CRAIG TABORN TRIO - Chants
ECM 372 4543
Craig Taborn (p); Thomas Morgan (b); Gerald Cleaver (d)
Recorded June 2012
This is Taborn's second release for ECM as leader, and as a follow up to the solo album Avenging Angel he has chosen to feature his longstanding trio with Thomas Morgan and Gerald Cleaver.
That the trio have been together for eight years and has toured extensively should come as no surprise, and even a cursory listen
to Chants show a togetherness and unity between the three that brings Taborn's compositions to life in a way that would have been impossible had the trio been approaching the material for the first time in the recording studio.
Craig has presented his colleagues with nine original compositions that have intricate and complex melodic lines, with the melodies at times seeming to take unexpected twists and turns and that can have a rhythmically unsettled feeling. This is ably demonstrated in the opener 'Saints', and 'Beat The Ground' that are disturbing with their tumultuous pell-mell of rhythms, and crab like movement from the piano; and this is exemplified on the impenetrable melodic line and
tumbling phrases from the piano on 'All True Night/Future Perfect'.
The lighter side of the trio reveals itself in the next number 'In Chant', with a delightfully flotating accompaniment from piano and drums, with its melody stated by Thomas Morgan's double bass.The opposite side of the coin is then revealed in the gentle ambiguity of 'Cracking Hearts', with the delicate percussion work of Cleaver supporting Taborn's sparse lines at the piano, and the similarly phrased 'Silver Ghosts' evoking the darker side of the work undertaken here.
Crucial to the core of this impressive trio is the work that Morgan and Cleaver do away from band, and their burgeoning reputations as leading exponents of the feer end of the spectrum. And it is indeed this freedom
to work inside and outside of the structures of the tunes that makes this unit so flexible and responsive to each others needs, and tha tof the music.
If Taborn can keep this line-up together, working and recording regularly, they have the potential to be one of the truly great piano trios in jazz.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
Top of Page
Craig Taborn (p); Thomas Morgan (b); Gerald Cleaver (d)
Recorded June 2012
This is Taborn's second release for ECM as leader, and as a follow up to the solo album Avenging Angel he has chosen to feature his longstanding trio with Thomas Morgan and Gerald Cleaver.
That the trio have been together for eight years and has toured extensively should come as no surprise, and even a cursory listen
to Chants show a togetherness and unity between the three that brings Taborn's compositions to life in a way that would have been impossible had the trio been approaching the material for the first time in the recording studio.
Craig has presented his colleagues with nine original compositions that have intricate and complex melodic lines, with the melodies at times seeming to take unexpected twists and turns and that can have a rhythmically unsettled feeling. This is ably demonstrated in the opener 'Saints', and 'Beat The Ground' that are disturbing with their tumultuous pell-mell of rhythms, and crab like movement from the piano; and this is exemplified on the impenetrable melodic line and
tumbling phrases from the piano on 'All True Night/Future Perfect'.
The lighter side of the trio reveals itself in the next number 'In Chant', with a delightfully flotating accompaniment from piano and drums, with its melody stated by Thomas Morgan's double bass.The opposite side of the coin is then revealed in the gentle ambiguity of 'Cracking Hearts', with the delicate percussion work of Cleaver supporting Taborn's sparse lines at the piano, and the similarly phrased 'Silver Ghosts' evoking the darker side of the work undertaken here.
Crucial to the core of this impressive trio is the work that Morgan and Cleaver do away from band, and their burgeoning reputations as leading exponents of the feer end of the spectrum. And it is indeed this freedom
to work inside and outside of the structures of the tunes that makes this unit so flexible and responsive to each others needs, and tha tof the music.
If Taborn can keep this line-up together, working and recording regularly, they have the potential to be one of the truly great piano trios in jazz.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
Top of Page
PAUL DUNMALL & TONY BIANCO - Thank You To John Coltrane
SLAMCD 290
Paul Dunmall (ts, ss); Tony Biamco (d)
Recorded 27th November 2011
Over the years Paul Dunmall has made no secret of his admiration
for the work of John Coltrane, so it should come as no surprise that the
saxophonist would release an album of Coltrane’s compositions as a ‘thank you’ to the great man and his music. In doing so he has chosen to ‘accompany’ him the drummer Tony Bianco with whom Dunmall has had a fruitful working relationship, in various size aggregations, for more than a decade.
Perhaps accompany is the wrong expression for, within the context
of this music, Bianco is an equal partner in the creation of the interpretations of some of Coltrane’s most well- known pieces contained in this performance, and the way the two musicians approach the material and each other is nothing short of startling.
Many musicians, great and not so great, have recorded Coltrane's compositions, and quite often their success will come from not so much the technical prowess that is displayed, but the way in which the thematic material is approached, and the feelings of the players even more so.
In the liner notes, Dunmall says that "... I finally feel I can play some of his melodies as a thank you to him", and it is this admiration and respect for Coltrane as not just as a great saxophonist, but also the spirit of the music that he embodies that makes this offering so special.
The duo approach the music with a reverence that, rather than hinders and dulls the performance, seems to inspire the pair to greater heights, and with a control and restraint, especially on Coltrane's freer themes, that magnifies and lifts the music. Bianco especially plays with such a tight rein on proceedings, that not so much keep things in check, but allows the music to breathe and flow so that the saxophonist's melodic line is not lost in a torrent of notes and polyrhythms but can be heard and felt clearly by all.
Somewhat surprisingly, Dunmall and Bianco have brought some of Coltrane's mid period compositions to sit alongside the later works, that would on first impression not seem to suit the duo format, with an open approach to 'Giant Steps' that dispenses with the familiar chord sequence; and it is indeed their reading of 'Alabama' that it perhaps the show stopper of the set, with Dunmall's bringing his huge tenor sound to produce a performance that is as tender as it is tough, with both musicians not afraid to wear their heart on their sleeve.
This is a powerful and gripping album that deserves to be widely heard.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
Top of Page
Paul Dunmall (ts, ss); Tony Biamco (d)
Recorded 27th November 2011
Over the years Paul Dunmall has made no secret of his admiration
for the work of John Coltrane, so it should come as no surprise that the
saxophonist would release an album of Coltrane’s compositions as a ‘thank you’ to the great man and his music. In doing so he has chosen to ‘accompany’ him the drummer Tony Bianco with whom Dunmall has had a fruitful working relationship, in various size aggregations, for more than a decade.
Perhaps accompany is the wrong expression for, within the context
of this music, Bianco is an equal partner in the creation of the interpretations of some of Coltrane’s most well- known pieces contained in this performance, and the way the two musicians approach the material and each other is nothing short of startling.
Many musicians, great and not so great, have recorded Coltrane's compositions, and quite often their success will come from not so much the technical prowess that is displayed, but the way in which the thematic material is approached, and the feelings of the players even more so.
In the liner notes, Dunmall says that "... I finally feel I can play some of his melodies as a thank you to him", and it is this admiration and respect for Coltrane as not just as a great saxophonist, but also the spirit of the music that he embodies that makes this offering so special.
