Meshell Ndegeocello - The Omnichord Real Book

Label: Blue Note Records, 2023

Personnel includes - Meshell Ndegeocello: vocals, bass, omnichord, keyboards, key bass; Jebin Bruni: piano, keyboards, B3 organ, vocals; Josh Johnson: saxophone, vocals; Chris Bruce: acoustic guitar, bass, vocals; Abe Rounds: drums, percussion, vocals; Jeff Parker: solo guitar; Julius Rodriguez: clavinet, B3 organ; Deantoni Parks: drums; Joel Ross: vibraphone; Mark Guiliana: drums; Sanford Biggers: vocals; Joan As Police Woman: vocals; Cory Henry: piano; Jason Moran: piano; Ambrose Akinmusire: trumpet; Thandiswa Mazwai: vocals; Burniss Travis II: bass; Brandee Younger: harp; and more.

The music of singer-songwriter, bassist and composer Meshell Ndegeocello is filled with socio-political commentary and shaped with the help of substantial production. The music, often levitates while the words weigh a ton over beats and rhythms that flow with purpose. Yet, her super polished new outing, The Omnichord Real Book, the first for Blue Note Records, is more of a contemporary R&B record composed of cerebral, groove-centered numbers that, being a hodgepodge of different influences stitched together, not always works for my ears.

Even if most of the album's 17 tracks don’t achieve the desired impact, there are some that stand out, being particularly recommended: “ASR”, which blends a Pharaoh Sanders-like vocal riff with a funk revival instrumentation that takes us to Chic, Funkadelic and Sly & The Family Stone; “Vuma”, a celebratory African gesture at its sneaky finest with vocals from South African singer Thandiswa Mazwai, a 10-beat cycle groove on the bass, and Joel Ross’ admirable vibing; and “Clear Water”, a Sly Stone-inspired funk song with a taste of Prince in the vocals, featuring guitar solos by the amazing Jeff Parker and wah guitar strumming by Chris Bruce, who doubles on bass.

As second choices I would point “Omnipuss”, a funk meets afrobeat instrumental piece; and “Virgo”, a neo-soul/smooth-funk swoop  touching on spiritual rebirth and ancestry with the help of harpist Brandee Younger, Julius Rodriguez on Farfisa organ, and Ndegeocello’s snappy key bass.

All songs fit in the album’s fabric but pieces like the African-flavored “Georgia Ave”, which incorporates omnichord and acoustic guitar; “An Invitation”, whose alternative R&B style empowered by a bold beat; and “Perceptions”, an ear-candy soul-pop song driven by the piano of Jason Moran, didn’t live up to my expectations. Despite the collaboration with trendy individualities of the jazz genre, The Omnichord Real Book fails to bring out the appeal of The Ventriloquist (Naive, 2018), Ndegeocello's previous album, and the candor of more stripped-down, less produced albums such as Weather (Naive, 2011). 

Favorite Tracks:
06 - Clear Water ► 07 - ASR ► 15 - Vuma

Samuel Blaser - Routes

Label: Enja, 2023

Personnel - Samuel Blaser: trombone; Alex Wilson: piano, organ, melodica; Alan Weekes: guitar; Ira Coleman: double bass, baby bass; Dion Parson: drums; Soweto Kinch: alto sax, vocals; Michael Blake: tenor sax; Edwin Sanz: percussion (#1,3,4,5,6,9,10), drums (#7) + Guests - Carroll Thompson: vocals (#2,6); Lee “Scratch” Perry: vocals, dub (#8,9); Steve Turre: shells, trombone (#4), John Fedchock: trombone (#4); Glenn Ferris: trombone (#4); Johan Escalante: trombone (#4); Jennifer Warthon: bass trombone (#4); Heiri Känzig: double bass (#7).

Swiss trombonist Samuel Blaser, who has enriched the avant-garde and modern creative circuits by collaborating with Marc Ducret, Paul Motian, Gerald Cleaver, Oliver Lake, Russ Lossing and Gerry Hemingway, radically changes direction on his latest album, Routes, a dive into reggae and ska stylism. The album, inspired by Jamaican trombonist Don Drummond, encompasses three of the latter's most emblematic compositions, five Blaser cuts, and two vain dub versions of one tune by each of them.

There’s nothing wrong with probing new territories, but Blaser’s album is limited in latitude, relying too much on disciplined rhythms and unambiguous melodic contours (solos being the exception). It’s a commercial endeavor that, failing to hold one’s attention for long, becomes tedious as a result of unchanging atmospheres and some arguable choices in the production. 

Blaser’s “Rainy Days”, featuring vocalist Carroll Thompson and robust solos by Blaser and tenor saxophonist Michael Blake, feels like a jazz standard dressed in Caribbean colors, whereas Drummond’s “Green Island” is given an interesting treatment with four guest trombonists joining the bandleader on the frontline. Among them is Steve Turre who also plays his famous shells. Both these numbers are re-included as dub versions - reworked by the hand of the late Jamaican singer/producer Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry - but the results are far from impressive.

The opener, “Silver Dollar”, serves as a rhythmic template via the bouncy ska at its core. The soloists - British alto saxophonist Soweto Kinch, Blaser and guitarist Alan Weekes - are extremely colorful and expressive. Just like the piece I just mentioned, “Thoroughfare” was penned by Drummond, but this one has melodica player Alex Wilson at the center. More interesting is Blaser’s “Lady Rawlinson”, which boasts nice harmonic changes and slick solos from Swiss bassist Heiri Känzig, Blaser, and Wilson on Hammond organ.

This Blaser album must have been fun to play, but feels like a misstep when compared to other more interesting and progressive works in his discography. 

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Silver Dollar ► 02 - Rainy Days ► 07 - Lady Rawlinson

Brian Blade & The Fellowship Band - Kings Highway

Label: Stoner Hill Records, 2023

Personnel - Myron Walden: alto saxophone, bass clarinet; Melvin Butler: tenor and soprano saxophone; Kurt Rosenwinkel: guitar; Jon Cowherd: piano, organ; Christopher Thomas: acoustic bass, synth; Brian Blade: drums.

