Guillermo Klein Quinteto - Telmo's Tune

Label: Sunnyside Records, 2023

Personnel - Guillermo Klein: piano, composition; Chris Cheek: tenor and soprano saxophones; Leo Genovese: Fender Rhodes, keyboards; Matt Pavolka: bass; Allan Mednard: drums.

Argentinian pianist Guillermo Klein is thoroughly established as one the most genial composers of our time. His imaginative music and arrangements are all over the course of nine originals that compose the new album, Telmo’s Tune, titled after a composition for his son. You can hear him mastering styles, in which he always puts a stamp of his own, in a quintet with creative New York-based instrumentalists such as saxophonist Chris Cheek, keyboardist Leo Genovese, bassist Matt Pavolka, and drummer Allan Mednard.

The first track, “Criolla”, is a propulsive and expertly rendered diatonic folk piece whose complex rhythmic juxtapositions feel natural to the ear. Following changes in pace and texture, the music, with its grandiose and hopeful vibe, is a charming showcase for Cheek’s wondrous soprano playing. “Push Me Not” mixes and matches sounds in an unusual way, flirting with elements of tango and electronic music (mostly due to Genovese’s periodic glitchy pulse) while squeezing in something from Tom Waits and Kurt Weill. Odd meters are carved all over the map and Mednard is very comfortable with it. He finds the space to stretch out over a vamp here, as well as in “Camello” (an episode of Klein’s 2008 Solar Return Suite), whose additive tempos {7+5}, curling bass groove, rock-influenced demeanor, and overlapping layers give it a fusion look.

Drawn from his 2008 album Filtros, the mercurial “Amor Profundo” features plenty of exquisite variations, denoting modern classical and jazz influences. It’s not hard to spot the leader’s hand as the piece is intricately crafted with provocative tempo shifts and other nuances that often causes us to get lost in its rhythmic mesh. Meticulously composed, “Quiero” shows another side of Latin, here overlapped with an afrobeat in seven, whereas “A Navarro” touches on Brazilian choro.

Quieter tunes include: “Si Vos me Queres”, a balladic mystery full of searching and synchronicity that is introduced by Pavolka; the title track, which surfs cool harmonic waves in waltzing mode; and the dreamlike “Burrito Mirror”, which keeps everything slightly off-kilter, between possibility and reality, while mirroring the arco bass and tenor parts.

Klein’s deal is very unique, using different genres but playing beyond them to form a style that undertakes tricky and graceful interactions. Skirting jazz in its pure forms, this is another vibrant and disarming recording from a first-class composer whose oeuvre deserves all our esteem.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Criolla ► 02 - Push Me Not ► 07 - Camello

Johnathan Blake - Passage

Label: Blue Note Records, 2023

Personnel - Immanuel Wilkins: alto saxophone; Joel Ross: vibraphone; David Virelles: piano; Dezron Douglas: bass; Johnathan Blake: drums.

Drummer Johnathan Blake demonstrates virtuosity in his compositional itineraries and pragmatism in his band leading. He has been a busy sideman working alongside the likes of Kenny Barron, Bill Frisell, Tom Harrell and the late Dr. Lonny Smith. Passage is his sophomore release on Blue Note and a powerful follow-up to the deservedly acclaimed Homeward Bound, picked by JazzTrail as one of the best jazz albums of 2021. There are no changes to the lineup of his excellent multi-generational Pentad ensemble, which features saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins, vibraphonist Joel Ross, pianist David Virelles and  bassist Dezron Douglas.

Dedicated to Johnathan’s late father, the jazz violinist John Blake Jr., the album kicks off exclusively percussive at the sound of mallets and cymbals, but plays like a melody. The tidal pull of his approach takes us to his father’s tune “Passage”, where we indulge in a beautifully swinging post-bop. The caressing theme statement is asserted by Wilkins, who takes the first solo with impetuous genius. He’s followed by the always rhythmically interesting Virelles, who besides contributing one of his sultry Afro-Cuban-infused compositions named “Tiempos”, delivers a fantastic solo on Blake’s “West Berkley St.”, a soulful, Motown-inspired tune full of groove and joy.

