet equally methodical, displaying a thick round bass in support of the guitar. If “Planalto” leans on the folk genre, “1984” is all pretty prairies and ranches, shaping up as a country song suitable for a film score. Matos adds some ambiguity to “Climbing”, but the album, as a rule, embraces breezy symmetry and easygoing melodicism. I felt some of the pieces could be extended. Politicians are invited to take a listen and, hopefully, inspired by the music, help rescuing the Earth, considering it a primary concern of the present times. [B]
ROBERTO MAGRIS - SUITE! (JMood Records, 2020)
Personnel - Mark Coilby: tenor saxophone; Eric Jacobson: trumpet; Roberto Magris: pino; Eric Hochberg: bass; Greg Artry: drums; PJ Aubree Collins: vocals.
Italian pianist Roberto Magris releases Suite!, a double album comprising originals, known jazz standards, and curious interpretations of pop and rock songs. The album opens with a great rendition of King Crimson’s “In The Wake of the Poseidon”, here propelled with a contagious rhythm and jazzified with a warm touch. Another cover that surprised me favorably was John Lennon’s “Imagine”, rendered solo with openness of heart and catchy sweeps on the higher registers. When performing solo, Magris attains deeper spiritual dimension, and titles such as “(End of a) Summertime”, a fascinating reading of Gershwin’s famous tune; “Never Let Me Go” and the self-penned modal prayer “Love Creation” charm with soulfulness. This work comes stocked with stylistic diversity, and if both “Chicago Nights” and “The Island of Nowhere” are hard bop-inflected tunes in the line of Lee Morgan and Hank Mobley, then Jerry Martini’s “One With the Sun” and “Sunset Breeze”, whose intense bossa groove brings Joe Henderson to mind, come infused with crossover flavors as they intertwine and merge distinct lexicons. “Suite!” finds a confident 3/4 stride, and everyone should meditate upon the wise words in “A Message for a World to Come”. [B]