In this age of anxiety, there’s nothing better than the tangible musical content of Brian Blade and his amazing Fellowship band to replenish positive energies. The drummer’s seventh recording, Kings Highway, remains with that zen quality achieved with simmering yet soothing measures while effectively blending elements of jazz, gospel and folk music. The album comprises four compositions by Blade, two by pianist Jon Cowherd, and a clean arrangement of the 1882 Christian hymn “God Be With You”. There’s no change of direction in what Blade envisioned for this project in the late ‘90s but rather a deepening of its sense of beauty and maturity.

Blade’s “Until We Meet Again” is outlined with such coalescing and enveloping sounds, which, tempo-wise, convey the sensation of asymmetry due to the way it’s subdivided. The same happens during the 32-beat cycle that takes “Look to the Hills” to a full-hearted finale, but it’s the volatile title cut, “Kings Highway” that stands out as the essence of Blade’s compositional prowess. Open to meter and texture shifts, this wonderful piece includes a fine introductory section, an appealing passage in seven that sustains an elastic solo by the reintegrated guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel, a luscious gospelized route in support of Christopher Thomas’s tasteful bass statement, fascinating bar trades between saxophonists Myron Walden and Melvin Butler, and a awe-inspiring delivery from Cowherd, whose pianism sprouts with clarity and rapture. And then, the gospel returns to conclude the adventurous journey.

Another rewarding piece is “Migration”, a Blade composition that begins with an evocative drum talk followed by intricate rhythmic accents for a polyrhythmic feel before ending in a superlative collective feast. In the middle, we have walloping chromatic notes pouring out of Butler’s tenor, and a devotional rhythm conduction implemented as a path for Walden’s fervent stretches. It’s amazing how even the most cathartic sections are imbued with warm-heartedness. 

Cowherd contributed two pieces: “People’s Park” and “Catalysts”. The former is a ballad, while the latter churns slowly forward with a gently propulsive drumbeat in six that helps it stand firmly within the post-bop frame. By the end, Rosenwinkel excels by dishing out a perfectly pitched synth-infused improvisation over a 14-beat cycle passage with horn fills.

Executed by like-minded musicians, this album demands a closer examination as it conquers hearts with an instinctive and liberating capacity. Revealing more of Blade as a musician, it’s a gem that no one should be indifferent to.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Catalysts ► 04 - Kings Highway ► 06 - Migration

Pat Metheny - Dream Box

Label: Modern Recordings, 2023

Personnel - Pat Metheny: electric guitar, baritone guitar. 

Monumental jazz guitarist Pat Metheny puts out a meditative album of intimate songs played solo on the electric guitar - six originals, two jazz standards and one cover. The material, composed over the course of a few years, was found in a folder of his laptop while on tour - last year he did 160 performances worldwide - and the recording process (a first layer of chords with subsequent melodic parts and improvisation) mostly follows the one presented on the track “Unity Village” from his debut masterpiece Bright Size Life (ECM Records, 1976).

The opening cut, “The Waves Are Not the Ocean”, is a marvel. A hypnotic folksy ballad with a comforting radiant light coming through all pores. Every note sounds important and big, showing a gorgeous folk-jazz lyricism that is transported to the following track, “From the Mountains”. The latter adds more mystery through enigmatic chords and an efficient bass line conduction on the baritone guitar that also assure the serenity of the atmosphere. Expressed with clear and emotional soloing, these first two pieces are demonstrative of Metheny’s incredible musicianship and compositional skills. 

Another of his originals, “Trust Your Angel”, is a floater made out of smoothness that can be felt as spiritual or romantic. Yet, it is unable to scale the dizzy heights of “Never Was Love”, a piece by the late jazz pianist Russ Long. Given its urban contemporary feel, the song underscores a deeply felt melody over a tight harmonic work, sounding unmistakably Metheny. He has this unequalled way of grooving that is instantly recognizable.

The slow tunes almost flow into each other, and the guitarist delivers Styne/Cahn’s “I Fall in Love Too Easily” with lounge-style lyricism, and Luiz Bonfá’s “Morning of the Carnival” with an intuitively layered crossover appeal than sounds euphonious and connotative. Never heading to the stratosphere, Metheny centers on his softer musical self. The results are positive. 

Favorite Tracks:
01 - The Waves Are Not the Ocean ► 02 - From the Mountains ► 05 - Never Was Love

Vicente Archer - Short Stories

Label: Cellar Music, 2023

Personnel - Gerald Clayton: piano; Vicente Archer: bass; Bill Stewart: drums.

Boasting a nearly 25-year career that bristles with rich musical synergies, it was about time we had bassist Vicente Archer leading his own group and releasing a full-length album that works as a reflective self-portrait as an artist. The repertoire chosen for Short Stories, a trio effort with pianist Gerald Clayton and drummer Bill Stewart, consists of three compositions by Archer, two by Stewart, one by Clayton, and one rendition each of pieces by close collaborators: guitarist Pat Metheny and trumpeters Jeremy Pelt and Nicholas Payton.

With a penchant for consistently relaxed and expressive gestures, the music reflects moments of Archer’s life and career. And that’s the kind of aesthetic that informs the whole disc, which begins with the smooth virtuosity of “Mirai”, a magnificently picturesque sonic landscape with a reiterative bass pedal laying the groundwork and a dreamy atmosphere that serves Clayton’s soloing purposes. This number is related to Archer’s daughter, with whom he used to watch the Japanese animated film in the title.

Both the subdued “Lighthouse”, a solo bass statement over a dubbed texture, and “Bye Nashville”, in which sizzling brushes and dancing bass lines support the Southern sounds (bluesy, folksy and even slightly gospelized) of the piano, are Archer’s. The latter piece is a farewell to Tennessee's capital, where he lived four years and had to leave in 2020 due to a tornado.

Stewart’s “Space Acres” incorporates a certain mystery while carrying a relative darkness into the chordal work. There’s ample margin to create spontaneously, and that’s what Clayton does. The pianist contributes “Round Comes Round”, which he introduces with a mix of broken stride and instinctive phraseology. Interesting musical interchanges succeed one another with groove, counterpoint and accentuation, and there's a pretty bass solo that leads to the final vamp.

