Sam Blakeslee & Wistful Thinking - The Long Middle

July 26, 2021

Label: Outside in Music, 2021

Personnel - Sam Blakeslee: trombone; Chris Cole: saxophone, electronics; Brandon Coleman: guitar; Matt Wiles: bass.

New York-based trombonist/composer Sam Blakeslee, a native of Ohio, presents a fittingly serene debut album with his drummer-less trio Wistful Thinking plus one. Blakeslee, a member of Dan Pugach Nonet and Remy LeBoeuf’s Assembly of Shadows, among other groups, showcases seven originals and an intriguing reading of an Appalachian folk song, enjoying the company of saxophonist Chris Coles in the frontline, and relying on Ohioan associates - guitarist Brandon Coleman and bassist Matt Wiles - to stitch everything together with their well-hinged actions.

Most of the gentle subtleties found in The Long Middle stemmed from the sense of social and physical isolation that affected the world last year. The title track, the last piece composed for this record, transpires relaxation in the radiant melody, emulating the slow passage of time during the pandemic. The clear feelings conveyed here oppose to the ambiguity offered with the atmospheric “Bygones Are Bygones” and the folk-drenched “Shady Grove”, an Appalachian song transfigured by a strange enchantment and exposing an enjoyable balance between light and dark tonalities.

Both the slow-burner “Ashokan” and the dreamy “Approaching Closure” channel the refined musical attributes of trumpeter Kenny Wheeler in their tranquility. The former takes well-rounded waltzing steps and includes empathetic statements from guitar, saxophone and trombone, while the latter builds a chimeric idealism before entering the polyphonic segment that poses in the main theme.

“Bob”, a nod to the late influential trombonist Bob Brookmeyer, swings tastefully with a well-honed arrangement that shows Blakeslee’s melodic sense at its best. The compelling interplay between bass and guitar illuminates the scenario, also becoming pivotal on the casual “Franklin’s Blues”, a blues-meets-post-bop delivered with grace and loose elasticity.

Using his competence to envelop us in his impressionistic sound cloud, Blakeslee is a name to keep in mind. The Long Middle represents another stop on the road to soaring post-bop.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - The Long Middle ► 06 - Bob ► 07 - Shady Grove

The Killing Popes - Ego Kills

July 22, 2021

Label: Clean Feed, 2021

Personnel - Oli Steidle: drums, percussion, marimba; Dan Nicholls: keyboards, bass, sampling; Frank Mobus: guitar; Phillip Gropper: saxophones; Phil Donkin: bass; Nathalie Sandtorv: vocals (#8); Jelena Kuljic: vocals, sampler; Liv Nicholls: backing vocals.

The Killing Popes, a brainchild of the inventive German drummer/percussionist Oli Steidle, is now a duo with the inclusion of Dan Nicholls who, besides producing, plays keyboards, bass and sampling. The duo crosses genre barriers with legitimacy, counting on the close-distance interplay of musicians such as guitarist Frank Mobus, saxophonist Phillip Gropper, bassist Phil Donkin and a trio of guest vocalists.

The new album, Ego Kills, oozes out a weirdly intoxicating feel, and “Bling Bling Frog$”, being as much playful as it is unorthodox, takes us into an electro-jazz universe with intense concentration of depth-charged odd beats, round funky bass playing, fragmented fluxes and nifty ostinatos. Gropper’s vivid saxophone makes a nice contrast with the effects-laden soundscapes created by spacious guitar and soaring synths.

“Butcher” effectively blends experimental funk-rock and nu breaks with an outrageously fun pose, drawing attention to its rhythmic diversity as well as Mobus’ guitar work, which veers from adamant staccato to improvisatory off-kilter. His art-rock boldness also bursts into view on “Chthulu”, where plummeting breakbeats, jazzy keyboard sounds and angular unisons exude a transcendent grace that hooks us in.

The psychedelia offered in “Hi Five” takes you through blurred landscapes with warped trajectories and slinky distortions. There are discerning accents, jittery drumming and fast bass walks set in motion with tonal purpose.

The clangorous, drum-saturated “Legitimacy Loop” introduces “F-U-C-K”, which - featuring the voice of Nathalie Sandtorv - combines streamlined and wrinkled textures. At one point we find deep saxophone figures and sustained keyboard clouds set against a mix of krautrock-like rhythms and experimental electronica, but at another stage there’s an ambient guitar wrapped in lo-fi surroundings.

The vocals and text by Jelena Kuljic inflames the agitated “King of Soap”, whose punk attitude is bolstered by Steidl. Commanding with authority from the drum kit, the latter's plan metamorphoses again on the closing title, “Long Live the Popes”, where the band explores groove with a funky temperament before turning to electronica and dark ambient.

Ego Kills is a place where free jazzers can enjoy a vast palette of sounds that are commonly associated with electronic dance music. It’s unconventional, complex stuff with a tight grip on dynamics and a screaming production.

Favorite Tracks:
03 - Butcher ► 06 - Chthulu ► 08 - F-U-C-K

Hank Roberts Sextet - Science of Love

July 21, 2021

Label: Sunnyside Records, 2021

Personnel - Hank Roberts: cello; Dana Lyn: violin; Brian Drye: trombone; Mike McGinnis: clarinet, soprano saxophone; Jacob sacks: piano; Vinnie Sperrazza: drums.

The distinguished cellist Hank Roberts, who marked the New York Downtown music scene with his artistically refined sound, makes a great return with Science of Love, an enjoyable body of work inspired by droves and featuring a multi-generational sextet of New York talents.

There are two freestanding pieces bookending the central 14-track suite titled “G”, namely, the opener “Sat/Sun Pa Tu X”, an expansion of the “Saturday/Sunday” suite from his 1993 album Little Motor People, and “205”, which closes out the album in a reflective and very much accessible chamber-pop mode. The former, however, is the one that causes more impact with an insouciant, vibrant swing that pulses through the group’s bloodstream. Pianist Jacob Sacks enters at a later time, but soon takes the lead, exposing a playfully articulated vocabulary. Then, it’s Roberts and violinist Dana Lyn who partner with the trombonist Brian Drye and the clarinetist Mike McGinnis, crisscrossing the rhythmic tapestry with elation, and creating a mood that recalls Charles Mingus. A clarinet solo paints a more sobering backdrop before taking us to the final cello musings.