Equal parts cheerful and cool, Blake’s “Groundhog Day” has Wilkins and Ross driving the piece to ecstatic heights. They also find wide harmonic avenues to explore - with adventurous notes that fall in and out of scope - on Douglas’ “A Slight Taste”, which is etched by a smokin’ funky groove. Virelles stretches out on Minimoog, to which he adds Fender Rhodes sounds on “Muna & Johna's Playtime”. Despite the odd meter, the piece is seamless in the flow with a folk contour in the melody, featuring Wilkins and Virelles in a stimulating musical interlocution. Ross, who steps forward here in the final vamping sequence, is also at the center of “Out of Sight, Out of Mind“, a bewitching, horn-less ballad delivered with a Bobby Hutcherson vibe.

Open to different genres, grooves and intensities, Johnathan Blake puts out a lovely recording that brims with openheartedness and positive expression. He remains one of the most sought-after drummers of the scene as he adapts to classic jazz environments as well as modern contexts with remarkable prowess.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Passage ► 05 - Groundhog Day ► 08 - A Slight Taste

MØ:San - Mr. Mountain's Folktales

Label: AMP Music & Records, 2023

Personnel - Jung-Jae Kim: saxophone; Finlay Hare: cello; Amund Nordstrøm: drums, modular synth. 

This Norway-based improvisational trio called MØ:SAN trades in avant-garde jazz atmospheres and hinges on interaction to express their creativity. South Korean saxophonist Jung-Jae Kim leads the group and provides all eight compositions that compose this first album, Mr. Mountain’s Folktales. The pieces are drawn from conventional and unconventional musical aspects, including graphic scores, with Kim being joined by British cellist Finlay Hare and Norwegian drummer Amund Nordstrøm.

The ship sets sail with “Mountain Blue”, traversing waves of abstraction that are formed by deep raspy cello, contemplative saxophone chants, and considerable percussive variety. On “Reverberation” we have mantric undulations via a cello drone, mystic horn murmurs and volatile if resolved drumming.

There’s a mix of refined and unpolished expressions, fruit of the bevy of sounds with which they play. Take the example of the subtle and minimalist “Conjunction”, with its rattling percussion, poppy sax notes, and sparse cello pizzicato turned into occasional strumming to reinforce harmonic background. This piece gets closer to the soaringly prayerful “Ascension”, whose formless ambience of pacific tones enables modular synth curlicues prepared by Nordstrøm. These two pieces differ in mood and texture from “Tapestry”, a spiky-but-pretty number that develops with growling and multiphonic blows, winding cello patterns that range in pitch, and adequate drum playing.

Whereas the multiphonics-infused “Tube” starts off moody and ends up forcefully, “Irony” hits the sweet spot of chamber music with its classical intonation and scintillating melodic conduction. Cleverly, the trio adds some elements of surprise.

With unpredictable soundscapes, Mr. Mountain’s Folktales is a testament to the power of collaboration and sound arrangement as an art form. Kim tells a story about a man in the mountains and his relationship with nature in a work that is organically constructed according to the musical freedom he vouches. MØ:SAN knows where they’re stepping onto, opening up a narrative path to sound discoveries.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Mountain Blue ► 04 - Conjunction ► 05 - Tapestry

Mat Maneri Quartet - Ash

Label: Sunnyside Records, 2023

Personnel - Mat Maneri: viola; Lucian Ban: piano; John Hébert: bass; Randy Peterson: drums.

The second consecutive outing of violist Mat Maneri in quartet with Romanian-born pianist and regular collaborator Lucian Ban, bassist John Hébert, and drummer Randy Peterson is called Ash, and continues the hauntingly atmospheric explorations started with the previous, Dust (Sunnyside, 2019).

The minimal architecture of the pieces encompasses slow, circumspect developments that might seem understated in terms of individual improvisation but are strong as a collective effort. It’s precisely with a collective improvisation, “Ash”, that they start off the proceedings. There’s crawling viola lines emerging sinuously from dark subterfuges and places of mystery. The search is endless with the body of the bass and flickering cymbal energies aligning forces for a strange coalition with the congruous piano, whose harmonic texture glues everything together.

