Lara Solnicki - The One and the Other

April 21, 2021

Label: Outside in Music, 2021

Personnel - Lara Solnicki: vocals, poems; Jonathan Goldsmith: keyboards, electronics, electric bass, electric guitar; Peter Lutek: alto saxophone, electro-acoustic clarinet, bassoon; Hugh Marsh: electric violin; Rob Piltch: electric and acoustic guitar; Scott Peterson: electric and acoustic bass; Rich Brown: electric bass; Davide Di Renzo: drums.

The Canadian vocalist, composer and poet Lara Solnicki was blessed with an exquisite vocalic articulation and the art of poetry, as well as an impressive ability to blend genres such as classical, free jazz and experimental music. Working with a host of heroic players that lend her music a distinctive palette, she unfurls her most complexly detailed and ambitious work to date with this third outing, The One and the Other, a song cycle of utterly original tone poems.

The opener, “Bit Her Sweet Christopher Street”, immediately drew me in with its immersive words and the offbeat ideas presented by the pianist/producer Jonathan Goldsmith, an adept of inharmonic dripping and dissonant intervals, and the alto saxophonist Peter Lutek, who infuses extra tension and tonal contrast in his anguished blows. Even if only for a brief time, the guitarist Rob Piltch haunts us with an indie-rock fire that prompts the drummer Davide DiRenzo to muscle things up in response. The inspiration here was Debussy’s song cycle “5 Poèmes de Baudelaire”.

The enriched classical movements of Bach are aligned with the genuine freedom of jazz on “Idée Fixe”, where the saxophone goes hand in hand with the sweet-sounding vocalise. The harmonic stability is disturbed during a fascinating conversation between piano and sax, and then resumed in the final section.

Airing Bjork-like demeanors, “The Embrace” tells the story of two lovers frozen outside time and space, and its views differ from “Furling Leaf, Retrocede”, which employs sinister, startling, and occasionally psychedelic soundscapes in the sublime filmic grandeur that accompanies its poem.

The album closes with the three-part suite that lends the album its title, a tragic tale of a man that drowns in his image of love. “The One and the Other I: a Pass Glass” sets a resolute, unhurried voice against a jittery knitting of complex instrumentation. Some push-pull motions are detected, and a necessary bass groove even stirs a few passages by giving it a reassuring heartbeat. “II: Awe of the Sea” feels quietly and feverishly dreamy except for a portion of time when fierce drum fills and aggressive cymbals resound in the background, and then “III: Hollow the Need”, a little rougher around the edges, paints a vividly noir scene according to the tale’s heavy conclusion.

Solnicki makes every line a new experience, turning herself loose with a spontaneous sense of narrative and a transfixing experimental posture. This album is an exciting voyage of discovery that claims a different place in her oeuvre.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Bit Her Sweet Christopher Street ► 02 - Idée Fixe ► 06 - The One and the Other II: Awe of the Sea

Greg Smith - Cluster 001

April 20, 2021

Label: Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records, 2021

Personnel - David Binney: alto saxophone; Vanja Kevresan: guitar; Alexander Maksymiw: guitar, synth guitar; Logan Kane: electric bass; Greg Smith: drums, synth.

The Canadian drummer/composer Greg Smith, an active musician since the 1990’s, compiled seven originals into an engaging debut record that revels in earnest rock expression and futuristic jazz reverie. Smith spearheads a supple quintet comprising the virtuosic saxophonist and producer David Binney, Berlin-based guitarists Vanja Kevresan and Alexander Maksymiw, and Californian bassist Logan Kane. The group’s simpatico is on display throughout and the quality of the musicians brings as much personal fire as stunning interplay into the fold of contemporary jazz music.

Those elements are immediately perceptible on the opening track, “My Pet Robot”, whose mechanical riff at the outset handles more than simple decoration. Terrific improvisations occur with diverse apt accompaniments guaranteeing the harmonic substructure. An early guitar stretch is well supported by fat bass reverberation and rock drumming, then is the bassist who enjoys the harmonic guitar carpets under his feet, and finally Binney who dazzles by discoursing with a combustible tone over a circular retro synth-pop tapestry boosted by drum fills. The saxophonist’s advanced vocabulary makes the notes ricocheting with reverb on “NLX” as he embarks on a cascading complexity that transpires with ecstatic energy atop of a two-chord vamp.

“Leolo” is launched in five, denoting sleek key slides and metric shifts with an affinity for the asymmetric. Mysterious effects are added for a darker tone but the scorching rock guitar of Maksymiw casts some light when a sturdy rhythm imposes alongside funk flavored bass lines. Also taking advantage of the mighty power of the electric guitar, “A Stable Genius” and “Angels & Insects” unpack elastic rhythms while conducting some fearless improvisation. The former takes the form of a groove-centered funk equipped with riffs that swell and fuse with the rhythmic cross-currents that take shape, while the latter is a stimulating prog-rock exercise involving knotty adjustments of tempo in the transitions from the A to the B sections. “Ice 911”, in turn, shows off acrobatic saxophone and an effects-laden guitar bantering with each other on top of a sextuple groove.

Smith convened the perfect group, integrating compositional rigor and improvisational openness. He has many reasons to be proud of his debut work.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - My Pet Robot ► 03 - Leolo ► 05 - A Stable Genius

Jennifer Wharton's Bonegasm - Not a Novelty

April 19, 2021

Label: Sunnyside Records, 2021

Personnel - Jennifer Wharton: bass trombone; John Fedchok: trombone; Alan Ferber: trombone; Nate Mayland: trombone; Michael Eckroth: piano, Fender Rhodes; Evan Gregor: bass; Don Peretz: drums.

The versatile bass trombonist Jennifer Wharton manages to give her instrument a rare major role in a contemporary jazz group. The follow-up to the Bonegasm eponymous debut is called Not a Novelty, which, in a similar fashion, features the rich quadruple 'trombonism' provided by John Fedchok, Alan Ferber, Nate Mayland and Wharton herself. The rhythm section consists of piano, bass and drums, and their chairs are occupied by Michael Eckroth, Evan Gregor and Don Peretz, respectively.