The aforementioned suite is assembled with thematic-related frameworks that favor improvisation and creativity. One finds a generous dose of rock in Vinnie Sperrazza’s drumming on “G: The Sharp Peak of the Science of Love” as well as an allegro quality in the cello slogans. The charmer “G: Earth Sky Realms” is a beautifully brushed piece with pendular piano ostinatos and violin cries contributing to the subtle wistfulness that surrounds it.

The percussive and plucking techniques of “G: D23” invites us to imagine distant worlds, as it works toward a solid classical density. In turn, the more-invigorated “G: GLC Magnetic Floating Stripper” features McGinnis in a pungent flight of fancy on soprano over a 3/4 rhythmic flux. The three time feel is maintained on “G: 17” but things are softened up considerably here, just to ramp up again on “G: B45 L”, the longest track on the album at 12:44, which unfurls with Drye in the spotlight. This is before he starts a conversation with Roberts that culminates in a rhythmic dance with all members in it. The cellist puts on show a magnificent monologue before a mercurial final stage that involves a grooving passage, collective interplay and a propulsive backbeat.

Roberts will easily hook listeners with the tasteful blend of jazz, classical and improvisation that permeates his album.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Sat/Sun Pa Tu X ► 06 - G: Earth Sky Realms ► 12 - G: GLC Magnetic Floating Stripper

Matt Mitchell & Kate Gentile's Snark Horse

July 20, 2021

Label: Pi Recordings, 2021

Personnel - Matt Mitchell: piano; Kate Gentile: drums, percussion; Jon Irabagon: alto and soprano saxophones, Matt Nelson: tenor saxophone; Ben Gerstein: trombone; Davy Lazar: trumpet; Brandon Seabrook: guitar, banjo; Ava Mendoza: guitar; Kim Cass: bass, Mat Maneri: viola.

Snark Horse, the duo of pianist/keyboardist Matt Mitchell and drummer Kate Gentile, releases an epic 6 CD-box set that brims with astoundingly intricate rhythms and textures as well as plenty of freely improvised passages within a rigorous structural organization.

For this monumental opus composed of one-bar compositions and short electronic pieces, the twosome enlisted a collective of eight musicians who appear in various combinations across the album, ranging from duo to tentet (Snark Horsekestra). All these contributors, known for being constantly on the look for new experiences, have been playing with the duo since 2013.

It’s extremely hard to pick favorites from the extensive tracklist, but “Compartments/ ‘S Partial” threw me into its delightfully elliptical trajectories via saxophone/trombone interjections and explosive guitar maneuvers, all in a permanent musical connection and deep focus. Featuring a similar instrumentation and blooming with polyrhythmic wonder, “Igh/Dogmacile” dives deep into industriously mechanical motions. The great vibe of Mitchell’s “A Pouting Grimace” is reinforced here through the deft interplay between the pianist and the guitarist Brandon Seabrook. This piece is linked to “Greasy Puzzle”, a sort of mournful stirrer.

If “Trapezoids/Matching Tickles” opens with exciting drumming and features Jon Irabagon in absolute command of the altissimo register and extended techniques, then “Nudgelet”, with bassist Kim Cass aboard, probes prog-rock aesthetics with hints of electronica and lots of jazzy piano atop. Mitchell also jazzes up the fast paced “Glubz/Spelling Bad on Purpose”, where entrancing rhythms and glorious timbres are held down tight.

The fervent “Thing-Fact/Theoretical Muscle” has Irabagon and Gerstein producing lavishly with shaggy authority, whereas “Regular Falutin’” exudes a more exotic touch in the combination of Seabrook’s banjo with Mat Maneri’s viola over an entrancing 13/8 rhythm. The same pair operates in a different context alongside trumpeter Davy Lazar on “Mad Homonyms/Phex”.

You'll find unremitting odd meter everywhere. Hence, Gentile’s “F Tesselations/Chimeric Numbers” shows off the full Horsekestra grooving in five and seven, whereas “Mind Goggle/End of Something” develops in a slower nine, having Matt Nelson’s dark tenor timbres working as a perfect foil for Ava Mendoza’s atmospheric guitar.

Diversity is offered with the short electronic numbers, which include ritualistic paraphernalia (“Flock Adulation”), granular and glitchy vibes (“Pheromone Quiz”), spectral dissonance (“All Tall Ghosts”), and flickering, bloopy sounds (“Underblobb Sys”).

For all its ingenious conception and technical quality, this is essential listening for all modern music surfers whose waves range from microscopic precision to cosmic turbulence.

Favorite Tracks:
04 (CD1) - A Pouting Grimace/Greasy Puzzle ► 01 (CD2) - Trapezoids/Matching Tickles ► 08 (CD3) - Glubz/Spelling Bad on Purpose ► 02 (CD4) - F Tesselations/Chimeric Numbers ► 05 (CD5) - Mad Homonyms/Phex

Yoonmi Choi Trio - 7 Days

July 19, 2021

Label: Next Level, 2021

Personnel - Yoonmi Choi: piano; Myles Sloniker: bass; Samvel Sarkisyan: drums.

New York-based South Korean pianist, composer and musical director Yoonmi Choi makes a powerful debut with 7 Days, an album inspired by Michelangelo’s High Renaissance paintings of the Sistine Chapel. Assisted by the American bassist Myles Sloniker and the Dutch drummer Samvel Sarkisyan, she shapes her malleable, genre-bending piano playing in discerning ways, narrating the seven days of creation with an agile touch and movement coherence. Each composition adds new elements to the previous, opening slide doors to other realms where reflections of Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff as well as Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea and Keith Jarrett are detected.

