Dave Douglas - Songs of Ascent: Book 1 - Degrees

Label: Greenleaf Music, 2022

Personnel - Dave Douglas: trumpet; Jon Irabagon: reeds; Matt Mitchell: piano; Linda May Han Oh: bass; Rudy Royston: drums.

American trumpeter and composer Dave Douglas usually operates in a refined avant-garde setting, which, being accessible, often lets his peculiar tone and impressive range come to the fore. The excellent co-conspirators in this quintet started to work together in 2011, leaving such a strong impression with albums such as Be Still (2012), Time Travel (2013), and Brazen Heart (2015). The new pair of albums - Songs of Ascent Book 1: Degrees (the object of this review) and Book 2: Steps - are inspired by biblical Psalms and their content was composed in the process of making Douglas' previous outing, Secular Psalms (2022).

“Never Let Me Go” is an original but sounds like a free-ish interpretation of Jay Livingston’s jazz standard of the same name because its poignant main melody is perceptibly outlined as motifs during masterly dissertations by Douglas and pianist Matt Mitchell. Sandwiched between them, the formidable saxophonist Jon Irabagon speaks with as much eloquence as energy.

“Deceitful Tongues” is pronounced with intervallic expertise and impeccable accentuation. After the focused horn stretches and before the final thematic melody, there’s amazing interplay between the rhythm team. The compositions are perfectly balanced and the playing unhesitant and strong. This is put on display on the incredibly dynamic tracks “A Fowler’s Snare”, a bop dish made with avant-garde spices, pure synchronicity, and juxtaposed horn lines in exaltation; and the playful “Lift Up My Eyes”, which revels in brightly-hued ascendant movements and polyphonic exertions that occasionally collide. Bassist Linda May Han Oh and drummer Rudy Royston take succinct individual initiatives on the latter tune.

More sensitive and reassuring, “Peace Within Your Walls” is less angular and less harmonically demanding. Douglas and Irabagon are two different voices that spark off each other in pleasant conversation. The album comes to an end in explorative post-bop mood with “Mouths Full of Joy”.

Having matured into a rounded musician of poetic mien and richness of timbre, Douglas transmits an infectious magnetism in his Songs of Ascent.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Deceitful Tongues ► 04 - Peace Within Your Walls ► 06 - A Fowler’s Snare

Avram Fefer Quartet - Juba Lee

Label: Clean Feed, 2022

Personnel - Avram Fefer: alto and tenor saxophone, bass clarinet; Marc Ribot: guitar; Eric Revis: bass; Chad Taylor: drums.

Avram Fefer, a dazzling and eclectic saxophonist with a supple sense of phrasing, returns with his powerful quartet. Juba Lee is the follow up to their debut recording, Testament (Clean Feed, 2019), and an equally strong statement.

The stirring opener, “Showtime”, swings freely, coming up with a motivic theme expressed in parallel by Fefer and drummer Chad Taylor. The saxophonist blows in and out, and yet his improvisation is so cohesive as he mixes boppish lines and avant-garde audacity. He’s followed by the great guitarist Marc Ribot, who sounds nearly muted in tone while getting loose in the posture. He can be offbeat at times in the interest of the music, being all the more participative in the disconcerting finale.

“Bedouin Dream” follows a 13-beat cycle with sax and guitar playing close to each other through well-placed notes. This piece has the same spirit of those African-inspired themes that have been frequent in Fefer’s albums. Fluttering along with odd-meter as well, “Sky Lake” is expeditious in the flow and modal in the formula. It’s dispatched with stimulating solos full of energy, from which Ribot stands out.

Just like the other cuts on the album, the sinewy and stark “Juba Lee” is an original by Fefer. Even sharing the same title as the tune (and album) by free jazz saxist Marion Brown, its primary influence was Ornette Coleman. There’s a deconstructed contemporary rhythm underneath formed by haunting, buzzing and droning accompaniment, after which it takes the form of a fusion piece that simultaneously swings and pedals during the main theme.

“Brother Ibrahim” firstly appeared on the 2003 album Shades of the Muse (tackled with a completely different quartet), and, intentionally or coincidentally, reminds me the sensitive touch of African pianist Abdullah Ibrahim. Another Ornette-inspired tune, “Gemini Time”, is synonym of fun time, with Taylor and bassist Eric Revis swinging beautifully. The latter concludes the time set for impromptu demonstration, following Fefer, who starts off with an intoxicating ascendant move, and Ribot, who throws in a legato of sumptuously designed notes.

Immediately before “Sweet Fifteen” - a duet of bass clarinet and acoustic guitar that, maintaining an Eastern flavor and quintuple meter, pays tribute to the late American writer, musician, and producer Greg Tate - we have a tinge of Americana and blues with “Say You’re Sorry”.

Propelled and colored by this wonderful quartet, Juba Lee is a refreshing album that glistens with adventurous harmonies and rich melody. Fefer puts a liberating emotional focus in everything he does.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Bedouin Dream ► 03 - Sky Lake ► 09 - Sweet Fifteen

Bill Frisell - Four

Label: Blue Note Records, 2022

Personnel - Bill Frisell: guitar; Gregory Tardy: tenor saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet; Gerald Clayton: piano; Johnathan Blake: drums.

The unmatchable American guitarist and composer Bill Frisell soars his six-string chords in the company of long-time collaborator Gregory Tardy on reeds, and recent partners: pianist Gerald Clayton and drummer Johnathan Blake. Four is Frisell’s third outing on the Blue Note imprint, and consists entirely of originals - nine newly composed and four taken from two previously recorded albums. They form a wonderful set of folk-rooted meditations on loss, renewal and friendship.

