Nortonk - Nortonk

May 17, 2021

Label: Biophilia Records, 2021

Personnel - Gideon Forbes: alto saxophone; Thomas Killackey: trumpet; Stephen Pale: bass; Steven Crammer: drums.

Formed in 2017, Nortonk is a heated avant-garde quartet composed of young players: Gideon Forbes on alto saxophone, Thomas Killackey on trumpet, Stephen Pale on bass and Steven Crammer on drums. All four members brought compositions for this first record and the group’s name is a nod of gratitude to drummer Kevin Norton, their former teacher at the William Paterson University in New Jersey.

Advocating dynamic interplay over stalwart rhythmic underpins, the unit provides precise synchronism and fierce melodic impulsivity on the lead-off track, “Chutes and Ladders”. Working over the obliquely broken rhythms of Pale and Crammer, Forbes has the word here, being joined by Killackey at a later time for an animated conclusion.

Like the previous piece, it was Forbes who penned “Spiders”, where the tension is treated in a different manner. Sax and trumpet echo long notes that soar above an interlaced net that pulsates with magnetic bass work and suitable brushwork. This more relaxed type of setting also befits Pale’s “Herzog”, in which the group embraces a mournful solemnity within poetic tonal registers.

Conversely, Killackey’s “Duuzh” and Crammer’s “GLaDOS” are marked by a considerable urgency in their explorative paths. But whereas the former swings categorically and unabashedly, the latter is lavishly motivic, keeping the momentum flowing with rhythmic accentuations and elastic solos by the horn players.

With one piece following logically to the next, the group knows exactly when to magnify or mitigate the energy in order to perform changes in pace and mood. Spasmodically reaching special places, they boast their own sound on each occasion.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Chutes and Ladders ► 03 - Duuzh ► 06 - Herzog

Matt Panayides - Field Theory

May 13, 2021

Label: Pacific Coast Jazz, 2021

Personnel - Matt Panayides: guitar; Rich Perry: tenor saxophone; Matt Vashlishan: wind synth; Robert Sabin: bass; Mark Ferber: drums.

New York-based guitarist and composer Matt Panayides might not be as active as a leader as we would like, but his originals are always consistently contemporary and attractive, attributes that should be enough to keep listeners from both sides of the jazz spectrum engaged.

His third outing, Field Theory, features two musicians he previously recorded with - the notorious tenorist Rich Perry and the drummer Mark Ferber - as well as two recent collaborators - the wind synth player Matt Vashlishan (a member of Dave Liebman’s Expansions Group) and the bassist Robert Sabin. This ensemble has been playing in New York venues since 2018, the year of its formation, and, together, they paint an agreeable picture, often mixing the jazz language and rock-derived elements in an aurally transparent way, regardless how many sound effects they employ. The opener, “Kite Flying”, is a straight-ahead groover that careens with shredding guitar licks and captivating flights from guitar, EWI and saxophone. Its energy is effectively transferred to “Disturbance”, a playful strutter whose vamped melodic idea and rhythm shift in tone and meter, respectively.

Whereas the fluid “Energy Mover” denotes a bop flair and harmonic saturation, “Field Theory” engages in a complex 7/4 meter, stressing some rock glamour and faultless unisons. There’s an improvised passage in which guitar, saxophone and EWI scorch along the edges, but not as much as on “2.27.20”, whose eerie quality comes from sketches of a sine wave randomly chosen and played by the musicians for exactly three minutes.

The sonic linearity of Panayides’ guitar is bent with a pitch-distorter effect in the introduction of “Closer Now”, a tuneful piece carried out at a comfortable waltzing tempo. You’ll easily find moments of pleasure not only here, but also during the unextended suite “Penta Folk”, whose four parts include episodes of dawning tranquility, pop and folk connotations, fusion panache with asymmetric form, and streamlined cinematic feel.

Panayides finds himself in these pretty catchy tunes, each of them skillfully incorporating the past and the future, the familiar and the unexpected.

Favorite Tracks:
03 - Closer Now ► 04 - Field Theory ► 10 - Penta Folk III: Ascend

Theo Walentiny - Looking Glass

May 12, 2021

Label: Self-released, 2021

Personnel - Theo Walentiny: piano.