Archer’s originals are a match for the covers presented here. Pelt’s “13/14” is pure post-bop with lyrical melody; Metheny’s “Message to a Friend” is an affectionate ballad that first appeared on his duo album with Charlie Haden, Beyond the Missouri Sky (1997); and Payton’s lesser-known “It Takes Two to Know One” takes the form of an agreeable five-minute bass-drums duet delivered with a dazzling rhythmic flux. Archer played this tune in 2011 with pianist Danny Grisset for the latter’s studio album, Stride. 

Eschewing fireworks, Short Stories is a solid debut from a gifted bassist continuously focused on growing as a musician. The vocabulary of the three musicians never feels forced but rather intrinsically unpretentious in the interest of the music.

Favorite Tracks:
03 - Space Acres ► 08 - Bye Nashville ► 09 - It Takes Two to Know One

Jochen Rueckert - With Best Intentions

Label: Colonel Beats Records, 2023

Personnel - Mark Turner: tenor saxophone; Nils Wogram: trombone; Joris Roelofs: bass clarinet; Doug Weiss: bass; Jochen Rueckert: drums.

Based in New York since 1997, German drummer/composer Jochen Rueckert assembles an exciting chord-less quintet featuring a three-piece frontline composed of American tenorist Mark Turner, German trombonist Nils Wogram, and French-born, Amsterdam-based clarinetist Joris Roelofs. In opposition to the former two, who have been frequent collaborators, the latter is a new addition. Bassist Doug Weiss rounds out the group, sharing a stark instinct with the bandleader for both in-the-pocket and unbounded playing.

With Best Intentions is the sixth entry in Rueckert’s catalog, showing off his aptitude to swing in several tradition-leaning contexts. Here, the references include John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, Bud Powell, and Jackie McLean, yet this album only represents part of the spectrum of who he is as a musician. The drummer has been exploring electronic (under the moniker Wolff Parkinson White) and rock music (past covers included songs by Deftones and The Breeders).

“The Dress” bursts out of the gate with a bluesy feel and powerful solos from bass clarinet and tenor; “Rainbow Road” swings like the old-times but denotes contemporary principles in the head; and both the hard-swinging “Pherotstorium” and the riff-based “Mark of the Beast” boast this not-too-obvious post-bop lining borrowed from Jackie McLean/Grachan Moncur and Sam Rivers/Julian Priester associations. 

Embracing tight rhythms and firmly woven textures, the quintet delivers “Unmitigated” with waltzing steps and an impeccably connected horn section, “Muetze Glatze” with playful avant-garde behavior and provocative tones, and “Catholic Mahogany” with odd-meter and solos by Roelofs and Weiss. The title track, professed by muted trombone and bass clarinet, provide both improvisation and strong harmonic context through melody.

Rueckert’s group is capable of multi-coloring and contrasting shade, employing jazz tradition and contemporary languages in the best way. His new outing is sharply homogeneous in tone and quality.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - The Dress ► 05 - Muetze Glatze ► 07 - Pherotstorium

Alan Ferber Nonet - Up High, Down Low

Label: Sunnyside Records, 2023

Personnel - Alan Ferber: trombone; Chris Cheek: baritone saxophone; John Ellis: tenor saxophone; Jon Gordon: alto saxophone; Charles Pillow: alto saxophone, clarinet, flute, bass clarinet; Scott Wendholt: trumpet, flugelhorn; Nir Felder: guitar; David Cook: piano; Matt Clohesy: acoustic and electric bass; Mark Ferber: drums, percussion; Daniel Diaz: percussion (#1).

Trombonist and composer Alan Ferber returns with his highly respected nonet for a new album, the ensemble’s fifth, which is formulated with magnificent melody and majestic harmonic tapestries. The ensemble’s lineup has been changing over the years - Alan’s twin brother, drummer Mark Ferber, is the only one that remains since their 2005 debut album - but the main novel on Up High, Down Low is the versatile saxophonist Chris Cheek, here on baritone, who sits in for bass clarinetist Doug Yates. Boasting an attractive modern sound and fluid language, guitarist Nir Felder replaced Nate Radley with effective results, while pianist David Cook subbed for Bryn Roberts.

A perceptible piano motif gets things started on the title track, which opens the album with a lush orchestration containing horn counterpoint and strong textural guitar. The bandleader’s composing expertise allows all these instruments to create beautiful contrasts, and that comes to the fore on “Ambling”, an Ellingtonian piece that, similar to the standard “The More I See You”, will hit the spot for a general audience.

Five of the seven compositions on the album are Ferber’s, and his “Brimstone Boogaloo” is certainly a notable one. With stark ambition and drive, the piece has a Lee Morgan-esque, feel-good vibe enhanced by Matt Clohesely's torrid bass groove, exotic piano chordal work, and delightful melody. Multi-reedist Charles Pillow on flute and trumpeter Scott Wendholt have the word.

Felder and Cheek prove they are major assets in the latter’s “Ice Fall”, the album’s wonderful closer. The enchantment of this album gains even more charm with fine renditions of Joni Mitchell’s “Cherokee Louise”, where trombone and trumpet share the theme’s melody, and Norah Jones’ jazz-pop “Day Breaks”, which, reinforcing the wah-wah sounds of the original, is inflated by a bouncy tenor solo, courtesy of the sought-after reedman John Ellis.

Alan Ferber keeps casting his spell as a composer and arranger, and this renewed ensemble dances to his musical offerings with professionalism. It’s great to have musically rich moments like these at hand.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Up High, Down Low ► 02 - Brimstone Boogaloo ► 09 - Ice Fall

Ceramic Dog - Connection

Label: Knockwurst Records, 2023

Personnel - Marc Ribot: guitar, vocals; Shahzad Ismaily: bass; Ches Smith: drums + Guests - Syd Straw: vocals; James Brandon Lewis: tenor sax; Anthony Coleman: keyboards; Greg Lewis: organ; Oscar Noriega: clarinet; Peter Sachon: cello.

The incendiary trio Ceramic Dog - spearheaded by guitarist, vocalist, composer, and activist Marc Ribot and rounded out by bassist Shahzad Ismaily and spectacular drummer Ches Smith - returns with Connection, their best album to date. Exploring wide-ranging rock palettes and giving it some avant-garde jazz color from time to time, the trio displays expertise in coming up with inventive ideas with an often riotous sound that mixes past, present and future.