The record is dedicated to the late cornetist Ron Miles, but some specific tracks pay tribute to some of Frisell’s recently departed friends. The opener, “Dear Old Friend (for Alan Woodward)” is a solo-less, far-from-overwrought country song with a lullaby-ish melody. There’s also the gently persuasive “Waltz for Hal Willner”, and the wonderful collective work of “Claude Utley”, which celebrates the amazingly colorful painter of the same name, a native from Seattle who passed away in September 2021. This piece, carrying a post-bop leverage, incorporates the tenets of the bandleader’s style. Clayton gets the spotlight in the introductory section, after which an inducted three time feel stimulates Frisell and Tardy (on clarinet) to provide counterpoint.

The 3/4 time signature dominates great part of the album, and besides two of the above-mentioned pieces, you can also hear it on the expressively bluesy “Monroe”, the softly brushed “Wise Woman”, and also “Good Dog. Happy Man”, a folk piece that sports a jubilant optimism. Both latter tunes, together with the Americana-soaked ballad “The Pioneers” were previously recorded, just like the classic “Lookout For Hope”, here re-sculpted with a dreamy feel that binds the tearfully intoned bass clarinet and the warm sounds of guitar and piano.

“Invisible” navigates tranquil waters with silken melodicism, while “Holiday”, more playful, has the group tossing in organic doses of slight funk, whose freedom starts in Blake’s nimble snare rhythms.

The members’ attentive listening to one another are not hard to find, but “Dog on a Roof” is definitely special. It closes out the album in absolute delight, going from abstraction - made of relentless ostinatos, drones and other surprising effects - to an hypnotic melody-driven passage that vamps and waltzes in the background.

Displaying intelligent, anti-show-off conversations delivered with controlled intensities and precise color combinations, Four reaffirms the depth of Frisell’s musical vision.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Claude Utley ► 06 - Lookout For Hope ► 13 - Dog on a Roof

Dan Weiss Trio - Dedication

Label: Cygnus Recordings, 2022

Personnel - Dan Weiss: drums; Jacob Sacks: piano; Thomas Morgan: bass.

The inventive drummer/composer Dan Weiss joins forces with two other creative musicians - pianist Jacob Sacks and bassist Thomas Morgan - for an album of dedications that consists entirely of original pieces. The deep understanding between these musicians, who have been playing together for 22 years, manifests on every track as they explore an array of quirky moods and undiscovered spaces. 

Honoring the founder/vocalist of the unique, eclectic UK rock band Cardiacs, “For Tim Smith” reveals an appetence for polyrhythm, radical transitions, odd-meter sequences, and complex juxtapositions. In the end, you have an organically solid number that is also fun to listen to. Extremely challenging is also “For Nancarrow”, whose eruptive experimentalism pronounced with an underlying swinging motion made me think of a musical crossing between Tony Williams and Pierre Schaeffer. A mysterious opaqueness permeates the whole thing. There are crashing cymbals producing strange accents and exquisite piano runs elaborated with keen virtuosity. 

Sacks is exalted with a piece. “For Jacob” is explorative, galvanizing, jazzy and avant-gardish; filled with coiled forms and transient flurries. In turn, “For Andrei Tarkovsky” (Weiss’ favorite filmmaker) shimmers like a delicate torch. It's impeccably synchronized and offers the playful clatter of an unforseen samba rhythm. 

“For George Floyd” is filled with silences, tonal contrasts, dissonances, and striking motions; “For Elvin” has Weiss altering the speed of Elvin Jones’ pulse on Coltrane’s “One Down, One Up” from the album Live at the Half Note. Whereas he swings vividly here, he brushes the drums with elegance on the arpeggiated “For Grandma May”, demonstrating his love for his late grandmother.

Undeniably virtuosic and progressive, Weiss works in unconventional ways. This program relies on curious musical architectures that make us experience freedom while constantly waiting for surprises. And they never fail to appear.

Favorite Tracks:
03 - For Nancarrow ► 05 - For Jacob ► 08 - For Elvin

The Comet is Coming - Hyper Dimensional Expansion Beam

Label: Impulse! Records, 2022

Personnel - Shabaka Hutchings: alto sax; Danalogue: keyboards, electronics; Betamax: drums.

The UK-based trio The Comet is Coming stakes their virtuosity claim in this current disc of whimsical instrumentals with a panoply of influences and hip mutations. 

For their fourth opus, the group rides the crest of modernity with some homespun weirdness, offering a few flamboyant pieces suitable for dancefloors. An example is the opener,  “Code”, whose EDM vibes are enriched with textural ostinatos and staccato saxophone lines seasoned with an Eastern flavor. Caustic synth layers build crescendos here, but take the form of warped and overpowering laser-focus beams on “Technicolour”. Another piece within the genre is “Atomic Dance Wave”, a punchy, frisky indie electronic rock inspiration that call to mind the energy of The Prodigy.

Despite the stylistic connections, the alchemic roads traveled here are varied in steepness, direction, and instrumentation. ”Lucid Dreamer” is a standout, evolving with a syncopated beat, gratifying melody, and Ensonic synth washes dispensing ethereal choir effects. The ominous “Angel of Darkness” conjures up a sense of fear before installing a three-time-feel groove that alleviates the jitters for a bit. It’s all very cinematic, and saxman Shabaka Hutchings riffs like a Brazilian cuíca before discharging trills, rhythmic figures, and angsty outcries. At the end of the line, an incendiary rock feel imposes.

Immediately following the frenetic, short-lived “Tokyo Nights”, we have “Pyramids” whose club/dance manner (redolent of Technotronic and Snap!) permeate the trap-knit hip-hop propulsion with flowability. In turn, “The Hammer” has a slow beat invading the dark atmosphere, with discoverable keyboards sweeps emulating harp sounds, and modulations that inspire Hutchings to expand.

Occasional sparkle and some interesting atmospherics can be found, but the music never went beyond the expected. Yet, followers and completists of the trio will most likely find what they’re looking for.

