Simon Nabatov Quartet feat. Ralph Alessi - Lovely Music

August 1, 2024

Label: Clean Feed Records, 2024

Personnel - Simon Nabatov: piano; Ralph Alessi: trumpet; Sebastian Gille: tenor saxophone; David Helm: bass; Leif Berger: drums.

Russian-born, Cologne-based pianist and composer Simon Nabatov has been a constant presence in the European creative jazz scene, boasting a 30+-year career with fruitful collaborations and numerous recordings worth revisiting. On Lovely Music, his latest outing, we find him at the helm of his Cologne quartet - featuring saxophonist Sebastian Gille, bassist David Helm, and drummer Leif Berger - and relying on resourceful American trumpeter Ralph Alessi to enrich nine original compositions, both old and new.

Each of Nabatov’s records showcases his interesting and versatile compositional skills, and “Koscha’s Delight”, dedicated to his pet cat, dazzles out of the gate with a staccato-infused theme, smart counterpoint, and remarkable confidence from all players. Gilles and Alessi engage in a game of interjections over an oddly rhythmic accompaniment, but it’s the trumpeter who first demonstrates his advanced lyricism. The following track, “Nature Morte 8”, is bookended with intriguing arco bass interpolations, reserving the middle part for a smooth harmonic progression in five. Nabatov leads the group on a vamping climb to the summit before a peaceful conclusion.

Both “Rickety” and “Old Fashioned” are retrieved from the excellent quintet album Last Minute Theory (Clean Feed, 2019). The former stands out with plenty of call-and-response and a cyclical flow in seven, carrying a broad sense of freedom. Highly composed and structured, there are sections of exceptional beauty and others where our ears are taken to places of energy. In that sense, “Autumn Music” starts as a ballad, navigates bluesy avenues, and ends with stimulating exchanges between the horn players. Alessi and Gilles also interact successfully on the closer, “No Doubt”, taking pleasure in the sympathetic support of the rhythm section.

“Amour Fou” features adroit single lines over hefty chord voicings and cerebral textures, with Nabatov creating improvised moments suffused with melodic invention, while “Margarita” is a meter-shifting, immensely melodic piece inspired by Bulgakov’s novel The Master and Margarita, which also served as inspiration for Nabatov’s 2001 album of the same name (Leo Records).

Lovely Music adds a whole new dimension to Nabatov’s body of work as its music exceeds expectations on almost every turn.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Koscha’s Delight ► 02 - Nature Morte 8 ► 03 - Rickety

Simon Nabatov - Plain

April 22, 2020

Label: Clean Feed, 2020

Personnel - Simon Nabatov: piano; Chris Speed: tenor saxophone, clarinet; Herb Robertson: trumpet, vocals; John Hébert: double bass; Tom Rainey: drums.

Signaling the third appearance of Russian-born pianist Simon Nabatov on Clean Feed, Plain is his second consecutive quintet effort and the follow up to Last Minute Theory (2019). However, none of the musicians that joined him on the latter has performed in this new work. The bandleader put together another A-list group with bassist John Hébert and drummer Tom Rainey constituting a sturdy foundation, and with saxophonist Chris Speed and trumpeter Herb Robertson assuring a nimble frontline. The latter contributes one short piece called “Ramblin’ On”, a quite intense stretch where he literally vociferates with a distorted effect in the company of Speed’s punchy attacks and the insane entanglement weaved by the rhythm section.

From the five Nabatov originals on the album, I elect “Plain” and “Break” as highlights. The former begins with an elegant piano-clarinet recital that conjures up the most refined classical music. A sultry Arabic feel mixes with the sound of czars and an avant-jazz boldness is inevitably thrown in the mix. Speed shows off his burnished sound and expressive vocabulary, and things get tenser with Robertson’s continuous flux of terse notes, during which Nabatov colors with sophistication in the accompaniment. The pianist’s penchant for improvisation is amply demonstrated throughout the record, but he truly excels here, before the beautifully melodic conclusion. For its part, “Break” is mounted with deftness and delivered with tact, displaying bouts of excellent playing. At first, we have sax and trumpet working together, having a cerebral arco bass as a supportive factor. Sudden bursts of energy are injected by the rhythm team, and Nabatov’s ingenious pianism comes to the fore once again as he improvises with a sure sense of time and phrasing over a groovy tapestry.