Choi’s classical resources are fully on display on “1st Day”, where the flowing piano streams project sophistication. The stately chordal work here creates both emotion and tension, enjoying the proper accompaniment from the rhythmic foundation. Possessing a more outgoing essence, Sarkisyan is particularly in evidence here, but also on “2nd Day”, a rhythmically defiant piece in 7/8 that feels simultaneously bold and graceful. Among the knotty accents, you’ll find jazz and pop forms blending together, with hints of funk at the base.

Accessing swells of virtuosic lines, “3rd Day” is a Chick Corea-oriented odyssey with a grooving posture and a perfect integration of rhythmic and melodic passages. It shares some progressive elements with the bouncy “5th Day”, where the post-bop meets occasional Latin groove. Also showing the pianist’s dexterous technique and expression, “4th Day” is a rhapsodic classical waltz with cinematic aptitude and inventive changes in pace, rhythm and texture.

The trio’s crossover appeal is transported to the polyrhythmic “6th Day”, whose arrangement joins the energy of rock, the sumptuousness of jazz and the lightness of classical. The album ends graciously with the solo pianism of “7th Day”.

By not overstuffing her brightly-colored musical canvas, Choi creates ample space to breathe and harmonious development, and the emotions arise naturally. She’s a creative pianist; one to keep an eye on.

Favorite Tracks:
03 - 3rd Day ► 04 - 4th Day ► 05 - 5th Day

William Parker - Mayan Space Station

July 16, 2021

Label: AUM Fidelity, 2021

Personnel - William Parker: double bass; Ava Mendoza: electric guitar; Gerald Cleaver: drums.

Bassist, composer and bandleader William Parker has been at the forefront of the creative jazz scene for decades. His music and stunning bass playing keep high standards of quality whether he plays in small ensembles or big bands, and he never turns his back to innovation and spontaneous creativity.

One of his latest records, Mayan Space Station, immediately caught my ear. Comprising six improvised numbers that will attract fans of fleshed indie rock, free jazz and groove-centered music alike, the album features a fearless, progressive avant-jazz trio that includes the up-and-coming guitarist Ava Mendoza and the versatile, sought-after drummer Gerald Cleaver.

“Tabasco” opens the record with a lucid, dance-inviting groove containing thrashing bass plucks and occasional tumultuous drum fills. This serves as a sustain for the cathartic post-rock forays of Mendoza. Parker devises a more intricate groove for “Rocas Rojas”, where the anthemic distorted guitar and patterned mosaics of toms and cymbals gradually converge to a final psychedelic haze.

If “Domingo”, which accommodates a fluttery abstraction, goes from an unorthodox walking bass to a more perceptible and rounded groove with slick details and percussive moment, then “The Wall Tumbles Down” swings from the very beginning, paving the ground for a saturated guitar statement delivered with a country-rockish vibe and echoing some of the Led Zeppelin’s charisma. The latter piece evolves into moody territory with siren-laden ostinatos for a broodier sense of danger.

“Mayan Space Station”, whose title is a conduit for peace and inspiration that invites us to space traveling through music, is an absorbing shapeshifter where the excellent team of Parker and Cleaver works the rhythmic flow in many ways while changing directions. Their throbbing propulsion undergirds Mendoza’s electric shrieks, which, later on, wildly contrasts with Parker’s bowed bass. The taut drum chops are intensified and a groove in five takes us to the conclusion.

In comparison, “Canyons of Light” brings more atmospheric awe in its suspended first half, getting piercingly austere as it moves forward.

Parker’s new trio navigates high peaks and deep valleys with a riotously unpredictable temper and exploding energy. Check it out for yourself and feel the groove.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Tabasco ► 02 - Rocas Rojas ► 04 - Mayan Space Station

Altoizm - Altoizm

July 15, 2021

Label: AFAR Music, 2021

Personnel - Greg Ward: alto saxophone; Rajiv Halim: alto saxophone; Sharel Cassity: alto saxophone; Richard Johnson: piano; Jeremiah Hunt: bass; Michael Piolet: drums.

The brand-new Chicago-based sextet Altoizm! is spearheaded by three alto saxophonists of unbound talent: Greg Ward, Rajiv Halim and Sharel Cassity. The rhythm section that paves the way for these avid soloists is composed of pianist and music director Richard Johnson, bassist Jeremiah Hunt and drummer Michael Piolet.

The album seems intended as a celebration of tradition, and the collective harnesses its energy into rapid-fire soloing and tight interplay. As an illustration of what was said, the opening piece, “Cedar Groove”, glorifies the chord changes of Cedar Walton’s “Ugetsu” (a.k.a. “Fantasy in D”), whose incredible bounce had its peak in 1963 with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. Cassity penned this version with succinct Latin digressions and a new melody that propagates in unison. She maintains a similar mood and groove on “Thoroughbred”, whose swinging hard-bop is in reliance on the harmonic progression of Benny Golson’s “Stablemates”.

Halim’s bluesy “Bembe’s Kid” presents us with another magnetic groove drawn from a sub-Saharan African rhythm. Johnson’s adroit comping comes to the surface here and his improvisation is filled with lush and drive. The pianist brought two pieces into the album: the sensitive 4/4 ballad “The Time Has Come” and the brazen “Last Minute”, which bursts with searing horn exchanges over a swinging tapestry.

Ward’s “John Cotton” is a fiercely propulsive 2x16-bar fantasy in 3/4 with strong accentuations and an exuberantly happy disposition.

Only occasionally going beyond the expectable, the group shows to have both the compactness and dynamism required to belt out energy-filled tunes affiliated with past and present.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Cedar Groove ► 02 - Bembe’s Kids ► 07 - Last Minute

Gregg Belisle-Chi - Koi: Performing the Music of Tim Berne

July 14, 2021

Label: Relative Pitch Records, 2021

Personnel - Gregg Belisle-Chi: acoustic guitar.

Tackling the compositional intricacies of alto saxophonist Tim Berne on the acoustic guitar is definitely a huge challenge. But that circumstance didn’t intimidate the guitarist/composer Gregg Belisle-Chi, who, catching the excitement of Berne’s language, put his own artistic stamp on ten of his pieces. Due to the nature of his instrument, part of that language is retained and part is remodeled within new harmonic contexts. The album was mixed and mastered by David Torn, another guitarist and expert sound manipulator who knows Berne’s music very well.