Influenced by Keith Jarrett and Paul Bley, the 24-year-old pianist Theo Walentiny puts together a set of seven piano improvisations in his solo debut album, Looking Glass.

The promising musician, who has been based in Brooklyn since 2014 and co-leads the Aurelia Trio with equally up-and-coming associates - the bassist Nick Dunston and the drummer Connor Parks - envisions to reveal his true self through improvisations based on sceneries painted by his imagination. As he puts it, on those occasions, he and the piano become one.

The immersive first track, “Fanfare For Looking Glass” whets our appetite by opposing tension-filled left-hand underpinnings and softer yet deep reflections that take place over the middle and right end of the keyboard. The movements create a sense of awe by themselves, but when combined, they release an impressive torrent of emotions that push the pianist to excavate more textures and melodic lines. It’s a gripping starting point.

However, this bold posture seems to faint on tracks such as “Behind Tall Grass” and “Grey They Billow”, the former being a melancholy meditation that barely includes the element of surprise, and the latter containing minimally narrated parts that weakens the communication by drowning itself in extensive, profound rumination.

“Film II” regains the nerve by grabbing a catchy cadenced flux measured with a steadfast harmonization, pointillistic detail and whimsical smears that intensify the angular perspective of the viewer. It’s not hard to identify contemporary classical and experimental jazz portions over the course of a tensile stretch rich in mood fluctuations.

“The Everlasting Rain Moves” creates an irregular framework over which patterns and cycles mutate with logic, whereas “Of Worlds Other Than” conjures a restless dream with as much inert configurations as whirling spirals.

The now poetic, now rousing ambiguities of the narrative became intermittently interesting. That being said, I’m still curious to see what Walentiny’s next step will be.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Fanfare For Looking Glass ► 02 - The Everlasting Rain Moves ► 05 - Film II

Flatland Quartet - Songs From the Urban Forest

May 11, 2021

Label: Gold Lion Records, 2021

Personnel - Jon Raskin: baritone and alto saxophone, vocals; Darren Johnston: trumpet, vocals; Ross Hammond: electric guitar; Jon Bafus drums.

The Sacramento-based Flatland Quartet has one foot in the folk music and the other planted in free improvisation, and Songs From The Urban Forest, their explorative debut work, is here to prove it. The group boasts a two-horn frontline with the saxophonist Jon Raskin (from Rova Saxophone Quartet) pairing up with the Canadian-born trumpeter Darren Johnston, while the favorably atypical textures at the base come as a result of the long-standing rhythmic alliance between guitarist Ross Hammond and drummer Jon Bafus.

“Joe Hill’s Last and Final Will” opens the record with a sort of mantric vibe that is well rooted in the American blues and folk traditions. The lyrics are from Joe Hill himself, a Swedish-American labor activist and songwriter who was executed in 1915 for a murder he probably didn’t commit.

Different instrumentation plays a crucial role here, with the group trying other formats to encourage sonic diversity. Take for instance “The Aural Dialogues”, a continuous two-horn exchange that starts overtly percussive as a consequence of extended techniques (slap tongue, multiphonics, air notes), and then becomes fluently conversational with occasional contrapuntal activity before finishing with a series of rapid lines. It’s the antithesis of “Light and Sound on the River”, a guitar-percussion duet whose six-string noodling, brooding tones and changeable rhythm result in country noir ambiance.

All the same, the most powerful chapters of this journey are the ones where the four members are fully involved, loading them with sharp-witted melodic phrases, texture and pulse. As a case in point, “Cries From the Central Valley” lays disconsolate alto supplications and wailing trumpet calls on top of a deep-rooted country music that, after a while, flirts with rock and roll, in the line of the Bakersfield sound. Expect a temperature rise before the calm steel guitar conclusion.

“The King of Boulevard Park” is fantastically built with a 5/8 drum figure that, demarcating from the slowed-down guitar work, creates a fine polyrhythmic feel. Modal chords and staccato comping with splashes of twirling licks open the door for a wild guitar improvisation, and all ends up in a free jazz romp with Raskin’s untamed baritone totally into it.

