Dan McCarthy - A Place Where We Once Lived

February 11, 2021

Label: Self released, 2021

Personnel - Dan McCarthy: vibraphone; Thomas Morgan: bass; Rudy Royston: drums.

This New York musical rendezvous between Canadian vibraphonist Dan McCarthy and the rhythm team of Bill Frisell Trio - bassist Thomas Morgan and drummer Rudy Royston - deserves more than just a digital release. The set of music presented here - 11 McCarthy originals and one cover - was recorded one day before the vibraphonist has left New York, his home for 15 years, to permanently return to his country of origin and base himself in Toronto.

Perhaps representing McCarthy’s best writing on the album, the first two tracks also provide evidence of the drawing power of his instrumental artistry. Whereas “Sonder” unfolds from an assertive bass intro and lands on a magical, asymmetric groove whose dreamlike musings are increased by the warm melodicism and sustained harmonic envelope provided by the bandleader, “Trail Maker” has that emotional strength that I always look for in a song of this nature. Both tunes benefit from Royston’s subtle textures and attractive colors.

The swinging escapism found in “Cloud Hopping” breezes in with a fluidity of language and a modal finesse that recalls the vibist Bobby Hutcherson. Yet, if the latter influence is implicit, then Gary Burton, another masterful vibraphonist, comes explicitly referred on the title “Desert Roads (For Gary Burton)”. On this one, we have pop and folk elements rubbing off on the post-bop enrapturement to create a strong crossover appeal.

Steve Swallow’s “I’m Your Pal”, which is also intimately connected to Gary Burton, shares balladic qualities with numbers that allow our souls to soar. I'm referring here to “Sombre Sleep”, a rubato exertion, and “Goodnight Sweet Cat”, a slow earworm that made me want to play it again. In absolute contrast to these cuts, the super dynamic “Go Berserk” flows with McCarthy’s mallet work racing against a vigorous rhythmic grid.

With the superlative interplay creating several moments of beauty, A Place Where We Once Lived is very much worthy of your time.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Sonder ► 02 - Trail Maker ► 12 - Goodnight Sweet Cat

Alexander Hawkins - Togetherness Music

February 10, 2021

Label: Intakt Records, 2021

Personnel - Alexander Hawkins: piano, composition; Evan Parker: soprano saxophone; Aaron Holloway-Nahum: conductor; Rachel Musson: flute, tenor saxophone; Percy Pursglove: trumpet; James Arben: flute, bass clarinet; Neil Charles: double bass; Mark Sanders: drums, percussion; Matthew Wright: electronics; Benedict Taylor: viola; Hannah Marshall: cello + The Riot Ensemble

To celebrate his 40th birthday, the pianist/composer Alexander Hawkins put together a flexible 16-piece ensemble, including the mighty free jazz saxophonist Evan Parker, to tackle an expansion of a piece commissioned by the American conductor Aaron Holloway-Nahum for the London-based Riot Ensemble. The six-movement opus Togetherness Music has the group negotiating adventurous charts with heart and devotion, forging a sound and language that mark not only the vision of Hawkins as a composer, but also the collective identity he envisioned for the project.

Evans is pivotal on the relentless “Indistinguishable From Magic”, where his enchanting soprano wizardry pushes the envelope of technique through breathing circularity. Then, a sustained harmonic point with subtle eeriness slowly transforms, surrounded by layers of strings and spectral aeriform figures that surface and melts away. The ideal counterbalance between free improvisation and oriented structure is remarkably achieved here.

“Sea No Shore” showcases the immense talents of drummer Mark Sanders and trumpeter Percy Pursglove, who speaks and chants with attractive intervals. Again, the modern classical idiom forms a liberal alliance with the free-flowing improv. “Ecstatic Baobabs”, on its part, is airy and unimpeded. This feel persists, even when convergences and crosses occur within a composed scenario that put on show Neil Charles’ bass lines in constant search for ground.

Evans and Hawkins work so well together and that’s not coincidental since they have collaborated in 2015 and 2016. In “Ensemble Equals Together”, nuanced and tensile piano details provide the perfect foil for the pervasive soprano agitation. The catchy strings perfuse the setting with orchestral exuberance and, moments later, the ensemble intensifies the energy, just to land minutes after in the relaxed swing tapestry of the following track, “Leaving the Classroom of a Beloved Teacher”. Allowing Hawkins to express his boldness throughout the keyboard, the latter piece strides with a marching posture, but with a progressive tendency for narrowing the steps and speeding its way up through the lane. By the end, we have piano, woodwinds and strings employing the same language and responding to one another’s calls.

Juggling self-possession and irreverence, “Optimism of the Will” concludes the record with a modernistic outfit that includes a gorgeous beat-driven flow and Matthew Wright’s electronic configurations. The finale, which comes after a pointed trumpet solo and a collective passage, bubbles with heavily weighted beauty, featuring articulate piano comping and the otherworldly undercurrents of Evans.

This is one of those rare examples where improvisation-oriented music is brilliantly thought-provoking from start to finish. There is no loss of direction and perspective.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Indistinguishable From Magic ► 03 - Ensemble Equals Together ► 06 - Optimism of the Will

Ben Monder / Tony Malaby / Tom Rainey - Live at the 55 Bar

February 9, 2021

Label: Sunnyside Records, 2020

Personnel - Ben Monder: guitar; Tony Malaby: tenor and soprano saxophones; Tom Rainey: drums.

Theoretically, if you have the outstanding guitarist Ben Monder, the inquisitive saxophonist Tony Malaby and the idiosyncratic drummer Tom Rainey playing in the same group, the music has to be awesome. That prognostic is confirmed on this fully-improvised recording captured live last year at the iconic New York venue 55 Bar. The immersive session consists of a long-form three-part suite so-called 3320, which alludes to the date it was performed, March 3rd, 2020.