The title track opens the proceedings with explorative energy. It’s a lo-fi, heavy punk rock piece with a strong chorus that will appeal to fans of Descendants, Ramones and Buzzcocks. The next track, “Subsidiary”, is more experimental and darker in tone, marked by distortion, feedback and voice modulation. With time, it gains a certain metal-inspired rhythm that bites and ingrains - I’m imagining Paradise Lost without the massive, growling vocals.

“Soldiers in the Army of Love” is garage punk with a chorus that rekindles the best of ‘80s, whereas “Ecstasy”, compellingly sung by Syd Straw with magnificent lyrics by Ribot, takes us on a trippy euphoric voyage where also inhabit Zappa, The Doors, The Fall and The B52’s. Anthony Coleman guests here, playing Farfisa organ, and the last section evokes Santana’s psychedelic ‘70s phase.

Saxophonist James Brandon Lewis shines on “Swan”, which, in a way, is reflectively modal and spiritually uplifting, ending with excellent guitar work by Ribot. The saxophonist is also heard on a brief jazz passage of “Heart Attack”, a revolving, anarchist noise-rock smash with lots of swearing.

Variation in the aesthetics is a favorable point, and if “No Name”, an instrumental that straddles between Iggy Pop’s Stooges and The Velvet Underground, mixes jarred melodies with surprising beats with orchestral strings, then “Order of Protection” takes us to Jimi Hendrix’s “Little Wing”. After a noise-rock rendition of Schwartz/Dietz’s “That’s Entertainment” (not the pop hit by Paul Weller’s The Jam), delivered here with playful keyboard playing, there’s a mix of fanfare and afrobeat to be savored on the closer “Crumbia”, which features clarinetist Oscar Noriega.

Hallucinated yet illuminated, there’s guts and progressive activism in a revolutionary new recording that’s definitely worth digging into.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Subsidiary ► 04 - Ecstasy ► 05 - Swan

Eunmi Lee - Introspection

Label: You&Me Music, 2023

Personnel - Eunmi Lee: piano; Alan Ferber: trombone (#1,4,5,7); John Ellis: tenor saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet (#1,2,3,5,7); Remy LeBeuef: alto and baritone saxophone (#4,5,7); Jon Gordon: alto and soprano saxophone (#5,7); Tony Kadlec: trumpet (#5); Vinicius Gomes: guitar; Matt Clohesy: bass; Ari Hoenig: drums; Joyce Hammann: violin (#2,3,7); Meg Okura: violin (#3);

New York-based Korean pianist and composer Eunmi Lee gathered a first-class ensemble for her debut album, Introspection, which falls into an engagingly modern mainstream milieu. The seven original compositions comprising this well-rounded program have been written since 2017, revealing a skillful sense of reinvention in the arrangements. 

By expressing the same starkly expressive nature of Joe Henderson’s pieces with Chick Corea, “Gimmick” manifests itself within advanced post-bop idioms shaped with terse phrases and pronouncedly accented rhythms and staccatos. The theme is outlined in unison by trombonist and co-producer Alan Ferber and saxophonist John Ellis, who inaugurates the improvisation section with articulation and exuberance. The piano solo that follows is more inner directed, blossoming with delicacy in the melody and boldness in the rhythmic process. In its denouement, the piece finds a vamping space for drummer Ari Hoenig’s broadening perspectives.

The band’s inviting tones shine particularly bright on “Narcissism”, which, addressing the tricky topic of the internet and social media, is professed in five with a type of flow that recalls the quintet of Dave Holland. Under the sturdy rhythmic drive of bassist Matt Clohesy and Hoenig, the soloists - Ferber, altoist Remy LeBeuef and Lee - offer big hooks and good vibes. By the end, it's the Brazilian guitarist Vinicius Gomes who discourses with complementary fills from the horn players.

The chamber piece “Suspicion”, composed for strings and bass clarinet, has a cinematic lethargy in it, whereas “5.19”, written with new cultures and people in mind, finds a solid middle ground between flexibility and precision. As a consequence of its sophisticated form, this latter piece goes from the rubato piano prelude to a slow waltz that is taken along by propelling brushes and reflective harmonies. Then, it transiently veers into a 5/4 tempo in a push-forward stroke before returning to the dreamy waltzing state for the solos.

The luxurious swing of “Mr. Weird” takes us to classic big bands in jazz - Basie, Ellington and Gil Evans are references - as the frontline is augmented to five elements by the presence of trumpeter Tony Kadlec and saxophonist Jon Gordon. With the spotlight on Gomes, “Azure” is the charming closer of a pleasurable first album that puts Lee’s compositional capabilities on display.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Gimmick ► 03 - 5.19 ► 04 - Narcissism

Fire! Orchestra - Echoes

Label: Rune Grammofon, 2023

Personnel includes - Mats Gustafsson: baritone saxophone, flute; Mette Rasmussen: alto sax, flute; Fredrik Ljungkvist; tenor sax; Joe McPhee: tenor sax, vocals; Per ‘Texas' Johansson: oboe, bassoon, contrabass clarinet, bass clarinet, flute; Mats Äleklint: trombone; Susana Santos Silva: trumpet; Goran Kajfes: trumpet; Per Åke Holmlander: tuba; Sten Sandell: piano; Alex Zethson: piano; Reine Fiske: guitar; Johan Berthling: electric and acoustic bass; Andreas Werliin; drums; Thomas Öberg: vocals; Mariam Wallentin: vocals; David Sandström: vocals; Juan Romero: percussion, berimbau; and more.

Constantly evolving, the Fire! Orchestra welcomes you to the hippy cosmos of their progressive symphonic journeys with a new double-disc outing of enormous impact. The band creates staggering momentum with each recording and Echoes is no exception to the rule.

The opening piece, “Echoes: I See Your Eye, Part 1” boasts a laid-back groove with strings surrounding it. There’s a glorious cinematic feel that steps further when Mats Gustafsson - he founded the ensemble in 2012 with bassist Johan Berthling and drummer Andreas Werliin - unleashes a heartfelt saxophone statement loaded with warping laments and rumbling growls. The second part of this piece bookends the album with vocals by Joe McPhee. The American saxophonist brings his flaming horn to “Echoes: Last Eyes in the Dying Hand”, a 14-minute expedition that experiences electro-vibes prior to bursting into a violent detonation of sound. The vocals here are by David Sandstrom from the hardcore punk group Refused, and there’s a vibraphone-driven passage spruced up with polyphonic horn lines. It ends frenetically, with acrid explosiveness.