Favorite Tracks:
03 - Lucid Dream ► 07 - Angel of Darkness ► 10 - The Hammer

Olli Hirvonen - Kielo

Label: Ropeadope Records, 2022

Personnel - Olli Hirvonen: guitar; Marty Kenny: bass; Nathan Ellman-Bell: drums.

One of Finland’s most rising musical exports is the guitarist/composer Olli Hirvonen, who has been based in New York since 2011. For his new recording, Kielo, he leads a close-knit trio with bassist Marty Kenny and drummer Nathan Ellman-Bell, delivering eight tunes (seven originals and one cover) that integrate his Finnish musical roots and Americana. The follow up to the excellent Displace (Ropeadope, 2019) sounds simpler in conception but still rocks out with an understated elegance that goes beyond stereotyped jazz contexts.

The title cut is shaped with delicate streams whose charisma and poise takes us to the emotional, ambient-like psychedelia of Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon. “Outline” was inspired by novelist Rachel Cusk’s trilogy of the same name, and its provocative base, in which Hirvonen’s axe goes together with Kenney’s bass presence in optimum ways, doesn’t outshine the melody.

Less jumpy than the previously mentioned number is “Current”, an enigmatic, slightly somber and brush-driven piece that holds tight to a 3/4 tempo but has the amplitude to ebb and flow; and also “Lento”, which, inspired by the indie folk-pop singer/songwriter Cassandra Jenkins, provides one of the album’s starkest moments. As at early, the mood is taken to further lows, but Ellmann-Bell swaps the initial balminess for a more solid rhythm solidly locked in with the bass. Hirvonen’s solo finds support in the reliable foundational builders.

With “Erode”, the trio embraces an indie rock style that shows no complexes. Although the inspiration came from the Brian Blade Fellowship, this is a ballad song crafted with noise-filled passages that could be taken from Mogwai or Sonic Youth. Hirvonen’s distortion-swathed guitar weaves through the tune with grit.

The set comes to a close with a rendition of “Vegas”, authored by the Brooklyn band Big Thief. It reads like a modern folk song propelled with an invigorating backbeat. Kielo will make explorers of pop/rock instrumentals happier than jazz diggers.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Kielo ► 02 - Erode ► 06 - Lento 

Kaja Draksler / Susana Santos Silva - Grow

Label: Intakt Records, 2022

Personnel - Kaja Draksler: piano; Susana Santos Silva: trumpet.

Slovenian pianist Kaja Draksler and Portuguese trumpeter Susana Santos Silva are two excellent improvisers who coax the listener into unfamiliarly atmospheric worlds that are fun to explore. Displaying an incredible facility with their instruments, these two innovators create an intriguing album with rippling sonic waves echoing through the air in the company of tumbling percussive elements that underscore the porous textures.

“Moonrise” kicks off with a patterned, chiming jangle that comes from the prepared piano. A certain rhythm is set in motion, over which vibrato brass lines and abstract constellations of notes navigate atop, creating a strange combination of restlessness and peace. Presented like a suite, the next improvisation, “Close”, dwells in an abstract textural continuum. Silva’s horn oozes sounds extracted from a bunch of extended techniques: staccato feints, breath attacks, multiphonics, and trills. Her repetitive actions are counteracted by raspy and rattling percussive effects. 

Delivered on the hype, “Liquid Rock” attempts even bolder sounds at the outset, eventually infusing palpable harmonies and melody. It feels like a nightmarish reverie, though, in which the piano sounds like an electronic machine that depends on a precise clock to function. Incisive trumpet lines dive into low and high registers with pinpoint navigation, and everything falls into a quiet if compulsory succession of sounds that throws us into an indefinite limbo.

The album concludes with “Grow”, a brainy industrial-like exercise made wildly unstable by electronic-suggested noises, prepared piano, air notes, and terse remarks. The mood is then adapted to ambient on the basis of long trumpet notes and a high-pitched piano drone that later converts into low bass moves.

With unrepentant honesty, Draksler and Silva contribute considerable creativity to this duo recording. They reckon with exploration of sound without being too explanatory of what’s going on. This makes the listener search with avid curiosity, resulting in a satisfactory outcome.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Close ► 03 - Liquid Rock

Jakob Bro / Joe Lovano - Once Around the Room

Label: ECM Records, 2022

Personnel - Joe Lovano: tenor saxophone, tarogato; Jakob Bro: guitar; Thomas Morgan: double bass; Larry Grenadier: double bass; Anders Christensen: electric bass; Joey Baron: drums; Jorge Rossy: drums.

This marvelous album put together by two amazing musicians, the American saxophonist Joe Lovano and the Danish guitarist Jakob Bro, is a homage to the late drummer Paul Motian. The latter’s influence and mannerism are dissolved over six pieces - two by each co-leader, one collective improvisation, and one iconic number from the drummer - devised with a highly personal stamp and nearly telepathic interplay. For this project made in Copenhagen, Lovano and Bro convened an unconventional group with three bassists (Thomas Morgan, Larry Grenadier and Anders Christensen) and two drummers (Joey Baron, Jorge Rossy).

Lovano’s “As It Should Be” opens the album with an entrancing mood via the mind bending combination of dawning calm and a spiritual heft that is not completely devoid of inquiries and challenges. The piece blossoms with a coruscating rhythm, distorted guitar chords and long notes that echo with depth, rambling pass pedaling, and searching tenor lines that fly to the infinite and return. Both drummers end this piece with a similar dynamism as they start off “Drum Music”, a Motian composition where the eccentric sax/guitar coalition brings its authoritative melody to the fore. Employing distortion, Bro puts an experimental spin on it, inspiring Lovano to pour out a few volcanic eruptions with both piercing and deep sounds. 