The microtonal restraint of Maneri darts around on “Moon”, a piece based on a melody by violist James Bergin whose sounds are somber and sleep-inducing. Its floating detachment doesn’t seem to take us anywhere in concrete but ends with more percussive flavor than it started. Also wandering in rubato style, “Earth”, which is based on a melody by Mat’s father Joe Maneri, joins avant-garde jazz and modern classical influence, reserving a space for Peterson’s adroit drum flow by the end. Another classical-influenced piece is “Brahms”, which revisits the Romantic Classicism of the German composer in the title with beautiful melodic suspensions and resolutions that sweep through a richly brushed rhythmic tapestry.

Overtonal balance is achieved with Ban’s “Glimmer”, whose discernible main statement, delivered in parallel by viola and piano, is a reference point. The group distills their tonal language into an ample musical space, and their interplay - especially between Maneri and Ban - stands out. The quartet finalizes with “Cold World Lullaby”, a picturesque folk-imbued number carried with a slight sense of hopelessness and Eastern tinges. This last polytonal piece was based on melodies by American film music composer Sol Kaplan, Romanian traditional Lume, and a Sicilian lullaby.

Once the mood of a piece is established, shifts and metamorphoses are infrequent. Yet, the warp knitting, angular measurements and gloomy harmonic impressions of this music examine something deeper. We could say this is the sadcore branch of jazz.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Ash ► 05 - Glimmer ► 07 - Cold World Lullaby

Ember - August in March

Label: Imani Records, 2023

Personnel - Caleb Wheeler Curtis: stritch, trumpet, reed trumpet; Noah Garabedian: acoustic bass; Vincent Sperrazza: drums.

Ember is an adventurous Brooklyn-based trio of forward-thinking leaders, composers and improvisers who possess the right technique and the will to make music that, while aesthetically gratifying, is far from predictable. For their third album, August in March, all three musicians - Caleb Wheeler Curtis on stritch (a curveless alto saxophone), trumpet and reed trumpet; Noah Garabedian on acoustic bass; Vincent Sperrazza on drums - contribute original compositions that are musically seamless, fully integrated and cleverly sequenced. There’s also a short collective improvisation.

Curtis’ “Suspense” doesn’t make a killing entrance but a confident and agreeable one. There’s mallets for a deeper sound, directional bass strums and soft pizzicato work that hold everything together, and pensive saxophone deliberations that wrap its lushness around the rhythm section. Folk intonations are present in a tune that has no rush but no sluggishness either. On his “Sink and Swim”, the saxophonist speaks clearly, adopting a Coltranean idiom that opposes the initial trumpet wistfulness that navigates the sober background. Garabedian provides an expert combination of accompaniment and interaction.

The remaining Curtis’ compositions are “Flotation Device and the Shivers”, which comes with an economic elegance of approach via controlled pounding accents and moaning saxophone expression; and the viscerally playful “Break Tune”, where we find quick-witted melodic fragments and lively talking drums.

Garabedian’s “Snake Tune” makes some modal inflections in its swinging motion. The trumpet evokes Eastern landscapes and there’s a sharp bass solo supported by the saxophonist, whose notes are intended to provide harmonic context. Also penned by Garabedian, the title track takes the form of an intriguing conversation that begins with arco bass and saxophone in total agreement. They are backed by Sperraza’s creative cymbal work and serviceable brushed snare.

The drummer’s sound world is rich in color and timbre, and his diverse original pieces show exactly that. “Frank in the Morning” has a massive tone of rock flow that can also be heard on “Angular Saxon”, where Braxton-esque avant-jazz hooks are grafted onto the punchy rhythm. Constantly stretching himself, Curtis shines in both pieces with bold statements loaded with inside/outside magnificence and poetic expression. Sperrazza is also the composer of the R&B-ish final track, “Sam Cooke”, which is a tribute to the soul music artist in the title.
Ember shows highly creative instincts that will serve listeners itching to be challenged.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Snake Tune ► 03 - Frank in the Morning ► 05 - Angular Saxon

Daniel Carter / Leo Genovese / William Parker / Francisco Mela - Shine Hear Vol. 1

Label: 577 Records, 2023

Personnel - Daniel Carter: saxophones; Leo Genovese: piano; William Parker: bass, gralla, shakuhachi; Francisco Mela: drums, voice.

