Label: Northern Spy Records, 2021

Personnel - Marc Ribot: guitar, vocals; Shahzad Ismaily: bass, keyboards, backing vocals; Ches Smith: drums, percussion, electronics, backing vocals // Guests - Darius Jones: alto sax (#6,7); Rubin Khodeli and Gyda Valtysdottir: cello (#8); Syd Straw: background vocals (#3).

Whether skirting rock, jazz, blues or funk, the guitarist/composer Marc Ribot always creates something fresh and finds powerful messages to deliver in our turbulent times. Hope is his third outing with the revolutionary Ceramic Dog project, in which he teams up with the bassist Shahzad Ismaily and the drummer Ches Smith. They are seen at the height of their powers in nine energy-filled tracks that were a direct product of the pandemic lockdown.

“B-Flat Ontology”, pinned with a minor chord whose colors take me to a particular passage of R.E.M.’s “Drive”, serves as a harbinger of Ribot's discontentment and frustration. According to him, it’s a depressing song, but it’s also an ironic one, where he doesn’t spare shocking performing artists, rock stars and young guitarists playing arpeggios at high velocity, contemporary poets, post-modern philosophers and pretentious singer/songwriters - “Isn’t it amazing? It’s just amazing! I’m just amazed!”, he sings.

The old and the new combine on “Nickelodeon”, a rockified reggae with a slippery bass groove, steady backbeat and a Talking Heads-like chorus; and also on “Wanna”, whose strong melodic riff and danceable slap beat were maybe fetched from to the 1980’s, including traces of funk rock that are redolent of Cameo’s “Word Up!”.

The satirical “The Activist” covers a lot of stuff in the spoken word (“I don’t accept…, I refuse, I resist.”), which flows atop slick bass moves and funk guitar interjections. Yet, I personally go for the instrumentals, two of which are bolstered by the guest presence of alto saxophonist Darius Jones who infuses extrovert avant-garde forays with fiery tones on “They Met in the Middle”, a country song, and “The Long Goodbye”, where the sophistication of Robert Wyatt meets the melodic distortion of Sonic Youth.

If “Bertha the Cool” navigates the groovy seas of smooth jazz via warm guitar octaves and licks, then “Maple Leaf Rage”, featuring two guest cellists - Rubin Khodeli and Gyda Valtysdottir - has two distinct halves: the first, more atmospheric, has Smith chattering fluently with brushes, whereas the second morphs into a blistering electric rock in which influences of Zappa and then Pink Floyd are noticeable.

The trio concludes the album with a cover of Donovan’s psychedelic pop song “Wear Your Love Like Heaven”, which they transform into a sort of evocative ballad sung in a Lou Reed style.

Ribot is a necessary figure in the current musical panorama, and the eclectic Hope has so many great flavors to be savored.

Favorite Tracks:
06 - They Met in the Middle ► 07 - The Long Goodbye ► 08 - Maple Leaf Rage

Label: Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records, 2018

Personnel - Mayu Saeki: flute, piccolo, shinobue; Aaron Goldberg: piano; Nori Ochai: piano; Joe Sanders: bass; John Davis: drums.

On her debut album, Hope, Japanese flutist Mayu Saeki sonically documents the adventurous journey that took her from her native Tokyo to New York City, where she is currently based. A former protégé of the celebrated drummer Chico Hamilton, who welcomed her into his group, Saeki reveals to have an independent voice both in the composition process and performance of her music. In addition to premiering three originals, she arranged two of the most emblematic tunes by Astor Piazzolla, where her classical training is most noticeable, and another one by Ryuichi Hattori. Joining her here are performers of undeniable quality like pianists Aaron Goldberg and Nori Ochai, who play three songs each, bassist Joe Sanders, and drummer John Davis.

“Dilemma” unbolts the door with a killer bass groove that is simultaneously sturdy and courteous. Having Goldberg at the piano, the solos succeed one to another, encompassing every member of the band, while the sweet-natured melody translates into an efficacious storytelling.

Goldberg also joins for the title track, a 3/4 tone poem gently propelled by a relaxed bass conduction and brushed drums, and Hattori’s “Soshu-Yakyoku”, an untied ballad lift up by a dreamlike aura and iridescent colors. While soloing, the pianist funnels his alluring ideas into the body of the songs with breathableness, preciseness, and focus. The malleability of Sanders, who accurately sings his magnetic improvisations, and the bandleader, whose roots are not neglected during the exploration of sensitive melodic lines, are also eminent.

If the shinobue, a high-pitched Japanese transverse flute, enlightened the latter piece, the piccolo, a half-size flute, was the right instrument to dig Piazzola’s Advancing through a triple-time cadence, “Oblivion” is a lovely tango introduced by Ochai’s piano and assembled with a tearful tonal decorum and unburdening chord changes. “Libertango”, another famous tune by the Argentine composer, was proudly arranged with an introductory section of flute and tambourine, having arco bass and flute operating in unison. Sanders and Saeki also aurify the improvisational section.

Descendant movements on the electric bass combine with cymbal accents and hi-hat marks to better guide the closing piece, “Do You Know..?”, which tilts toward a seductive Latin flux that holds Saeki’s candid solo.

Both the musical choices and the stainless nature of Saeki’s music-making, allow us to think of Toots Thielemans' line of work. Even leaning on an affectionate post-bop that mostly professes melodic and harmonic neatness, the music of Mayu Saeki still bears some adventure, brandishing the stamp of transparency.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Dilemma ► 02 - Hope ► 03 - Soshu-Yakyoku