William Parker Heart Trio

Label: AUM Fidelity, 2024

Personnel - William Parker: doson ngoni, shakuhachi, bass dudek, Serbian flute, ney flute; Cooper-Moore: ashimba, hoe-handle harp; Hamid Drake: drums, frame drum.

Acclaimed bassist and multi-instrumentalist William Parker, recipient of this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award at Vision Festival, reunites with longtime collaborators and members of his quartet, Cooper-Moore and Hamid Drake, for a freely improvised trio session centered on world music Their effort, characterized by soothing and richly rhythmic spiritual vibes, aims to ease our troubled modern times.

Predominantly influenced by West African sounds, the trio also incorporates Balkan dances and other Eastern flavors. Parker switches between different flutes and the doson ngoni, Cooper-Moore toggles between instruments he built himself in the 1970s - the ashimba (an 11-tone xylophone) and hoe-handle harp - and Drake makes everything dance with his percussion expertise.

“Atman” bathes in an unspecified ceremony of flute and percussion, while “Five Angels By the Stream” is propelled by great skill, creating a trance-inducing straight-eight feel marked by pervasive harp, dynamic hi-hat accents, and groovy ngoni for a crisper definition.

“Mud Dance” features bass dudek over a palpable pulsation driven by ashimba and frame drum. The rhythm intensifies and accelerates on “Serbia”, where the flute spins wildly and instinctively over a magnetic flux. “Kondo” plays on perpetual movement with wonderful drumming and hearty harmonization woven by ngoni and harp. The threesome performs a few rhythmic variations along the way, reaching the form of an Eastern rumination on “For Rafael Garrett”, a tribute to the late Chicago multi-instrumentalist Donald Rafael Garrett that blurs the line between lament and exuberance. “Processional”, confidently paced in seven, denotes a strong sense of order without rigidity, while showcasing a balanced blend of ngoni, harp, and metallic percussion.

The music flows pristinely, filled with clarity and naturalness, and enriched with subtle expressive touches that highlight the well-ingrained telepathic interplay these musicians share.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Five Angels By the Stream ► 06 - For Rafael Garrett ► 07 - Processional

Wadada Leo Smith / Amina Claudine Myers - Mosaic of Reservoir, Lake, Paths and Gardens

Label: Red Hook Records, 2024

Personnel - Wadada Leo Smith: trumpet; Amina Claudine Myers: piano, organ.

In their enlightened duo recording, trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith and pianist Amina Claudine Myers venture into magnetic sonic terrain. The album, titled Central Park’s Mosaic of Reservoir, Lake, Paths and Gardens, includes seven moving and contemplative tracks - six by Smith and one by Myers - inspired by New York’s Central Park and the world’s urgent need for peace and justice. It marks the first collaboration of these two musicians since their early days in the AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians).

Inviting listeners into a world of glistening textures and shared musical imagination, the duo opens with the lyrical and serene “Conservatory Gardens”, whose soulful languidity results from the juxtaposition of an immersive textural harmonization and piercing trumpet cries. This piece ends with glorious constellations of notes freed by Myers on the higher octaves of the keyboard. “Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir” blends the solemnity of the Hammond B3 organ with the candor of muted trumpet, creating a compelling sonic landscape.

The sublime atmosphere continues with “Central Park at Sunset”, where chiaroscuro tonalities evoke an autumnal palette. Myers showcases her classical inclinations and intriguing cluster chords in "When Was," a solo piano recital that balances melody with avant-garde exploration.

The album closes with introspective pieces paying homage to musicians who championed peace and justice: “Albert Ayler, a Meditation in Light” transports listeners to a tonally splendorous universe, while “Imagine, a Mosaic for John Lennon” retains wide spaces and smooth articulation.

Smith and Myers convey a sense of longing with sheer emotion and profound depth while making intelligent use of their instruments. This is a light-emitting album to be revisited many times in the future.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Conservatory Gardens ► 04 - When Was ► 06 - Albert Ayler, a Meditation on Light

HIIT - For Beauty is Nothing But the Beginning of Terror

Label: Clean Feed Records, 2023

Personnel - Simone Quatrana: piano; Andrea Grossi: double bass; Pedro Melo Alves: drums.

HIIT, an innovative avant-garde jazz trio that stems from the Italian and Portuguese jazz scenes, has unveiled an interesting debut album that traverses an array of inspirations and atmospheres, ranging from frayed tension to thoughtful musing. Pianist Simone Quatrana, double bassist Andrea Grossi, and drummer Pedro Melo Alves employ a strategy of compositional frames that feed real-time composition, elevating the classic piano trio format to a gripping level.

In the embrace of experimentalism, the album kicks off with “Gliss Glass”, a piece bursting with feverish timbre and motion, simmering with boiling pressure until giving way to a series of zigzagging glissandi. The subsequent track, “Ecotone”, has whirling piano runs creating a sense of vertigo, accompanied by a cascade of kaleidoscopic drumming. Irrepressible piano cycles surge at a rapid pace, while lyrical arco bass melodies search for peace of mind, detached from the chaos surrounding them. The placid bowing wins in the end.

Formidable mosaics of improvised music get specificities in textures while paying tribute to various personalities. For instance, “Concetto Spaziale” delves into contemplative sonic mysteries, interweaving sparse bass notes, overtly brushed drums, and a dreamy piano temperament to celebrate Lucio Fontana and his synthesized art known as Spatialism. Other pieces follow suit: “Urge”, dedicated to Italian photographer Roberto Masotti, plays with tonal contrasts - light and heavy, dark and clear, assertive and carefree; “Taro” marries 20th-century classical music with avant-garde, honoring jazz pianist Giorgio Gaslini; and “The Tartar Steppe”, named after Dino Buzzati’s distinguished novel, adopts a serene posture with minimalistic classical modernism at the core.

The trio skillfully intertwines sounds with a slippery subversion in “Urbe”, where contemporary groove indulgence, reminiscent of Matthew Shipp, positions fragmented bass lines and cluster piano harmonizations atop a hypnotic rhythmic spell. Similar results are achieved with the utterly propulsive “Clichés”, whose deliberately reiterated ideas emulate electronic alienation. 

Imbued with a spirit of sophisticated discovery, this recording is more than mere speculation. It’s a solid musical statement from an explorative trio that operates efficiently.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Ecotone ► 05 - Urbe ► 08 - The Tartar Steppe