The album sails off with "BonGasmo", a feel-good expedition that finds the sweet spot where modern jazz meets traditional Cuban music. The piece, written by Eckroth for the Havana-based Orquestra Akokán, is enriched with piles of rhythmic accents and slippery curves, having the guest percussionist Samuel Torres focused on his craft to propel it with the right feel. Another Cuban-infused piece is pianist Manuel Valera’s “La Otra Mano”, and we can also spot a great deal of Latin jazz on the Ayn Inserto-penned “Blue Salt”, a shapeshifter that suggests a delicious bop feel before mutating into a lush Latin fantasy with modal flair. Wharton plays with soul until a swinging groove is installed, buoying up Fedchock’s solo.

Fascinating arrangements give personal definitions not just to Remy LeBoeuf’s “Face Value”, a post-bop enlightenment filled with refined melodic and harmonic impressions, but also to Alan Ferber’s “Union Blues”, which, inspired by Mark Turner’s “Iverson’s Odyssey”, shows us how to take a blues to tonally attractive territories.

Ferber’s arrangement of Chris Cheek’s “Ice Fall” is simply graceful, allowing a subtle pop liquidity to permeate the post-bop surface while maintaining the triple time feel of the original. Eckroth’s beautiful solo, so rich in melody, is followed by the four trombonists who alternate bars with a linear storytelling in mind. Peretz concludes the improvisations by stretching over a vamp.

Fedchock composed the sweet ’n breezy “Little Cupcake” for Wharton, his wife, and the warmth is perceptible throughout. This piece precedes the record’s surprising conclusion, a rendition of Soundgarden’s grunge song “The Day I Tried to Live”, where guest singer Kurt Elling emulates phrases with wah-wah effect as a response to Wharton’s sounds. The illustrious leader of the Secret Society ensemble, Darcy James Argue, is behind this arrangement.

If you like your jazz with multiple flavors and clever arrangements, then you have many good reasons to go for this one.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Face Value ► 03 - Ice Fall ► 10 - The Day I Tried to Live

Tom Rainey Obbligato - Untucked in Hannover

April 15, 2021

Label: Intakt Records, 2021

Personnel - Ingrid Laubrock: tenor saxophone; Ralph Alessi: trumpet; Jacob Sacks: piano; Drew Gress: bass; Tom Rainey: drums.

The third installment in the catalogue of Tom Rainey Obbligato is a live recording composed of pieces of the Great American Songbook previously recorded by the quintet. Yet, these were reshaped anew for a 2018 concert at Jazz Club Hannover, Germany, which featured the band’s regular members - saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock, trumpeter Ralph Alessi, bassist Drew Dress and Rainey on drums - with the exception of pianist Kris Davis, who was replaced by Jacob Sacks.

“If I Should Lose You” initiates the set with loose melodic contours and contrapuntal piano over the clearly swinging posture offered by the brushed drums and hopping bass lines. Alessi’s muted trumpet jumps into the fray with optimum aesthetic results, while Rainey’s rhythmic elucidations, near the end, become excitedly busy at times and gracefully restrained during others.

“Stella by Starlight” finds the group in top flight as they build phrases on top of phrases for an infinitely open communication. There’s textural inventiveness pumped up by the three time feel, and even an unexpected bossa groove before completion.

Two tracks on the record combine standards, with “What’s New / There is No Greater Love” being the first. The portion concerning the first piece is introduced by a harmoniously articulated bass statement, and then has piano, trumpet and sax, by turns, uttering the theme with a laid-back posture. The transition to the second song, which waltzes, is made via Rainey’s cymbal tinkling and scratches. They evolve into complex layers of toms, precise snare strokes and rim accents, before the incredibly adaptable Laubrock turns her focus to the main melody, flanked by Alessi’s conversational hooks.

In the same manner, the track five splices up “Just in Time” and “In Your Own Sweet Way”. The spirited vibe of the former benefits from occasional percussive slapback and creative freedom. Things are softened up for the latter tune, which earns some momentum through Sacks’ tense chords and melodic undercurrent.

The group concludes with a nearly free-bop reading of Jerome Kern’s “Long Ago and Far Away”.

What makes this record so satisfying comes in large measure from the distinctive sound and sense of liberation conveyed by each musician. Their ability to transform notably known songs into something imaginatively new is strongly valued.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - If I Should Lose You ► 02 - Stella by Starlight ► 05 - Just in Time / In Your Own Sweet Way

Christian Pabst - Balbec

April 14, 2021

Label: JazzSick Records, 2021

Personnel - Christian Pabst: piano, Rhodes; André Nendza: acoustic and electric bass; Erik Kooger: drums.

Formerly based in the Netherlands and now living in Italy, the German pianist/composer Christian Pabst is seen here at the helm of a classic piano trio featuring fellow countryman bassist André Nendza and Dutch drummer Erik Kooger. The title of his fourth album as a leader, Balbec, was drawn from his own imagination, alluding to a fictional city especially envisioned to give wings to unostentatious sonic depictions and explorations. Topics such as the arts, traveling and everyday life feed his fount of inspiration.

The lead-off track, “Revelation”, has a singing bass spreading melody around over a well-leveled harmonic pavement that reveals graceful pop piano hooks suggestive of Bruce Hornsby, in addition to a lustrous jazz reminiscent of Brad Mehldau. There are passages imbued with pure rhythmic groove and the piano improvisation flows with post-bop ease, carrying some pleasant outside playing and predictably compliant figures.

The iterative dry flux of Kooger’s snare drum reinforces the cyclic harmonic pattern of “Snake”. The trio creates a general relaxing vibe and achieves a nearly ethereal feel in their maneuvers, with Nendza’s pumping electric bass instilling the extra energy. The strong melody plays an important emotional role here, as well as on “Snow”, a dramatic piece predominantly played in five, and equally on “Storm”, which, despite of what the title may suggest, leans more on the contemplative, balladesque side of things for most of its duration.

Waltzing with spirit at a medium-fast tempo, “Golden” features a piano statement that, starting as a monologue, soon regains the company of bass and drums to embark on a rhythmic friskiness that ends with a supple, unaccompanied bass ride.

