Melissa Aldana - Echoes of the Inner Prophet

April 1, 2024

Label: Blue Note Records, 2024

Personnel - Melissa Aldana: tenor saxophone; Lage Lund: guitar; Fabian Almazan: piano; Pablo Menares: bass; Kush Abadey: drums.

In her seventh album as a leader and second on Blue Note Records, titled Echoes of the Inner Prophet, Chilean-born, New York-based saxophonist Melissa Aldana presents eight sonic reflections that encapsulate her personal journey. Here, she reunites with the same crew that contributed to the acclaim of 12 Stars (Blue Note, 2022): Norwegian guitarist Lage Lund, bassist Pablo Menares, and drummer Kush Abadey. The sole exception is Sullivan Fortner who passed the piano chair to Fabian Almazan.

The album opens delicately with the title track, a homage to Wayne Shorter, resonating in shades of pastel and reminiscent of Alice Coltrane's spiritual kindness. This leads seamlessly into “Unconscious Whispers”, characterized by airy passages and edgy tonal ranges, with hints of Latin influence, also evident in “The Solitary Seeker”, where a slight Brazilian rhythmic balance is felt. Aldana and Almazan deliver intense performances on these tracks, while Lund shines on “A Story”, exuding sultry elegance with a Metheny-esque crossover jazz appeal.

The guitarist boasts a great sound throughout, whether building colorful texture or melodic single-note phrases, contributing “I Know You Know”, a radiant sunshine sympathetically crafted with sharp expression. Conversely, Menares’ “Ritual” provides haunting balladry with its evocative and atmospheric tones, while Aldana’s “Cone of Silence”, a dedication to recording engineer James Farber, is distilled with emotional poignancy, tempo subtleties, and timbral precision. Before that, “A Purpose” brings jazz in the heart of a gracious post-bop act buoyed by the ambitious sweep of solos from the bandleader, Lund, and Almazan.

Aldana emerges as a more mature saxophonist, presenting a cerebral style that blends subtle idiomatic combinations with personal emotions. Her new album provides an easy listening experience that, going deep, never succumbs to the potential pitfalls of sentimentality.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Unconscious Whispers ► 04 - The Solitary Seeker ► 07 - Cone of Silence

Melissa Aldana - 12 Stars

February 24, 2022

Label: Blue Note Records, 2022

Personnel - Melissa Aldana: tenor saxophone; Lage Lund: guitar; Sullivan Fortner: keyboards; Pablo Menares: bass; Kush Abadey: drums.

Born in Santiago, Chile, and based in Harlem, New York, the saxophonist and composer Melissa Aldana presents her first release on the Blue Note label, leading a quintet of bright musicians. The seven originals that comprise 12 Stars were co-written with the Norwegian guitarist Lage Lund.

Aldana's horn permeates the repertoire with determination, and “Falling” begins this journey with a tight-knit head that finds her delineating a breezy, unfurling melody over the throttling bass of Pablo Menares and the harmonic sophistication negotiated by Lund and the pianist Sullivan Fortner. The bandleader probes stunning intervals in her improvisation, exploring the high and low registers of the tenor with focused direction. Subsequently to a functional comping, Fortner adds up cascading reverie to the setting.

Other standouts of the album include: “Intuition”, a tango-ish exertion with sax-guitar agreement and a forward marching snare that sounds more sultry than threatening; and the rhythmically fascinating “Los Ojos de Chile”, a number inspired by the demonstrations and riots for civil rights that spread over that South American country in 2019, and where the group finds a cool burn through tension and release. After the beautiful theme, we have resourceful piano playing, ascendant guitar motifs that precipitate slices of swinging motion, and a squirrelly then surgical tenor statement that concurrently encourages and weeps.

The poignant, cerebral ballad “Emilia”, which came out of a dream related to motherhood, prompts drummer Kush Abadey to caress the skins and cymbals of the drum kit with soft brushes. As a soloist, it’s Lund who stands out here by taking peculiar paths suffused with color.

Abadey infers distinct rhythmic feels on “The Bluest Eyes” and “The Fool”. He tosses in a methodical ride cymbal drive for a swinging feel on the former, and paves the latter with gentle Brazilian-flavored rudiments. Both “The Fool” and the closing track, the one that gave the album its name, are a product of the bandleader’s curiosity about tarot, a practice she learned during lockdown. Aldana emerges stronger on 12 Stars, backed by competent partners who respond to her calls with appropriate action.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Falling ► 02 - Intuition ► 07 - Los Ojos de Chile

Melissa Aldana - Visions

June 4, 2019

Label: Motéma Music, 2019

Personnel - Melissa Aldana: tenor saxophone; Joel Ross: vibraphone; Sam Harris: piano; Pablo Menares: bass; Tommy Crane: drums.

Exceeding one hour, the album Visions by Chilean reed player Melissa Aldana is presented as a musical exploration of self-identity and expression. The session, mostly composed of originals, was inspired by the life and work of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, and starts with the title track, one of the two pieces composed for The Jazz Gallery residency commission 2017-18. Embracing a firm, medium-fast tempo, the tune exposes an expeditious melody dancing over a predominating triple meter that continues for the solos. The bandleader, who also shows her improvisational qualities, pronounces coincidental lines with vibraphonist Joel Ross, while pianist Sam Harris opts for a somewhat fuzzy approach during his solo. However, he proclaims clarity of language on pieces like “Perdon”, a gentle waltzing ballad written by bassist Pablo Menares, and the heart-rending standard “Never Let Me Go”, where he beautifully deconstructs the original harmony at the same time that explores melodies outside the lines.

“La Madrina” conveys a subtle classical feel in the chords’ movements and inherent voice-leading, preserving the sax/vibraphone coalition, aggrandizing emotions with the depth of bowed bass, and irrigating the foundation with a sultry Latin touch. This sprightly piece was also composed for the aforementioned commission.

Some songs came out gooier than fluid as if they were brought to a simmer without actually boiling over. These were the cases of “Acceptance” and “The Search”. I also missed memorable riffing in the music, here replaced by a strict post-bop posture flavored with colorful brushstrokes of Latin jazz. Even expecting more from this rising artist, there are moments where the intensity gets you. The rhythmically fervent “Elsewhere” and “Su Tragedia”, which waltzes with occasional tango expressiveness, are especially vivid examples of that. The saxophonist excels on the latter piece, exhibiting her searing tenor again on “El Castillo de Velanje”, the piece that concludes the album and redirects the spotlight in its final section to Ross’ vibrant mallet work.

Visions fails to make a very deep mark, but Aldana shows enough modernity in her language to keep us in.

Favorite Tracks:
03 - La Madrina ► 06 - Elsewhere ► 08 - Never Let Me Go