With a memorable riff as an inspiration, “Chance” is soaked in brainy harmonic clusters at the same time that employs a combination of tense, spacious and dreamy tones. This piece was culled from Berne/Mitchell duo album Angel Dusk, just like “Reception” and “Starfish Blues”. The former boasts a melody that speaks for itself, while the latter takes the blues to another dimension. Yet, it doesn’t match the exquisiteness of “Middle Seat Blues”, which evolves beautifully until it reaches a grandiose, final climactic chord that is complemented with a trio of tapped harmonics.

Feeling more overtly abstract and ruminative, “Giant Squids” employs logic pointillism, metric complexity and staccato brilliance over the course of its labyrinthine path.

“Huh/Brokelyn”, retrieved from Hardcell’s 2005 album Feign, flows with incredibly affable melodies and chords that explore tone and drama with a sense of mystery, whereas “Huevos”, the opening piece of the 2002 Science Friction album, exudes a subtle sophistication affiliated with both erudite classical musings and contemporary tone poems.

In a coruscating positive form, Belisle-Chi often crosses the line between instinctive delicacy and bemusement. It’s all done architecturally and with honesty.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Chance ► 05 - Huh/Brokelyn ► 06 - Middle Seat Blues

Adrián Moncada 6tet - Inhabitable Imagination

July 12, 2021

Label: Self released, 2021

Personnel - Adrián Moncada: piano; Alistair Payne: trumpet; Federico Calcagno: bass clarinet; José Soares: alto saxophone; Pedro Ivo Ferreira: double bass; Nick Thessalonikefs: drums.

Spanish pianist and composer Adrián Moncada, who lives in Amsterdam since 2014, releases Inhabitable Imagination, an auspicious first album inspired by architecture and its multiple possibilities. The shifting landscapes and organic forms portrayed in the album’s seven originals find him in salutary communication with an international crew of likeminded partners that includes the Portuguese altoist José Soares, Scottish trumpeter Alistair Payne, Italian bass clarinetist Federico Calcagno, Brazilian double bassist Pedro Ivo Ferreira and Greek drummer Nick Thessalonikefs.

Introducing “The Bearable Heaviness of Being” with persuasive articulation, the pianist brings his instrument to preponderance with a focused arpeggiated flux at the base of a groove, in five, over which twisting horn lines develop in parallel. The compositional principle is confident and the theme statement evolves with admirable consistency. Payne shows fearlessness here when he climbs to the upper register after the conversational approach of the first moments.

The title cut undergoes a significant number of changes in its design, going from purely reflective to sanguinely grooving to balletically agile. The group still embraces a shady solemnity before concluding with a note of humor. Soares earns the spotlight here, etching fine lines on top of the rhythmic groove.

In a related move, “Emerging the Structure” blends rigorous instrumental organization and free will, having the inaugural fragmented pulsation stabilized for a skittering bass clarinet solo and ravishing exchanges between piano, trumpet and alto. “Platforming” also relishes with Calcagno’s eloquence on the bass clarinet, but prior to that, Soares and Payne engage in a duologue that soon leads to a contrapuntal ostinato-driven movement that includes the rest of the band. The bridge is made with a modal swinging passage that reminded me Andrew Hill’s intriguing settings.

Distinct in tone, the classical-influenced “Shadow of Tomorrow” is not so optimistic in its views, conjuring a prophetic foreboding that insists on low-pitched and buzzing sounds. Both the dark arco bass and left piano pedals contribute heavily to that effect. At cross purposes, the energy-filled “NGC 6357”, titled over a nebula located 8,000 years away from the Earth, is a post-bop ride tempered with descriptive personal narratives.

Moncada’s competent work is not just about structure and form but also interconnected ideas built with tension and release.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - The Bearable Heaviness of Being ► 02 - Emerging the Structure ► 06 - Inhabitable Imagination

Devin Gray - Melt All the Guns

July 8, 2021

Label: Rataplan Records, 2021

Personnel - Devin Gray: drums; Ralph Alessi: trumpet; Angelica Sanchez: piano.

Melt All the Guns, a bass-less, socially conscious triangular effort led by drummer/composer Devin Gray, comprises five pieces recorded in 2019 after some concerts in Canada and the US with trumpeter Ralph Alessi and pianist Angelica Sanchez. Presented not only with consistent tightness and discipline but also freedom, this selection is Gray’s response to the increase of gun violence in recent years, a social tragedy that daily affects hundreds of lives around the world.

“Think About It” boasts a temperate main theme propelled with a marching quality and a middle section that sits over accents, dynamics and rhythm excitement. The threesome moves naturally with an adventurous posture and a perfect understanding of their capabilities. In this way, their musical affinity is also in plain view throughout the elegantly sculpted “Micro Waves”, where the palpable form and the outstanding tonal balance contribute to the positive impact. With Gray and Alessi pulling off a particular rhythmic figure, Sanchez’s powerful pianistic musings shape into a chord progression that is breathtaking in its beauty.

“Jet Lag Party” starts in meditative mode, but then engages in free playing to go beyond bar lines and build tension. Alessi’s buzzing sounds and crisp, fleet phrases find a rich backdrop in the single-note pirouettes and chord crashes of the piano along with the agitation of the hi-hat and snare drum.

The album ends peacefully with the softly lyrical “Protect the Environment”, but not before a limber exploratory protest takes place with the title track, which flourishes with moments of profound reflection and energetic indignation.

The only problem with this record is its short duration, a fact that won’t stop you from fully enjoying it with an open heart.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Think About It ► 03 - Micro Waves ► 04 - Melt All the Guns

Rodrigo Amado This Is Our language Quartet - Let the Free Be Men

July 7, 2021

Label: Trost Records, 2021

Personnel - Rodrigo Amado: tenor saxophone; Joe McPhee: pocket trumpet, soprano saxophone; Kent Kessler: bass; Chris Corsano: drums.