The trio wades into the polyrhythmic context of the title cut, embracing a gleaning texture that incorporates the amiable nature of Brazilian music and the brittleness of a smooth jazz that swings.

More of an ear-pleasing architect that actually a stirrer, Pabst brings a luminous quality into compositions that find his trio in a composed yet responsive mode.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Snake ► 03 - Balbec ► 04 - Snow

Vijay Iyer - Uneasy

April 13, 2021

Label: ECM Records, 2021

Personnel - Vijay Iyer: piano; Linda May Han Oh: double bass; Tyshawn Sorey: drums

The musical genius of post-modern jazz pianist Vijay Iyer reaches new heights on Uneasy, his fourth trio album and sixth release on the ECM Records as a leader/co-leader. Having forged a revolutionary path in jazz, Iyer continues to break new ground, this time benefiting from the rhythmic wonders of a new trio with the drummer Tyshawn Sorey, a longtime partner, and the bassist Linda May Han Oh, with whom he recorded in 2011 for the Dave Douglas Quintet. The music takes a more jazzified route here, in the sense that it’s intrinsically connected to tradition and form, detaching from that free-er and experimental side presented in his works with Craig Taborn and Wadada Leo Smith.

Composed over a span of 20 years, some of the pieces strive to bring sociopolitical predicaments and disorders in America to the human conscience. The opener, “Children of Flint”, is one of those cases, calling the attention for the lead poisoning water crisis in Flint, Michigan. Written in 2019, it emerges here with an astonishingly detailed theme statement and angular melodic refinement, as well as an elegant bass solo over Sorey's dry flat tom-tom sounds and curious cymbal patterns.

Another good illustration is “Combat Breathing”, which relates to the early Black Lives Matter movement and materializes in coiled blues threads that gravitate around an 11-beat cycle. The introductory solo piano section leads to firm pedal points and sagaciously bluesy lines ironed out with sporadic assertive motifs rather than cryptic patterns. The intensity refrains during a twinkle-toed bass dance that comes firmly guided by emotions.

Three pieces ooze relaxation and poignancy from its pores - “Touba” is handled in five and resulted from the fruitful collaboration between Iyer and Boston hip-hop artist Mike Ladd; “Augury” is an emotionally strong solo piano effort; and “Entrustment”, a tribute to the cave temples of Dunhuang in China and its multicultural heritage, is delivered in seven with a warm compelling sound.

“Uneasy” channels a sense of restlessness at the outset but soon morphs into an ecstatic trip with variations in dynamics, attack and density. In turn, “Configurations” harkens back to 2001, bringing back the South Indian sonics and impressively intricate progressions of the album Panoptic Modes (Pi Recordings).

The pianist also squeezes in the jazz standard “Night and Day” and Geri Allen’s “Drummer’s Song”. The former, inspired by McCoy Tyner’s piano work in Joe Henderson’s version, flows in a peripatetic 7/8 bliss; while the latter number, a tribute to the late influential pianist and mentor who composed it, links African folk tradition with imaginative post-bop via groove.

Many moments of pleasure come out from listening to this record, in which the virtuosity of the three musicians involved is constantly put at the service of the music.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Children of Flint ► 02 - Combat Breathing ► 08 - Uneasy

Jen Shyu & Jade Tongue - Zero Grasses: Ritual For the Losses

April 12, 2021

Label: Pi Recordings, 2021

Personnel - Jen Shyu - voice, piano, percussion, Japanese biwa, Taiwanese moon lute; Ambrose Akinmusire: trumpet; Mat Maneri: viola; Thomas Morgan: bass; Dan Weiss: drums.

Jen Shyu, an incredibly talented singer/composer and multi-instrumentalist, delivers a groundbreaking multi-lingual hour-long opus that screams with personal loss - related to her father’s recent passing - and cuts into the surface of societal problems such as racism and sexism. Her flagship ensemble, Jade Tongue, was narrowed into a stellar quintet for Zero Grasses: Ritual for the Losses, a John Zorn-commissioned work featuring Ambrose Akinmusire on trumpet, Mat Maneri on viola, and the rhythm team of bassist Thomas Morgan and drummer Dan Weiss.

The album kicks off with the four-part suite “Living’s a Gift”, an emotional reaction to the covid-19 pandemic, where impeccably layered vocals overlap to create polyphonic melodies, unisons and counterpoint. Just like the opener, the following piece “Lament For Breonna Taylor” was composed in 2020, but this time with the marginalized Black lives in mind as it references the shooting of the African-American mentioned in the title, in an erroneous drug raid led by Louisville police in Kentucky. Following preliminary chimes and gongs, the desolate narrative proceeds with wailing viola, mournful trumpet cries, dramatic piano tremolos and somber bowed bass. With no disruption, this piece slips directly into the memorable “The Human Color”, whose ambiance is in compliance with a stylish jazz velvetiness that serves Akinmusire’s soloing virtuosity. The latter piece, brought back from Jade Tongue’s 2009 eponymous album, condemns the 19th-century colonialism in Cuba.

Both “A Cure For the Heart’s Longing” and “Display Under the Moon” were taken from Shyu’s solo theatrical work Nine Doors and thrive with curious instrumentations. In the former, Shyu accompanies herself on the two-string Taiwanese moon lute, while the latter dives in the Japanese traditional music, featuring the 4-string Japanese biwa on top of deft bass underpinnings. These pieces, together with the ritualistic “When I Have Power”, a vehicle for Shyu's virtuosic singing while going back to the race-motivated confusion of her teenage years, defy conventional forms and aesthetics. Another paradigm of her vocal prowess is the poignant “Body of Tears”, verbalized with remarkable range and emotional tension.

Putting her ethnic fusion capabilities at the service of each narrative segment, Shyu blends the ancient and the contemporary to forge an unparalleled, cohesive sound.

Favorite Tracks:
03 - Living’s a Gift Pt. 3: My Unsolved Regrets ► 05 - Lament For Breonna Taylor ► 06 - The Human Color

Goldberger / Maneri / Jermyn / Cleaver - Untamed: Live at Scholes

April 8, 2021

Label: Out of Your Head Records, 2021

Personnel - Jonathan Goldberger: guitar; Mat Maneri: viola; Simon Jermyn: electric bass; Gerald Cleaver: drums.