The duo approach the music with a reverence that, rather than hinders and dulls the performance, seems to inspire the pair to greater heights, and with a control and restraint, especially on Coltrane's freer themes, that magnifies and lifts the music. Bianco especially plays with such a tight rein on proceedings, that not so much keep things in check, but allows the music to breathe and flow so that the saxophonist's melodic line is not lost in a torrent of notes and polyrhythms but can be heard and felt clearly by all.
Somewhat surprisingly, Dunmall and Bianco have brought some of Coltrane's mid period compositions to sit alongside the later works, that would on first impression not seem to suit the duo format, with an open approach to 'Giant Steps' that dispenses with the familiar chord sequence; and it is indeed their reading of 'Alabama' that it perhaps the show stopper of the set, with Dunmall's bringing his huge tenor sound to produce a performance that is as tender as it is tough, with both musicians not afraid to wear their heart on their sleeve.
This is a powerful and gripping album that deserves to be widely heard.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
Top of Page
SLOBBER PUP - Black Aces
RareNoiseRecords RNRPR023
Jamie Saft (org, kybs); Joe Morris (g); Trevor Dunn (b); Balazs Pandi
(d)
Recorded n.d.
Partly named after his pet mastiff, Slobber Pup is masterminded by organist, Jamie Saft as a way of reuniting his musical acquaintance with guitarist, Morris. Already having one release under their belts, Black Aces is a follow up to 2011's The Spanish Monkey on the Northern Spy imprint.
Saft will be best known to readers of this site through collaborations with John Zorn and his Electric Masada and The Dreamers aggregations. My previous encounter with Saft was on the soprano saxophonist, Jane Ira Bloom's album Like Silver, Like Song, all of which are a completely different animal to the one we are presented with here.
Slobber Pup can best be described as an improvising quartet that incorporate (or operate within) avant garde heavy metal and grindcore. Heavy rhythms are prevalent, along with micro-tonal blues rock, and the forays into micro-tonality come from Jamie's studies with the legendary saxophonist/clarinettist, Joe Maneri.
Saft advises that no elements are preconceived, and all tracks were completely improvised in the studio. The resulting music is pretty head on, with the opening track, 'Accuser', running for 27 minutes and coming right at you with a huge slab of sound from Joe Morris' guitar.
Variation comes in the somewhat shorter pieces that follow, with a more open and fluid exploration of tempo and metre(or a times, no tempo and no metre) in 'Taint of Satan' and with Saft's organ playing on 'Suffrage', which for this listener is the favourite track of the set.
Quite where this music fits in, I'm not really sure, but perhaps that is not the pointe. The only 'jazz' related comparison would be the 1980's power improvising quartet, Last Exit, that featured the ferocious tenor playing of Peter Brotzmann and axeman Sonny Sharrock along with Bill Laswell and Ronald Shannon Jackson.
A different take perhaps to the more familiar free improv associated with websites such as this, and as far from the British and European improvised music scene as you can get. Music not for the faint hearted, but for those not afraid to take a shot of the hard stuff there are not inconsiderable rewards to be found on the five improvisations heard here.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
Top of Page
Jamie Saft (org, kybs); Joe Morris (g); Trevor Dunn (b); Balazs Pandi
(d)
Recorded n.d.
Partly named after his pet mastiff, Slobber Pup is masterminded by organist, Jamie Saft as a way of reuniting his musical acquaintance with guitarist, Morris. Already having one release under their belts, Black Aces is a follow up to 2011's The Spanish Monkey on the Northern Spy imprint.
Saft will be best known to readers of this site through collaborations with John Zorn and his Electric Masada and The Dreamers aggregations. My previous encounter with Saft was on the soprano saxophonist, Jane Ira Bloom's album Like Silver, Like Song, all of which are a completely different animal to the one we are presented with here.
Slobber Pup can best be described as an improvising quartet that incorporate (or operate within) avant garde heavy metal and grindcore. Heavy rhythms are prevalent, along with micro-tonal blues rock, and the forays into micro-tonality come from Jamie's studies with the legendary saxophonist/clarinettist, Joe Maneri.
Saft advises that no elements are preconceived, and all tracks were completely improvised in the studio. The resulting music is pretty head on, with the opening track, 'Accuser', running for 27 minutes and coming right at you with a huge slab of sound from Joe Morris' guitar.
Variation comes in the somewhat shorter pieces that follow, with a more open and fluid exploration of tempo and metre(or a times, no tempo and no metre) in 'Taint of Satan' and with Saft's organ playing on 'Suffrage', which for this listener is the favourite track of the set.
Quite where this music fits in, I'm not really sure, but perhaps that is not the pointe. The only 'jazz' related comparison would be the 1980's power improvising quartet, Last Exit, that featured the ferocious tenor playing of Peter Brotzmann and axeman Sonny Sharrock along with Bill Laswell and Ronald Shannon Jackson.
A different take perhaps to the more familiar free improv associated with websites such as this, and as far from the British and European improvised music scene as you can get. Music not for the faint hearted, but for those not afraid to take a shot of the hard stuff there are not inconsiderable rewards to be found on the five improvisations heard here.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
Top of Page
EVENGY MASLOBOEV & ANASTASIA MASLOBOEVA – Your Beautiful Face Makes Me Cry/Russian Folk Songs In The Key Of New Jazz
EVENGY MASLOBOEV & ANASTASIA MASLOBOEVA – Your Beautiful Face Makes Me Cry
Leo Records CD LR
658
Evengy Masloboev ( cymbalo,
drums, Turkish& Soviet cymbals, darbuk, block-flutes, trumpet, folk wooden
and clay whistles, hunters manki, African tsanta, digital & acoustic piano,
prepared piano, prepared guitar, kitchen utensils, cake-
making forms, biscuit jars, wine glasses, ,metal washbasin, canister for
drinking water, wall lamp, sharpening device, building rubbish, metal plates,
metal & plastic pipes, voice.Anastasia Masloboeva (main vocal, reverse singing)
Recorded January & July 2012
Leo Records CD LR
658
Evengy Masloboev ( cymbalo,
drums, Turkish& Soviet cymbals, darbuk, block-flutes, trumpet, folk wooden
and clay whistles, hunters manki, African tsanta, digital & acoustic piano,
prepared piano, prepared guitar, kitchen utensils, cake-
making forms, biscuit jars, wine glasses, ,metal washbasin, canister for
drinking water, wall lamp, sharpening device, building rubbish, metal plates,
metal & plastic pipes, voice.Anastasia Masloboeva (main vocal, reverse singing)
Recorded January & July 2012
EVENGY MASLOBOEV &
ANASTASIA MASLOBOEVA WITH FRIENDS – Russian Folk Songs In The Key Of New Jazz
Leo Records CD LR 659
Anastasia Masloboeva (voice, cymbalo) Evengy Masloboev (percussion, drums, plastic bucket, metal washbasin, speaker) Alexy Kruglov ( soprano, alto saxes, clarinet, baby saxophone, prepared saxophones and clarinet mouthpieces) Sergey Starostin (Russian folk wind instruments) Arkady Shilkloper ( French horn, Alpine horn)
Renat Gataulin (piano, prepared piano, programmed synth) with guests Anton Kosolov (bass guitar) Vitaly Labutin (electric guitar)
Recorded April 30th& May 1st in the Cultural Centre “DOM”, Moscow
This pair of discs from Leo Records invites us to experience a sound world that at times lies beyond the articulation of the words necessary to describe it. Gustav Mahler once said that a symphony should encompass the whole
world but he didn’t say anything about including the kitchen sink and its associated utensils though I’m sure he would have identified with the overarching ambition present in these quite extraordinary recordings.