The moody “Copy That” intersperses mystifying and cacophonous moments with dexterity, working the low-end sounds with a serious-minded posture. It contrasts with “Cry From Hell”, which despite the title may suggest, feels much more relaxed in the way that it consolidates the numerous musical vistas acquired by Nabatov throughout the years. It’s a mixed bag of Monk’s angular swing, Brazilian elements, jazz tradition, and a dash of Herbie Nichols’ musical temper. It’s exactly with a classic piece of the aforementioned pianist - “House Party Starting” - that the group concludes this session.

The musicians involved in this project channel their contagious energies with a common sense of direction, facilitating Nabatov's musical personality to come through loud and clear.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Plain ► 04 - Break ► 07 - House Party Starting

Simon Nabatov Quintet - Last Minute Theory

October 2, 2019

Label: Clean Feed, 2019

Personnel - Simon Nabatov: piano; Tony Malaby: tenor saxophone; Brandon Seabrook: guitar; Michael Formanek: bass; Gerald Cleaver: drums.

60-year-old Russian-American pianist Simon Nabatov, a champion of multiple collaborations in small-group formats, has been a widely explorative voice within the canons of leading-edge jazz. His first record as a leader on the Lisbon-based label Clean Feed is called Last Minute Theory, in which he leads an extraordinary lineup of New York players such as saxophonist Tony Malaby, guitarist Brandon Seabrook, bassist Michael Formanek, and drummer Gerald Cleaver. The album features seven Nabatov originals and presents less ambiguity than it was expected, reshaping musical traditions to create new ones. Still, even providing accessible rides, a strong improvisatory mindset prevails throughout.

That fact can be immediately confirmed on “Old Fashioned”, an uncompromisingly swinging piece that, despite perfectly structured with a Mengelberg-like theme and well-defined melodies, embraces a provocative disposition. That sense of freedom is perfectly illustrated by Malaby’s searing impressions and Nabatov’s strong melodic figures and neo-noir chordal movements. On top of this, there’s the tense, dissonant, and always interesting comping from Seabrook, who also delivers an unconventional electronics-drenched solo. At the tail end of this trip, a vamp displays the supple rhythm section producing some steam.

“Rickety” is another lively piece launched with the magical rhythm imposed by Cleaver, dark-toned saxophone proclamations, and a non-conflicting combination of guitar and piano, all immersed in details and embellishments. The music then converges into a danceable groove with Cleaver and Formanek bringing a one-of-a-kind propulsion to the tune. Both the texture and the beautifully spiky ostinatos won’t leave anyone indifferent.

The bubbling, spot-on snare drum procession that gives “Marching Right Along” its personality is interrupted at some point by a carefree collective stretch. This is not a rambunctious effort. Neither a sluggish one. The group was in many ways more reflective on the brooding musical nebula called “Translated” and especially “Slow Move”, a vaporous exercise featuring Malaby's soprano abstractions, here closely followed by Nabatov’s vigilant pianism.

Abounding in rhythmic figures, the pianist’s captivating vocabulary catalyzes avant-garde dilatations on “Good Pedigree”, which evolves with musing and reasoning on one side, and tautness and friction on the other. The tension created here is taken further on the closing track, “Afterwards”, a recipient of electrifying timbral exploration and finely-tuned harmonic construction. Whereas Malaby blows wildly and creates turbulence with his colleagues in activity, an unaccompanied Formanek lets his ideas take a natural course. The intensity is then readjusted to something sleeker, in an odd-metered cyclic passage, which not even Seabrook’s striking dissonances were able to subvert.

Nabatov’s consistently evolving musical vision has here a great outcome. The group operates with a steady hand when necessary, but also emancipates itself through an astonishing mobility.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Old Fashioned ► 03 - Rickety ► 07 - Afterwards