This ‘Untamed’ performance, another one digged up and recovered by the Out of Your Head label, features a quartet of ripe, well-integrated avant-gardists that includes guitarist Jonathan Goldberger, violist Mat Maneri, bassist Simon Jermyn and drummer Gerald Cleaver.

The single 36-minute improvisation that appears on this record was played live at Scholes Street Studio in Brooklyn, at a time where the group was gigging regularly. Suffice to say that the musical cohesiveness usually found in close collaborators are pretty much on display here. The quartet’s instinctive behavior and freedom allow them to create a palette of inviting sounds that you’ve likely never heard before.

The smart, unconventional atmospheres are continually intriguing and nearly makes us jump out of the reality to embark on a surreal voyage with a lot to discover.

The infallible rhythmic support provided by Jermyn and Cleaver often falls into free-flowing grooves and cyclic pedals that regularly change physiognomies, ensuring that there’s plenty of freedom for Goldberger and Maneri to create and interact. The microtonal vulnerability of the viola together with the moody, mercurial guitar consistently push things into a state of suspension that, although never threatening, pricks our senses.

On occasion, you are offered electronic-like abstractions and constructive ruminations proper of the experimental avant-garde universe. Then the group opens a nice free-funk backdoor that leads into a gentle rubato contemplation tied up with off-kilter composed motifs. On other instances, you’ll be able to enjoy largely atmospheric folk sounds turned into pastoral elegies that feed into imaginary bucolic landscapes slightly blurred by a thin mist. The group concludes in a sort of Radiohead’s stylings through a circumscribed 4/4 harmonic routine.

The impression is strong, and I would definitely like to see this group come out with a studio recording sometime in the near future.

Miguel Zenón - Law Years: The Music of Ornette Coleman

April 7, 2021

Label: Miel Music, 2021

Personnel - Miguel Zenón: alto saxophone; Ariel Bringuez: tenor saxophone; Demian Cabaud: bass; Jordi Rossy: drums.

The influence of alto saxophonist Ornette Coleman in modern jazz is as clear as daylight, and his groundbreaking music has become a tremendous inspiration for so many musicians. The chameleon-like Puerto Rican altoist Miguel Zenón is vary aware of this, being grateful to the free jazz pioneer, who would have turned 91 this year, for having opened his ears and mind for something more than just the traditional ways.

On this live recording, captured at The Birds Eye Jazz Club in Basel, Switzerland, Zenón revives Ornette’s music with a magnetic vibrancy and huge respect for his work, playing alongside Cuban tenor saxophonist Ariel Bringuez, Argentinian bassist Demian Cabaud, and Catalan drummer Jordi Rossy. The chord-less quartet was convened for the occasion only, and yet the musical synergy displayed throughout makes us believe they are frequent collaborators.

“The Tribes of New York” launches a freebop madness with the saxophonists glued in a powerful unison. While Zenón fills his speech with recognizable yet shifting rhythmic figures and superbly articulated phrases, Bringuez flaunts an adequate hard-bop proficiency that counterweights the former’s vocabulary. Refraining the exuberance of the horns, Cabaud embarks on a bass reflection that gains more rhythmic emphasis shortly before the concluding theme statement.

The bassist introduces the widely esteemed “Law Years” and also outsets its improvisational segment with bluesy bends and a palpable melodic touch. Tenor sax and drums go for a walk together after Zenón’s reactivation of the theme during a wide-ranging improvisation.

Playful and brash, “Free” has a well defined structural backbone but gets crammed with manifest accentuations in the melody, bass pedals, and a firm swinging motion that points out the direction to go. The smoky horns rise above this rhythmic flux, exploring the vast possibilities in their dynamic interplay. They also exchange lines on “Dee Dee”, one of Ornette’s most spirited tunes.

In consonance with the latter’s vibe, “Giggin’” grooves high with a straightforward posture, and if Rossy reacts to Zenón's alto, Bringuez develops ideas out of his own rhythmic cells. In order to balance the energy, “Broken Shadows”, the opening track of the terrific 1972 album Crisis, injects some tearful tones in the mix.

Law Years is a jubilant celebration of Coleman's legacy; its contagious joy is as plain as the nose on your face.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - The Tribes of New York ► 02 - Free ► 05 - Broken Shadows

Flow Trio with Joe McPhee - Winter Garden

April 6, 2021

Label: ESP-Disk, 2021

Personnel - Louis Belogenis: tenor and soprano saxophone; Joe Morris: bass; Charles Downs: drums + Joe McPhee: tenor saxophone.

Flow Trio comprises intrepid, like-minded explorers of sound and texture with proven merit in this peculiar musical art known as free jazz.

Influenced by Ayler, Coltrane and S.Ware, the saxophonist Louis Belogenis was an intermittent collaborator of the late drummers Rashied Ali and Sunny Murray; for his part, bassist Joe Morris is a rhythm machine who’s been faithful to his own vision alongside many musical partners (multi-reedist Ken Vandermark, tenorist Ivo Perelman and pianist Matthew Shipp); Chicago-born drummer Charles Downs (aka Rashid Bakr) joined the pianist Cecil Taylor in the early 1980’s for a more-than-a-decade collaboration, and was a member of Billy Bang’s Survival Ensemble. Winter Garden marks their third outing as a group, the second on the ESP-Disk label, and features another prolific pathfinder and timbral digger on the tenor, Joe McPhee.

The trio grapples with violent agitation on the opener, “Rabble Rouser”, where the saxophonists clash against each other, pulling out raucous and raspy timbres as their phrases swell with volume and speed. The robust foundation of bass and drums never vacillates in the support of horn growls whether in complete ecstasy or severe distress. There’s still time for Morris’ arco dissertation. He starts alone, but somewhere down the line, is joined by antsy drumming and juxtaposed saxophone ostinatos.

“Recombinant” adopts a more pattern-based approach. McPhee’s repetitive tenor figure is later matched and kept by Morris, while Belogenis keeps chanting loose, longer lines on the soprano with perseverance and plasticity. A stream of cymbal attacks accompanies this process until the flow gets interrupted by a bass solo.