The finely structured piece takes us to the musicians' recondite and enigmatic sonic world, where light and darkness nail down a deal. Developed with extraordinary intuition, the moods are predominantly foreboding but also catchily obsessive, overcast with gravitas and power alike.

Monder infuses the chorded passages with perplexing sounds and colors, sometimes soaring in suspension with short bursts of light after rising from the occult and the underground. Malaby is often expansive and infectious in his subterranean statements, which sometimes take the form of agonizing, full-throated growls. The tempo is not what certainly matters here, and Rainey is pleased about that, given that he always appreciated freedom and keeps breathing freedom in his playing. His mindfulness and balance help keep things together, whether his rhythmic patchwork is infused with snare drum swirls that cut like knives, high-strung pulses of considerable complexity, or sensitive brushwork that underlines space as opposed to density.

The first part of the suite runs for nearly 17 minutes; the second lasts over 29; and the third, keeping the close interplay but delivered with speed and stamina, adds about 15 minutes more for a total of one whole hour of music. While navigating a marvel of harmonic rivers and unique textures, the group embraces free improvisation with occasional goth and doom metal influences, and the constant ebb and flow in their explorations contribute for a gray state of incertitude and amazement.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Suite 3320: Part II ► 03 - Suite 3320: Part III

Roscoe Mitchell & Mike Reed - The Ritual and the Dance

February 8, 2021

Label: Astral Spirits

Personnel - Roscoe Mitchell: reeds; Mike Reed: drums, percussion, electronics.

The free jazz genre is graced by the dynamic duo of multireedist Roscoe Mitchell, an unapologetic nonconformist, and drummer Mike Reed, an artisan of the rhythm. The sophomore release of these AACM artists is called The Ritual and the Dance and was recorded live in 2015 during their European tour. It consists of a nearly 37-minute uninterrupted storytelling with no idle moments.

The high-pitched soprano laments delivered by Mitchell take the form of piercing indigenous chants blown vertiginously with circular breathing and patterned stimuli. The dry rat-a-tat of the snare drum makes a beautiful tonal contrast with the deep bass drum kicks, establishing an intense, sedulous workout routine that will put you in a state of bemused fascination.

The impressive versatility of Reed surfaces not only when he seats behind the drumset, but also when he operates electronics with subtle sensitivity. At some point, his adept pulses are transformed into droning backgrounds, whose dark tones allow the saxophone to reflect brightly. Reed then resumes the stomping cadence but keeps changing its colors.

The turbulent environment is refrained at the minute 20, when Mitchell switches to tenor, seeking folk melodies and exploring some long notes that oscillate in pitch. His beefy, occasionally raucous tone is unadorned, if slower, here, but he switches horns again for a stimulating final stretch.

Adventurous jazz listeners will be struck by the force of this music, certainly wishing that Mitchell and Reed can collaborate again soon.

Jakob Bro - Uma Elmo

February 5, 2021

Label: ECM Records, 2021

Personnel - Jakob Bro: guitar; Arve Henriksen: trumpet; Jorge Rossy: drums.

The music of Danish jazz guitarist Jakob Bro has the ability of giving me inner peace, which is something that not every musician is apt to. His new ECM release, Uma Elmo, consists of nine pieces, old and new, that explore new avenues and create impressive atmospheres with quietly involving sounds and textures. Bro opts for the trumpet-guitar-drums format here, recording for the first time with the Norwegian trumpeter Arve Henriksen and the Spanish drummer Jorge Rossy. The album title refers to the middle names of his two children, with a newborn serving as inspiration as well as the current state of the world.

Having been included in the 2008 album The Stars Are All New Songs with the late Paul Motian, “Reconstructing a Dream” appears here surrounded by a crystalline aura, whose stillness veers from introspective to slightly brooding in the last segment. Bro’s fine loops are followed with minimal gestures by Rossy, whose playing invokes Motian, and the soaring lines of Henriksen, who also speaks clearly on the elegiac “To Stanko”, even when hushing, murmuring and crying. This piece, a dedication to the late trumpeter Tomasz Stanko, also involves classical-inspired guitar fingerpicking and understated percussion as part of its aesthetic concept.

Another dedication is “Music For Black Pigeons”, a piece written for the alto saxophonist Lee Konitz, with whom Bro used to have interesting conversations. Obeying to its own cadence, this number boasts a beautiful melody scattered throughout and a loose brushwork for a soft and fluid illumination.

Both “Beautiful Day” and “Slaraffenland” had been previously recorded, while “Morning Song” is a brand new mind-pacifier that sonically describes wide-open landscapes awakening for life. The trio seems to breathe in sync with the earth.

“Housework” is another great new composition. The group displays the same quietude and disposition for openness, circularity and immensity, but explores some different timbres, with the trumpeter emitting a droning vibration like a didgeridoo and the guitarist making a tasteful use of electronics and looped sequences.

Pronounced with an unshakeable serenity, Bro’s meditations are rich in both improvisation and discipline. An artistic enlightenment with so many small things to be appreciated. Like in life.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Reconstructing a Dream ► 02 - To Stanko ► 05 - Housework

Aki Takase / Christian Weber / Michael Griener - Auge

February 3, 2021

Label: Intakt Records, 2021

Personnel - Aki Takase: piano; Christian Weber: bass; Michael Griener: drums.

The resourceful Japanese pianist/composer Aki Takase fronts this newly formed trio project, Auge, featuring Swiss bassist Christian Weber and German drummer Michael Griener, the same rhythm team that has been backing the tenor saxophonist Ellery Eskelin.

Evincing an intimate musical understanding that seems to have been forged in years, the threesome navigate the improvised realms of jazz with dexterity throughout 14 relatively short pieces whose durations range between the 1:30 and 6:30 minutes. Both from the pen of Takase, “Drops of Light” and “The Pillow Book” are pure rhythmic delights. While the former explores compulsive forward motions with dizzying cascading effects and crescendos, the latter is inundated with Monk-inspired riffs, evolving with a bouncing ecstasy.