“For the Love of Paul”, another product of Lovano’s mind, is marked by a clearly defined theme, producing a slight yet elastic tension over the unfussy tapestry. The co-leaders, who played together for the first time in 2009, are absolutely phenomenal here, opting for a stream of modern creative ideas. With restless energy, the saxist hooks up avant-garde and post-bop elements over the rippling currents provided by the basses and the spacious, effect-drenched guitar of his associate. It also incorporates a fine dialogue between bass players before the reinstatement of the theme.

Bro’s two cuts are etched with restrained intensity, balancing brain and heart: “Song to an Old Friend” is a heavenly tone poem delivered with some pathos and ravishing lyricism, whereas “Pause” ends up the proceedings in laid-back contemplation. On top of all that, the album includes a collective improvisation - aptly titled “Sound Creation” - with looped electronics, non-static drum activity, and the cathartic dances and unpredictable obliques of Lovano on tarogato (Eastern European woodwind instrument).

Once Around the Room has to be made a priority, and as an inspired work of rare talents, you’ll want to spin it over and over again.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - As it Should Be ► 03- For the Love of Paul ► 04 - Song to an Old Friend ► 05 - Drum Music

Ville Lähteenmäki Trio - Introducing: Ville Lähteenmäki Trio

Label: Ultraääni Records, 2022

Personnel - Ville Lähteenmäki: bass clarinet; Nicolas Leirtrø: double bass; Trym Saugstad Karlsen: drums.

Led by the Finnish bass clarinetist and composer Ville Lähteenmäki, this avant-garde Nordic trio rides streams of intriguing, enjoyable sounds with a zealous devotion for the modal spiritual music of the late ‘60s and ‘70s.

“Prelude” has Lähteenmäki’s clamorous bass clarinet lines operating above the frictional netting surface created by the Norwegian rhythm section of bassist Nicolas Leirtrø and drummer Trym Saugstad Karlsen. Brewed with liberation, this passage of freedom gives way to a swinging modalism and bluesy feel that anticipate a well-hinged bass solo.

During his stroll on “Shakti”, the bandleader infuses a lot of rhythmic figures, energetic crescendos, and timbral exploration on the edge, helping to create a dense wave of fervency that naturally invokes John Coltrane and McCoy Tyner. The kinetics are eased in “Calling Alice”, a tribute to Alice Coltrane, where a vamping bass figure is recycled at every 16-beat measure, having rattling percussion giving it that required mysticism we all love. 

The trio clearly draws from tradition but heads in unexpected directions, plunging into a sonic haven of both ebullient and relaxing moments that comes to the fore on “Mare Incognitum”, an uptempo piece in six that unfolds before our ears after Karlsen’s imaginative and empathetic drum introduction. At this time, agile bass clarinet acrobatics are leavened with rapid-fire blows, refusing any possible circumspection.

The discreetness arrives in due course with the closing track, “Best Wishes”, but with an unguarded emotional core that is redolent of Pharaoh Sanders and his primitive-sounding explorations. This piece instigates strong group interplay in the form of a template that incorporates bowed bass, shamanic percussion, and contemplative, nearly prayerful melody. It all ends in a quiet soliloquy.

Lähteenmäki’s chosen path for his working trio is as much daring as it is likable.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Prelude ► 02- Shakti ► 04 - Mare Incognitum

Denis Gäbel - The Mingus Sessions

Label: Mons Records, 2022

Personnel - Denis Gäbel: tenor saxophone; Robert Landfermann: bass; Leif Berger: drums + guests. 

German saxophonist and composer Denis Gäbel brings his arrangements to fruition in The Mingus Sessions, a celebration of the 100th birthday of the late mighty bassist Charles Mingus. Ten of his most emblematic tunes were chosen to be presented with new outfits by Gäbel’s working trio - featuring bassist Robert Landfermann and drummer Leif Berger - which welcomes one guest for each song.

The first three cuts are particularly outstanding. Things are stirred fast with “Orange Was the Color of Her Dress”, which is initially boosted by the super-groovy bass escapisms of Landfermann before Gäbel ekes out the main melody with infallible inspiration. He and guest pianist Simon Seidl are sufficiently risk-taking in their solos to capture our attention. “Jump Monk” increases the liveliness through sax-trumpet dialogues with just drums as a sponsor. The clear brass sound is a consequence of Axel Schlosser’s flawless embouchure, and then Leif, straddling between Max Roach and Elvin Jones, also broadens his rhythmic routines into well-articulated phrases.

The third track doesn’t need an introduction because it’s the fabulous “Fable of Faubus”. Inflicting bracing melodic chops over a swinging tapestry, altoist Loren Stillman joins the bandleader at the front. After their respective solos (with Gäbel catching the tail of Stillman’s last phrase) and a bass improvisation, they embark on a vigorous horn duel.

Whereas “Work Song” is gracefully complemented with a second bass player (Christian Ramond), “Open Letter to Duke” showcases guitarist Norbert Scholly’s uplifting six-string locomotion over a hard-swinging tapestry. There are plenty of twists on this one, with the quartet adding bluesy, balladic and even Brazilian flavors to the recipe.

If the readings of “Remember Rockefeller at Attica” and “My Jelly Roll Soul” are not particularly memorable, then the result is quite different when it comes to “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat”, a superlative ballad taken to heaven by the tenors of Gäbel and Sebastian Gille. Their vocabulary can easily go from soothing to luxuriant.  

The Mingus Sessions is a likable album whose tunes are sculpted with devotional spirit and a signature style that reveals the musical quality of its author.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Jump Monk ► 03 - Fable of Faubus ► 10 - Goodbye Pork Pie Hat

Oxbow & Peter Brotzmann - An Eternal Reminder of Not Today

Label: Trost Records, 2022

Personnel - Peter Protzmann: tenor saxophone; Eugene Robinson: vocals; Niko Wenner: guitar; Dan Adams: bass guitar; Greg Davis: drums.