The haunting vocal work by Mariam Wallentin is featured on “Echoes: to Gather it All. Once”, an alternative pop/rock exercise that brings Nick Cave's Birthday Party to mind. Despite the bittersweetness, the piece is propelled gently with brushes while displaying a consistent riff sidelined by the voice. It also includes a fine trombone solo by Mats Aleklint.

The bracing jolt of “Echoes: a Last Farewell” is carved out with tuba, rattling percussion, and then a cyclical bass groove that evokes space-age freedom. Sun Ra and Art Ensemble of Chicago are references that we can also associate with “Echoes: Cala Boca Menino”. This soulful Brazilian tune with a smooth funky pulse was composed by Dorival Caymmi and arranged by João Donato, with lyrics by Swedish singer Thomas Öberg. The title translates into ‘shut your mouth, boy”.

The piece I just mentioned is not the only Brazilian-inspired flow. The strophic “Echoes: Forest Without Shadows” extracts shamanic energy from its 2/4 frevo drive with prominent percussion work at the base, tight strings, and bustling solos from trumpet and alto sax. There’s also this comfortable capoeira dance, “Nothing Astray. All Falling”, which features Juan Romero on berimbau. Just like this one, there are other shorter pieces that explore several soundscapes with Eastern tinges, sinister drones, chiming bells, tortuous and buzzing horn sounds, strident guitar, and other avant-garde forays.

Fire! Orchestra gets better and better with time; its music is never messy, even when they delve into infectiously unbridled, rapid-fire jaunts.

Favorite Tracks:
01 (CD1) - Echoes: I See Your Eye, Part 1 ► 05 (CD1) - Echoes: Last Eyes in the Dying Hand ► 01 (CD2) - Echoes: A Lost Farewell

Darren Johnston - Wild Awake

Label: Diskonife Records, 2023

Personnel - Darren Johnston: trumpet, vocals; Dayna Stephens: tenor, soprano and baritone saxophones; Jacob Sacks: piano; Sean Conly: acoustic bass; Ches Smith: drums.

Canadian trumpeter Darren Johnston, who has recorded and performed with Larry Ochs, Fred Frith and Dave Rempis, reveals an interesting writing and abundance of ideas, most of the time resulting in extroverted music with a few classy hooks. If his last outing, Life on Time (Origin Records, 2022) was made in the company of Chicago-based musicians, the newest one, Wild Awake, teams him up with contemporary New York jazz practitioners. The quintet, an extension of Johnston’s New York-based trio with pianist Jacob Sacks and bassist Sean Conly, features the versatile saxophonist Dayna Stephens on the frontline and the unmatchable Ches Smith performing rhythmic duties behind the drum set.

The program begins with “Anchorite’s Travel Guide”, which grabs one’s attention immediately through a playful, rip-roaring dialogue between Stephens on baritone and Johnston on muted trumpet. It’s a hip tune buoyed by a motif that impels the rhythm section to march with a quirky step. The following track, “Joe Hill’s Last and Final Will”, is a lament for the Swedish-American activist in the title. It is stripped down to vocals over bass ahead of the disentangled brushwork and ruminative sax considerations that come next.

“War Poets” plays like one of those Dave Douglas’ off-the-rail fanfares filled with cheeky irony and lyricism. Centrally positioned, Johnston’s solo over rambunctious bass movements arrives before Sacks’ abstractions and a fine statement by Conly. In turn, “Wild Awake” kicks in with provocative melodic contours and a stimulating pop/rock backbeat. Everyone finds his own spot, placing each sound within a context.

Whereas “Trash-Basket Flowers” is tackled with a newfound restlessness, taking unexpected routes and benefiting from a drums-filled opening section and an ongoing communication within the horn section, then “John’s Song” takes the form of a gorgeously soaring waltz brushed with stark honesty. Johnston’s music is to be discovered with enjoyment and openness.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - The Anchorite’s Travel Guide ► 03 - War Poets ► 04 - Wild Awake

David Virelles - Carta

Label: Intakt Records, 2023

Personnel - David Virelles: piano; Ben Street: bass; Eric McPherson: drums.

Cuban-born David Virelles has proven to be one of the most virtuosic and technically adept pianists out there. He recorded with Andrew Cyrille, Chris Potter, Henry Threadgill, and Tomasz Stanko, but when it comes to his own original compositions he often draws from his roots. Those Afro-Cuban influences are suitable for twisting with versatile contemporary touches of post-bop and avant-garde jazz. The follow-up to Nuna (Pi, 2022), Carta, is a fine all-around trio showcase for his expandable and improvisational crossovers. Joining him here are bassist Ben Street and drummer Eric McPherson.

“Uncommon Sense” kicks off the album with an unaccompanied piano intro that leads to a slick bass line churned by Street as the pivotal groove. Balancing between expressive soloing and closely bound ensemble work, the piece denotes an incessant cymbal spark that confers a refractive scintillation.

“NYChepinsón” bears an authorial brisk persona, providing one of the most animated sections of the disc. Busy drum thwacks and solid bass lines accommodate the incredible motif at the center of the theme. A brief mambo incursion attests that linguistic barriers are not a problem here, and the trio returns to the point of departure for a fluid piano improvisation. Starting off with classical movements, “Tiempos” feels like straight-ahead Cuban jazz expressed with lots of feeling. Combining gaiety and passion, the trio reharmonizes their path toward the triumphing avant-jazz that brings it to a conclusion.

Both low-key, the title track and “Samio” have methodical, nimble percussion and sympathetic airy bass moves making good company to the meditative piano playing. They probably won’t thrill the listeners as much as “Confidencial”, which is the sole non-original composition on the album. Penned by the Cuban timbalero and rhythm creator Enrique Bonne, this rich number, structured with imaginative sequences, goes from a clear piano statement delivered with beautiful melody and lush cluster chords to a taut rhythmic drive, and then a solo piano passage before landing on an evocative sultry danzón from Cuba.