The Portuguese free-jazz saxophonist Rodrigo Amado reunites his flagship project - This Is Our Language quartet - for their third outing, the second on the Austrian label Trost Records. Comprising four spontaneous improvisations, Let The Free Be Men is not as powerful as its predecessors, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t moments of pure passion or sonic rollercoasters with plenty of hooks and fast turns for us to ride.

All members give their instruments a workout, with the saxophonist/trumpeter Joe McPhee serving as a perfect foil for Amado’s attacks in the first line, while bassist Kent Kessler and drummer Chris Corsano generate concrete tapestries that feel heavy and uncompromising.

“Resist!” starts off with a drum monologue, equal measures inquisitive and driving, which is subsequently softened up by the arrival of bowed bass. Yet, it’s in this section that Corsano better shows his agility over the snare and toms, and a rare intuition of when making the cymbals crash for a great effect. Tenor and trumpet dive in simultaneously. Amado with a forceful discourse packed with rhythmic figures and punctuation marks and McPhee with deliberate and thoughtful melodic lines. From here on, the energy never stops to propagate at a vertiginous speed, and McPhee, switching the trumpet for the soprano, adds extra color to the party.

The title cut blooms with a multiphonic coalition between the two horn players, who create an abstract atmosphere with the help of a somber arco bass and controlled fluxes of brushed drums. A lament takes shape, bearing a resemblance to choral music, but the group blazes another trail at the midway point, indulging in a folk-inspired groove that inflames the saxophonists’ improvisatory stimuli. This is the most provocative track on the album.

“Men is Women is Men” incorporates humming, warbling and murmuring sounds that lead to a cacophonous parade, whereas “Never Surrender” takes the plunge in a suspended, Ornette Coleman-esque state but ends in a more-scrappy-than-polished mishmash of horns, bass and drums.

The closed circle of sounds repeat and revamp with perpetual tension and they would probably benefit from a bit more of melodic thread and groove. It’s up to the group to decide that, but free jazzers can go for it as it is.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Resist! ► 02 - Let The Free Be Men

Michael Bisio / Kirk Knuffke / Fred Lonberg-Holm - The Art Spirit

June 30, 2021

Label: ESP-Disk, 2021

Personnel - Michael Bisio: acoustic bass; Kirk Knuffke: cornet; Fred Lonberg-Holm: cello, electronics.

Bassist Michael Bisio, cornetist Kirk Knuffke and cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm anchor a trio project that lives from improvisation. The Art Spirit, now out on the ESP-Disk label, is the follow up to Requiem For A New York Slice (Iluso Records, 2019). The music was inspired by the American painter Robert Henri, one of the organizers of a landmark show called ‘The Eight’, and consists of three Bisio compositions and five collective improvisations.

Besides leading their own groups, the members of this trio have been essential to many other groups and projects. The New York bassist has been working alongside Joe McPhee, Matthew Shipp and Ivo Perelman; the Colorado-born cornetist enriches the sound of Michael Formanek’s Ensemble Kolossus, Matt Wilson Quartet and, more recently, James Brandon Lewis’ Red Lily Quintet; while the Chicagoan cellist worked with Peter Brötzmann, Steve Swell and the amazing avant-jazz unit Vandermark 5.

“Not a Souvenir of Yesterday”, the opening track and first improvisation to appear on the album, has weighty bass lines meshing with incisive cello threads, creating a perfectly audible convolution that swings while letting the cornetist loose on it.

Other improvised phenomenons that caught my ear are “Both Keys Belong to You” and “Like Your Work As Much As”. On the former, the trio sculpts and paints with impressionistic ostinatos, free rambles and buzzing drones, with the ending sounding much like a written theme statement in which Knuffke has the word. The latter tune, on the other hand, plunges straight into a swinging flow that inspires not only Knuffke - who boasts exact phrasing, snappy articulations and extended technique - but also a fantastic integration of electronics devised by Lonberg-Holm.

Bisio’s compositions encompass several moods, and if “R.henri” combines bowed strings and cornet cries to express a flow of mournful vulnerability, then “Orange Moon Yellow Field” gives the impression of amorphousness through an offbeat interlocking of the instruments. “Things Hum” presents a pizzicato dance of bass and cello for a start, and then, on a constant drive, finds space for a chamber section twisted by bowed strings and muted cornet.

Some invocations are catchier than others, but in this bubbling modern creative stew there’s a lot of abstraction and clarification as well as tension and release to keep you tuned.

Favorite Tracks:
01- Not a Souvenir of Yesterday ► 06 - Things Hum ► 07 - Like Your Work As Much As

Alchemy Sound Project - Afrika Love

June 29, 2021

Label: ARC Records, 2021

Personnel - Samantha Boshnak: trumpet; Erica Lindsay: tenor saxophone, clarinet, alto flute; Salim Washington: tenor saxophone, bass clarinet, flute, oboe; Michael Ventoso: trombone; Sumi Tonooka: piano; David Arend: bass; Chad Taylor: drums.

The Alchemy Sound Project often blurs the line between notated music and improvisation while carrying a pronounced modal flair and spirituality in the style of John Coltrane, Billy Harper, Horace Tapscott, Pharaoh Sanders and Charles Tolliver. As had been the case with the previous records, the core quintet - woodwind players Erica Lindsay and Salim Washington, trumpeter Samantha Boshnack, pianist Sumi Tonooka and bassist David Arend - invites a trombonist and a drummer to join them. Michael Ventoso and Chad Taylor, respectively, were the elected ones for this third outing.

Comprising five original pieces, one by each member of the group, the record opens with Arend’s triumphant “The Fountain”, where a mix of articulated unisons and counterpoint traverses powerful harmonic vibrations in a compact, slick arrangement. Following the initial tenor solo by Washington, there’s a bridging vamp with ebullient drumming that takes us to the adventurous pianism of Tonooka. Before the catchy main theme is reinstated, Lindsay juxtaposes two different tenor statements.

The latter contributes “Kesii” to the track list, a 5/4 expedition launched by a bass clarinet figure and anchored in several bass grooves. By shifting pace and mood along the way, the group enjoys the incantation of self-invention, attaining equal parts mystery, bliss and relaxation in its itinerary.