There’s also the spontaneous “Motion in the Ocean”, impeccably executed with rollicking rhythmic figures dynamically swelled by the briskness of left-hand crashing chords. A percussive blast happens. Yet, while the brushed effervescence in Griener’s drumming begins to show some roots, Weber installs a mad swing that is all stability. The pianist is the lucky one here, absorbing the perks of this environment to implant elaborated chops and pronounced melodic accentuations.

“Face of the Bass” is another group improvisation solely introduced by Weber. The piece soon becomes a duet with the addition of drums and then the piano completes the trio, leading to a chunky, if swirling, finale.

The fusion of avant-garde jazz with other stylistic elements is spotted on Takase’s “Are Eyes Open?” and “Calcagno”. The former piece sounds like a traditional folk song delineated with stimulating intervallic leaps, while the latter shows off a deliberate melodic fragmentation with a strong folk charisma and whose logic allows us to absorb it as a whole. These tunes prove the group capable of meeting both ends of the jazz spectrum. Going even further, the collectively imagined “Who’s Going to Bell the Cat?” is a cocktail of folk, funk, tango and free improv that comes to the table with a refined presentation.

The idea of multiplicity and unity is reinforced with “Last Winter”, the Paul Motian-esque divagation that opens the record, and “No Tears”, whose reflective stillness unexpectedly veers into a sort of polka before going astray to indefinite places.

This pleasurable first musical meeting deserves repeated listenings.

Favorite Tracks:
02- Drops of Light ► 10 - Motion in the Ocean ► 13 - Who’s Going to Bell the Cat?

Sabir Mateen / Christopher Dell / Christian Ramond / Klaus Kugel - Creation

February 2, 2021

Label: 577 Records, 2020

Personnel - Sabir Mateen: tenor saxophone, voice; Christopher Dell: vibes; Christian Ramond: double bass; Klaus Kugel: drums.

This free jazz session, recorded live at A-train in Berlin in 2012, brings together Philadelphia-born, New York-based saxophonist Sabir Mateen and a German rhythm section composed of vibraphonist Christopher Dell, bassist Christian Ramond and drummer Klaus Kugel. Creation comprises three parts, the last of which is a bonus track only available in the digital format.

“Creation (Part One)” enters upon a straightforward storytelling with nimble tenor phrases, digressive vibraphone movements and loose groundwork from bass and drums. The often jittery drumming goes against the soft vibes but shares the same state of mind of Mateen, who improvises with anxious fervor, expressing lucid motifs that exclaim, ask and sometimes answer. For this, the saxophonist employs a timbral alchemy that applies to the whole range of his instrument.

Clocking in at 31 minutes, the second movement starts with a steady flux of vibes, bass and drums, but its textural surface is not always maintained even. On top of this, Mateen unleashes raucous staccatos and multiphonics, fluttering whistling blows and winding phrases occasionally enhancing ascendant and descendant movements through a pinned note as a reference. These oblique trajectories are quite thrilling. At times the group goes for cathartic left turns and sharp angles as they muscle up the procedures, on other occasions they swing in an open manner, virtually soliciting the scat-singing abilities of the American frontman. The piece doesn’t come to an end without Kugel’s rollicking drum solo.

The third part is perhaps the one shrouded in louder and more intense sonic waves, generating a similar sense of engagement and freedom.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Creation (Part One)

Peter Kronreif Wayfarers - Aeronautics

February 1, 2021

Label: Fresh Sound New Talent, 2021

Personnel - Lucas Pino: tenor saxophone; Andrew Gould: alto saxophone; Addison Frei: piano; Martin Nevin: double bass; Peter Kronreif: drums. Guests - Matthias ‘Pedals’ Loescher: guitar (#3); Alex Wintz: guitar (#7).

The tangible rhythmic work of Austrian-born, Brooklyn-based drummer/composer Peter Kronreif has been enriching projects by the German pianist Florian Hoefner and the American saxophonist Remy LeBoeuf. Aeronautics marks his return as a leader, comprising nine original compositions where we find him at the helm of his renewed group The Wayfarers. The ensemble features musicians with whom he has developed a special kinship throughout the years, including saxophonists Lucas Pino and Andrew Gould (the only member that transitioned from the 2010 debut Gloaming), pianist Addison Frei and bassist Martin Nevin.

The opening piece, “Obviously Obvious” is pleasantly laid down with warm melody, an inquisitive tempo and adroit soloing that derives from the productive vocabularies of Pino, whose tenor navigates tight curves and acute angles, and Nevin, whose beautiful touch puts up a light and thoughtful statement.

The initial idea for the title track, “Aeronautics”, was developed in various airports, and the group only takes off the ground after bass and drums entwine in a sturdy foundation. On top of it, it’s Frei’s glowing pianism that stands out. The combination of rock music and contemporary jazz sets a rich background for Pino, who makes some spine-chilling notes soar high before reuniting in unison with his fellow reedman for a subsequent polyrhythmic section.

The band concentrates efforts in certain details that tie everything together, and that comes to our view on pieces like “The Undefeated”, an energetic look at Hemingway’s short story of the same name, here told with firm melodic imprints; “Verdura”, a breathable sonic bubble featuring electric piano and giving off a tranquil aura dedicated to everything green on our planet; and “Trees”, which, following the latter piece in the message, thrives with exuberant exchanges between the saxophonists.

Guest guitarists Matthias Loescher and Alex Wintz are featured on one track each. The former provides textural pigmentation to “Obeisance”, a swinging post-bop number whose extraordinary grace and plush lyricism are inspired by Kronreif’s major influences, John Coltrane and Brian Blade. In turn, Wintz boasts his immense sound and resilient drive on “Nodoc”, shaping up a rhythmic figure in five that helps better define the backbone.