Whereas “Incandescence” is a blistering discharge of tension that becomes more melodic in its final phase, “Glistening” is the calmest track on the album. Although amorphous in form and free in pulse, the latter is less vehement in the expression and more discernible in the direction.

The title track alternates intensities and concludes the session with the saxophones on the same side. It features a double intervention by Morris, first bowing across the bass strings and then opting for pizzicato.

Unpacked with multiple levels of abstraction, Winter Garden is a raw and ferocious album that lives from intensive communication and unrestricted reciprocity.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Rabble Rouser ► 02 - Recombinant ► 05 - Glistening

Abraham Burton / Lucian Ban - Blacksalt

April 5, 2021

Label: Sunnyside Records, 2021

Personnel - Abraham Burton: tenor saxophone; Lucian Ban: piano.

American saxophonist Abraham Burton has turned heads in projects of drummer Louis Hayes, pianist Horace Tapscott, and as a member of the Mingus Big Band. Romanian-born pianist Lucian Ban has been building a name for himself through fruitful collaborations with saxophonist Alex Harding, violist Mat Maneri, bassist John Hébert and, recently, the British multi-reedist John Surman. The two musicians are not strangers to each other since Burton is a central constituent in Ban’s Elevation quartet. Yet, they team up for the first time as a duo on Blacksalt, a seven-track set recorded live at the Baroque Hall in Timisoara, Romania, in 2018.

The album’s first two tracks, “Opening / Freeflow” and “Belize” are representative of the personal and musical kinship shared by these two sonic builders. Dedicated to Pharoah Sanders, the former has the saxophonist blowing with prayerful utterance while the pianist - ushering into percussive muted notes, lush chords and flexible textural coils - finds efficient ways to better serve his associate's spiritual fire, expressed with range and tonal coloring. The latter tune, on the other hand, charts a dramatic Afro-Caribbean flux that comes peppered with blues movements and a faithful Coltrane terminology.

Like the two aforementioned numbers, the title cut was penned by the twosome, who gets cracking in a burnished post-bop dialogue that progressively leans toward a tempestuous avant-garde before bending into a Latin dance.

Burton’s “Dad” is a 4/4 ballad previously included in the 1999 quartet album Cause and Effect (co-authored with the drummer Eric McPherson). The session closes with two Ban compositions - the crepuscular, rubato tone poem “Untold”; and “Not That Kind of Blues”, the opening piece of Ban/Maneri’s 2013 ECM album Transylvanian Concert, here inflated through a jamming rock 'n roll-ish behavior and nice call-and-response.

With the duo’s sonic worlds closely attuned, this disc is worth searching for.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Opening/Freeflow ► 02 - Belize ► 06 - Untold

Hitra - Transparence

April 1, 2021

Label: AMP Music & Records, 2021

Personnel - Hilmar Jensson: guitar; Alessandro Sgobbio: piano; Jo Berger Myhre: bass; Øyvind Skarbø: drums.

Hidra, an European quartet assembled in Oslo, teams the notable Icelandic guitarist Hilmar Jensson (one of the four pillars in Jim Black's AlasNoAxis) with Italian pianist Alessandro Sgobbio and the Norwegian rhythm section of Jo Berger Myhre on bass and Oyvind Skarbo on drums. The name of the group stemmed from the Norwegian municipality that covers hundreds of islands, islets and skerries, and Transparence, their debut album, functions like a soundtrack depicting that natural scenery.

The two first tracks are experimental oddities with near-minimalist tonalities. Sgobbio’s “Lebtit” is a sonic imagining of the mythical lost city referred in the Arabian Nights and other literary works by Georges Perec and Jorge Luis Borges. A rusty, foreboding electronic effect is appeased by the calm waves of Jennson’s guitar, whereas the muted low notes on the piano reinforce the relentless percussive texture. “Sêtu” is initially marked by some disjointedness, relying on Sgobbio’s pianism to tie everything together. Then, all converges into a pacific jazzy ambiance that feels as much opaque as melancholy.

“Cité des Poètes” is an elegy to the recently demolished housing project of the same name in the suburbs of Paris. The group launches it with chiming subtlety and throbbing pulsation, working on top of a static framework. Jensson’s well-weighted measure of progressive rock and ambient jazz adds tonal color, while, at a later time, it’s Sgobbio who creates some frisson by interlinking staccato chordal pointillism and nervy melodic entanglement.

Whereas “The Perfect Light of Sandstad” probes darker, mysterious soundscapes, bringing Myhre’s bass slides to the center of its theme, “Labtayt” remains in a perpetual suspension whose tension is worked out through guitar figures, bass pedals and dreamlike piano. Noise and ambient cohabit the same space, here bolstered with a variety of haunting percussion.

“Kunftiges” boasts a relative metric complexity and an optimistic serenity supported by a more palpable harmonic work and structural approach. Also filled with stark beauty is the closing track, “Lebenslauf”, in which the group expertly employs tension and space while flirting with Terje Rypdal’s avant-fusion universe. Toggling between contemplative and electrifying, this piece never eschews emotion in favor of aesthetics, and counts on the phenomenal thrust created by electric bass and brushed drums to thrive.

Possessing a knack for explorative sonics, Hitra speaks a language that incorporates an interesting layering that whether causes controlled friction or soars. Despite the somewhat cold feel, the music is never boring or predictable.

Favorite Tracks:
03 - Kunftiges ► 05 - Cité des Poètes ► 08 - Lebenslauf

Punkt.Vrt.Plastik - Somit

March 31, 2021

Label: Intakt Records, 2021

Personnel - Kaja Draksler: piano; Petter Eldh: bass; Christian Lillinger: drums.

At once programmatic and free, the innovative trio Punkt.Vrt.Plastik is also known for having equal parts muscularity and flexibility woven into textures that prove to be tightropes to walk. Pianist Kaja Draksler (here playing two different upright pianos), bassist Petter Eldh and drummer Christian Lillinger draw their sounds from many sources, creating a melting pot of originality, groove and rhythmic fluidity that takes them to distinguished places in the European avant-garde scene.