Whereas Tonooka’s “Dark Blue Residue” flows within an asymmetrical structure, incorporating a middle passage in six for collective reflection and a drum solo at the end, the Randy Weston-like “Afrika Love” tinges its African-rooted fabrics with intriguing and balladic tones. Washington, who is based in Durban, wrote it for the South African pianist Afrika Mkhize, but, according to Tonooka, the title also applies to the group’s support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

The amiably ramble of “The Cadillac of Mountains” denotes a very personal touch and compositional contrast that come from Boshnack, who penned it and put her trumpet in the lead. Juggling excitement and pondering, the piece is about being in awe of the nature’s magnificence, and becomes a wonderful showcase for the talents of Taylor, whose elegant propulsions come to a climax in the 15-beat cycle vamp that leads to the ending.

Alchemy Sound Project is a solid group with charismatic vibes.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - The Fountain ► 03 - Afrika Love ► 04 - The Cadillac of Mountains

Mario Pavone Dialect Trio + 1 - Blue Vertical

June 28, 2021

Label: Out of Your Head Records, 2021

Personnel - Mario Pavone: double bass; Matt Mitchell: piano; Tyshawn Sorey: drums + Dave Ballou: trumpet.

The incredible bassist, composer and bandleader Mario Pavone passed away last month after a 17-year battle with cancer. With a fruitful career that spanned nearly 60 years, he will be ever seen as a true example of love and dedication to creative music. Inspired albums such as Remembering Thomas (1999), Dancers Tales (1997) and Ancestors (2008) still have impact today.

For this record, the bassist and his Dialect Trio mates - pianist Matt Mitchell and drummer Tyshawn Sorey - are joined by a constructive fourth member, the trumpeter Dave Ballou, who was in charge of the arrangements. The quartet manages to give the sense of what the musical connections with Pavone were: serious business but also a great deal of fun.

“Twardzik”, a tribute to the pianist/composer Dick Twardzick, is immediately launched with a rhythmic mesh that shows the bassist’s knack for grooving mightily in odd tempos. There’s a beautiful dissonance affixed to a dissimulated swing, and it feels good to hear Pavone’s sculptural robustness allied to Sorey’s temperamental sophistication.

Boasting an accented figure at the center, “OKWA” pulsates resolutely as the group contributes rhythmic punchiness and melodic openness. Mitchell and Ballou eschew obvious routes in their solos, which come laden with fresh ideas. The trumpeter brings his clever ostinatos and rapid proliferation of post-bop sounds into the four-way conversation that characterizes “Legacy Stories”. His resolute moves are closely followed by invigorating swinging bass lines unaligned by crumbliness, colorful piano playing and effervescent drumming for crispness.

“Philosophy Series” is a tension-inducer with a well-crafted theme statement. It thrives with grooving pedal-pointed vistas, elaborate interplay and elastic behaviors, sharing some of its dynamism with the playful “Good Treble”, which relies on fragmentation and cyclic activity to make a splash.

“Isabella” and “Face Music” incorporate considerable reflective qualities. The former is dedicated to Mario’s late granddaughter who died tragically in June 2020, while the latter embraces calm abstraction in the line of Paul Bley and Paul Motian before reaching a delirious pinnacle through a crescendo.

The music of Pavone - complex, lyrical and lively- will be sorely missed. Blue Vertical is here to attenuate that pain and be discovered.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Twardzik ► 02 - OKWA ► 05 - Philosophy Series

Silke Eberhard Trio - Being the Up and Down

June 24, 2021

Label: Intakt Records, 2021

Personnel - Silke Eberhard: alto saxophone; Jan Roder: bass; Kay Lübke: drums.

The German saxophonist Silke Eberhard has been infusing the European avant-garde jazz scene with structural integrity and brains. On Being The Up and Down, the fourth album with her powerhouse trio of 12 years - featuring Jan Roder on bass and Kay Lübke on drums - she provides zest and fiber to narratives delineated with a fully developed language that intersects influences from Eric Dolphy, Anthony Braxton, Thelonious Monk and Ornette Coleman.

“U11” starts off as a free ramble negotiated with extroverted saxophone and an aesthetic dispersion in the background created by uncertain bass walks and clattering drumming. Shortly after that, the trio explores thematic passages with angular melody, fluctuating tempos and occasionally indulging in swinging motions.

Titles such as “Strudel” and “Yuri Neko” embrace a welcome degree of complexity. The former probes distinct dynamics after combusting under the effect of explosive off-kilter lines unleashed with fiery timbres and accents. The latter, recorded live at the A-Trane in Berlin, bursts with Dolphy-esque energy throughout a playful and flavorful interplay that culminates in a vamp for Lübke's rhythmic amplification. The drummer also roars on “Von A Nach B”, while Roder enjoys ample solo space on “Laika’s Descent”, a piece delivered in five.

Nicely contrasting scenarios are offered by “Hymne”, which, imposing a rhythmic drive of geometric precision after a bass intro, has the cymbals and snare maneuvers gradually losing prominence on account of the bowing bass; and “Zeitlupenbossa”, a catchy, if sluggish, bossa song enchanted by Eberhard’s melodic smoothness and gently underpinned with unconcentrated bass lines and brushed drums in tow.

Achieving a balancing act between control and freedom, Eberhard and her associates sound here more responsive and resourceful than ever.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Strudel ► 05 - Hymne ► 09 - Yuri Neko

Sons of Kemet - Black to the Future

June 23, 2021

Label: Impulse! Records, 2021

Personnel - Shabaka Hutchings: woodwinds; Theon Cross: tuba; Tom Skinner: percussion; Edward Wackili-Hick: percussion + guests - Joshua Idehen: vocals (#1,11); Angel Bat Dawid: vocals (#2); Moor Mother: vocals (#2); Kojey Radical: vocals (#4); Lianne La Havas: backing vocals (#4); D Double E: vocals (#5); Steve Williamson: tenor saxophone (#1); Ife Ogunjobi: trumpet (#5); Nathaniel Cross: trombone (#5); Cassie Kinoshi: alto saxophone (#5); Kebbi Williams: tenor saxophone (#9).