The problem is how do we translate it into prose and is it useful to try? What we have in here is an attempt to merge Russian folk music and the mysticism of the Russian Orthodox Church with the diverse influences of the Californian avant –garde of Harry Partch, the indeterminacy of John Cage, the exploratory free jazz of Anthony Braxton and the Celtic dreamlike musings of Enja or Jan Garbarek’s project with Hilliard ensemble. In effect a musical collage but one using real musicians rather than the `found` sounds` of musique- concreté.
Weaving through complexities of multi layered, multi tracked percussion, winds and choral polyphony is the angelic voice of Anastasia, whose representation of purity and innocence is set in contrast with the Dionysian turbulence that sometimes envelops her. Perhaps her child like vocalisation represents the `beautiful face` of indigenous Russian culture whilst the sounds that surround her stand for the diverse musical influences that threaten to submerge it. At times the music is meditative and spiritual whilst elsewhere it is regressively ritualistic with the yearning for primal roots being evident throughout.
Both sessions have similar aims and though the second disc has a more overtly free jazz aspect the duo disc is equally rich in textures because of the manipulation of multifarious sound sources and instruments, many of which –as the listing shows- are quite unorthodox
Music of this type is designed to draw the listener into an aural environment which communicates its meaning without the need for detailed literary analysis and in this instance I’m with Wittgenstein who said “That of which we cannot speak we must pass over in silence”. That way we will be in a better position to understand where the music is taking us.
Reviewed by Euan Dixon
Top of Page
ANASTASIA MASLOBOEVA WITH FRIENDS – Russian Folk Songs In The Key Of New Jazz
Leo Records CD LR 659
Anastasia Masloboeva (voice, cymbalo) Evengy Masloboev (percussion, drums, plastic bucket, metal washbasin, speaker) Alexy Kruglov ( soprano, alto saxes, clarinet, baby saxophone, prepared saxophones and clarinet mouthpieces) Sergey Starostin (Russian folk wind instruments) Arkady Shilkloper ( French horn, Alpine horn)
Renat Gataulin (piano, prepared piano, programmed synth) with guests Anton Kosolov (bass guitar) Vitaly Labutin (electric guitar)
Recorded April 30th& May 1st in the Cultural Centre “DOM”, Moscow
This pair of discs from Leo Records invites us to experience a sound world that at times lies beyond the articulation of the words necessary to describe it. Gustav Mahler once said that a symphony should encompass the whole
world but he didn’t say anything about including the kitchen sink and its associated utensils though I’m sure he would have identified with the overarching ambition present in these quite extraordinary recordings.
The problem is how do we translate it into prose and is it useful to try? What we have in here is an attempt to merge Russian folk music and the mysticism of the Russian Orthodox Church with the diverse influences of the Californian avant –garde of Harry Partch, the indeterminacy of John Cage, the exploratory free jazz of Anthony Braxton and the Celtic dreamlike musings of Enja or Jan Garbarek’s project with Hilliard ensemble. In effect a musical collage but one using real musicians rather than the `found` sounds` of musique- concreté.
Weaving through complexities of multi layered, multi tracked percussion, winds and choral polyphony is the angelic voice of Anastasia, whose representation of purity and innocence is set in contrast with the Dionysian turbulence that sometimes envelops her. Perhaps her child like vocalisation represents the `beautiful face` of indigenous Russian culture whilst the sounds that surround her stand for the diverse musical influences that threaten to submerge it. At times the music is meditative and spiritual whilst elsewhere it is regressively ritualistic with the yearning for primal roots being evident throughout.
Both sessions have similar aims and though the second disc has a more overtly free jazz aspect the duo disc is equally rich in textures because of the manipulation of multifarious sound sources and instruments, many of which –as the listing shows- are quite unorthodox
Music of this type is designed to draw the listener into an aural environment which communicates its meaning without the need for detailed literary analysis and in this instance I’m with Wittgenstein who said “That of which we cannot speak we must pass over in silence”. That way we will be in a better position to understand where the music is taking us.
Reviewed by Euan Dixon
Top of Page
BERSERK!
RareNoiseRecords RNRPR022
Lorenzo Esposito Fornasari: voice, guitar, organ, effects; Lorenzo Feliciati: bass; Gianluca Petrella: trombone and effects; Eivind Aarset: guitars; Jamie Saft: keyboards; Fabrizio Puglisi: piano, arp odyssey; Sandro Satta: alto sax; Cristiano Calcagnile: drums, effects; Pat Mastelotto: drums, electronic percussion; Simone Cavina: drums
For this music you have to be open minded, have to want to explore beyond jazz.
This music veers from almost-lift-music to severe-avant-garde. It
won’t make your ears bleed but it will challenge them. Vocals whisper,
veer towards plain chant and then intimidate. Drums play obvious rhythms one moment and then hammer relentlessly. Petrella’s trombone soars Like Lawrence Brown run wild. Sandro Satta’s saxophone pays homage to no one as his saxophone jokes and croons.
The two main conspirators are Lorenzo Esposito Fornasari and Lorenzo Feliciati both citizens of the European avant garde. Lorenzo Esposito Fornasari is the composer and the voice that you hear who makes Tom Waits sound like a boy soprano. Feliciati draws some inspiration from Jaco Pastorius.
Above all this music sounds like a soundtrack or soundscape that will accompany a film yet to be made. You can imagine action and the urban madness. The angry ambiguity of the guttural vocals plead and declaim obscure messages. It is no surprise to learn that Fornasari has written an award winning soundtrack for the Italian film ‘Cose Naturali’.
In ‘Not Dead’ there are moments of calm as Petrella’s trombone sings quietly over an insistent rhythm. but then the whole group segues into the almost funk of ‘Clairvoyance’. Puglisi’s piano on ‘First’ is played out under vocals and sounds from Fornasari’s vocalising.
Gianluca Petrella is impressive. His work on ‘Dream Made of Wind’ explores his reflective side. ‘Latent Prints’ brings out the jokey aspect of Sandro Satta until he is enveloped by the ensemble and the soup of digitized vocalising.
Throughout the album I thought often of the music that Gil Evans created in his last years. The sound is not similar but the spirit is: a willingness to explore; working with new voicings; confusion coalescing into beauty. Maybe this is what a medium sized ensemble should sound like in 2013.
This might be avant garde Italian style but there is nothing quite like the melange of music on offer here. You will be depriving yourself if you do not make time to listen not just once but many times. There is joy here with musicians taking great pleasure in their creativity.