Recorded live at Moers Festival 2018, An Eternal Reminder of Not Today marks a singular, incendiary collaboration between the experimental rock deities known as Oxbow and the venturous German saxophonist Peter Brotzmann. The latter provides the front-line along with vocalist Eugene Robinson, whose lyrics are often just as direct in their ideals and quests. The rhythm team is composed of guitarist Niko Wenner, bassist Dan Adams, and drummer Greg Davis.

The welcoming blues rock of the opener, “Angel”, is harmonically launched by Werner, who occasionally pins it with seasonable harmonics. The electric bass solidifies the texture, and then arrives the drummer, completing a recondite sonic blend that foreshadows what comes next. The range and depth of Robinson’s vitriol create a deep impact in the company of Brotzmann’s tearfully penetrating lines, which aim straight at the soul. 

This is a fantastic curtain lifter of an assured performance that proceeds with the abrasive sound of “Cat and Mouse” - another piece taken from the 1992 album King of the Jews (my absolute favorite) - where the avant noise-rock exerted denotes a diffuseness at its center that makes you never know what to expect. The energy cools off just for one moment before exploding again into a cloud of electric particles. This piece goes directly to “Skin”, from the album An Evil Heat (2002). It’s another powerful, if darker, avant-garde excursion, whose head presages another furious improvisation by Brotzmann, constantly defying limits with the force of a hurricane. 

Both “Host” and “The Finished Line” reflect strong melodic moments, whereas “Over” promotes technically precise passages of prog and noise rock with alternation of compression and expansion. The record comes to a conclusion in the form of an encore with “The Valley”, whose first segment has the saxophonist playing perhaps a bit too ‘out’. He returns during the ultimate chordal sequence with a different stability.

Revolutionary and confrontational, this is a live record that you should not pass on by, especially if you like your music filled with vigor, defiant attitude, and freedom. 

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Angel ► 02 - Cat and Mouse ► 03 - Skin

Whit Dickey Quartet - Root Perspectives

Label: TAO Forms, 2022

Personnel - Tony Malaby: tenor and soprano saxophone; Matthew Shipp: piano; Brandon Lopez: bass; Whit Dickey: drums.

This sturdy four-track album by drummer Whit Dickey finds him in the command of one of the most powerful improvisatory lineups coming from the New York free jazz panorama. Working with longtime and recent associates - pianist Matthew Shipp and bassist Brandon Lopez, respectively - Dickey also brings the towering saxophone playing of Tony Malaby into his game, finding mystery at the microcosmic level, even during highly charged moments.

“Supernova” illustrates huge solar masses of material, sweeping gravitational waves and sub-luminous sonic forces that, well represented by Malaby’s dark tones, make us picture a huge astronomical event with a threatening aspect. The heavy atmosphere is underscored by Shipp’s enigmatic voicings and propulsive activities, having bass and drums firmly connected at the back yet open to any change of direction. The saxophonist reaches a point of multiphonic exaltation before Shipp’s entangling mosaics are designed over multiple octaves of the keyboard. Intricately woven, these alternate routes are explored with furious excitement.

“Doomsday Equation” sets abstract sax lines against a classical-inspired pianism whose melodies feel palpable. The contrast creates a strong effect, and even if the kinetics simmer down for a while, it never feels static. Over the course of its 16 minutes, “Swamp Petals” changes from puissant to eerie to dramatic, with Shipp dashing from creative chords to wild outbursts over the drummer’s pertinent commentary and Lopez’s scarce arco bass. The power of Malaby’s anguished clamors is huge too.

The closing track, “Starship Lotus”, is the closest to a straight-ahead ride you’ll get. And that's regardless of the casual, abstract-leaned conversational facet that occurs over Dickey’s apparently off-centered pulse. Lopez advances to a well-oiled improvisation, while winding folk suggestions are made by Malaby, who encourages Shipp’s harmonic conduction to rocket up at some point. This is the most stirring outing by Dickey in a few years.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Supernova ► 03 - Swamp Petals

Chad Taylor Trio - The Reel

Label: Astral Spirits, 2022

Personnel - Brian Settles: saxophone; Neil Podgursky: piano; Chad Taylor: drums.

The multifaceted drummer Chad Taylor, who proves to be as much virtuosic as practical in his chops, returns with his bass-less trio - featuring saxophonist Brian Settles and pianist Neil Podgursky - for a sophomore album whose program is a jewel. As a sideman, the drummer has been contributing to some of the most compelling projects by the Chicago Underground Quartet, saxophonists Avram Fefer and James Brandon Lewis, and bassist Eric Revis, just to name a few. 

He brings two of his own compositions into The Reel, one being the title track, a piece in five with a rubato piano-driven passage and a folk inflection that makes us think of Keith Jarrett’s excursions; and the other “Julian’s Groove”, which makes a fine turn into an Afro-Cuban rhythm so blithe as to be ravishing.

The amazing teamwork between the trio members is here for anyone to declare true, and you’ll find two incredible renditions of tunes by the immensely influential pianist Andrew Hill that are illustrative of that. “Subterfuge”, for example, brings a subtle Latin touch to Hill’s hypnotic modal jazz; it's a narratively strong number where Podgursky combines lush voicings and single-note phrases with dexterity. Boasting an alluring timbre, Settles is assertive in his statement, letting the ideas flow with freedom, whereas Taylor expands his language during four-bar exchanges with his associates. The other piece, “Reconciliation” - a gem first included in the 1964 Blue Note album Judgment! - relies on a boppish language with some delightful angularity, benefiting from the ever-sensitive drumming of the bandleader, whose classy brushwork shows the way for qualified solos from Settles and Podgursky.