“Valley Clouds in Winter” concludes the session with a lamenting glance while mixing indie-rock, folk, and free improv. En route, there’s plenty of syncopation and entanglement in the rhythm that leads to a final straight-eight rock progression sustaining overlapped ostinatos.

All sales of this record goes to the Sacramento Food Bank, which is another good reason for you to get it.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Cries From the Central Valley ► 05 - The King of Boulevard Park ► 06 - Valley Clouds in Winter

Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & The London Symphony Orchestra - Promises

May 10, 2021

Label: Luaka Bop, 2021

Personnel - Sam Shepherd: piano, harpsichord, celesta, Fender Rhodes, Hammond B3, Oberheim 4 voice, Oberheim OB-Xa, Solina String Ensemble, Therevox ET-4.3, EMS Synthi, ARP 2600, Buchla 200e, string writing, string arrangments; Pharoah Sanders: tenor saxophone, voice; London Symphony Orchestra: strings.

The legendary tenor saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, an icon of the free jazz and an advocate of spiritual communion in music, works with the British electronic musician/producer Floating Points (Sam Shepherd) and the notable century-old London Symphony Orchestra on Promises, which signals his first release in more than a decade. This 46-minute nine-movement suite reveals a quiet nature and an irresistible sense of longing and veneration for the heavenliness.

The first movement sets the tone with a beautiful sequence of sparse chords timely arpeggiated with harpsichord, piano and synth. We recognize some ethnic influence that drowns us into the immensity of a luminous, intimate and transcendental stasis. This soft texture becomes a template throughout the record, where shifting layers of orchestration and incredibly apt electronics drape it, providing a different feel for each movement. There’s something hypnotizing in this minimalistic yet constantly deepening procedure that brings Philip Glass to mind.

Clearly enjoying the ambiance, Sanders contributes tenor pleas expressed with calmness, gratitude and empathic spirituality. The tapestries under his feet become thicker with instrumentation, and if there’s a slight dissonant charisma building up tension on “Movement II”, then the following tracks are intelligently embroidered with strings, synth, organ, vocals, and lovely electronic hooks.

Now, no movement reaches the heights of “Movement VI”, a fascinating journey graced with a hair-raising orchestration whose emotional response can easily bring tears to our eyes. In an opposing manner, “Movement VII” accommodates a larger quantity of insistent drones and keyboard patterns, leading Sanders to blow his tenor with the ecstatic circularity and fervent intensity, hallmarks of his style. Here, he has a myriad of electronic elements fluttering around him.

Although less possessed by the giant saxophonist’s improvisational flair, Promises is easier to consume than his free jazz romps of other times. It’s a beautiful work, fruit of an inter-generational collaboration that should be welcomed by each and every jazz, classical and ambient music fan.

Favorite Tracks:
05 - Movement 5 ► 06 - Movement 6 ► 07 - Movement 7

Maria Grand - Reciprocity

May 6, 2021

Label: Biophilia Records, 2021

Personnel - Maria Grand: tenor saxophone, voice; Kanoa Mendenhall: bass, voice; Savannah Harris: drums, voice.

The multi-skilled tenor saxophonist and singer Maria Grand has been displaying her singular style in several musical contexts. Magdalena (Biophilia, 2018), her previous work, featured a larger ensemble with guitar and piano, but for Reciprocity, her third outing as a leader, she operates in the classic saxophone trio format alongside bassist Kanoa Mendenhall and drummer Savannah Harris. The inspiration for the 12 original compositions on the album came from her newborn child, with all the pieces being written while expecting.

The album’s opener, “Creation: The Joy of Being”, kicks in with layered vocals stating ‘the joy of being who I am’ to which is added the reflective tone and easy gait of the bass walks and the subtly articulate drumming. The mild climate is complemented with improvisational lines atop, but the texture becomes gritty and the pace hushed as the time passes, letting us perceive a swinging motion amidst the ambiguity.

The propulsive groove placed at the base of “Wharbi” is equipped to receive the schematic, often exotic ideas that flow from the saxophone with abundant musicality. Evolving with certitude, the piece also incorporates a fine drum solo.

On “Creation: A Home in Mind”, we find Grand extracting patterned textures from her circular breathing technique. Calmly, the space remains open, but the freedom takes the musicians into a racing swing. It sounds as if they have established a compromise between visionary expressionism and serene poise.