Reviewed by Jack Kenny
Top of Page
Lorenzo Esposito Fornasari: voice, guitar, organ, effects; Lorenzo Feliciati: bass; Gianluca Petrella: trombone and effects; Eivind Aarset: guitars; Jamie Saft: keyboards; Fabrizio Puglisi: piano, arp odyssey; Sandro Satta: alto sax; Cristiano Calcagnile: drums, effects; Pat Mastelotto: drums, electronic percussion; Simone Cavina: drums
For this music you have to be open minded, have to want to explore beyond jazz.
This music veers from almost-lift-music to severe-avant-garde. It
won’t make your ears bleed but it will challenge them. Vocals whisper,
veer towards plain chant and then intimidate. Drums play obvious rhythms one moment and then hammer relentlessly. Petrella’s trombone soars Like Lawrence Brown run wild. Sandro Satta’s saxophone pays homage to no one as his saxophone jokes and croons.
The two main conspirators are Lorenzo Esposito Fornasari and Lorenzo Feliciati both citizens of the European avant garde. Lorenzo Esposito Fornasari is the composer and the voice that you hear who makes Tom Waits sound like a boy soprano. Feliciati draws some inspiration from Jaco Pastorius.
Above all this music sounds like a soundtrack or soundscape that will accompany a film yet to be made. You can imagine action and the urban madness. The angry ambiguity of the guttural vocals plead and declaim obscure messages. It is no surprise to learn that Fornasari has written an award winning soundtrack for the Italian film ‘Cose Naturali’.
In ‘Not Dead’ there are moments of calm as Petrella’s trombone sings quietly over an insistent rhythm. but then the whole group segues into the almost funk of ‘Clairvoyance’. Puglisi’s piano on ‘First’ is played out under vocals and sounds from Fornasari’s vocalising.
Gianluca Petrella is impressive. His work on ‘Dream Made of Wind’ explores his reflective side. ‘Latent Prints’ brings out the jokey aspect of Sandro Satta until he is enveloped by the ensemble and the soup of digitized vocalising.
Throughout the album I thought often of the music that Gil Evans created in his last years. The sound is not similar but the spirit is: a willingness to explore; working with new voicings; confusion coalescing into beauty. Maybe this is what a medium sized ensemble should sound like in 2013.
This might be avant garde Italian style but there is nothing quite like the melange of music on offer here. You will be depriving yourself if you do not make time to listen not just once but many times. There is joy here with musicians taking great pleasure in their creativity.
Reviewed by Jack Kenny
Top of Page
JEFF WILLIAMS - The Listener
Whirlwind Recordings 884501889728
Jeff Williams (drums); Duane Eubanks ( trumpet); John O’Gallagher (alto saxophone); John Hébert (bass)
Recorded at the Vortex Club 7th May 2012
There is something so satisfying about a piano-less quartet: the uncluttered sound of drums, trumpet, alto and bass: a jazz version of the string quartet.
“Its not my intention to play something new for newness sake.” Jeff Williams stated at one time. “In a sense it’s new because you’re playing it and no one else can be you,” Williams doesn’t have to be new . It’s just as good to produce, as his quartet does, music that seethes with intelligence, creativity and zest.
Most of the pieces are written by the members of the quartet. “Borderline” composed by Williams is a folksy piece that Ornette Coleman would love to improvise on and if I could just keep one track it would be this one. Everyone plays well on the kind of theme that encourages melody.
Duane Eubanks loves melody his trumpet has a warm brassy purity about it. No point in comparing him to anyone else; he is searching for his own way. He loves the sounds that he can get from the open trumpet. Some of the solos explore the full range from thin high notes to full rounded lows. No one on the CD is as explorative as Eubanks. Just listen to the opening of “Dedicated To You”, the only piece on the CD not composed by a member of the quartet. The slow ballad tempo suits his imagination and what a way to finish the album not with a bang or a whimper but beauty.
The range of people that Jeff Williams has played with indicates that he is a sympathetic drummer. It is not about Jeff but the music. Listen to the subtlety of the drums behind O’Gallagher’s inventive solo on “She Can’t Be A Spy” You don’t have to drive hard to keep the pulse going. Williams at all times serves the two main soloists and does not get in their way. Neither does the recording.
Throughout the CD because of the quality of the recording you are aware of the bass and the choices that are being made. Try the opening of Fez composed by Hébert, then the walking accompaniment to O’Gallagher’s solo. Eubanks’ solo on the same piece is riveting from first to last.
Lament, Williams fourth piece on the CD opens with the meditative bass and its woody sonorities. Sometimes the quality of a recording is part of the musicality and the pleasure. Dill Katz has managed to define a soundscape that works for all four musicians so that the listener can easily separate the constituent parts.
This is a glorious record, varied, full of subtleties and surprises. Remember those days when you were in a record shop and you heard a track that was a must-buy and you couldn’t rest until you had the CD. The Listener is like that. Listen and like because this is a delightful music making. Their last album, “AnotherTime”, was very accomplished and well received; this one is even better. Unlike many CDs, it is one that I want to return to and return to.
Lastly, Whirlwind Recordings have to be thanked for having the vision to record this session and make it available.
Reviewed by Jack Kenny
Top of Page
Jeff Williams (drums); Duane Eubanks ( trumpet); John O’Gallagher (alto saxophone); John Hébert (bass)
Recorded at the Vortex Club 7th May 2012
There is something so satisfying about a piano-less quartet: the uncluttered sound of drums, trumpet, alto and bass: a jazz version of the string quartet.
“Its not my intention to play something new for newness sake.” Jeff Williams stated at one time. “In a sense it’s new because you’re playing it and no one else can be you,” Williams doesn’t have to be new . It’s just as good to produce, as his quartet does, music that seethes with intelligence, creativity and zest.
Most of the pieces are written by the members of the quartet. “Borderline” composed by Williams is a folksy piece that Ornette Coleman would love to improvise on and if I could just keep one track it would be this one. Everyone plays well on the kind of theme that encourages melody.
Duane Eubanks loves melody his trumpet has a warm brassy purity about it. No point in comparing him to anyone else; he is searching for his own way. He loves the sounds that he can get from the open trumpet. Some of the solos explore the full range from thin high notes to full rounded lows. No one on the CD is as explorative as Eubanks. Just listen to the opening of “Dedicated To You”, the only piece on the CD not composed by a member of the quartet. The slow ballad tempo suits his imagination and what a way to finish the album not with a bang or a whimper but beauty.
The range of people that Jeff Williams has played with indicates that he is a sympathetic drummer. It is not about Jeff but the music. Listen to the subtlety of the drums behind O’Gallagher’s inventive solo on “She Can’t Be A Spy” You don’t have to drive hard to keep the pulse going. Williams at all times serves the two main soloists and does not get in their way. Neither does the recording.
Throughout the CD because of the quality of the recording you are aware of the bass and the choices that are being made. Try the opening of Fez composed by Hébert, then the walking accompaniment to O’Gallagher’s solo. Eubanks’ solo on the same piece is riveting from first to last.
Lament, Williams fourth piece on the CD opens with the meditative bass and its woody sonorities. Sometimes the quality of a recording is part of the musicality and the pleasure. Dill Katz has managed to define a soundscape that works for all four musicians so that the listener can easily separate the constituent parts.