Sons of Kemet, one of the many combos led by the British-born Barbados-raised saxophonist/composer Shabaka Hutchings (The Comet is Coming, Shabaka & The Ancestors) returns with Black to the Future, a dance-oriented fourth album that is more rooted in folklore than ever. This bubbling meld of cluttering, shuffling African beats and groove workout is reinforced with a few guest artists that help to pass the message against racial discrimination - from slavery to George Floyd’s death to the Black Lives Matter movement.

Both “Field Negus” and “Black”, opener and closer, respectively, resonate with the fervently emotive spoken word by poet Joshua Idehen. The former presents a mournful musical texture in the background, while the latter breaks out with surging drones. Both are expressions of rage and frustration.

The group incorporates different dimensions, materials and sources, and if “Pick Up Your Burning Cross” boasts an euphoric afro-beat, ecstatic horn riffery and the voices of Chicagoan Angel Bat Dawid and Philadelphian Moor Mother, then both “Think of Hope” and “For the Culture” go deep in the African folk traditions, empowered by Theon Cross’s super groovy tuba.

Featuring Kojey Radical’s rap with backing vocals by Lianne La Havas, “Hustle” embraces a ska vibe, sounding darker at first and sultry the next moment. It’s definitely not my cup of tea, in opposition to “In Remembrance of the Fallen”, a crisply arranged and rhythmically percolated piece with a Brazilian spirit and swirling flute waves.

Other two interesting instrumentals are “Let the Circle Be Unbroken”, a calypsonian instrumental with some cacophonous bursts and unexpected far-out passages, and “Envision Yourself Levitating”, where we spot afro-funk and reggae crosscurrents and an extended time for improvisation (with guest tenorist Kebbi Williams on the team), which occurs on top of a driving dance-march drumming.

The message is powerful and necessary, but not every track worked for me.

Favorite Tracks:
07 - In Remembrance of the Fallen ► 09 - Envision Yourself Levitating ► 11 - Black

Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog - Hope

June 22, 2021

Label: Northern Spy Records, 2021

Personnel - Marc Ribot: guitar, vocals; Shahzad Ismaily: bass, keyboards, backing vocals; Ches Smith: drums, percussion, electronics, backing vocals // Guests - Darius Jones: alto sax (#6,7); Rubin Khodeli and Gyda Valtysdottir: cello (#8); Syd Straw: background vocals (#3).

Whether skirting rock, jazz, blues or funk, the guitarist/composer Marc Ribot always creates something fresh and finds powerful messages to deliver in our turbulent times. Hope is his third outing with the revolutionary Ceramic Dog project, in which he teams up with the bassist Shahzad Ismaily and the drummer Ches Smith. They are seen at the height of their powers in nine energy-filled tracks that were a direct product of the pandemic lockdown.

“B-Flat Ontology”, pinned with a minor chord whose colors take me to a particular passage of R.E.M.’s “Drive”, serves as a harbinger of Ribot's discontentment and frustration. According to him, it’s a depressing song, but it’s also an ironic one, where he doesn’t spare shocking performing artists, rock stars and young guitarists playing arpeggios at high velocity, contemporary poets, post-modern philosophers and pretentious singer/songwriters - “Isn’t it amazing? It’s just amazing! I’m just amazed!”, he sings.

The old and the new combine on “Nickelodeon”, a rockified reggae with a slippery bass groove, steady backbeat and a Talking Heads-like chorus; and also on “Wanna”, whose strong melodic riff and danceable slap beat were maybe fetched from to the 1980’s, including traces of funk rock that are redolent of Cameo’s “Word Up!”.

The satirical “The Activist” covers a lot of stuff in the spoken word (“I don’t accept…, I refuse, I resist.”), which flows atop slick bass moves and funk guitar interjections. Yet, I personally go for the instrumentals, two of which are bolstered by the guest presence of alto saxophonist Darius Jones who infuses extrovert avant-garde forays with fiery tones on “They Met in the Middle”, a country song, and “The Long Goodbye”, where the sophistication of Robert Wyatt meets the melodic distortion of Sonic Youth.

If “Bertha the Cool” navigates the groovy seas of smooth jazz via warm guitar octaves and licks, then “Maple Leaf Rage”, featuring two guest cellists - Rubin Khodeli and Gyda Valtysdottir - has two distinct halves: the first, more atmospheric, has Smith chattering fluently with brushes, whereas the second morphs into a blistering electric rock in which influences of Zappa and then Pink Floyd are noticeable.

The trio concludes the album with a cover of Donovan’s psychedelic pop song “Wear Your Love Like Heaven”, which they transform into a sort of evocative ballad sung in a Lou Reed style.

Ribot is a necessary figure in the current musical panorama, and the eclectic Hope has so many great flavors to be savored.

Favorite Tracks:
06 - They Met in the Middle ► 07 - The Long Goodbye ► 08 - Maple Leaf Rage

East Axis - Cool With That

June 21, 2021

Label: ESP-Disk, 2021

Personnel - Allen Lowe: alto and tenor saxophone; Matthew Shipp: piano; Kevin Ray: bass; Gerald Cleaver; drums.

The new free jazz quartet East Axis explores different moods and forms of narrative in their music, and the fun of it, besides the incredible sounds that connect with artistic purpose, is that you are never sure exactly where it will take you. The group is comprised of Allen Lowe, a saxophonist and music historian known for associate acts with Julius Hemphill, Roswell Rudd and David Murray; pianist Matthew Shipp, whose originality, creativity and immeasurable energy have been marking the modern jazz for decades; bassist Kevin Ray, a former Reggie Workman’s protégé who is perhaps the less known of the four; and Gerald Cleaver, a formidable eclectic drummer with a penchant for alternative grooves.

The group opens the album with an intriguing mood, searching with expectation on “A Side”, where the mind-boggling pianism of Shipp stands out from the subdued backing rhythm of bass and drums. The saxophone, dancing confidently on top of the texture, swings in its own way, never by the books but also never stepping totally outside. Near the end, after a groove marked by percussive bass plucks and patterned piano stimulation, he conjures Monk with aplomb.