This phenomenal hybridity denotes sophistication in the process. Virelles and his associates make it cerebral and adventurous by turns, as well as fairly accessible.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Uncommon Sense ► 02 - Confidencial ► 04 - NYChepinsón

The End - Why Do You Mourn

Label: Trost Records, 2023

Personnel - Sofia Jernberg: voice; Mats Gustafsson: baritone saxophone, flutes, electronics; Kjetil Møster: clarinet, tenor saxophone, electronics; Anders Hana: baritone and bass guitars, langeleik; Børge Fjordheim: drums.

The apocalyptic North European post-jazz-rock outfit, The End, released its third album, Why Do You Mourn, a collection of seven eerie contemporary pieces that fuse dark and mystic sounds with style-defying personality.

“Snow” inaugurates this peculiar excursion with a gloomy, suspenseful underpinning empowered by Anders Hana’s nebulous baritone guitar. The gnarly vocals of Sofia Jernberg and the saxophones of Mats Gustafsson and Kjetil Møster go nearly arm in arm; the scintillating drum work of Børge Fjordheim adopts a phlegmatic talkative vein at this point, becoming more ferocious over the following 12-bar heavy-rock vamp that sustains a clamorous tenor solo. After a sudden break, we wake up in another sonic world via a calm folk-infused passage driven by langeleik, a droned Norwegian zither. This gives the piece a sort of medieval, Eastern-tinged quality.

“Doomfunk MCs” is pelted with blasts of baritone guitar, saxophone multiphonics, atmospheric electronics, and petrifying horror-induced vocals. Despite the darkness, it will take you to a serenely composed landscape at the end. Totally divergent, “Winter Doesn’t End” comes immersed in world music erudition with langeleik and flute at the center.

“Wasted Blame” takes the form of an elliptical dance with noise guitar at the base and enthusiastic horn unisons atop. Jernberg’s vocals arrive by the end, accompanied by wailful baritone sax winds. On occasion, the saxophonists steal the show, but the vocalist excels on “Whose Face”, a doom metal anthem in the guise of a common tune with particularly discernible melody and harmony. The drummer displaces the rhythm flow, taking the guitarist with him at some point, and then comes a powerful, agonizing tenor improvisation by Møster.

The album comes to an end with the simmering “Black Vivaldi Sonata”, a surprising incursion into R&B with a menacing guitar drone, disconcerting beat, and multi-layered vocalization. Ending with electronic clatter, this would have given another great funk hit for Prince to sing.

Playful on one side, inexorably severe on the other, The End’s experimentation here don’t surpass those of the previous albums. Yet, if you like your music pummeled with staggering revelations and sinister sensations, then this is a disc you should try.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Snow ► 03 - Wasted Blame ► 05 - Whose Face

Tyshawn Sorey Trio - Continuing

Label: Pi Recordings, 2023

Personnel - Aaron Diehl: piano; Matt Brewer: bass; Tyshawn Sorey: drums.

Drummer and composer Tyshawn Sorey has been a leading light in the innovative contemporary jazz movement. His trio album Mesmerism (Pi Recordings) was a career high, undoubtedly one of the best albums of 2022. Now, he returns alongside Matt Brewer on bass and Aaron Diehl on piano for four non-originals. 

Continuing, which was recorded over two days, opens with Wayne Shorter’s “Reincarnation Blues”, an assuredly crafted back-to-the-basics number stirred by convoluted piano cascades near the end. Fairly softened here, this tune was made public by Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, being the fourth track of the veneered drummer’s 1963 album Buhaina's Delight (Blue Note).

The 15-minute version of Ahmad Jamal’s “Seleritus” is elegantly mounted with a bass pedal point, dreamy piano playing, and refined hi-hat and ride cymbal touches that punctuate the whole with delicacy. There’s a certain modal intonation that is quite alluring, but also this old-time ‘ballroom’ dynamics over which a stylish bass solo takes place. The trio’s affinity for jazz tradition is on display, but Sorey dresses this tune up with excellent tom-tom work by the end, with Diehl throwing in forceful piano chords to pack a punch.

The slow motion returns with the ballad standard “Angel Eyes”. This 1946 composition by Matt Denis gets a rubato treatment at the outset, acquiring a three-time feel while sparingly ornamented with graceful piano and smoothly dragging brushes.

To conclude, the trio tackles Harold Mabern’s “In What Direction Are You Headed?”, a lesser known tune by the late pianist which first appeared on trumpeter Lee Morgan’s The Last Section (Blue Note). Expressed with élan, it is a groove-centered, funk-meets-post-bop piece, which, including a vamping 14-beat cycle controlled by Brewer, is turned motivically playful by Diehl’s skittering turns over the keyboard.

Although effective, as it revives old tunes (both widely known and unsung) that are extremely pleasing to the ear, this new trio session doesn’t match Mesmerism in strength and magnetism. 

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Seleritus ► 04 - In What Direction Are You Headed?

Richard Andersson NOR feat. Hilmar Jensson - Undo

Label: Hobby Horse Records, 2023

Personnel - Hilmar Jensson: guitar; Oskar Gudjonsson: tenor saxophone; Richard Andersson: bass; Matthias Hemstock: drums.

Danish bassist/composer Richard Andersson invites the notable Icelandic guitarist Hilmar Jensson, who contributes three of his own compositions, to join his NOR trio for a highly-engaging eight-track studio session. With 100 concerts under its belt, the trio has saxophonist Oskar Gudjonsson and drummer Matthias Hemstock pitching in to put a distinctive touch on the music.

Contemplatively melancholy with consistent spaciousness and dark surroundings, Undo kicks off with Jensson’s “Serenity”, whose title reflects what you’ll get. All three members of the rhythm section are in perfect consciousness of their sounds, painting tranquil landscapes with impressionistic descriptions. Jensson’s crisp and atmospheric guitar playing stands out; Andersson’s bass lines conduct and clear up the way; and Gudjonsson only makes his horn sing two minutes before the end.

This sheer languidity segues into Andersson’s odd-metered “Undo”, transporting us to an ambient environment that is rich in lyricism. In the wake of the beautiful theme, there are logical and confident statements from guitar, sax and bass. Also composed by the bandleader, “Wall” is an achingly tearful ballad whose smooth harmonies aim to the soul. Jensson’s solo is made of pure feeling, while the minimalistic drumming offered by Hemstrock is something special. 