This is a glorious record, varied, full of subtleties and surprises. Remember those days when you were in a record shop and you heard a track that was a must-buy and you couldn’t rest until you had the CD. The Listener is like that. Listen and like because this is a delightful music making. Their last album, “AnotherTime”, was very accomplished and well received; this one is even better. Unlike many CDs, it is one that I want to return to and return to.
Lastly, Whirlwind Recordings have to be thanked for having the vision to record this session and make it available.
Reviewed by Jack Kenny
Top of Page
CHARLES LLOYD – Quartets
ECM 372 9512 Old & New Masters Edition 5 CD Set
Fish Out Of Water
Charles Lloyd (ts, fl); Bobo Stenson (p); Palle Danielsson (b); Jon Christensen (d)
Recorded July 1989
Notes From Big Sur
Charles Lloyd (ts); Bobo Stenson (p); Anders Jormin (b); Ralph Peterson (d)
Recorded November 1991
The Call
Charles Lloyd (ts); Bobo Stenson (p); Anders Jormin (b); Billy Hart (d)
Recorded July 1993
All My Relations
Charles Lloyd (ts, fl, Chinese oboe) ; Bobo Stenson (p); Anders Jormin (b); Billy Hart (d)
Recorded July 1994
Canto
Charles Lloyd (ts, Tibetan oboe); Bobo Stenson (p); Anders Jormin (b); Billy Hart (d)
Recorded December 1996
After a period of ‘retirement’ from music after the enormous success he enjoyed in the late 60’s, with his seminal quartet with Keith Jarrett, Charles Lloyd reappeared on the world stage with a new quartet and a new album for the ECM label, and the label has been fortunate enough to continue to recording the saxophonist in what can now be seen as the mature part of his career.
Links to his association with Jarrett can also perhaps be traced in his use of bassist and drummer, Palle Danielsson and Jon Christensen, who were both members of the pianist’s now famous ‘Belonging’ quartet of the 1970’s. Also, in Stenson, Lloyd has also found the ideal pianist to help realise his concept and compositions, and indeed the albums represented in this CD box set not only comprise the first five releases for his new label but also the complete recordings of his quartet with Bobo Stenson.
All the compositions are by Lloyd himself, and in the main are relatively open, with the joy and interest in the individual pieces placed firmly in the hands of the saxophonist, as it is how he tells the story as opposed to the immediacy of the composed themes that determine their ultimate success.
It is also interesting to note how the rhythms sections, and indeed Lloyd’s relationship with them, differ on each of the recordings. The relationship with Danielsson and Christensen, as already noted, has been predetermined by their playing experiences together, with Christensen’s oblique references to the metre and crisp cymbal work suit the saxophonist superbly on the very fine Fish Out Of Water.
The feeling is completely reversed on the follow up, Notes From Big Sur, with Anders Jormin’s lighter toned bass replacing Danielsson, and Ralph Peterson on drums. Although much maligned at the time with the benefit of hindsight it can be seen that Peterson was not so far off the mark, and indeed Notes From Big Sur can be viewed as one of the stonger albums of the series. If the arrival of the new drummer ‘Americanised’ the sound of the quartet with a more explicit beat then that was no bad thing, and perhaps allowed Lloyd to feel the music more freely knowing that there was a solid pulse behind him. And just listen to Stenson’s swinging solo on ‘Sister’ from this album.
However, Peterson only stayed for one album, with his replacement Billy Hart being ushered in for The Call, and staying for the remaining three albums, and proving himself to be the ideal man for the job at this juncture of Lloyds career.
Again, the deployment of an American drummer distils some of the European sensibilities that were so apparent on Fish Out Of Water, and brings a more settled and rhythmically flowing backdrop for the saxophonist. Although it could be said that this also holds back All My Relations, a set that finds Lloyd writing more theme-solo-theme based compositions that seem to get bogged down, and the set also suffers from a rather peculiar recorded sound that finds the tenor seesawing between left and right channels on the stereo spectrum that is quite off putting when listening through headphones. Having said that., Lloyds flute on ‘Little Piece’ and the superb ‘Cape To Cairo Suite (Homage To Mandela)’, which sees a return to the longer more open and free flowing approach to the music, more than redeem any other shortcomings in the recorded sound.
Much better are The Call and Canto, the first and third albums of the trilogy with Billy Hart at the kit, and here we again find Lloyd at this best, with the long ‘Tales Of Rumi’ on Canto a real high spot, again with the use of episodic and open tunes that evolve organically over their duration.
On ballads, the saxophonist will draw the listener with his warm and pliable tone, and his solos tell their tale succinctly without the overriding need to drive them home, even when playing in the altissimo register. Much has been made of Lloyds affinity to Coltrane since his return to music, but it is not at all fanciful to detect a Lestorian influence in his playing, especially in his use of softly played long lines holding onto the last notes of a phrase a little longer, and his use of subtle pitch manipulation in a similar vein to Young’s use of alternate fingering to vary the timbre of his sound.
From here on in, Charles Lloyd has chosen to focus his attention on line-ups that predominantly feature his fellow countrymen, and as with his choice in Bobo Stenson, has sort out pianists that bring a strong concept and individual identity that feeds into his music, as his recent work with Jason Moran testifies.
Another finely packaged set, that incorporates some important documents in Lloyd’s remarkable career, and comes highly recommended to aficionado and newcomers alike.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
Top of Page
Fish Out Of Water
Charles Lloyd (ts, fl); Bobo Stenson (p); Palle Danielsson (b); Jon Christensen (d)
Recorded July 1989
Notes From Big Sur
Charles Lloyd (ts); Bobo Stenson (p); Anders Jormin (b); Ralph Peterson (d)
Recorded November 1991
The Call
Charles Lloyd (ts); Bobo Stenson (p); Anders Jormin (b); Billy Hart (d)
Recorded July 1993
All My Relations
Charles Lloyd (ts, fl, Chinese oboe) ; Bobo Stenson (p); Anders Jormin (b); Billy Hart (d)
Recorded July 1994
Canto
Charles Lloyd (ts, Tibetan oboe); Bobo Stenson (p); Anders Jormin (b); Billy Hart (d)
Recorded December 1996
After a period of ‘retirement’ from music after the enormous success he enjoyed in the late 60’s, with his seminal quartet with Keith Jarrett, Charles Lloyd reappeared on the world stage with a new quartet and a new album for the ECM label, and the label has been fortunate enough to continue to recording the saxophonist in what can now be seen as the mature part of his career.
Links to his association with Jarrett can also perhaps be traced in his use of bassist and drummer, Palle Danielsson and Jon Christensen, who were both members of the pianist’s now famous ‘Belonging’ quartet of the 1970’s. Also, in Stenson, Lloyd has also found the ideal pianist to help realise his concept and compositions, and indeed the albums represented in this CD box set not only comprise the first five releases for his new label but also the complete recordings of his quartet with Bobo Stenson.
All the compositions are by Lloyd himself, and in the main are relatively open, with the joy and interest in the individual pieces placed firmly in the hands of the saxophonist, as it is how he tells the story as opposed to the immediacy of the composed themes that determine their ultimate success.