Somit, the follow-up to their accomplished 2018 debut, starts off with “Helix GA”, a swift demonstration of the trio’s tenacity, rhythmic unpredictability and style. Here, quick-tempered propulsions alternate with calculated fragmentation topped by well-placed piano accents.

“If Asked” sluggishly crawls with a rhythmic cadence that finds encouragement in a piano figure that gradually merges with improvised ideas, eventually dissolving. As a matter of routine, there are pointillistic stresses and fractured surfaces.

Draksler’s bracing piano work on “Membran” is outstanding and comes with swirling figures as well as perfectly executed runs and parallels, all placed over a loose-limbed dance that swings when perhaps least expected. Another piece that swings hard after completion is “Natt Raum”, a motivic and playful electronic-inspired exercise, while “Ribosom” also experiences some of it before falling into other types of groove.

More rhythmic than melodic, the group ventures outside typical patterns without jeopardizing the organic synthesis and tonal balance that make their music so ear-catching. This extraordinary capability is revealed throughout. The short-lived title track, for instance, seems to gleam from the electro-jazz universe to remain in its state of trance. Conversely, Lillinger’s “Amnion” brings more jazz-inspired chordal work to the fore in addition to cross-rhythmic stimuli and occasional polyphonic lines that flirt with dissonance.

“Enbert Amok” and “Trboje” are both throbbing and riddling. The former conserves something primitive in the rhythm, being buckled down with compulsive, chromatic movements and a percussive statement mainly focused on the snare and bass drums. In return, the latter piece assembles a cerebral matrix filled with Monk’s lyrical acuteness and some of Stockhausen’s visionary possibilities.

This is clever, hard-to-resist modern creative music with high levels of detail and accuracy, confirming Punkt.Vrt.Plastik as one of the top jazz trios on the scene.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Helix GA ► 02 - If Asked ► 05 - Amnion

Michael Formanek - Imperfect Measures

March 30, 2021

Label: Intakt Records, 2021

Personnel - Michael Formanek: double bass.

Michael Formanek is a a peerless genius of the rhythm, whose incredible technique and sublime ears made him one of the most respected bass players in the avant-garde jazz scene. Although he has played in all group formats, Imperfect Measures is just his second solo effort, succeeding to Am I Bothering You? (Screwgun, 1999).

Having structured this work cannily, the bassist enjoys all the freedom he wants, allowing the natural flow of his musical expression to move from track to track with inner logic. The artist/illustrator Warren Linn joined him in the recording session, creating sketches that evolved into collages/paintings that are partly featured in the CD package.

“Quickdraw” initiates this sonic journey with Formanek roaming through a fast, muscular pizzicato imbued with a thrilling melodic sense; this number is followed by “On the Skin”, which, easing up the pace, adds a dark and bluesy poignancy to the melody. The bassist completes the scenario with occasional intervals that help us situate within the harmonic context.

The excellent bowing skills brought to light on “A Maze” echo a sort of chant that becomes more ritualistic as it moves forward. Another conspicuous arco statement occurs in “Airborne”, where Formanek shows off a wide range of action and probes a multiphonic approach that intensifies the enigmatic nature of the moment.

Percussive and reverberating, “Full Frontal” is projected with crisp attacks and sonorous timbre, with some parts of the rhythm denoting rock influences that go perfectly well with the Eastern and folk impressions in the melody. Eastern undertones are also detected with plenty of chromatic wriggling on “Notice Moments”, a rhythmically interesting lament expressed with an instinctive sense of groove.

Formanek finishes off the album with “The Stand”, where a palpable riff becomes the object at the center, around which everything else revolves.

In its essence, it’s beside the point whether the inspiration comes from dance-rock or groove-centered jazz. Some dedication from the listeners will unlock any initial resistance involved in a solo bass storytelling of this nature. And the rewards will come.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - On the Skin ► 05 - Airborne ► 07 - Notice Moments

Elephant 9 - Arrival of the New Elders

March 29, 2021

Label: Rune Grammofon, 2021

Personnel - Ståle Storløkken: piano, Hammond organ, Fender Rhodes, mollotron, synth; Nikolai Hængsle: electric bass, acoustic and electric guitars; Torstein Lofthus: drums.

In the active since 2007, Elephant 9 - the Norwegian trio of keyboard wizard Ståle Storløkken (the group’s main composer), bassist Nikolai Hængsle and drummer Torstein Lofthus - releases its sixth studio album, Arrival of the New Elders, in which they explore an intersection of electric jazz and space-rock, some neo-psychedelia, and futuristic electronic concepts.

The album's title cut gets underway with a looped electronic sweep from side to side, after which the group cuts to the chase with a relaxed groovy jazz in six with the Fender Rhodes at the center. You'll also experience a tensile keyboard solo and carefully chosen synth effects that has a rise-and-float repercussion in the atmospherics.

The jazz shapes up into completely new forms on “Rite of Accession”, an orbital fusion piece moved by a tasteful rambunctious rhythm, agile bass notes, and Hængsle’s acoustic guitar sounds. The group probes different spaces and dimensions here, squeezing portions of world music, funk, rock and electronic music into a cohesive musical universe.

In equal measure, “Chasing the Hidden” is a shapeshifter that first engages in the ambient jazz clouds of the Cinematic Orchestra, passing through a Kraftwerkian segment that recalls programmable automation, and then linking it to a passage built through a Herbie Hancock’s jazz-funk lens.

Preferring laid-back edginess rather than building any pronounced peak, “Sojourn” and “Throughout the Worlds” flow along quite nicely. With a pounding bass note guiding us through a soft pavement, the former reveals a contemplative side that brings out considerable emotional weight. The latter piece, on the other hand, spins with additive meters (5+4), insinuating a smooth ride that, even aligning tempo halfway, never lessens our sense of discovery.

“Chemical Boogie” can be seen as a wildly frenetic reaction to these softer fabrics as it throws in a rousing mix of funk, hip-hop, astral jazz and psychedelia. It certainly contrasts with the slow ambient-funk of “Tale of Secrets”, which is lifted up by a rich jazz saturation, as well as with the melodious “Solar Song”, which caps the diverse program with an exhilarating dub feel and subjecting a repetitive harmonic pattern to key changes.