The two complementary parts of “Fundamental” reveal lyrical tone qualities in their own terms. Pt. I manages to put together impeccable vocals, breathy droning sounds produced by bowed bass as well as some tinging cymbal activity. In turn, the explorative Pt. II combines kinetic bass lines and jittery rhythms, with the dynamics being constantly worked out for excellence. Grand reveals to be a charming singer here (citing some lines from Khalil Gibran’s book The Prophet), an aptitude further recognized on the folk chant “Canto Manta”, an engaging horn-less rendition of a healing piece from the Venezuelan Jesus Hidalgo.

In a different context, with vocals surfacing in parallel, “Now Take, Your Day” blossoms with a cool beat-making and saxophone riffing, demarcating the gentle free funk with the throbbing rhythmic feel of hip-hop.

The absence of harmony often infuses the pieces with a relative abstraction that is never difficult but rather aural. A good example of this is the closer, “Creation: Welcome”, where the group ends up engaging in a folk jazz circularity.

Motivated by motherhood, abandoned to creativity, and sharing a bit of telepathy with her trio mates, Grand takes this experience to interesting musical places.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Wharbi ► 05 - Fundamental Pt.II ► 09 - Now Take Your Day

Dopolarians - The Bond

May 5, 2021

Label: Mahakala Music , 2021

Personnel - Chad Fowler: alto sax; Marc Franklin: trumpet; Kelley Hurt: vocals; Christopher Parker: piano; William Parker: double bass; Brian Blade: drums.

The Bond marks the return of Dopolarians, a sextet of avant-gardists and free musical explorers composed of alto saxophonist Chad Fowler, trumpeter Marc Franklin (subbing for the tenor player Kidd Jordan), vocalist Kelley Hurt, pianist Christopher Parker, bassist William Parker and drummer Brian Blade (replacing the late Alvin Fielder). The ensemble remains faithful to the essence of improvisation, responding to particular situations with their musical intuition and ability to speak up through their respective instruments.

The title track is a 20-minute journey that mixes spiritual dimensions and southern blues roots right at the beginning. The occasion allows us to appreciate the rich harmonic progressions on the piano, which are followed by trumpet and saxophone expansions with a predilection for higher pitches. Parker, the bassist, bounces things up with an odd, hopping groove that provides a functional framework for Fowler’s silver-tongued improvisation. He is accompanied by Blade’s thunderous bombardment of highly sculptural drum sounds. The drummer, who is rarely seen in this avant-jazz context, is a great addition to the group, employing all his known sensitivity to deal with the volatile atmospheres. The bass solo lies on dreamy piano, also enjoying leisurely adornments from the horns and Hurt’s exploratory vocalise, which soon claims the attention while the other instruments surround it.

“The Emergence” kicks off as a densely webbed, frenzy romp with spiky horn peaks and rhythmic fragmentation. Then, it moves through a prolonged reflection that could be a bit of an endurance ride for the listeners, before returning to the dynamics that nimbly expand and contract, burning everything around.

The album closes with the stunning “The Release”, whose ethereal beauty relies on modal embodiment and spiritual enlightenment, recalling Pharaoh Sanders and Alice Coltrane in their unchained abandon.

Although not as strong as the Dopolarians’ 2019 debut (Garden Party), The Bond creates some frisson while leading us to an extraordinary finale.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - The Bond ► 03 - The Release

Chris Potter Circuits Trio - Sunrise Reprise

May 4, 2021

Label: Edition Records, 2021

Personnel - Chris Potter: tenor and soprano saxophones, flute, clarinet, sampler; James Francies: piano, keyboards; Eric Harland: drums.

A prodigious figure in the contemporary jazz world for many decades, saxophonist/composer Chris Potter constantly makes waves at every release. Sunrise Reprise, the second installment of his acclaimed Circuits Trio - featuring the formidable keyboardist James Francies and the dynamic drummer Eric Harland - consists of a five-track program that, navigating an interesting tonal spectrum, generates a technically perfect circuitry of ultra-modern sounds combined in its electric and acoustic forms.