“Oh Well I Forgot That” finds the quartet in an impetuous rush created by relentless sounds mounted with jubilance and comfort. Conversely, the following “Social Distance” denotes a more cautious approach (as the title suggests) with sinuous sax melodies running over a controlled, if austere, rhythmic flux. This dispirited atmosphere is dismantled with the satisfaction conveyed on “I’m Cool With That”, a colorful blues populated with intrepid saxophone lines and a slowly built piano statement with less outside moves than expected but injecting some Monk angularity for accentuation.

All four members are focused on the communication and how to respond better to one another, and they finish off the record at their most inventive by crossing a sea of attractive textures and rhythms on “One”, a 28-and-a-half minute excursion developed with ambiguity and precision in its episodes. The poetic frisson of these proceedings often channels Ornette Coleman and Anthony Braxton and, occasionally, Steve Lacy.

With such players, a certain level of transcendence was expected, and the group delivers with both elegance and vitality.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - A Side ► 04 - I’m Cool With That ► 05 - One

Ben Goldberg - Everything Happens To Be

June 17, 2021

Label: BAG Records, 2021

Personnel - Ben Goldberg: clarinet, bass clarinet; Ellery Eskelin: tenor saxophone; Mary Halvorson: guitar; Michael Formanek: bass; Tomas Fujiwara: drums.

Anyone with strong ties to modern jazz has clarinetist/composer Ben Goldberg in high account, not only because of his free-minded posture and adventurous sound but also for the exciting groups he puts together. His latest outing, Everything Happens To Be, features him in a malleable quintet with some of the most in-demand New York risk-takers, for whom he specifically composed the music. Goldberg combines his melodic resources with the ones of tenor saxophonist Ellery Eskelin in the forefront, while the rhythmic department features the illustrious members of Thumbscrew - guitarist Mary Halvorson, bassist Michael Formanek and drummer Tomas Fujiwara.

Hyped by Halvorson’s phenomenal comping, “What About” demonstrates to be a romantic, cinematic and easy-on-the-ear opener, having Goldberg and Eskelin work closely together to draw a chorale-type of narrative arc. Fujiwara’s command of the brushes is noticeable here, and he finds a time for himself near the ending.

“21” offers a superb avant-garde psychedelia that gleams with sonic delights. It starts with the melody right at the center, passing through a period of moderate rhythmic fuzziness - thanks to Formanek’s woody plucks and Fujiwara’s snare drum - and then jumping into a steadfast swinging motion over which a collective improvisatory feast occurs. The two-horn coalition exudes a dixieland/swing type of allure during the theme, a disposition that returns on “To-Ron-To” and, less pronouncedly, on “Cold Weather”.

The group is symbiotic in its communication and tunes like “Fred Hampton”, a hummable pop song for the political activist that the title refers to; “Everything Happens To Be”, which flows with an underlying bossa touch; and “Chorale Type”, which flourishes with melody-drenched focal points (clarinet-guitar interplay / bass solo / tenor solo over pop-rock chord changes), make new and exciting music swirling into being. There’s also a groovy, asymmetric klezmer-flavored piece called “Long Last Moment”, which was previously included in the clarinetist’s 2006 quintet album The Door, The Hat, The Chair, The Fact.

Yet, the most impressive piece on the album is “Tomas Plays the Drums”, a tour-de-force that integrates the magnetic, sonorous tones of the bass clarinet with a mix of dry snare, wet toms and rim sounds provided by the drummer. The last section is reworked on the strength of an infectious rhythm atop which Eskelin’s multiphonics, Goldberg’s intensely vibrating blows, and Halvorson’s distorted tweaks, stand out.

This is an album that conveys optimism and joy, blending empathic familiar sounds with carefully measured tension.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - “21” ► 07 - Tomas Plays the Drums ► 08 - Long Last Moment

Stephan Micus - Winter's End

June 16, 2021

Label: ECM Records

Personnel - Stephan Micus: 12-string guitar, chikulo, sinding, nohkan, nay, charango, sattar, suling, kalimba, tongue drum, Tibetan cymbals, vocals

Winter’s End, the 26th solo album from German multi-instrumentalist Stephan Micus on ECM was mounted with 11 instruments from 10 countries and impeccable vocal layers.

“Autumn Hymn” fuses the heaven and earth through an ethnic dance that incorporates the nohkan, a traverse Japanese bamboo flute that darts and weaves over droning throbs and clicking noises of a trio of chikulos, a bass xylophone from Mozambique.

On the first page of the CD booklet we read the following quote from the Japanese poet Murakami Kijo: “Although there is the road, the child walks in the snow”. Inspired by it, Micus delivers both “Walking in Snow” and “Walking in Sand” in a 12-string guitar that oozes kindness, poignancy and a quiet vibration that is complemented with occasional harmonics.

Whether “A New Light” probes eastern chamber tones thanks to the sattar sounds (a long necked bowed instrument used by the Uigurs, a Turkman people from Western China), “Oh Chikulo” builds its nomadic narrative with deeper percussive sounds, employing four chikulos for the effect. This last instrument is also at the base of “Black Mother”, which admits clever modulation and a tuneful choral of 11multi-pitched voices recorded by Micus. He takes his singing gift even further on the beautiful “The Longing of the Migrant Birds”, whose dancing rhythm and spellbinding 14 layers of voice take us into a spiritual journey from Europe to Africa.

With expressive melancholy, “Southern Stars” drops passionate, romantic vibes emitted by four charangos (a small Andean stringed instrument), five sulings (Indonesian bamboo ring flute), one sinding (West African harp) and two nays (ancient Egyptian hollow flute).

This album, in all its simplicity and beauty, might not surpass its two predecessors - Inland Sea (2017) and White Night (2019) - but Micus’ harmonious and rhythmic qualities are found intact.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Walking in Snow ► 03 - The Longing of the Migrant Birds ► 11 - Walking in Sand