It is also interesting to note how the rhythms sections, and indeed Lloyd’s relationship with them, differ on each of the recordings. The relationship with Danielsson and Christensen, as already noted, has been predetermined by their playing experiences together, with Christensen’s oblique references to the metre and crisp cymbal work suit the saxophonist superbly on the very fine Fish Out Of Water.
The feeling is completely reversed on the follow up, Notes From Big Sur, with Anders Jormin’s lighter toned bass replacing Danielsson, and Ralph Peterson on drums. Although much maligned at the time with the benefit of hindsight it can be seen that Peterson was not so far off the mark, and indeed Notes From Big Sur can be viewed as one of the stonger albums of the series. If the arrival of the new drummer ‘Americanised’ the sound of the quartet with a more explicit beat then that was no bad thing, and perhaps allowed Lloyd to feel the music more freely knowing that there was a solid pulse behind him. And just listen to Stenson’s swinging solo on ‘Sister’ from this album.
However, Peterson only stayed for one album, with his replacement Billy Hart being ushered in for The Call, and staying for the remaining three albums, and proving himself to be the ideal man for the job at this juncture of Lloyds career.
Again, the deployment of an American drummer distils some of the European sensibilities that were so apparent on Fish Out Of Water, and brings a more settled and rhythmically flowing backdrop for the saxophonist. Although it could be said that this also holds back All My Relations, a set that finds Lloyd writing more theme-solo-theme based compositions that seem to get bogged down, and the set also suffers from a rather peculiar recorded sound that finds the tenor seesawing between left and right channels on the stereo spectrum that is quite off putting when listening through headphones. Having said that., Lloyds flute on ‘Little Piece’ and the superb ‘Cape To Cairo Suite (Homage To Mandela)’, which sees a return to the longer more open and free flowing approach to the music, more than redeem any other shortcomings in the recorded sound.
Much better are The Call and Canto, the first and third albums of the trilogy with Billy Hart at the kit, and here we again find Lloyd at this best, with the long ‘Tales Of Rumi’ on Canto a real high spot, again with the use of episodic and open tunes that evolve organically over their duration.
On ballads, the saxophonist will draw the listener with his warm and pliable tone, and his solos tell their tale succinctly without the overriding need to drive them home, even when playing in the altissimo register. Much has been made of Lloyds affinity to Coltrane since his return to music, but it is not at all fanciful to detect a Lestorian influence in his playing, especially in his use of softly played long lines holding onto the last notes of a phrase a little longer, and his use of subtle pitch manipulation in a similar vein to Young’s use of alternate fingering to vary the timbre of his sound.
From here on in, Charles Lloyd has chosen to focus his attention on line-ups that predominantly feature his fellow countrymen, and as with his choice in Bobo Stenson, has sort out pianists that bring a strong concept and individual identity that feeds into his music, as his recent work with Jason Moran testifies.
Another finely packaged set, that incorporates some important documents in Lloyd’s remarkable career, and comes highly recommended to aficionado and newcomers alike.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
Top of Page
TRISH CLOWES - And In The Night-time She Is There
Basho Records SRCD 41-2
Trish Clowes ( tenor sax) Chris Montague ( guitar) Calum Gourlay (bass) James Maddren (drums) with Heidi Parsons (cello) and special guests, Gwilym Simcock (piano) Kathleen Willison (vocals) and string quartet comprising Thomas Gould (violin and leader) Thea Spiers (violin) Adam Robinson (viola) Louise McMonagle (cello)
Recorded at Curtis Schwartz Studio, 14th to 16th December 2011
Jazz is a boundary shifting genre despite most of the people who listen to it tending to follow some straight and narrow orthodoxy. Most contemporary jazz musicians are well versed in classical music and the conflation of jazz and classical idioms comes quite naturally to them as a continuum of musical expression. As Jason Moran once said of his use of classical modes, “It’s in my fingers, man”.
There was a time when this tendency was referred to as `Third Stream Jazz`, a term coined by Günter Schuller and John Lewis, and though it produced many wonderful recordings some jazz critics saw it as a blind alley. Happily for those of a more enquiring and adventurous frame of mind it is still a process that interests musicians, like the young British saxophonist and composer Trish Clowes, who find no conflict of interest in combining the two types of music.
Writing for strings features prominently in this presentation but not merely as a lush backdrop to meditations for jazz quartet but as an integral part of the overall concept providing a fascinating aural soundscape through which the jazz group deftly moves and boldly enhances. The keynote piece is a three movement suite dedicated to the composer’s grandmother and though the nuances of musical characterisation must remain unknown to those not personally acquainted the listener will detect a sensitive utilisation of modern chamber music conventions that invoke the music of Bartok and Janacek as well as the more folk oriented string quartet realisations of Britten and Vaughan-Williams. There is beautiful playing from all concerned including Gwillym Simcock who makes a guest appearance.
The title of the album is a line from a poem by Oscar Wilde called `The Sphinx` which as a through composed art song reminiscent of a fin de siècle lieder features the one contribution by vocalist, Kathleen Willison who, whilst her intonation may be slightly awry on a couple of occasions turns in a deeply felt performance.
But where is the jazz I hear you cry : well three quarters of the recital is given over to the jazz quartet sometimes augmented by Heidi Parsons cello or Simcock’s piano and though it burns on a low flame it is finely crafted music of great sensitivity. Chris Montague’s guitar smoulders and caresses, Gourlay’s bass lyrically presses to the front and Maddren’s drumming finds a way of chipping in that buoys the music on a rippling polyrhythmic wave. That just leaves Clowes the instrumentalist rather than the composer to consider and her style is revealed with greatest clarity on the final duet with Montague which she negotiates with a sensitive awareness of the cooler, discursive aspect of the jazz tradition.
Reviewed by Euan Dixon
Top of Page
Trish Clowes ( tenor sax) Chris Montague ( guitar) Calum Gourlay (bass) James Maddren (drums) with Heidi Parsons (cello) and special guests, Gwilym Simcock (piano) Kathleen Willison (vocals) and string quartet comprising Thomas Gould (violin and leader) Thea Spiers (violin) Adam Robinson (viola) Louise McMonagle (cello)
Recorded at Curtis Schwartz Studio, 14th to 16th December 2011
Jazz is a boundary shifting genre despite most of the people who listen to it tending to follow some straight and narrow orthodoxy. Most contemporary jazz musicians are well versed in classical music and the conflation of jazz and classical idioms comes quite naturally to them as a continuum of musical expression. As Jason Moran once said of his use of classical modes, “It’s in my fingers, man”.
There was a time when this tendency was referred to as `Third Stream Jazz`, a term coined by Günter Schuller and John Lewis, and though it produced many wonderful recordings some jazz critics saw it as a blind alley. Happily for those of a more enquiring and adventurous frame of mind it is still a process that interests musicians, like the young British saxophonist and composer Trish Clowes, who find no conflict of interest in combining the two types of music.