This potent quartet composed of two veteran leaders of the downtown free jazz scene - saxophonist Daniel Carter and bassist William Parker (here taking a larger role as he joins the frontline playing woodwind instruments) - and two excellent  musicians of a younger generation - Argentine pianist Leo Genovese and Cuban drummer Francisco Mela - deliver a cutting-edge session of free improvisation in which they show not to be afraid of dissonance, atonality, and experiment with sound.

“Intertext Salute” exhibits a moderate yet assured percussive drive at the outset, with irregular piano coiling, fully framed bass work in the forms of sturdy pizzicato and burbling arco, and poised manifestations of saxophone angularity. At some point Parker brings the gralla (a Catalan double reed instrument) into the game. He and Carter burn through simultaneous phrases that, emphasizing accentuation, create a sophisticated and witty musical dialogue. Tonally brilliant, Genovese’s playing feels like a tornado of tremendous force, and the energy peak coincides with when Mela’s Cuban chants start to intensify.

Many will say the intensity wanes on “Shine Hear”, a splendorous modal piece of immense beauty, but moments like this one do make the difference. With big ears and resourceful skills, they express themselves in a prayerful communion where saxophone and shakuhachi interact closely.

The concluding cut, “Glisten Up” goes through a cycle of different moods and textures. Furious gralla lines fly atop the martial snare drum flow; subsequently, we have soaring piano hooks rambling until crashing loudly in the low register; and then a repetitive vocal phrase uttered by Mela while maintaining a steady rhythmic pulse. This becomes the motivic center for what comes next. Carter seems to evoke the black spiritual “When the Saints Are Marching In” at the beginning of his statement; there are reflective phrases over mechanic rat-a-tat-tas and apt chordal work; and everything fades into a dreamy ambience with bowed bass at the fore.

Assembled with structural and sonic invention, this disc is a vast sea of interminable motion and mood. With ensembles like this, one can still find coherent free jazz cooked with taste and passion. With new sounds but also with the intensity of the old times.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Intertext Salute ► 02 - Shine Hear

Dahveed Behroozi - Standard Fare

Label: Sunnyside Records, 2023

Personnel - David Behroozi: piano.

Following a well-received trio album of originals entitled Echos, American pianist Dahveed Behroozi releases Standard Fare, an intimate set of unaccompanied jazz standards that reflects his hybrid, non-traditional approach to music.

“All the Things You Are” draws the listener into his sound world with introspective temperament and poignancy in the chordal movements. This dreamlike ambience is suddenly interrupted by a swift keyboard flow infused with typically classical melodies. Once in a while, one can spot fragments of the main melody that, in a jiffy, dissolve into fluid jazz idioms. The aforementioned opener and the last track, Monk’s provocative “Trinkle Tinkle”, are the strongest of an album where spontaneous unfolding of phrases toggles between oblique and straightly leveled.

Another famous Monk tune brought to the set is “Round Midnight”, which goes from rubato to a sequence of unexpected phrasings delivered with variable pacing and bright harmonic color. Tempo is never a concern here, though. “I Love Paris” is tenderly expressed like a lullaby, carrying some wistfulness and melancholy that digs deep in emotion, whereas “East of the Sun” is treated like a pared-down nocturnal. Faithful to his crossbred variety of classical, jazz and new music elements, Behroozi shapes Rodgers and Hart’s popular tune “With a Song in My Heart” as a rhapsodic recital that still retains some of its innate original reflexes. Conversely, “Just One of Those Things” appears here with propulsive bass notes occasionally emphasized and altered melody.

Behroozi has crafted an accessible and listenable album of standards that, not matching his previous work, finds its own moods and sonic pathways.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - All the Things You Are ► 02 - I Love Paris ► 09 - Trinkle Tinkle

Max Light - Henceforth

Label: SteepleChase Records, 2023

Personnel - Max Light: guitar; Noah Preminger: tenor saxophone; Kim Cass: bass; Dan Weiss: drums.

Suitable for straight-ahead jazz curious and inveterate post-boppers alike, guitarist Max Light’s sophomore album, Henceforth, comes with a healthy quota of adventure as well as precise interactive playing. Exclusively composed of originals, the album features him alongside reliable associates: saxophonist Noah Preminger, bassist Kim Cass and drummer Dan Weiss. This is the same quartet that brought to life Preminger’s 2020 album Contemptment. Their skills allow them to play tightly and also be open to spontaneous change.