More than any solo, it’s the unity of the collective that commands our attention throughout the set. Elephant 9 managed to carve out a niche for itself, and this album, a strong one in terms of groove and structural framework, is a gratifying entry in their discography.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Rite of Accession ► 05 - Throughout the Worlds ► 06 - Chasing the Hidden

Dr. Lonnie Smith - Breathe

March 25, 2021

Label: Blue Note Records, 2021

Personnel - Dr. Lonnie Smith: Hammond B-3 organ; Jonathan Kreisberg: guitar; Johnathan Blake: drums; Iggy Pop: vocals; Alicia Olatuja: vocals; John Ellis: tenor saxophone; Sean Jones: trumpet; Jason Marshall: baritone saxophone: Robin Eubanks: trombone.

The primary attraction of Dr. Lonnie Smith’s Breathe is the one-of-a-kind collaboration between the Hammond B-3 specialist and the rock monster Iggy Pop on two tracks, namely Timmy Thomas’ 1972 soul hit “Why Can’t We Live Together” and Donovan’s psychedelia pop-folk brew “Sunshine Superman”.

Immersed in chill-out vibes, the former piece features the soloing capabilities of Smith, who goes strictly bluesy here, and guitarist Jonathan Kreisberg, who showcases all his rich lyricism and phrasal fluidity. They cast a generous light on the tune, despite of Iggy’s lugubrious vocal tone, which is a better fit here than on “Sunshine Superman”, a number that Smith recorded 50 years ago for his album Move Your Hand. The aforementioned pieces bookend a live album that doesn’t reach new heights or even the energy of its predecessor, All in My Mind (Blue Note, 2018). The music on both discs was culled from 2017 performances at Jazz Standard, by the occasion of Smith’s 75th birthday.

The absence of new originals is compensated for with a solo-less and rhythmically syncopated astral-funk take on Monk’s “Epistrophy”. However, two signature Smith compositions, “Bright Eyes” (made known by George Benson) and “Track 9”, are resurrected here with inspired appeal and vivid colors, partly due to the presence of a four-horn frontline that expands the trio format into a pliant septet. “Bright Eyes” relies on a sleek blend of jazz and soul laid down with a triple-metered flow, and becomes jubilant during John Ellis’ tenor improvisation. “Track 9”, in turn, combines a rock-driven rhythm with an open funk feel, having drummer Johnathan Blake probing multiple rhythmic variations and featuring a trio of horn stretches (Ellis, trumpeter Sean Jones and baritonist Jason Marshall).

If Smith demonstrates his soulful command of the blues on “Too Damn Hot”, then on the R&B-infused ballad “Pilgrimage”, he provides vast space for the voice of Alicia Olatuja.

In no way an embarrassment, the album still doesn’t transcend other central works by the organist.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Why Can’t We Live Together ► 02 - Bright Eyes ► 04 - Track 9

Christopher Hoffman - Asp Nimbus

March 24, 2021

Label: Out of Your Head Records, 2021

Personnel - Christopher Hoffman: cello; Bryan Carrott: vibraphone; Rashaan Carter: bass; Craig Weinrib: drums + guest David Virelles: piano.

The well-versed cellist Christopher Hoffman, known for his valuable contribution to several Henry Threadgill projects, put together a formidable ensemble to nail down his serious compositions on a more jazz-oriented effort called Asp Nimbus.

For this album, Hoffman drew inspiration from Bobby Hutcherson’s albums Oblique (1967) and Happenings (1979) as well as Threadgill’s Everybody’s Mouth a Book (2001). Thus, it’s not really a surprise to see the wonderful vibraphonist Bryan Carrott on board (he played on the latter record) as well as the exciting drummer Craig Weinrib, as he’s also a regular Threadgill pick and a member of Hoffman’s Multifariam group and Silver Cord Quintet. The bass player Rashaan Carter is the only novelty in a quartet that momentarily expands into a quintet on track 2, ”Dylan George”, with an appearance from Cuban pianist David Virelles. The pianist's creative genius incorporates in the versatile dynamics of the four through overdubbing, materializing a state-of-the-art concoction of funk, modal jazz and post-bop written for Hoffman’s late brother.

Before the cited track, the sumptuous “Discretionary” initiates this aural excursion in seven. Scratchy cello articulations reveal a lyrical eloquence, and then it’s Carrott who interlaces melody and chords through an extraordinary mallet work. The group eventually reinforces the primary 7/4 figure in a final vamp that, upon fading out, still leaves Weinrib actively engaged in the business.

If the title track plays like a vague road map, giving you a sense of immobility before jolting playfully, then the suave “Angels of Influence” provides quietly rigorous moves and inflections, yet squeezing out more assurance than fragility. And this is also by virtue of Hoffman and Carter’s soloing capabilities.

An atypical interlocking groove of bass and drums propels “Orb” as if it had no ground, but things change into a well outlined circularity on “Non-Submersible”, a somewhat relaxing call on the modern classical / chamber music hybrid genre.

Assembled with a consistent tidal pull, “The Heights of Spectacle” concludes the record with astute changing meters (from seven to four and back to seven) and aboveground unisons made of pizzicato cello and wafting vibes, revealing the breath of Hoffman’s influences and inspirations.

These inquisitive rhythmic matrixes and irresistible forward momentums derive from the constant exchange between musicians who know each other’s temperaments and intentions, intuitively.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Discretionary ► 02 - Dylan George ► 08 - The Heights of Spectacle

Michael Thomas - Natural Habitat

March 23, 2021

Label: Sunnyside Records, 2021

Personnel - Michael Thomas: alto saxophone, bass clarinet; Julian Shore: piano, Rhodes, synth; Hans Glawischnig: bass; Johnathan Blake: drums.

Born in Florida and based in New York, Michael Thomas is a versatile alto saxophonist/bass clarinetist who studied with Jerry Bergonzi, George Garzone and Miguel Zenón. He takes all those influences and more into his new album, Natural Habitat, whose lineup includes pianist/keyboardist Julian Shore, bassist Hans Glawischnig, and drummer Johnathan Blake.