Writing for strings features prominently in this presentation but not merely as a lush backdrop to meditations for jazz quartet but as an integral part of the overall concept providing a fascinating aural soundscape through which the jazz group deftly moves and boldly enhances. The keynote piece is a three movement suite dedicated to the composer’s grandmother and though the nuances of musical characterisation must remain unknown to those not personally acquainted the listener will detect a sensitive utilisation of modern chamber music conventions that invoke the music of Bartok and Janacek as well as the more folk oriented string quartet realisations of Britten and Vaughan-Williams. There is beautiful playing from all concerned including Gwillym Simcock who makes a guest appearance.
The title of the album is a line from a poem by Oscar Wilde called `The Sphinx` which as a through composed art song reminiscent of a fin de siècle lieder features the one contribution by vocalist, Kathleen Willison who, whilst her intonation may be slightly awry on a couple of occasions turns in a deeply felt performance.
But where is the jazz I hear you cry : well three quarters of the recital is given over to the jazz quartet sometimes augmented by Heidi Parsons cello or Simcock’s piano and though it burns on a low flame it is finely crafted music of great sensitivity. Chris Montague’s guitar smoulders and caresses, Gourlay’s bass lyrically presses to the front and Maddren’s drumming finds a way of chipping in that buoys the music on a rippling polyrhythmic wave. That just leaves Clowes the instrumentalist rather than the composer to consider and her style is revealed with greatest clarity on the final duet with Montague which she negotiates with a sensitive awareness of the cooler, discursive aspect of the jazz tradition.
Reviewed by Euan Dixon
Top of Page
THE GOLDEN AGE OF STEAM - Welcome to Bat Country
Basho Records SRCD 40-1
James Allsopp ( reeds, klaxon, voice) Kit Downes ( Hammond organ, keyboards) Tim Giles (drums and electronic percussion) with Ruth Goller (electric bass) Alex Bonney (trumpets) James Widden (viola and violin) Alison Holford (cello) Alex Plummer ( spoken introduction to track 2) Freddie the Cat ( purring sounds on track 2)
Recorded June 29th and 30th 2011 at Fish Market Studios
In its journey from speakeasy to concert hall jazz has acquired many of the characteristics we associate with `high art`, a condescending term I’ll grant you but one that is useful when distinguishing between pure entertainment and art forms that offer multiple layers of meaning. In musical terms such characteristics often involve borrowings from the plastic arts and literature like impressionism, abstraction, expressionism and in the case of this fascinating set by The Golden Age of Steam, elements of surrealism.
The titles of the six pieces that make up the content of this disc and the captions that accompany them all attest to this influence indeed the overall title of the project references the hallucinogenic mental state that afflicted the central character of Hunter S Thompson’s counter cultural novel `Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas`.
Off the wall tendencies are clearly at the heart of this project and the music moves through various dream states from the invocation of a sinister circus with melodies redolent of Frank Zappa’s quirky but sardonic humour informed by the latent threat of Ray Bradbury’s nightmarish visions to existentialist contemplations of our ultimate destiny.
Other shades stalk the music from the dark meditations of the Comte de Lautreamont to the impassioned threnodies of Georgy Ligeti and Stockhausen whilst in-between the string chorales and the electronic drones, disembodied voices and swathes of sampled sounds the jazz trio flits (bat like?) in a haunting genre flexing dialogue between jazz, rock, electronica, and the avant-garde.
This is music to stretch the space between your ears, so why not try it: it’s good exercise.
Review by Euan Dixon
Top of Page
James Allsopp ( reeds, klaxon, voice) Kit Downes ( Hammond organ, keyboards) Tim Giles (drums and electronic percussion) with Ruth Goller (electric bass) Alex Bonney (trumpets) James Widden (viola and violin) Alison Holford (cello) Alex Plummer ( spoken introduction to track 2) Freddie the Cat ( purring sounds on track 2)
Recorded June 29th and 30th 2011 at Fish Market Studios
In its journey from speakeasy to concert hall jazz has acquired many of the characteristics we associate with `high art`, a condescending term I’ll grant you but one that is useful when distinguishing between pure entertainment and art forms that offer multiple layers of meaning. In musical terms such characteristics often involve borrowings from the plastic arts and literature like impressionism, abstraction, expressionism and in the case of this fascinating set by The Golden Age of Steam, elements of surrealism.
The titles of the six pieces that make up the content of this disc and the captions that accompany them all attest to this influence indeed the overall title of the project references the hallucinogenic mental state that afflicted the central character of Hunter S Thompson’s counter cultural novel `Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas`.
Off the wall tendencies are clearly at the heart of this project and the music moves through various dream states from the invocation of a sinister circus with melodies redolent of Frank Zappa’s quirky but sardonic humour informed by the latent threat of Ray Bradbury’s nightmarish visions to existentialist contemplations of our ultimate destiny.
Other shades stalk the music from the dark meditations of the Comte de Lautreamont to the impassioned threnodies of Georgy Ligeti and Stockhausen whilst in-between the string chorales and the electronic drones, disembodied voices and swathes of sampled sounds the jazz trio flits (bat like?) in a haunting genre flexing dialogue between jazz, rock, electronica, and the avant-garde.
This is music to stretch the space between your ears, so why not try it: it’s good exercise.
Review by Euan Dixon
Top of Page
KIT DOWNES – Light From Old Stars
Basho Records SRCD42-2
Kit Downes (p, org); James Allsopp (ts, cl, bcl); Lucy Railton (clo); Calum Gourlay (b); James Maddren (d)
No recording date
Already burgeoned by the ‘one the finest pianists of his generation’ tag, Downes does not appear to fazed or intimidated by such accolades, and instead focuses all his considerable energies into this latest release for Basho Records, and his first to feature an all quintet line up.
This has allowed the pianist to concentrate on the ensemble as a whole for the full duration of the album, and has inspired him to write complex themes and arrangements that come across with a simplicity and directness in performance that continue to startle and delight after countless hearings.
Unusual for a quintet line up, Downes has elected not for a second horn to work alongside the saxophone and clarinets of James Allsopp but instead utilises the cello of Lucy Railton. In doing so he has provided a wonderful contrast of voices and timbres with Railton’s use of the bow, as well as exploiting the similar tonal range between tenor and cello.
Taking his inspiration from astrology and the heavens, with the title descriptive of the fact that many of the stars that we see at night are long dead, the pianist has expended his compositional and arranging prowess considerably since his previous album, Quiet Tiger. The opening ‘Wander and Collossus’ begins with an ethereal and spacious introduction with the piece evolving with the tenor and cello combing voices as a backdrop to a fine outing for the leader’s piano solo.
Downes also exploits Railton’s cello techniques on a suitably disturbing ‘Owls’ inspired by the drama Twin Peaks, mirroring superbly David Lynch’s surrealism. ‘Outlaw’ proudly displays the pianist’s love of the old blues masters with a delicately controlled tension and release feel of the delta blues.
The album as whole stands testimony to Downes emerging and continuously developing writing talents, with compositions moving, seemingly at odds with themselves, in a multidirectional universe of his own creating.