Whereas the saxophonist contributes only “Moon Tone Shift”, pivoting to a more sober mood with parallel lyricism on top of Taylor’s elemental vitality, the pianist penned four of the nine tracks on the album. The highlights are “Delta”, with its disarmingly expressive melody, as well as the beautifully accented “Omniverse”, which closes out the session as an artier model centered on post-bop sophistication. Here, the racing melodies go up and down the hill with intervallic wisdom and impeccable drumming on the side.

What’s more striking is that there are no weak moments on The Reel, an album that holds one’s interest on account of emotional honesty and a refreshing musical imagination made with a mix of complete unpretentiousness and necessary complexity. The members of this trio, not being radically different in their tastes and approaches, are definitely on the same page.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Subterfuge ► 02 - Delta ► 09 - Omniverse

Matthias Schwengler - Soulcrane & Strings

Label: Mons Records, 2022

Personnel - Matthias Schwengler: trumpet; Matthew Halpin: tenor saxophone; Philipp Brämswig: guitar; Reza Askari: bass.

Soulcrane was formed in 2015 as a drum-less project led by Cologne-based trumpeter and composer Matthias Schwengler. With him was Reza Askari on bass and Philipp Brämswig on guitar. After their debut album in 2016, the trio was augmented into a quartet with the addition of Irish saxophonist Matthew Halpin. For this new release, Soulcrane & Strings, Schwengler continues his streamlined style, annexing a string quintet composed of three cellos and two violas. 

Demonstrating he’s not following a particular model but creating a new one, the trumpeter is as much competent in the arrangements as in his soloing duties. The opener, “From West Coast to East Coast”, confirms what I’ve just said, being one of the three pieces that emerged from his passion for brewing beer, a craft he enjoyed while spending some days in the Bulgarian town of Bansko during the scariest pandemic days. This same southwestern Bulgarian town located at the foot of the Pirin Mountains is referenced once again in “Pirin’s Pearls”, a tribute to its people and culture. While the former piece consolidates the focused pulse of the acoustic guitar, the rustic glow of the strings, and smart jazzy lines; the latter, an ambient ballad in five, is given a gentle Latin-style cadence when the improvisation presents itself.

“Mariya and her Stout” shapes up as another folk jazz ballad with juxtaposed trumpet, saxophone, and cello lines hovering, floating and occasionally touching down before lifting off again. A completely different approach is offered with “Chip & Dale”, a story of two squirrels that never waxes nor wanes but keeps a light steady pace throughout.

The Askari-penned “Maex” is the only piece on the album that wasn’t composed by Schwengler. With the strings holding court throughout, this homage to a late friend is perfectly suitable for a film score. “Chania”, with its asymmetric beat-cycle {8+7}, is a protean chamber jazz number in favor of melodies, which, being sharp, are never smattered. The exciting journey comes to an end with a live interpretation of “Two Bodhi Tree Leaves”, a 7/4 piece retrieved from the last album Another Step We Take (Mons, 2020). Its spacey lyricism verges on the spiritual side, and if the string players are at their absolutely best here, then the enlightenment comes from Schwengler and Halpin, who, after delivering synchronously, split up for lilting individual solos. 

Concepts and ideas develop here with a broad sense of communication, making Soulcrane & Strings a strong album well-worth investigating.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - From West Coast to East Coast ► 06 - Chania ► 09 - Two Bodhi Tree Leaves

Noah Garabedian - Consider the Stars Beneath Us

Label: Outside in Music, 2022

Personnel - Dayna Stephens: tenor and soprano saxophone; Carmen Staaf: piano; Noah Garabedian: bass; Jimmy Macbride: drums; Samuel Adams: electronics.

The American bassist of Armenian descent Noah Garabedian gathered remarkably inventive musicians for this new album, Consider the Stars Beneath Us, which celebrates the life and spirit of his father, who passed away in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. The program is replete with holistically driven moments, achieving a pleasurable equilibrium via sensitive playing and empathic reflection.

Apparently loose in its initial course, “RR” is a double homage to saxophonist Ravi Coltrane and trumpeter Ralph Alessi, two mentors of extremely importance in the bassist’s musical path. In addition to composed passages, there's a candid bass monologue with a lot to be absorbed. The following number, “Expectation. Regret” doesn’t really convey the despondency suggested in the title. Even plunging into a superficial state of melancholy, the elliptical lines of saxophonist Dayna Stephens writes a vivid narrative that is continued by pianist Carmen Staaf. Elasticity is a must, being extended to the bottom layers.

Two of the most gripping pieces on the album are “Salt Point”, which provides an intense Eastern experience based on the Moroccan gnawa tradition, and “Petty Thieves”, inspired by Monteverdi’s polyphonic madrigals of the Renaissance and Baroque eras. Whereas the former is anchored by a bass figure that repeats at every 14-beat cycle, the latter, possessing such strong rhythmic smarts, infuses a delicious bittersweetness via the angular counterpoint of the piano. Ahead of its fantastic conclusion, there’s another expressive solo by the bandleader.

Harmonically inspired, “Petrichor” lets us feel the snare-fired ruffles and agitated toms of drummer Jimmy Macbride, particularly during Stephens’ tenor statement. In turn, the beautiful “Alice” - a tribute to Alice Coltrane - shines like neon reflected in the sky. It’s a serene jazz piece that makes for a spotless conclusion, with Staaf projecting McCoy Tyner’s modal moods in her playing, and composer Samuel Adams emulating a harp electronically. The latter contributes the sole non-original piece, “Pendulum for NG”, an elusive polyrhythmic effort that inspires Stephens for a stunning final improv that makes us beg for more.

Garabedian’s music is gracious and strong, and his album captivates more with the frequency you play it.