Leading and composing with charisma, Kronreif should keep on doing his own thing.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Obviously Obvious ► 02 - Aeronautics ► 07 - Nodoc

Marc Copland - John

January 28, 2021

Label: Illusions Mirage, 2020

Personnel - Marc Copland: piano.

In addition to an exceptional career as a leader, American jazz pianist Marc Copland has partnered with saxophonist Dave Liebman, bassist Gary Peacock, and guitarist John Abercrombie for many years. His latest solo album, John, is a tribute to the latter musician and friend with whom he worked closely since the 1990’s.

Gathering nine Abercrombie’s early and late compositions, Copland get the session started by burrowing into the deep beauty of “Timeless”. He adds a rich melodic intro before entering that circular, heartfelt progression that keeps us soaring among spacious clouds. It’s an immediate gratification we get on this fantastic piece.

“Isla”, which first appeared on the 1982 duo recording Five Years Later with Ralph Towner, ensures another introspective and haunting experience, creating gentle and tightly focused soundscapes in a slow-burning routine. Embracing a similar mood, we have “Sad Song”, which heightens the melancholy, and “Remember Hymn”, a rubato amazement devised with chordal brilliance and impeccable note choices.

While “Sunday School” oozes nostalgia from all pores with sheer sentiment, the not so known but no less brilliant “Flip Side” brings the post-bop creativity of both composer and interpreter to the fore. Copland’s nimble fingering fuels the subtleness of the song with suspended contrapuntal motion.

Taking into account the color, shade and tone of its narrative, “Vertigo” is perhaps the piece that, waltzing and rambling with effortless abandon, better goes with the formerly described piece.

Copland has the ability of never overstuffing the music too much. He sticks to smooth textures that, never disrupted, lulls the listener with plenty of emotion. This is a great record for listening late at night in a relaxing environment.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Timeless ► 02 - Isla ► 03 - Flip Side

Shai Maestro - Human

January 27, 2021

Label: ECM Records, 2021

Personnel - Shai Maestro: piano; Jorge Roeder: bass; Ofri Nehemya: drums; Philip Dizack: trumpet.

The Israeli-born, Brooklyn-based pianist Shai Maestro appears on the ECM label for the second time as a leader with Human, an album featuring the same rhythmic foundation of his previous work - bassist Jorge Roeder and drummer Ofri Nehemya - plus the excellent trumpeter Philip Dizack, who brings further melodic possibilities to the table. With huge ears, the members of this quartet achieve top-notch levels of musicianship in the course of a cohesive narrative that consists of 10 Maestro originals and one jazz standard.

“Time” gets the show on the road like a liberation hymn with plenty of sophistication. Yet, it’s the mid-tempo waltz “Mystery and Illusions” that instantly grabs my attention with its amiable musical temperament and organic constitution. The dynamics are intensified, and the emotions flow naturally with the stirring piano and the lofty trumpet conjugating their sounds with tasteful poise.

Maestro is a fluent, well-rounded pianist with a soulful approach to musicality, and that transpires on the title cut, “Human”, a short but memorable number where he delves deep in harmonic resplendence. His signature lyricism is also patented on “GG”, a 3/4 composition containing melodically challenging routes to be delivered in unison with Dizack.

If “Hank and Charlie”, a tribute to the duo formed by pianist Hank Jones and bassist Charlie Haden, probes gentle balladry with an attractive, polished aesthetic, then a reading of Duke Ellington’s “In a Sentimental Mood” gets a modern hip-hop-ish vibe. This version was partly influenced by multi-generational artists, the contemporary vibraphonist Joel Ross and the jazz giant who most popularized it, John Coltrane.

In “Prayer”, the fidgety drum work of Nehemya creates a fervent contrast with the calm acoustic surroundings. Having jazz, folk and ambient sounds coalescing together, as well as a mix of tradition and originality at its essence, Human is a record to revisit.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Mystery and Illusions ► 03 - Human ► 10 - In a Sentimental Mood

Joe Lovano's Trio Tapestry - Garden of Expression

January 26, 2021

Label: ECM Records, 2021

Personnel - Joe Lovano: tenor and soprano saxophones, tarogato; Marilyn Crispell: piano; Carmen Castaldi: drums.

In the second installment of the Trio Tapestry, Garden of Expression, the leading saxophonist Joe Lovano wields his horn with tact, engraving profound melodies on the understructures created by his sterling associates, the pianist Marilyn Crispell and the drummer Carmen Castaldi. The album comprises eight Lovano compositions, most of them written on the road, which whir with splendorous lyricism and spirituality.

Dipped in reflection, “Chapel Song” joins these shimmering tenor melodies with the dreamy quality of Crispell’s piano work and the selective drum chops of Castaldi. This number was the product of Lovano’s listening to an organ playing in a Viennese church. A quiet illumination comes from the trio’s musical affinity and that warm feel is seamlessly passed to “Night Creatures”, a meditative exercise in which Lovano’s expressive playing becomes affectingly emotional. He’s well supported by cymbal legato and other percussive subtleties as well as deep silences. This serene, free-flowing nature often recalls the work of drummer Paul Motian.

If “The Sacred Way” comes up with a new way of playing modal jazz, more delicate and laid-back than ever, then the title track, “Garden of Expression”, draws harmonic mystery from every passage. Melodically poignant at first, this piece evolves into brisk weavings of melodic saxophone that immediately made me think of Charles Lloyd. The focused piano of Crispell is overshadowed by Castaldi’s effusive drumming here, while Lovano plays gongs in the last section. The trio’s deep musicality is on full display.

Under the drummer's steady tapestry, “Dream On That” kicks in with a lovely piano declaration to which the saxophone responds assertively. The convergence of the two instruments ultimately occurs, and a finely articulated theme, mixing blithe post-bop and Monk angularity, is delivered with unbending belief.

The album closes with “Zen Like”, a soaring piece where the trio combines gongs and cymbals, plucked piano strings and low pedals, and adds horn laments for the resulting chemistry.