“Barney & Sid” is an exciting standout. The bass and drum workout passes a sensation of wobbliness in the step due to challenging rhythmic accentuations and tempo, while Light and Preminger provide unison melodies weaved with plenty of intervallic allure to keep us focused. The latter expresses his highly developed language, extracting an impressively dark and robust sound from his instrument. His unquestionable tonality serves as a foil for the guitarist’s fluid solo that arrives next. Over its course, he has Cass hopping and sliding across the fingerboard, almost creating polyphony. Always so rhythmically intense, the bassist opts to make the notes soar on “Animals”, a brushed and expressive ballad.

With a laid-back posture and peculiar exotic fragrances in its fabric, the title cut develops from a central guitar lick that is followed by the saxophone. At odds with this vibe, “Subjective Object” spreads out of the speakers with a punchy, not-in-the-pocket rhythmic swirl that intrigues before ending in a vamp wherein Preminger and Light work in parallel. They are the improvisers of “High or Booze”, which culminates the album with a powerful emotional arc. The tenorman blows with range and cites the theme as he concludes his statement, whereas the guitarist lines up clean-limbed notes that ricochet with liveliness.

In addition to all these ingenious post-bop numbers, Light offers two plain neo-boppers - “Luftrauser” and “Half Marathon” - developed with a sinuous, strong complexion. Max Light is a talented instrumentalist and composer to follow closely, and this well-planned album doesn’t disappoint.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Barney & Sid ► 02 - Henceforth ► 08 - High or Booze

Joe Farnsworth - In What Direction Are You Headed?

Label: Smoke Sessions Records, 2023

Personnel - Immanuel Wilkins: alto saxophone; Kurt Rosenwinkel: guitar; Julius Rodriguez: piano; Robert Hurst: bass; Joe Farnsworth: drums.

In a career spanning four decades, the selfless drummer Joe Farnsworth has been leaning on the conservative side of the jazz spectrum with excellent results, playing alongside pianists Cedar Walton and Harold Mabern, and saxophonists Benny Golson and George Coleman. For his third outing on Smoke Sessions label, In What Direction Are You Headed?, Farnsworth shows vision and innovative capacity by employing two outstanding Philadelphian soloists - saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins and guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel. The group is rounded out by the up-and-coming pianist Julius Rodriguez, and a longtime collaborator, the bassist Robert Hurst.

This delicious eight-track jazz brew begins with two pieces by Rosenwinkel: “Terra Nova”, whose sax/guitar introductory section suggests a ballad before things diverge into an effortless bossa nova rhythm; and the modern classic “Filters”, whose striking, cyclonic theme inspires a creative improvisational feast taken with verve and rapture by Rosenwinkel and Wilkins. Rodriguez and Farnsworth also improvise with aplomb. 

The album’s centerpiece is the Harold Mabern-penned title track which is meaningful in more than one sense. With focused bass and drums tied up all the way down, there’s this wonderful start-stop phrasing delineating the theme and incredible solos by the usual suspects. Rising to the top, Wilkins builds within a language whose vibrating currents make our bodies react, while Rosenwinkel tailors his synth-effect sound and approach with unbridled artistic command, thoroughly combining tradition and in/out expressionistic playing.

Wilkins’ previously unrecorded “Composition 4” is a smooth poem that, following a lyrical sax/guitar introduction, has the rhythm section kicking it into gear with crafty tempo and cymbal continuum. In turn, Rodriguez’s “Two Way Street”, culled from his debut album Let Sound Tell All (2022), and Farnsworth’s “Bobby No Bags”, dedicated to Hurst, are buoyant swingers made of expedite rhythm changes that everybody takes a bite. 

Rosenwinkel brings another beautiful tune of his, “Safe Corners”, which, like “Terra Nova”, was included on his 2008 album The Remedy, and the session ends with a rendition of Donny Hathaway’s easy-listening soul hit “Someday We’ll All Be Free”, here reformulated with triple meter and further luminosity. 

According to what we hear, Farnsworth’s new direction is taking him to exciting places. His current associates brought him intense connectedness and the freedom he seems to enjoy while truly committing to the music. 

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Filters ► 03 - In What Direction Are You Headed? ► 08 - Someday We’ll All Be Free

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