Favorite Tracks: 
03 - Pendulum for NG ► 04 - Salt Point ► 06 - Petty Thieves

Will Vinson - Tripwire

Label: Whirlwind Recordings, 2022

Personnel - Will Vinson: alto saxophone; Matt Penman: double bass; Eric Harland: drums + guest Melissa Aldana: tenor saxophone (#3,6).

English-born, New York-based saxophonist Will Vinson embraces an adventurous mind-set for Tripwire, his third outing on the Whirlwind label, following Four Forty One and Rio Grande. The new record consists of striking originals and exceptional interpretations of standards, and features the saxophonist actively backed by bassist Matt Penman, a regular collaborator, and drummer Eric Harland, his workmate in trumpeter Alex Sipiagin’s jazz units. 

Chilean saxophonist Melissa Aldana joins them for two tracks, one of them being “Things”, a free take on Jerome Kern’s “All the Things You Are” (including that wonderful intro by mighty boppers Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie), where the two musicians at the front exchange playful lines and push each other to inspired heights. The other piece she participates in is the Vinson-penned closer, “Resting Jazz Face”, a freewheeling, alternatively tense, and risk-taking adventure.

The leadoff track, “Tripwire”, is an undeniable highlight and burns with energy from the very start. Its frenzy rhythm emerges with triplet agitation, and there are well-calibrated solos by Vinson, who infuses wide-ranging figures and effectively measured intervals, and Penman, who shows he can be a spellbinding storyteller. “Fable” demonstrates that the saxist is not afraid to experiment as he overdubs saxophone layers for a looping crossover jazz driven with ambience, modulation and a septuple time feel.

Two incredibly soothing jazz ballads taken from the Great American Songbook are delivered with heart and soul by the trio. Count Basie’s “Blue and Sentimental” establishes right away that Vinson knows the tradition like the back of his hand. While he speaks frankly by dint of a genuine idiom, Harland is subtly elusive in his brushed exchanges, making it even catchier through contrast. The other standard is “For All We Know”, a song popularized by Hal Kemp in the ‘30s and tackled by iconic singers such as Billie Holiday and Dinah Washington. Tripwire is a well-paced set that showcases Vinson's splendid artistry.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Tripwire ► 02 - Blue and Sentimental ► 06 - Resting Jazz Face

JD Allen - Americana Vol. 2

Label: Savant Records, 2022

Personnel - JD Allen: tenor saxophone; Charlie Hunter: guitar; Gregg August: bass; Rudy Royston: drums.

Saxophonist/composer JD Allen has been hailed as one of the most creative musicians of our time. His work is varied and resulted in several tour de force albums, but he found a particular voice in the American roots by playing the blues and folk songs with a unique touch. The album Americana came out in 2016, and its follow-up, Americana vol. 2, is here, a testament-in-sound that reflects the plight of southern Black sharecroppers and their early mid-1900’s exodus to the North and Midwest.

This idea frames the entire album, which features longtime associates, bassist Gregg August and drummer Rudy Royston, as well as a new partner: Charlie Hunter on guitar. Playing eight of the 11 tracks, the latter shows to be fully equipped to join the trio, and that becomes evident right from the start. “Up South” alludes to Detroit, Michigan, intensifying our imagination with vast plantations and sparse dedicated farms in operation. Here, Auggust lays down a 12-beat-cycle bass substratum that supports the intense guitar and torrid saxophone playing.

“The Battle of Blair Mountain” sonically depicts the 1921 labor uprising and armed resistance in West Virginia, sounding half-heroic and half-doleful in its procedures. The flickering vibrations of Hunter’s guitar makes it a harmonically expansive workout, and its mood gets closer to the traditional song “This World is a Mean World”, where Allen demonstrates to dominate the language profoundly. This last piece opposes to the sweet ballad “You Don’t Know Me”, a country song turned standard by Ray Charles in 1962, which doesn't fall outside the scope of the record. The triple time feel of “The Werk Song” also contrasts with the uptempo 4/4 of “Hammer and Hoe”, a piece that, inspired by the historian Robin Kelley’s book of the same name, depicts the struggling black farmers with enough sonic abrasion to make us sweat. 

Three pieces are stripped down to the trio format, allowing some tension to break underneath the seemingly idyllic surfaces. They are: “Jackie and Johnny”, notably delivered with an abstract feel and disengaged posture; “Mickey and Mallory”, a communicative effort with a strong bass pedal and coruscating brushwork by Royston; and “A Mouthful of Forevers”, which features arco bass in brooding cogitation with the sax and drums.

This is another brilliantly assembled work by Allen, who demonstrates his command of the saxophone and the genre proposed with articulated lucidity.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Up South ► 02 - This World is a Mean World ► 09 - The Battle of Blair Mountain

Tom Harrell - Oak Tree

Label: High Note Records, 2022

Personnel - Tom Harrell: trumpet, flugelhorn; Luis Perdomo: piano; Ugonna Okegwo: bass; Adam Cruz: drums.

The incredibly talented trumpeter and composer Tom Harrell releases Oak Tree, another hard-to-resist album, such is the variety and sophistication of the music presented. In a career that spans 50 years (with appearances alongside Phil Woods, Jim Hall, Bob Brookmeyer, Joe Lovano, and Horace Silver), the trumpeter has been championing the jazz tradition and developing a clear, precise and fluid language that puts him in a league of his own.

Teamed with Venezuelan-born pianist Luis Perdomo (in their first studio collaboration) and regular collaborators, German-Nigerian bassist Ugonna Okegwo and American drummer Adam Cruz, Harrell explores 11 new originals that exemplify his signature aesthetic, often based on modal centers, smart rhythm changes, diverse musical influences, and fantastic melodies.