The true-to-name album reveals deep connections to the cities of Boston and New York, a point that also transpires on “Two Cities”, a grounded and yet deliciously far-reaching piece that flows with an additive meter signature (5+5+5+6). Triumphant tenor melodies slide through the tapestry formed by Shore’s chord structure and the compelling rhythmic drive of Glawischnig and Blake. This is the most powerful piece on the record.

If the ballad “Fourth” and the lengthened “Harbor” didn’t really impress me with their acoustic warmth, then the true simmer and boil of Thomas’ composing come to the fore with titles such as “Demise”, another challenging preparation highlighted by nifty improvisations from Rhodes and bass clarinet; and “Float”, an intricate post-bop excursion where dancing bass lines and responsive drumming help shaping passages in 7/4 and 5/4. On the latter piece, the theme is revived halfway, sandwiched between the piano and alto statements.

With the bass clarinet at the helm of the melody, “Different Times” relies on rich harmonic movements to create a diaphanous waltz propelled by scrupulous bass lines and sensitive brushwork. What we have here diverges from the longitudinal perspective offered in the title cut, a straight 4/4 swinging blowout carried out with dynamic interplay. The richly contoured soloing from Thomas and Blake becomes the main attraction on this one.

Buyers of the CD have access to a downloadable bonus track called “For Now”. Pity that Thomas’ outspoken solo is cut short exactly when reaching a climax. Creative spark can be found in an album that gets better and better as it progresses.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Float ► 07 - Demise ► 09 - Two Cities

Jihye Lee Orchestra - Daring Mind

March 22, 2021

Label: Motéma Music, 2021

Personnel - Jihye Lee: conduction, compositions; Ben Kono, Quinsin Nachoff, Rob Wilkerson, Jeremy Powell, Carl Maraghi: woodwinds; Sean Jones, Brian Pareschi, John Lake, Alex Norris: trumpet; Alan Ferber, Nick Grinder, Mike Fahie, Mark Patterson (#2,5): trombone; Jennifer Wharton: bass trombone; Adam Birnbaum, Haeun Joo (#2,5,8): piano; Sebastian Noelle: guitar; Evan Gregor: bass; Mark Ferber: drums.

After plunging our ears in this recording, there’s no way to deny that former pop singer Jihye Lee composes for jazz orchestra with unbridled imagination. Daring Mind is the follow-up to her debut release, April (2017), and includes nine compositions that, reflecting the bandleader’s first four years in New York, to be performed by the tight-knit orchestra that serves her writerly ambitions.

“Relentless Mind” shows off a mighty potential at an early stage, when a reciprocal orchestral responsiveness occurs on top of a leisurely rhythm with a focus on the beat. Trumpeter Sean Jones, who was the illustrious guest soloist on Lee’s first record, is also featured here, and the singing qualities of his statement are brilliantly matched by the outstanding trombonist Alan Ferber. Upon the improvisations, the invigorating 13/8 groove from where everything blossomed out is reinstated, and the final section gets a more attractive complexion on the grounds of this elegant underlay.

Each state of mind has created a contemporary musical setting that attempts to convey the exceptional array of emotions experienced by Lee. Take the example of “Unshakable Mind”, which, boasting a persistent bass pedal and folk melody at the outset, classifies as resolute and heavy. Taking advantage of the tune's unwavering pulsation, tenor saxophonist Ben Kono delivers a brawny speech that leads to a portentous finale.

As suggested by the titles, “Revived Mind” opposes to “Dissatisfied Mind”. The former employs elated folk intonations to salute the Earth and pay tribute to the nature, while the latter is an insane ride involving stout counterpoint, a burbling trombone emphasizing dark tones via droning effects, a dynamic drum solo, and magnetic baritone blows that announce the ending.

The blustery multiphonic extroversion of saxophonist Quinsin Nachoff makes a jaw-dropping entrance on “I Dare You”, whose lively pace and lush orchestration find an adequate counterbalance not just in “Suji”, which is elevated by Adam Birnbaum’s delicate pianism and loosen up by the brushes of Mark Ferber and the contrapuntal embellishments of guitarist Sebastian Noelle, but also in “Struggle Gives You Strength”, an R&B-flavored pop ballad.

Swamped in hard-swinging variations, the bluesy “Why is That” is probably the closest to tradition you will get here. Hence, don’t expect Daring Mind to be a traditional big band jazz record. Expect something more adventurous and glowing, and still very accessible.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Relentless Mind ► 02 - Unshakable Mind ► 08 - Dissatisfied Mind

Nik Bartsch - Entendre

March 18, 2021

Label: ECM Records, 2021

Personnel - Nik Bartsch: piano

Recording solo for the first time in 20 years, Swiss pianist/composer Nik Bartsch has here a wonderful return to his much appreciated modular pieces, which are no more, and no less than functional templates where minimal, repetitive elements are assembled in a ritualistic exploration.

A groovy framework emerges right away on the opener, “Modul 58_12”, a conjunction of two pieces previously and separately recorded with his groups Ronin and Mobile. An obsessive note is contextualized by the consistent left-hand harmonic underpinning, which later morphs into a frantic motion. At that stage, there’s a slowly-built melody coming out of his right hand, carving out an impromptu lyricism into the rhythmic structure. Some prepared piano playing contrasts in tone with dreamlike ambiances that are not averse to create suspense.

The architectural rigor in Bartsch’s sonic orbit is also found on “Modul 55”, whose sweepings across the strings of the piano push us into a stationary bubble of conscious rumination. The sound is more gracious than gloomy, and the scattered percussion gives the piece a special touch.

“Modul 26” was also tackled in the past by Ronin and Mobile, on the 2004 albums Rea and Aer, respectively. Its relentless variations find a favorable balance here through a sort of dancing choreography between harmony and melody.

Both excellent mood-shifters, “Modul 13” and “Modul 5” were retrieved from the 2002 solo album Hishiryo Piano Solo. The former boasts an airiness that becomes sequestered by mystery; the latter starts off with compulsive muted notes that lead to an undiminished hectic and near-mathematical propulsion framed with contemporary expressionism. Modern classical influences affiliate with this modernistic discipline.

With a penchant for timing and space, Bartsch makes you lean in to catch every pattern he plays. Entendre is a stirring listen.