Recorded in the midst of an imposed New York City lockdown, the album kicks off with “Sunrise and Joshua Trees”, a soaring contemplation delicately crafted with Francies’ adept textures. The tune’s glowing atmosphere has a dreamlike quality occasionally stirred by laser-like synth beams and progressively engulfed by deep bass notes that stimulate Potter’s advanced vocabulary.

The saxophonist’s echo-laced melodies hit us with soulfulness on “Southbound”, where Harland makes an incredible impact as soon as he gets down to business. Francies doesn’t stop to excel, unleashing here a momentous improvisation on top a levitating atmosphere that he created himself.

“Serpentine” is made of recoiling trajectories and sliding friction, emerging as a hip fusion piece built on the grounds of funk. Moreover, it exhibits a hip-hop-ish vibe in the language as well as fiery post-bop chromatics injected by Potter’s effect-laden horn.

Denoting an even-tempered posture, “The Peanut” plays like a ballad, carrying harmonic brilliance and melodic lucidity.

The trio concludes with the 24-plus-minute “Nowhere, Now Here / Sunrise Reprise”, a triangulated open drift which muddles through many complex layers, labyrinthine corridors, and spatially dynamic vamping sections. Following an unadorned introduction with flute and percussion, the group plasticizes through groove-centered avenues guided by busier bass offerings. At that point, a blend of funk energy and precise post-bop dynamics push the soloists to their most eloquent drive and cutting-edge musicality.

Luxuriating in individual freedom and tight collective interplay, Sunrise Reprise may not reach the heights of the Circuit Trio’s eponymous debut, but guarantees plenty of groove and atmospherics to keep you permanently connected.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Southbound ► 03 - Serpentine ► 05 - Nowhere, Now Here / Sunrise Reprise

James Brandon Lewis / Red Lily Quintet - Jesup Wagon

May 3, 2021

Label: Tao Forms, 2021

Personnel - James Brandon Lewis: tenor saxophone; Kirk Knuffke: cornet; Christopher Hoffman: cello; William Parker: bass, gimbri; Chad Taylor: drums.

The tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis is a conceptualist and a storyteller who takes his music very seriously. Although his records are very different from one another, his voice remains recognizable, in a process that deftly combines emotion and fleet, ferocious technique. His new album, Jesup Wagon, features him with an all-star group of creatives - Red Lily Quintet - with whom he draws up a range of perspectives to sonically portray the life, work and vision of Dr. George Washington Carver, an American agricultural scientist and inventor.

Music-wise, this body of work arrives as a flirtation between folk and avant-garde jazz, and the title cut opens the curtain with that Southern folk intonation and New Orleans-style marching strut that runs on oiled wheels. Lewis’ powerful tone and translucent expression create a wonderful solo intro as well as an invigorating statement where penetrating lower notes briefly pin rhythmic figures that dance unabashedly.

“Lowlands of Sorrow” teems with a triple meter, a chanting groove generated by William Parker’s exotic gimbri and Christopher Hoffman’s rigorous cello plucks, a caravan-like pace, and striking solos and interplay between Lewis and cornetist Kirk Knuffke. This is often filled with spiritual strength and Coltranean craftiness.

The band navigates the mournful, sometimes agonizing dirge, “Arachis” (an elegy to peanut), with deep sentiment, and a tight-knit coalition between arco bass and cello is in plain sight. Once departed from this heavy theme, Lewis, solidly supported by bass and drums, exteriorizes downright revolutionary avant-garde forays, and is later joined by Knuffke, who proceeds with autonomy without ever turning his back on tastefulness.

The terrifically melodic “Fallen Flowers” and the kinetically polyrhythmic “Experiment Station” are both outstanding. The former progresses with an asymmetric A section (7+6+7+8) and an ostinato-laden B section shaped with a sextuple meter before ending with Lewis’ engaging spoken word, a meditation on life and death. The latter piece, ending more subdued than it started, showcases the immense rhythmic abilities of drummer Chad Taylor as well as authoritative statements from sax and cornet.

Both coupling dancing quality and emotional heft, “Seer” is enriched with the African-tinged tides of Taylor’s mbira, while “Chemurgy” features the sounds of gimbri, vocal chants and a rich sax/cornet dialogue.