The opener “Evoorg” (reads ‘groove’ backwards) starts the proceedings with enormous hard-bop and post-bop appeal and notable support of the rhythm team, whose members keep playing closer to the vest. Harrell dishes out a graceful, uplifting solo, being followed by Perdomo, who is given more latitude to expand beyond the lilting accompaniment. In the same vein, “Archaeopteryx” pays a fun tribute to both dinosaurs and Charlie Parker, featuring a fine conversation between Okegwa and Cruz while trading fours.

As it happened in the latter tune, Harrell overdubs his horns on the exciting and agile “Zatoichi”, a tribute to the enigmatic fictional character of the same name, a blind Japanese blademaster who is the hero of many films and TV series. Cruz’s proficiency comes with ease here, whether employing occasional snare drum rolls or engaging in tom-tom terminology.

If “Tribute” brings to mind “Samba de Uma Nota Só” by the master Brazilian composer Tom Jobim, then “Sun Up” conjures up the reggae of Bob Marley. “Shadows” also breathes some bossa feel, and even includes some waltzing bars at the end. Both “Fivin’” and the title cut favor pristine playing. The former develops with Perdomo emanating an amiable, soulful funkiness on Fender Rhodes; the latter features the group languorously peeking through a cadenced harmonization.

On this recording, Harrell and his associates emphasize the genre-bending versatility that is their common strength. The result is extremely pleasing to the ear. 

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Evoorg ► 02 - Fivin’ ► 05 - Zatoichi

Dierk Peters - Spring

Label: Sunnyside Records, 2022

Personnel - Adam O’Farrill: trumpet; Caleb Wheeler Curtis: saxophone; Dierk Peters: vibraphone; Walter Stinson: bass; Buz Donald: drums.

The German-born, Brooklyn-based vibist Dierk Peters presents a set of compositions primarily focused on simplicity and further developed with the help of rising stars from the New York scene. Spring, the follow-up to his debut Ambrosia (Tangible Music, 2019), is composed of nine originals that took shape during the worst pandemic months. The quintet features a killing two-horn frontline with saxophonist Caleb Wheeler Curtis and trumpeter Adam O’Farrill flawlessly wielding their horns through the byways of modernism.

Titled after a Transylvanian Romanian town that was colonized by Germans, “Sibiu” displays a loosely conversational and polyphonic theme. The bandleader steps into improvisation with confidence, subsequently providing harmonic support to the horn players. And one can discern some rhythmic bends and displacements toward odd-meter. “Yet No Treble” is another flourishing endeavor. Explorative in nature, this forward-looking cut inspired by Ornette Coleman and Paul Bley is introduced by Wheeler’s authoritative lines, and features arresting moments throughout, including improvs by Stinson and Peters. The latter drops stretchable phrases on top of the punctual and regular measures of the former.

Connecting as a unit, these artists deliver “Haiku Pelt” with cinematic elegance and secure “Byroad Lyre” like a waltzing lament that shifts into other discrete pulses. “Bill” is also framed with fragility at first, but adjusts to something different without losing composure. This piece, written after an encounter with an elderly stranger who needed help getting home, builds to a climax via the horn-centered reciprocity.

Rich in sound and keeping abreast with a distinguished rhythm, “Segré” is a tribute to English pianist John Taylor, who died in the Western French town to which the title refers. Some pieces on Spring may sound punchier than others, but the up-and-coming Peters shows his talent with this vibing statement.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Sibiu ► 02 - Yet No Treble ► 04 - Segré

Marshall Gilkes - Cyclic Journey

Label: Alternate Side Records, 2022

Personnel - Marshall Gilkes: trombone, composition;  Aaron Parks: piano; Linda May Han Oh: bass; Jonathan Blake: drums + brass octet with Tony Kadleck: trumpet, flugelhorn; Brandon Ridenour: trumpet, piccolo trumpet, flugelhorn; Ethan Bensdorf: trumpet, flugelhorn; Adam Unsworth: horn; Joseph Alessi: trombone; Demondrae Thurman: euphonium, Nick Schwartz: bass trombone; Marcus Rojas: tuba.

On his nine-part suite Cyclic Journey, trombonist, composer and bandleader Marshall Gilkes couples jazz and classical material with wisdom. For that, he enlisted a contemporary jazz quartet of modern improvisers and a classical brass octet, which includes some known artists in the world of jazz such as trumpeter Tony Kadleck (Maria Schneider, John Hollenbeck) and tubist Marcus Rojas (Henry Threadgill). Gilkes' work with large ensembles - The Vanguard Orchestra, Maria Schneider, Ryan Truesdell’s Gil Evans Project, WDR Big Band - is widely recognized, and here he filters it through a personal prism in response to the internal and external existence of his own journey.

Letting the luminous rays of “First Light” spread widely, Gilkes orchestrates a waltzing chorale with well-designed horn layers and balanced statements from himself and pianist Aaron Parks. “Up and Down” keeps the relaxed posture, infusing nice counterpoint in the transition to “The Calm”, which, in turn, offers a charming moment of repose effectively brushed by drummer Jonathan Blake and featuring a wonderfully expressed bass solo by Linda May Han Oh. She delivers again on “Musings”, a lit up ride that also calls for trombone lyricism.

“Go Get It” flourishes with playful fanfare fantasy, weaving and intersecting sounds as if in a luxurious ballroom. In contrast, “Genre Battles” alternates those classical-like moments with the swinging eloquence of the jazz quartet.

With sequences of dovetailed brass populating “Cyclic Journey” at an early stage, it’s Parks who, standing out, showcases his prime form by supplying immense passion within an affirmative proposal. Curiously, one of the most gratifying pieces for me was the bonus track, “Sin Filtro”, which encapsulates rhythmic variety for a hybrid sonic identity that goes from Spanish to Latin to jazz.

This is an album that doesn’t necessarily scream for your attention but where one finds myriad nuances and compelling interplay throughout coherent frameworks.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - First Light ► 03 - The Calm ► 10 - Sin Filtro