The open music of Trio Tapestry casts a mesmerizing spell, shining with colors that, being less flashy than most of the modern genres, are everlasting and opalescent.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Night Creatures ► 04 - Garden of Expression ► 07 - Dream On That

Vaux Taux - Watch You Walk

January 25, 2021

Label: Self-released

Personnel - Benjamin Karp: guitar; Chris Coyle: bass; Matt Scarano: drums.

Bassist Chris Coyle leads the Philadelphia-based trio Vaux Taux, for which he is the main composer and arranger. The other members of this jazz-meets-indie-rock clan - guitarist Benjamin Karp and drummer Matt Scarano - joined him throughout the fluid proceedings that make their debut record, Watch You Walk, something not to be overlooked.

The strong musicianship shared by the threesome comes with a crossover appeal, and that’s immediately noticeable on the opener, “Tender”, an odd-metered ride boasting arresting rhythms and harmonic comfort. The fantastic energy and drive, which is positively affected by a slower passage, feels appropriate to the experimental trait of the guitarist, whose language melds the blaze of indie rock and the attractive colors of jazz.

The title track takes the pop/rock and jazz influences into breezy territories, but ends up in muscular circularity. Working in tandem with the guitar for a slightly psychedelic effect during the theme, the bass then finds some residual funk in a path that also crosses a dreamy section right before reaching the finale. Also with a sticky funky feel, the rhythmically worked out “21 Skidoo” has an infectious danceability linked to the visceral immediacy of the fusion genre. Besides the Alan Holdsworth-like vibe, there’s this fine melodic fingerpicking embellishing its middle passage.

Combining craft and spontaneity, the dulcet guitar intro of “Skymall” arrives with a good amount of restraint. It’s easy to identify gorgeous melodies, organized interplay, a melody-driven bass solo and some unexpected organ effects spotted by the end.

“You’ve Been Here Before” overtly draws from the alternative rock and indie pop canons, being shortened by a steep fade out. In contrast, “Vaux Taux” gets closer to folk rock in an early instance, later becoming a showcase for Karp’s hybrid language poured out over the steady rhythmic underpinning provided by Coyle and Sarcano.

With each member selflessly dedicated to creating organic music, this is the favorable outcome of their efforts as a group.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Tender ► 04 - 21 Skidoo ► 05 - Skymall

Chrome Hill - This is Chrome Hill

January 21, 2021

Label: Clean Feed, 2020

Personnel - Asbjorn Lerheim: baritone and electric guitars; Atle Nymo: tenor saxophone, bass clarinet; Roger Arntzen: double bass; Torstein Lofthus: drums.

Norwegian quartet Chrome Hill have released six albums since its formation in 2001, with the latest being This Is Chrome Hill, a stable body of work inspired by several contrasting elements provided by the Norwegian island of Sula as well as Japan, where the group has been touring regularly. These jazz noir practitioners with openness to Americana, noise rock and other stylistic elements are Asbjorn Lerheim (the group’s sole composer) on baritone and electric guitars, Atle Nymo on tenor saxophone, Roger Arntzen on double bass and Torstein Lofthus on drums.

“Clockwork”, a mournful dirge with mysterious dark tones, exemplifies the group’s powerfully relatable music and teamwork. A pounding bass pattern joins the rattling snare drum, winding saxophone blows, electronics, and distorted guitar with clever outside inflections during the impromptu segments. On occasion, Pink Floyd’s soft psychedelia crosses my mind.

Both “10-4”, in which we find the group playing at its airiest, and the enigmatic “Limbo” give the impression that Jan Garbarek’s post-bop progressions are working together with the hooky alternative-rock obscurity of Mogwai and the film scores of Ennio Morricone. The latter piece, displaying a regular rhythmic flux in 5/4 for most of its duration, occasionally shifts into 4/4 sections. Designed with the first tempo as a reference, Nymo’s tenor solo goes from nonchalant to vibrant, benefitting from the harmonies and details of a guitar comping selective on how it sounds.

If “Ascend” is an uplifting cocktail of post-punk, indie rock and krautrock with enough margin to create melodically atop, then “Particle” is a thought-out conjunction of noise rock and free improv, whose simmering intensity is deeply grounded on jittery drumming, guitar dissonance and edgy sax lines in turmoil.

In turn, “Within” embraces an indie-pop veneer while displaying a yearning melody, while “Interlude” falls into pensive indie-folk balladry. Lerheim’s guitar filigree are central and distinct on those atmospheric worlds, resembling velvet in the latter, and employing overdrive, reverb and delay effects on the former.

“Light” closes out the journey by infusing a little more optimism in the proceedings. It feels like having a rural folk song going electric with the crying guitar.

The diverse range of moods and arrangements given by Chrome Hill has my approval.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Clockwork ► 02 - Limbo ► 06 - Particle

Conference Call - Prism

January 20, 2021

Label: Not Two Records, 2020

Personnel - Gebhard Ullmann: tenor saxophone, bass clarinet; Michael Jefry Stevens: piano; Joe Fonda: acoustic bass; Dieter Ulrich: drums.

Working together for 20 years, Conference Call is one of those quartets where you can’t go wrong when searching for music. Championing a formidable avant-garde jazz, the group of pianist Michael Jefry Stevens, saxophonist Gebhard Ullmann and bassist Joe Fonda, welcomes a new partner for this record, with the Swiss drummer Dieter Ulrich sitting in the chair that once belonged to Matt Wilson, Han Bennink, George Schuller and Gerry Hemingway. With the exception of Ulrich, all the musicians contribute compositions to Prism, the ensemble’s 10th release, in which they fruitfully flaunt explorative methodologies.