Obeying his musical instincts with frankness, inspiration and resolve, Lewis weaves a common lyric thread to all tunes that is indispensable for the unification of the whole. This knockout album is a must-listen.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Lowlands of Sorrow ► 05 - Experiment Station ► 07 - Chemurgy

Joe Lovano & Dave Douglas' Sound Prints - Other Worlds

April 29, 2021

Label: Greenleaf Music, 2021

Personnel - Joe Lovano: tenor saxophone; Dave Douglas: trumpet; Lawrence Fields: piano; Linda May Han Oh: bass; Joey Baron: drums

Sound Prints, the all-star quintet spearheaded by the titanic tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano and the formidable trumpeter Dave Douglas, releases its third full-length album, this time featuring only original compositions by the leaders but still inspired by the musical temperament and style of the legendary saxophonist Wayne Shorter. However, exploring such an impactful legacy takes the two composers to new places in the company of a multi-generational trio of rhythmic backers and accomplished soloists, namely pianist Lawrence Fields, bassist Linda May Han Oh and veteran drummer Joey Baron.

“Space Exploration”, the first part of Lovano’s Other Worlds Suite, first spins with spiritual consciousness and then allures our sonic palate with crisp unisons that leave room for Baron’s stable drum fills. The bass initiates a swinging route that serves the excellence of Lovano’s vertiginous ins and outs, just before Oh starts off a line of thought herself. Her impressive bass work is put on halt immediately after, when Douglas rides high on top of an adept accompaniment provided by piano and drums. Concluding the series of improvisations, Lawrence dovetails whirling figures and works on classical-inspired movements that incessantly land in the right places.

The ensemble often passes the idea of free-form exploration but never really loses the sense of structure. That’s evident in pieces touching the borders of post-bop and avant-garde, like Douglas’ “Life On Earth”, a tour-de-force that incorporates dashes of funk, bendable horn stretches, and a modal property that easily recalls the Miles Davis Quintet from the 1960’s. Moreover, the name Miles in the title of Lovano’s “Sky Miles” might not have been by chance; it’s a mighty jab into ingenious post-bop that also falls into the Shorter/Davis’ bag.

“The Flight”, the third movement of Lovano’s above-named suite (nonsequential on the album’s track list), teems with playful lyricism and smoldering horn exchanges that form a kaleidoscopic sheet of sound. It all plays out under a springy, waltzing articulation.

Douglas’ fascination for the ancient past and its major figures is bespoke in two of his pieces: “Antiquity to Outer Space”, whose modern creative traits are shaded with wafts of chamber music, and “Pythagoras”, a polyrhythmic stunner in which we find the musicians pushing and prodding each other in an effort to go beyond themselves.

Baron’s brushed textures and sizzling cymbals propel “Manitou” with the help of a coruscating bass churn. This is a ballad in six that produces plenty of melody via the elegant dance between muted trumpet and tenor saxophone.

There’s a relaxed assurance to the entire set that stems from the experience of the collective. The musicianship involved here is outstanding, resulting in a work of great impact that deserves enthusiastic commendation.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Space Exploration ► 03 - Life On Earth ► 06 - The Flight

Hedvig Mollestad Trio - Ding Dong You're Dead

April 28, 2021

Label: Rune Grammofon, 2021

Personnel - Hedvig Mollestad: guitar; Ellen Brekken: bass; Ivar Loe Bjørnstad: drums.

The powerhouse trio of Norwegian guitarist/composer Hedvig Mollestad is back with another set of hefty tunes professed with an irresistible full-fledged sonority and razor-sharp honesty. The incendiary guitarist forged a special musical partnership with bassist Ellen Brekken and drummer Ivar Loe Bjørnstad, and their intense work has generated seven albums since 2009, the year of the group’s formation.

Unsurprisingly, the music in Ding Dong You’re Dead serves the tastes of contemporary jazz fans, indie rockers and metalheads alike, in a cross-genre format that hooks us in its acute moods.

With a vibe à-la Rage Against the Machine, Brekken’s “Leo Flash Return to the Underworld” is a detailed headbanger with odd-meter signatures and high-flying solos that spread freedom and fury. Prog-rock maniacs won’t be disappointed either, and it's easy to understand from the very first minute why this trio shaped up into something special.