The drummer also shines on the Gudjonsson-penned “Sun Ra”, pushed forward by a boom-bap beat controlled by glancing cross-stick hits. A prominent bass figure then lays out a 10-beat cycle that swings with no major startles, benefitting from tranquil saxophone aphorisms atop. The saxophone player also added his “Helmingur Buinn” to the list. There’s wide-angled freedom here, with distorted guitar and unlooked-for syncopation creating an illusion of fracture at the core.

The album wraps up with two Jensson’s compositions: “Tundra”, which was composed for his Bly De Blyant trio in 2015, and the incandescent if poignant “Star”, whose interesting metric {3+3+3+2} takes the familiar instrumentation in an unexpected direction.

Andersson, whose musical interest developed at the age 14, when he went blind due to a fireworks accident, played with Gerry Bergonzi, George Garzone and Bill McHenry outside Denmark. On this splendid, organic album, he and his associates engage in a type of interplay that feels like a shared heartbeat.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Serenity ► 02 - Undo ► 03 - Helmingur Buinn

Alex LoRe & Weirdear - Evening Will Find Itself

Label: Whirlwind Recordings, 2023

Personnel - Alex LoRe: alto saxophone; Glenn Zaleski: piano; Desmond White: double bass; Allan Mednard: drums.

Saxophonist/composer Alex LoRe, who has been leaving his mark on projects by saxophonist Lucas Pino and pianists Marta Sanchez and Steven Feifke, reunites his intriguing Weirdear quartet, featuring pianist Glenn Zaleski, bassist Desmond White, and the sought-after drummer Allan Mednard. Succeeding to Karol (Challenge Records, 2019), the ensemble’s sophomore release is called Evening Will Find Itself, now out on the UK label Whirlwind Recordings.

LoRe charts a course all his own, pushing the envelope with ambiguity and inquisitive glance, which are important facets of his playing. Considering the case of “Stripes”, the album’s opener about the rigidness that is consuming our cultural consciousness: there’s enough harmonic richness and rhythmic detail in the ingenious combination of elements that define the fabric of this quartet. LoRe pronounces the main melody with absorbed beauty, segueing into a venerable improvised journey that brings his curious ideas to fruition. The comping provided by Zaleski is tastefully ornamented, and White’s unstoppable bass work toggles between pedals and enlivening motions.

“Face Unseen” has a propensity to meditation, and is derived from the inevitable association between technology and loneliness in our days. Judge for yourself those seamless variations graced with lyricism and dreamlike tones. “Silent Ship” kicks off with balladic restraint before establishing a 10-beat cycle bass groove traversed by saxophone lines that culminate in a multiphonic shout. There’s a gradual building of climax here.

“Fauxlosophy” is fantastically accented and imaginatively crafted with a resilient sense of tempo in its rhythm juxtapositions, but the most impressive piece is “Green”, a tribute to LoRe’s mentor, the saxophonist Bunky Green. The theme is mesmerizing, and the saxophone statement shaped with obtuse angles, pointy spikes, but also expressively beautiful melody. The tight-knit work in the back by Mednard and White brings perspective and cohesiveness to a piece that also includes a solo by Zaleski before the final head.

Three short narratives, titled “Radiance I, II and III”, highlight different members of the quartet in dynamic reciprocity, whereas “At Shore” is stylishly interwoven with a rubato kickoff, transient 3/4 passages with bowed bass at the center, and a 4/4 finale dipped in a spectacle of color.

The group navigates LoRe’s wondrous compositions with that kind of intuitive interplay that is only possible when a strong chemistry is present.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Stripes ► 04 - Silent Ship ► 06 - Green

Lurch Purse - Don't Mess With Lurch Purse

Label: Mother Brain Records, 2023

Personnel - Michael Eaton: tenor saxophone; Max Kutner: electric guitar; Kevin Shea: drums.

The collaborative free-improv trio Lurch Purse, composed of saxophonist Michael Eaton (James Brandon Lewis, Dave Liebman and Lionel Loueke appeared on his recordings), guitarist Max Kutner (Grandmothers of Invention) and drummer Kevin Shea (Most Other People Do the Killing, Peter Evans Quartet), debuts with Don’t Mess With Lurch Purse, an album whose title works like a warning for the avalanche of tense and intense sounds built.

Their rough-around-the-edges approach has authoritative saxophone expressions combined with guitar interjections and irregular drumming, giving way to unstoppable forays - Eaton explores range and multiphonics within blunt-toned phrases, Kutner delves into roaring distorted rampages inspired by thrash metal, and Shea provides rambunctious drum work with unremitting energy. 

Following this first improvisation titled “Five Years in a Concrete Egg”, comes “Boite de Lune”, which offers air sounds and long saxophone notes contrasting with speckled guitar noodling. It all changes into fast runs and vehement drumming, in a restless agitation that lasts eight minutes, time when Eaton spits out jumpy intervals to obtain off-the-wall responses from Kutner. The thing with this free jazz ensemble is that intensity is constantly peaking and that can become exhausting.

The musicians certainly show admirable skills, but this recording is in need of more twists to fully work, being one of those ear-puncturing blasts that are too manic to reward a close listening. “Crack Goblins” falls into cacophonous delirium, with intermittent drum attacks and strangled guitar gamboling over it. This is the type of record that would benefit from more variation in the dynamics or, if maintaining the level of verve, less duration. Still, it will probably appeal to those searching for free form, bursting energy, and pugnacious improvisation in music.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Five Years in a Concrete Egg

Chris Speed Trio - Despite Obstacles

Label: Intakt Records, 2023

Personnel - Chris Speed: tenor saxophone, clarinet; Chris Tordini: acoustic bass; Dave King: drums.

Saxophonist and clarinetist Chris Speed, a native of Seattle, has been a mainstay of the New York improvising scene for several years. Besides recording in his own name and co-leading several projects - Endangered Blood, Broken Shadows, and Pachora - he heavily contributed to the success of groups such as John Hollenbeck’s The Claudia Quintet and Jim Black’s AlasNoAxis. He joined the prestigious The Bad Plus in 2022, a modern trio turned quartet whose drummer is Dave King, a member of his sympathetic trio since 2017. Rounding out the group is the sturdy, sought-after bassist Chris Tordini.