The album opens and closes with Ullmann’s compositions taken from his 2019 album mikroPULS (Intuition, 2019). Although divergent in nature, both have the saxophonist showing off his oblique storytelling with a tart tone. The opener “F.J.D.” is a dedication to Eddie Harris’ smashing hit “Freedom Jazz Dance” that navigates odd tempos. The genius pairing of Ullmann and Stevens is on display in the first minutes, prior to an off-kilter dance already with bass and drums involved, where the saxophonist steps the borders of tonality. Benefitting from a good support by Fonda, Ulrich lays down a synergistic rhythm with moderate whirlwind procedures and syncopation, infusing timely cymbal crashes whenever the flux is broken. The closer, “Zeit Lupe”, is an unconventional ballad dedicated to the amazing saxophonist Charles Lloyd. Also penned by Ullmann, who wields the bass clarinet here, “Variations on a Master Plan (Pt.2)” comes with enigmatic inscriptions on it, even if it's more pensive and frayed on the edges.

The bass clarinet also plays a role in Fonda’s “The Bee”, a number built with a stationary quality but denoting an excitable temperament. Yet, it was the other composition by the bassist, “Listen to Dr. Cornel West”, a dedication to the provocative democrat mentioned in the title, that trapped me completely in its mercurial sequences. This piece had been recorded twice in 2015 and 2019 by the Nu Band and OGJB quartet, respectively. Here, it kicks off with bass and drums at the center, creating an impressionistic underpinning on top of which angular saxophone interjections and fierce piano chords take place. On its following passage, the group nails the balance between the dreamy and the cacophonous and past towards the middle of the tune, Fonda’s brisk legato leads to a magnetic Latin-flavored groove. After that, it's time for conspicuous call-and-response episodes between sax and piano.

Introduced by Stevens’ sensitive pianism, “Prism” is a lush, gently brushed waltzing ballad, while “Sal’s Song”, a wondrous blues that he also composed, boasts rubato freedom and a thrusting pulse underlining nice lilting moments.

Carefully dosing abstraction and clarity in their virtuosic playing, Conference Call can easily play in a quiet, intimate way or stretch a tune into a maximum range of tension.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - F.J.D. ► 03 - Listen to Dr. Cornel West ► 05 - Sal’s Song

Ethan Iverson - Bud Powell in the 21st Century

January 19, 2021

Label: Sunnyside Records, 2021

Personnel - Ethan Iverson: piano; Ingrid Jensen: trumpet; Dayna Stephens: tenor saxophone; Ben Street: bass; Lewis Nash: drums + Umbria Jazz Orchestra

The imaginative pianist/composer/arranger Ethan Iverson celebrates the music of Bud Powell, a leading figure in the development of bebop and one of the greatest jazz pianists of all times, through a big band work recorded live at the 26th edition of Umbria Jazz Winter in 2018. In addition to the Umbria Jazz Orchestra, the suite features a core quintet of renowned first-call jazz musicians - trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, saxophonist Dayna Stephens, bassist Ben Street, drummer Lewis Nash and Iverson himself - in an attempt to evoke the only session recorded by Powell to include horns (1949).

In terms of arrangements, the inspiration came from Stravinsky, Carla Bley, Count Basie and Dizzy Gillespie, in a program of 16 tracks - eight by Iverson, seven by Powell and Thelonious Monk’s “52nd Street”.

The lyrical melodic intricacies and flying chordal scents of a number of Powell’s hits are executed with incredible power - “Celia” is given a lush arrangement with luminous hard-bop flair and where sax and trumpet float over the automatic rhythmic interlock of Street and Nash; the 1949 composition “Tempus Fugit” is delivered with orchestral punch, announced by the brilliancy of Nash’s drumming and featuring searing solos from Iverson and Jensen; “Bouncing With Bud” leisurely swings after an authoritative sax/trumpet statement in unison; and the defiant swagger of “Wail” finds purpose in a faster tempo and brisker workout.

Iverson’s “Bud Powell in the 21st Century” is split into two parts, the first of which is a chorale expressed with reasonable linearity, and the second, a swinging stream that includes not only Powell’s nimble piano improvisation over “Cherokee” but also an explicit tenor avowal of passionate post-bop delivered by Stephens, with layered contrapuntal horn fills as stereo reinforcements. Another composition by the bandleader, “Nobile Paradiso”, also employs Powell’s thoughts on “All The Things You Are”, presenting no clutter of any kind as it straddles between relaxation and buoyancy. There are also five Iverson-penned ‘simple spells’ intercalated throughout, and the last of them serves to give notice of “I’ll Keep Loving You”, where Giovanni Hoffer’s French horn comes to the fore.

The rhythmic eccentricity of the Latin-soaked “Un Poco Loco”, one of Powell’s most cherished pieces, brings a sensational closure to a record that, sealed with Iverson’s unique creativity, opens up a glorious new phase in his career.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Bud Powell in the 21st Century, Part 2: Continuity ► 03 - Celia ► 16 - Un Poco Loco

Santi Debriano - Flash of the Spirit

January 18, 2021

Label: Truth Revolution Records, 2021

Personnel - Justin Robinson: alto saxophone; Andrea Brachfeld: flute; Bill O’Connor: piano; Santi Debriano: bass, guitar; Tommy Campbell: drums.

Panamian-born bassist/composer Santi Debriano, who was raised in Brooklyn since the age four, has forged a stable path in the left side of jazz through remarkable collaborations, both on record and on stage, with luminaries like Sam Rivers, Archie Shepp, Oliver Lake and David Murray. Although capable of spawning powerful grooves and holding complex rhythms, Debriano fails to impress with this new outing, Flash of the Spirit.

His quintet comes forward with the uptempo “Awesome Blues”, prescribing a straightforward swinging motion in seven with an indelible Latin feel attached. Alto saxophonist Justin Robinson and flutist Andrea Brachfeld get together in bright unisons, with all the members of the group - including pianist Bill O’Connor, drummer Tommy Campbell and Debriano himself - enjoying minutes to stretch out.

“Funky New Dorp” is Debriano homage to Staten Island’s community in its effort to deal with the damages inflicted by the Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Here, Robinson’s horn is a consistent source of speed and articulation.