The blues-based “All Flights Cancelled” storms off with a hard-rock energy that recalls Black Sabbath. The blues factor is shared with the ongoing vamp stressed on the indie-pop title track, which unfolds calmly and steadily with bowed bass at first, and then with transient crystal-clear harmonics followed by atmospheric synth-guitar melody.

If “Gimbal” fascinates with thick and dark guitar washes and chromatic power-chords allied to impeccable rhythmic variances, then “The Art of Being John Malkovich” pushes us into a muscular dance-rock experience that interlocks gut-punching backbeat and heedless bass lines. It’s craggy terrain that the trio explores here with gusto.

Different from the rest, but still compatible, the clamant “Magic Moshroom” is a hallucinogenic trip where we rock, swing and dance at the same time. A sheer unexpectedness is created by syncopated drums, impressive bass mobility and improvisatory avant guitar.

“Four Candles” concludes the album on a beautiful, pathos-laden note, appearing in the form of an alternative country-esque ballad graced by colorful jazzy chords and fine percussion.

Mollestad and her trio never stop to surprise and amaze.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Leo Flash Return to the Underworld ► 04 - Gimbal ► 07 - Four Candles

Steve Slagle - Nascentia

April 27, 2021

Label: Panorama Records, 2021

Personnel - Steve Slagle: alto saxophone, flute; Jeremy Pelt: trumpet; Clark Gayton: trombone; Bruce Barth: piano; Ugonna Okegwo: bass; Jason Tiemann: drums.

The music of American saxophonist Steve Slagle, whose musical career straddles several decades and stylistic jazz currents, usually bends toward the tradition. A member of the Mingus Big Band since 1993, Slagle contributed great sonic flavors to projects by Joe Lovano, Carla Bley and the late Lionel Hampton, among others. Nascentia is the most recent entry in his 17-album discography as a leader.

“We Release” sets the tone, with the group concentrating efforts on a sunny post-bop marked by a hooky pop-ish vibe. The spirit of the musicians is typically glowing and there’s a pronounced rhythmic cadence in the harmonic drive giving it a charming touch.

While in lockdown, Slagle composed a suite whose three main parts link together through two solo interludes, one delivered by bassist Ugonna Okegwo and the other by drummer Jason Tiemann. It kicks off with “All Up In It”, a straight-ahead uptempo burner that swings convincingly while evoking the artistry of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers (a powerfully accented obbligato brings his version of Curtis Fuller’s “The High Priest” to mind). The esteemed trumpeter Jeremy Pelt and the assertive trombonist Clark Gayton offer their own personal angles to the storytelling. “Agama” is a danceable modal inflection that suits the sidestepping, hurricane-like blows of the bandleader. He saves the shouts and cries for last, loading the latinized title cut with emotional weight.

Whereas “Who Compares to You?” sounds like if the standard “Have You Met Miss Jones” had been retouched by Coltrane, “I Remember Britt” - penned by the late pianist Harold Mabern in honor of trombonist Britt Woodman - is the sweetest piece on the record, featuring Slagle on flute and a gleeful piano work from Bruce Barth.

The program is rounded off with “A Friend in Need”, an in-the-pocket piece written for the great saxophonist Michael Brecker.

Slagle holds the fort with charisma and avails himself of the engaging and supportive accompaniment his peers provide.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - All Up in It ► 04 - Agama ► 09 - I Remember Britt

Tobias Meinhart - The Painter

April 26, 2021

Label: Sunnyside Records, 2021

Personnel - Tobias Meinhart: tenor and soprano saxophone, alto flute, voice; Eden Laden: piano, Rhodes, synth; Matt Penman: bass; Obed Calvaire: drums; Ingrid Jensen: trumpet (#2,6); Charles Altura: guitar (#1,10)

German-born saxophonist/composer Tobias Meinhart has a new album inspired by varied sources, a remarkable distillation of engaging musical ideas woven together to make a more than satisfactory whole. Here, he spearheads a core quartet featuring the pianist Eden Laden, the bassist Matt Penman and the drummer Obed Calvaire, but the participation of trumpeter Ingrid Jensen and guitarist Charles Altura on two tracks each, revealed to be monster add-ons toward excellent sonic outcomes.