Despite Obstacles is Speed’s third trio outing, following Platinum on Tap (2017) and Respect For Your Toughness (2019), and comprises eight original compositions where creative juices are in full swing. There’s brawn and brain in Speed’s music and the opener, “Advil”, is a great example of that. The first-class melody strolls over a temperate indie rock texture, finding the right balance between power and finesse. Whether fragmented, motivic or fluid, Speed’s sharp-edged phrases are intriguingly captivating, as well as his veiled tone on tenor.

Flowing in five, “Wrangled” is even more enigmatic as it hinges on an inventive beat with opportune displacements and resolution delays to continuously catch our attention. Also in five, “Lone Satellite” feels very improvisatory; I love those clouded low-pitched notes that Speed extracts from his horn.

A poised approach to rhythm and harmony is put on display on “Uncomfortable Truths”, a dance with something folk in it, something pop too. Analogously dancing, the title cut has Speed probing inside/outside kinetics while the rhythm section enforces meter and rhythm variations. And then, we have two trad-jazz-inflected beauties in “Sunset Park in July”, a luminous brushed ballad that I imagined sung by Billie Holiday, and the sweet-natured “Amos”, which, swinging at its own discretion, features Speed on clarinet and Tordini in a thrusting solo.
Speed’s wish to make the music feel good is accomplished, and he keeps his trio fresh and vibrant.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Advil ► 02 - Wrangled ► 07 - Lone Satellite 

Donny McCaslin - I Want More

Label: Edition Records, 2023

Personnel - Donny McCaslin: tenor saxophone; Jason Lindner: synths, wurlitzer; Tim Lefebvre: electric bass; Mark Guiliana: drums. 

Saxophonist, composer and bandleader Donny McCaslin has taken modernist directions in music that allowed him to carve out a niche of faithful devotees. His new album, I Want More, is an eclectic blowout, all tracked to blazing saxophone solos, oozy synth layers, and trance-like, sometimes even hard-hitting beats and rhythms. McCaslin’s extraordinary ensemble features keyboardist Jason Lindner, bassist Tim Lefebvre and drummer Mark Guiliana. All four had an important role in the outcome of David Bowie’s last album, Blackstar (ISO Records, 2016).

“Stria” exposes an immediate catchy sound, with delayed saxophone riffs over a weave of synth lines that, together with bass and drums, build dynamic texture. Over time, it falls into a dance-pop/rock line that sustains an outgoing saxophone solo. It all sparks epic emotions. Like the aforementioned opener, “Fly My Spaceship” has Lindner’s hand in the electronic production. This particular piece blends the diverting glitch-hop vibe of Flying Lotus and the dub incursions of Jah Wobble and The Orb.

The energetic “Turbo” and the rousing “Landsdown” are rhythmic machines; the former is redolent of Nine Inch Nails’s industrial precision; while the latter, written by McCaslin and Lefebvre, alternates krautrock-infused electronic music with gentler string passages. Strings also appear on “Big Screen”, which is propelled by this big round backbeat outlined by Guiliana.

McCaslin ranges all the way through a concoction of genres. The pop/rock accessibility of “Hold Me Tight” provides strong bass lines that guide us through the harmony, and a breathtaking tenor statement with all that jazz. Co-penned by McCaslin and Lindner, “Body Blow” is a rich stew of progressive jungle-leaning EDM, funky breaks, and anthemic punk-rock. The riffery is powerful, the pulse gains trippy effects, the sound is dark and robust, and there’s an electronica-laden section that is both playful and explosive.

Wildly original, with a defiant and confident attitude, I Want More closes with the title track - a spectacular funkified exercise with a soulful melody à-la Kamasi Washington that pushes genre boundaries as it maintains an abrasive dance mode alive but with cool tones.

McCaslin’s compact work worths its weight in artistry as well as in sound. The future of jazz? A valid current for sure, one that hits the spot thanks to its aural kaleidoscopic phenomena.

Favorite Tracks:
04 - Body Blow ► 06 - Turbo ► 08 - I Want More

Jeremy Dutton - Anyone is Better Than Here

Label: Self released, 2023

Personnel - Ben Wendel: saxophone; Ambrose Akinmusire: trumpet; Joel Ross: vibraphone; James Francies: piano; Mike Moreno: guitar; Matt Brewer: bass; Daryl Johns: bass; Jeremy Dutton: drums.

Houston-born drummer Jeremy Dutton has been cutting his teeth on the New York scene playing in several ensembles led by pianists Vijay Iyer, Gerald Clayton and James Francies, as well as vibraphonist Joel Ross. The latter two were hired for Dutton’s promising debut album, Anyone is Better Than Here, whose textured arrangements pull off interesting sonic layers with a clever touch. Over the course of 12 original compositions, Dutton shows an interest in distinctly lustrous sounds while exploring different sonic possibilities.

With a mix of soulfulness and poignancy, “Opening Credits” drifts along a sonic landscape etched with an arresting rhythmic ground. It shifts mid-way, placing Mike Moreno’s softly whispered guitar cries on top of Francies’ atmospheric piano motif. The following number, “Waves”, was written with a music-related quote by vibraphonist Stefon Harris in mind: “you have to get on the wave or you get swept over it”. Acclaimed trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire is not only in charge of the main melody here; he also delivers fast, incisive improvised phrases that trigger apt piano responses. Dutton draws extra color from the kit at the end. 

“Mirrors” is a  sophisticated ballad announced by guitar and carried on by Ross’ warm vibing and Ben Wendel’s super balanced tenor blows. The saxophonist catapults the energy of “Shores”, whose electric thrills are reinforced with a tempo in disguise and tremolo guitar waves. Yet, the piece feels somewhat embryonic. In turn, the heartfelt “Truman (reborn)”, titled after Peter Weir’s film The Truman Show, tells about the strength required to choose an unknown path. It gets to the point with just a few bare hooks.

Hitting deeper shades with chill-out elegance, “Unfolding”, sounds gloriously uncomplicated but has a lot of work done behind the lines. It ends like a folk dance after providing us with tense saxophone and oblique vibraphone statements. The rhythm section creates a dream-like bed on the kitschy “Closing Sequence”, yet not devoid of syncopation.

Not too polished, not too rugged, these elliptical, winding tunes don’t seem open-ended but have set aside space for improvisation. Dutton demands attention.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Waves ► 06 - Unfolding ► 10 - Truman