“Natural Causes” and “Toujours Petits” are rhythmically boosted by the Brazilian percussionist Valtinho Anastacio. The former piece presents melodic parallelism between bass and flute and discreet shifts in rhythm, while the latter, written for Debriano’s three children, allows some harmonic comparison to Ivan Lins and Milton Nascimento while promoting a strong folk charisma in the melody and a sweltering Brazilian rhythm enhanced with the presence of mandolin and tambourine.

The lineup is adaptable, and if “For Heaven’s Sake” is a bass monologue that lasts for 2:42 minutes, “Beneath the Surface” is a melancholy piano/bass duet composed by O’Connell, and where Debriano bows with gloomy despondency.

Rounding out the record are three covers competently delivered but lacking soulful twists. Ornette Coleman’s “Humpty Dumpty” is the strongest, exploring outside playing. The others are Kenny Dorham’s earnest ballad “La Mesha”, in which Debriano overdubs an electric guitar solo, and a tepid piano-less rendition of Kenny Barron’s “Voyage”.

Unfortunately, Flash of the Spirit doesn’t distinguish itself from other new releases in the genre.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Awesome Blues ► 05 - Toujours Petits ► 06 - Humpty Dumpty

Cortex - Legal Tender

January 14, 2021

Label: Clean Feed, 2020

Personnel - Thomas Johansson: trumpet, percussion; Kristoffer Berre Alberts: saxophones, percussion; Ola Høyer: double bass, percussion; Gard Nilssen: drums, percussion.

Cortex, the Norwegian jazz quartet that has been performing athletic avant-garde jazz since 2007, rely on a well-integrated group sound and a chord-less aesthetic that is both resilient and sparkly. Legal Tender, their fourth release on the Clean Feed Records, comprises seven tracks marked by short and simple themes, productive interplay and exciting improvisation. Six of them were penned by trumpeter Thomas Johansson and one by bassist Ola Høyer. The group also features tenor saxophonist Kristoffer Berre Alberts and the illustrious drummer Gard Nilssen, who makes here his last contribution to this quartet in order to focus more on family as well as on his own projects.

“Anthem For the Uneasy” opens the record with epic grandeur, combining bowed bass legato, dexterous mallet activity and poignant melody. The eloquent, supplicant tones are preserved during the time that Alberts blows a strongly-built tenor improv.

If the groovy avant-garde work in “Standby” emerges with a three time feel, a dash of folk incantation and a fluid swinging vibe, then “GTM” is a playful 4/4 collective exertion with room for the soloists’ creativity. Nilssen stands out in a rhythmic dissertation with occasional beat-driven coolness, opportune fragmentations and lots of color.

Høyer’s “10-4” boasts a two-minute intro of trumpet, peculiarly handled by Johansson with extended techniques. After the sumptuous unisons of the theme statement, the tune segues into a more conversational strategy put in practice by the trumpeter and the saxophonist with occasional wily juxtapositions.

The last couple of pieces on the album introduce the blues as a final fling before the conclusion. Totally relaxed in posture, “Blue Bromka” is pushed forward by sluggish ascendant bass movements and expertly polished brushwork, while “Loose Blues” is divided into two parts, which are separated by more than a minute of silence. Following Nilssen’s introductory mallet drum work and subsequent collective pastoralism, comes a galvanizing and propulsive Afro groove in six over which a fertile trumpet diction unfolds.

Although not consistently meeting the joy and energy of Cortex's predecessor album, Avant-Garde Party Music (Clean Feed, 2017), Legal Tender won’t have any trouble to connect with seekers of creative music.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Anthem For the Uneasy ► 03 - GTM ► 07 - Loose Blues

Tani Tabbal Trio - Now Then

January 13, 2021

Label: Tao Forms, 2020

Personnel - Adam Siegel: alto saxophone; Michael Bisio: acoustic bass; Tani Tabbal: drums.

Throughout a remarkable career that came to prominence in the early 1980’s, Chicago-born drummer Tani Tabbal made a name for himself by performing/recording with fantastic and adventurous bandleaders such as Roscoe Mitchell, Sun Ra, Geri Allen, David Murray and Evan Parker. For this chord-less trio recording with the stalwart bassist Michael Bisio and the younger yet similarly risk-taking altoist Adam Siegel, he provides 10 pieces, six of which he penned and four by Bisio.

The record opens with one of the bassist’s pieces, “Arrested Confusion”, which, boasting a challenging additive meter signature [8+6] at the backbone, allows the saxophonist to explore in oblique ways.

Tabbal penned the next two discrepant compositions. “Just Woke Up” denotes a more reflective nature through a loose underpinning and open dynamics; the space doesn’t compromise the committed interplay and Siegel’s can be, by turns, assertively explanative and disconsolately plaintive. In turn, “Khusenaton” feels like a groove-centered 15/8 boogaloo that keeps revolving on the axis established by a robust bass figure and colorful drumming.

The title track, “Now Then”, accommodates the frenetic drive and improvisational impetus commonly seen in the free jazz genre. While Siegel becomes garrulous in his adventurous and largely timbral cacophony, Bisio and Tabbal intertwine their sounds in turbulent combustion.

Bisio’s “Sun History Ra Mystery” exudes a noteworthy spiritual vibe with Tabbal infusing a fine mix of cymbal colors in a first instance, before departing to mallet splendor. The name Sun Ra in the title is not by chance. The bassist also brought the freebop-ish “Oh See OC Revisited” to the program, a piece that had been previously recorded in a 2016 duo recording with cornetist Kirk Knuffke. For this version, the trio plunges into a happy, uncompromising swing that extends to Tabbal’s “Inky Bud”, a full-throttled ride where the drummer showcases his percussive skills. On this particular track, we experience a taste of timelessness with hints of Monk and Braxton.

With an elastic approach to pulse, Tabbal commands this trio with extreme confidence.

