Label: Bicolorious Music Records, 2024
Personnel CD2 - Barbara Bruckmuller: composition, conduction, arranger; Aruán Ortiz: piano; Viola Falb: alto saxophone; Kaya Meller: trumpet, flugelhorn; Mario Vavti: trombone; Thatiana Gomes: double bass; Howard Curtis: drums.
Austrian composer Barbara Bruckmuller presents A Chain of Moments - Suite in Five Movements across three different contexts in her triple album Three Views of a Musial Piece. Each CD showcases a different ensemble: a quintet with piano and string quartet, a jazz sextet with a three-horn frontline, and a jazz orchestra with strings. Here, I’ll focus on CD2, which features woodwinds, brass, piano, and rhythm section, anchored by Cuban-born, Brooklyn-based pianist Aruán Ortiz, whose storytelling style brings depth and flair.
“Movement I - East of the West” is a very cool cut, a blues in 5/4 time signature whose groove recalls Lee Morgan’s The Sidewinder. The dynamic orchestration builds into a collective crescendo, framing a lively, nimble solo by Vienna-based alto saxophonist Viola Falb, who later engages in a duo conversation with Ortiz. The pianist then takes the stage unaccompanied, displaying his rhythmic mastery and characteristic angular phrasing.
“Movement II - Limited (But Sweet)” has an understated atmospheric commencement with conspicuous cymbal work by American drummer Howard Curtis, who is based in Austria. His tom-toms rumble as the 4/4 ballad takes full shape, supporting pleasant solos from bassist Thatiana Gomes and flugelhorn player Kaya Meller. Ortiz, as always, ventures outside boundaries, supported closely by bowed bass. In “Movement III - Matter of Fact” dreamlike piano droplets and sweeps give way to a smoothly brushed mid-tempo swing. Deleted soloists for this number are Falb, who blows her horn with post-bop abandon, trombonist Mario Vavti, whose charming statement is filled with great note choices, and Ortiz, who shows his love for playing outside the norms.
“Movement IV - Rewind (& Play Again)” showcases Vavti’s melodious trombonism in its shaded dynamics and smooth transition to the swinging improvisational section. “Movement V - Conclusion”, closes the suite with a rhythmic 5/4 pulse, marked by staccato piano comping and bold horn lines, followed by a darkly atmospheric “Epilog”, where Ortiz, playing solo, is in his element.
CD3 takes Bruckmuller’s compositional and arranging talent to the orchestral level, adding strings and the rich, meaty baritone sax of Herwig Gradischnig, setting the tone right from the first movement. While not entirely groundbreaking, the suite is undeniably satisfying, blending sophisticated textures and feel-good energy, with Ortiz’s fearless approach a constant, elevating presence throughout.
Favorite Tracks CD2:
01 - East of the West ► 03 - Matter of Fact ► 05 - Conclusion