“White Bear” makes an impressive opener, advancing with a throttling ferocity at a 9/8 tempo and featuring a bass solo upfront. A nice unison melody glides over the rich harmonic itinerary and jagged rhythm, and then it's the liquidity of Altura’s guitar phrasing and the melodic qualities of Meinhart that stand out before a polyrhythmic feel emerges from a vamp.

Just like the first track, “The Painter” and “Bird Song” are highlights for different reasons. The former denotes a delicate fragility as it is introduced by beautiful, crystalline bass resonances, having Meinhart soaking the canvas with a dripping multiphonic melody and delivering his tenor solo with range, pure timbre and expert note choices. The latter tune places an ostinato of flute and trumpet at the base, shifts metrics along the way (5/4 to 4/4), and thrives not only with an alluring piano solo complemented with ARP String synth colorings but also with the luminous empowerment that comes from Meinhart and Jensen’s interlaced horns. The bandleader wrote this one for the Canadian trumpeter.

Calvaire brushes with flavor against the soft texture of “Oak Tree”, where Penman’s relaxation transpires through a sensitive bass statement. Also evincing affectionate demeanors and soothing tones, we have Bruno Martino’s ballad standard “Estate”, the sole non-original on the album, and “Last Dance”, a flute-driven piece propelled by a firm groove in five, which serves as a springboard for balmy modal ideas.

Inspired by the Black Lives Matter protests, “Movement” steps into more familiar post-bop territory with a swinging disposition, and another message of hope is brought by “Dreamers”, the closing tune in which Meinhart sings and plays the soprano saxophone.

The Painter is an outstanding record, finding Meinhart at the summit of his compositional prowess and underscoring the strengths of the players in it.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - White Bear ► 05 - The Painter ► 06 - Bird Song

Mehdi Nabti & Prototype - Grooves à Mystères

April 22, 2021

Label: Distrokid, 2021

Personnel - Mehdi Nabti: alto sax, nira, clave; Joy Anandasivam: electric guitar; Nicolas Lafortune: electric bass; Bertil Schulrabe: drums, derbouka, percussion.

The French-born, Canada-based alto saxophonist and composer Mehdi Nabti returns with Grooves à Mystères, a focused effort containing eight flowing groove-imbued selections that bridge diverse musical cultures and illustrate a very personal musical concept he called Afro-Berber continuum, the thread underneath all his projects. Fronting his quartet Prototypes, Nebti takes an extremely functional North Africa-meets-West approach that brims with modal forms and formidable rhythmic complexities.

The tone is set by the opener, “Antée” - aptly assembled with African percussion, a round bass groove with a funky feel, odd tempo, lenient jazz chords, and a beautiful, celestial melody that shapes into a sequence of fragmented lines during the sax improvisation. Articulation is never in question, even when the solos take a more modest role like in the case of guitarist Joy Anandasivam.

Propelled and illuminated by an infectious groove provided by the bassist Nicolas Lafortune and the percussionist Bertil Schulrabe, “Ayyur” feels very Eastern in sound, recalling the sonic cross-genre formulations of the saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa, yet with not as much eloquence in the expression. The sumptuously breezy “Eon”, built over a 13-beat cycle, flows with a sub-Saharan incantation, making us breathe the air of different worlds with a spiritual sense of wonder rather than pressure, whereas “Esperanto” overflows with impromptu oratory, stepping ahead forcefully as it enters in a celebratory mode with accurate rhythmic moves and a decided folk comportment. In turn, “Mithra” makes a decent jazz-funk stab, stressing an array of staccato lines in the theme.

Navigating highly structured frameworks, the group achieves a fine balance between the effortlessly charming and the wryly intricate, and if the traditional Macedonian “So Maki Sum Se Rodila” expands its roots by growing world-fusion branches, then the closer, “Timgad”, remains hypnotically static in a 10/8 meter flow while Nabti plays the nira (Moroccan flute) with light-footed ritualistic gestures.

As a mosaic of eclectic influences, the music on this album can be rewardingly illuminating, remembering us that the beauty of jazz also relies on its ability to be open and merge with other styles.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Antée ► 03 - Eon ► 05 - Mithra

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