Favorite Tracks:
03 - Khusenaton ► 04 - Sun History Ra Mystery ► 10 - Inky Bud

Flash Reviews - Dino Saluzzi / Mark Small Trio / Alex Moxon Quartet

January 12, 2021

DINO SALUZZI - ALBORES (ECM Records, 2020)

Personnel - Dino Saluzzi: bandoneon.

The first time I heard Argentinean bandoneon player Dino Saluzzi was on Volver, a 1986 quintet record co-led with Italian trumpeter Enrico Rava. Recalling that moment, I was well impressed by the warm, wistful and nostalgic sounds explored. Albores, his first solo effort in 32 years, is predominantly taken by these strong emotional shades while traversing various themes with a delicate combination of quietness and expressiveness.

The mournful “Adios Maestro Kancheli”, a homage to the Georgian composer Giya Kancheli, who died in 2019 at the age of 84, makes a good company to “Ausencias”, where it's easy to discern the harmonic and melodic richness of the instrument, and also to the inner soliloquy “Intimo”. Boasting an evocatively firm yet soft-at-the-edges intonation, Saluzzi has in “Segun Me Cuenta La Vida / Milonga” - a tango with equal portions of sadness and romanticism - and “Ficcion”, his most glowing pieces. Both were inspired by the work of Argentinean writer Jorge Luis Borges. There’s also “Don Caye”, a tender dedication to his father. Even in small doses, this music requires patience if you’re not in the right mood. [B-]

MARK SMALL - ONE DAY (Self released, 2020)

Personnel - Mark Small: tenor saxophone; Matt Brewer: double bass; Damion Reid: drums.

For his debut album as a leader, saxophonist Mark Small has gathered a trio that provides him an incredibly rhythmic support. One Day features eight original compositions written in the course of his busy musical life, probably when he was not touring with the singer Michael Bublé, occasionally performing with the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra or recording with Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society.

Small is heard unaccompanied in the intro of “Sonny”, a straight-ahead blues dedicated to one of his major influences, Sonny Rollins. The piece becomes inherently conversational from the moment that bassist Matt Brewer and drummer Damion Reid start weaving a rock-solid net in the back.

Relaxedly brushed, “Tumbleweed” gets an extra layer with dubbed saxophone, whereas the ECM-inspired “The Charmer” reaches a strongly motivic disposition by displaying sax lines against a funkified rhythm.

Although the dynamic “Gee Zee” is authoritatively coordinated with bop articulation, the two last pieces on the album instantly had my fondness. The odd-metered “Conflict of Interest” flows like a burbling stream, while “Up”, an exciting sax/drums duet, concludes with loads of energy to burn. [B]

ALEX MOXON QUARTET (Self released, 2020)

Personnel - Alex Moxon - guitar; Steve Boudreau: piano; John Geggie: bass; Michel Delage: drums.

Guitarist Alex Moxon, a native of Ottawa, Canada, makes his debut as a leader in the company of fellow Ottawa players - pianist Steve Boudreau, bassist John Geggie, and drummer Michel Delage. Comprising seven originals and two covers, the album steps into several stylistic domains. If Woody Shaw’s strikingly vibrant “In a Capricorn Way” opens the album with a triple meter flow and a soul-inflected vibe that, calling Grant Green to mind, celebrates the birth of Moxon's son, then the solo version of Soundgarden’s poignant “Black Hole Sun” is layered with less enigmatic tones than the original, despite of an exciting final segment presented with impressive chordal work and harmonics. “Kaleidoscope” results from a seamless integration of smooth funk and post-bop; “Mining For Gold” is another solo effort that, by its design, takes us closer to the electro-pop universe; and pieces such as “Wood Chop” and “Scientology” revisit the hard-bop universe, shaping up in their own way. The record comes to a close with “Romantique”, a balladic serenade in five. Above all, Moxon demonstrates soulfulness while expressing his musical ideas. [B]

Game of Drones - What Computers Cannot Do

January 11, 2021

Label: Fro Musikkforlag, 2020

Personnel - Jakob Eri Myhre: trumpet, effects pedal, cracklebox, Casio keyboard, tuning forks; Aksel Jensen: bass, effects pedal; Henning Carlsen: samples, electronics, SPD-SX percussion sampling pad

Focusing on experimental narratives that transpire considerable abstraction and multi-sensorial awareness, Game of Drones - the Norwegian trio of trumpeter Jakob Eri Myhre, bassist Aksel Jensen and sampling artist Henning Carlsen - often pokes the listeners’ imagination through an offbeat sound design. What Computers Cannot Do is their debut full-length album.

Experimental electronic music comes along with an eruptive, erratic beat on “Speed” to convey a sinister sense of foreboding that looms large. Imagine having the dark dancing grip of Cabaret Voltaire and the underground art rock of Robert Fripp inhabiting the same space.

Also shinning darkly among other pieces, “Selenography” leans deeper into ambient, contrasting with the clear, still waters of “Sleep”, which blends tonal smears for a congruent result. The zap and sizzling electronic sounds by Carlsen are transferred into “Lucid”, which provides a more discernible harmonic progression via Jensen’s bass conduction, whether pedaling or pushing forward. Moreover, Myhre’s shimmering trumpet often searches for transparency on the higher registers.

“Bang” features an intelligible synth language with no subterfuges, ending up in a sort of mechanical fantasia that arises from the conjunction of a propelling rhythm and a bass figure. There’s a shift in mood that implies a shift in rhythm, and the beat becomes fragmented, leaving us stalled in atmospheric inquisitiveness. By the end, the trio reinstates the earliest rhythmic form with wailing trumpet phrases atop.

In a similar danceable fashion, “Alarm” goes from a more vivid streak of funk and progressive electronica into a wistful sound world of dark dronescapes, chiming spareness and spectral, cosmic-like effects.

Not for all ears, this record is recommended for those expecting jazz to go beyond standard paths.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Bang ► 04 - Lucid ► 06 - Alarm