Quite why then I should find the typically quirky and disjointed theme ‘Bleydays’ running through my mind, like one of those melodies that once heard you cannot shake loose from, is beyond me. Such is the power of the music, as this is not what you could remotely call ‘a sing along’ album, but the beguiling themes do writhe and twist in the mind long after the last notes have faded away into the cosmos.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
Top of Page
Kit Downes (p, org); James Allsopp (ts, cl, bcl); Lucy Railton (clo); Calum Gourlay (b); James Maddren (d)
No recording date
Already burgeoned by the ‘one the finest pianists of his generation’ tag, Downes does not appear to fazed or intimidated by such accolades, and instead focuses all his considerable energies into this latest release for Basho Records, and his first to feature an all quintet line up.
This has allowed the pianist to concentrate on the ensemble as a whole for the full duration of the album, and has inspired him to write complex themes and arrangements that come across with a simplicity and directness in performance that continue to startle and delight after countless hearings.
Unusual for a quintet line up, Downes has elected not for a second horn to work alongside the saxophone and clarinets of James Allsopp but instead utilises the cello of Lucy Railton. In doing so he has provided a wonderful contrast of voices and timbres with Railton’s use of the bow, as well as exploiting the similar tonal range between tenor and cello.
Taking his inspiration from astrology and the heavens, with the title descriptive of the fact that many of the stars that we see at night are long dead, the pianist has expended his compositional and arranging prowess considerably since his previous album, Quiet Tiger. The opening ‘Wander and Collossus’ begins with an ethereal and spacious introduction with the piece evolving with the tenor and cello combing voices as a backdrop to a fine outing for the leader’s piano solo.
Downes also exploits Railton’s cello techniques on a suitably disturbing ‘Owls’ inspired by the drama Twin Peaks, mirroring superbly David Lynch’s surrealism. ‘Outlaw’ proudly displays the pianist’s love of the old blues masters with a delicately controlled tension and release feel of the delta blues.
The album as whole stands testimony to Downes emerging and continuously developing writing talents, with compositions moving, seemingly at odds with themselves, in a multidirectional universe of his own creating.
Quite why then I should find the typically quirky and disjointed theme ‘Bleydays’ running through my mind, like one of those melodies that once heard you cannot shake loose from, is beyond me. Such is the power of the music, as this is not what you could remotely call ‘a sing along’ album, but the beguiling themes do writhe and twist in the mind long after the last notes have faded away into the cosmos.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
Top of Page
JULIA HÜLSMANN QUARTET - In Full View
ECM 371 7777
Julia Hülsmann (p) Tom Arthurs (t, fl-h); Marc Muellbauer (b); Heinrich Köbberling (d)
Recorded June 2012
This is my first encounter with the playing of Julia Hülsmann, having managed to miss both of her previous releases for ECM with her trio, The End of a Summer and Imprint, released 2008 and 2011 respectively. However, now that Hülsmann has appeared on my radar, I will be watching future developments with a keen interest.
For this her third album for the label, the pianist has expanded the group to a quartet, adding Berlin resident Tom Arthurs on trumpet and flugelhorn to her established core line up with bassist Marc Muellbauer and Heinrich Köbberling on drums, and by doing so has not just added an additional, and entirely sympathetic and compatible voice, but also brought a new and fresh concept to her compositions.
Arthurs’ quiet yet voluptuous tone on both trumpet and flugel add not just a new melody instrument but also bring a whole array of new colours to both the ensemble sound and in the way the pianist will voice her accompaniment. With the ability to now double up melody lines, or open up chordal voicings with wider intervals.
This change in approach has not just had an impact on the way the piano functions within the group sound, as drummer, Köbberling, has observed that “Many of the things that I normally played in the trio didn’t work in this context. The whole sound of the band had changed and I needed a couple of tunes to get used to the new impulses.”
The result of this shift and adaptation to change has produced a calm and contemplative set that revels in the new colours, and light and shade that are now part of their sonic palette. Hülsmann’s touch at the piano is firm yet allows her voicings to breathe and be heard with clarity, whilst Arthurs tone is breathy yet surprisingly full on open trumpet.
As if to stir things up somewhat and break the spell cast, the title track is harder edged and more insistent, with the rhythm section kicking things up a gear. This produces sharp and incisive outings from both piano and trumpet with a swing straight ahead 4 in the bar passage in the solos, whilst Muellbauer’s ‘Dedication’ has a propulsive bass line and flowing piano from the leader.
Another intelligent and intelligently programmed set from ECM, that shows Hülsmann to be a major contributor to labels roster.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
Top of Page
Julia Hülsmann (p) Tom Arthurs (t, fl-h); Marc Muellbauer (b); Heinrich Köbberling (d)
Recorded June 2012
This is my first encounter with the playing of Julia Hülsmann, having managed to miss both of her previous releases for ECM with her trio, The End of a Summer and Imprint, released 2008 and 2011 respectively. However, now that Hülsmann has appeared on my radar, I will be watching future developments with a keen interest.
For this her third album for the label, the pianist has expanded the group to a quartet, adding Berlin resident Tom Arthurs on trumpet and flugelhorn to her established core line up with bassist Marc Muellbauer and Heinrich Köbberling on drums, and by doing so has not just added an additional, and entirely sympathetic and compatible voice, but also brought a new and fresh concept to her compositions.
Arthurs’ quiet yet voluptuous tone on both trumpet and flugel add not just a new melody instrument but also bring a whole array of new colours to both the ensemble sound and in the way the pianist will voice her accompaniment. With the ability to now double up melody lines, or open up chordal voicings with wider intervals.
This change in approach has not just had an impact on the way the piano functions within the group sound, as drummer, Köbberling, has observed that “Many of the things that I normally played in the trio didn’t work in this context. The whole sound of the band had changed and I needed a couple of tunes to get used to the new impulses.”
The result of this shift and adaptation to change has produced a calm and contemplative set that revels in the new colours, and light and shade that are now part of their sonic palette. Hülsmann’s touch at the piano is firm yet allows her voicings to breathe and be heard with clarity, whilst Arthurs tone is breathy yet surprisingly full on open trumpet.
As if to stir things up somewhat and break the spell cast, the title track is harder edged and more insistent, with the rhythm section kicking things up a gear. This produces sharp and incisive outings from both piano and trumpet with a swing straight ahead 4 in the bar passage in the solos, whilst Muellbauer’s ‘Dedication’ has a propulsive bass line and flowing piano from the leader.
Another intelligent and intelligently programmed set from ECM, that shows Hülsmann to be a major contributor to labels roster.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
Top of Page
MILES DAVIS – Live in Europe 1969 - The Bootleg Series Volume 2
Columbia Legacy 88725 418532
3 CDs 1 DVD
Miles Davis (trumpet); Wayne Shorter (tenor and soprano saxophones); Chick Corea (electric piano, piano); Dave Holland (bass); Jack DeJohnette (drums)
Recorded on 25/7/69; 26/7/69; 5/11/69; 7/11/69.
I can still remember the shock as this group played their first piece at Hammersmith in November 1969. Miles’ previous quintet, the one with Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams and Ron Carter, had reached a kind of perfection; this one sounded different, completely different: savage, rough, electronic. Miles had again: changed everything. We didn’t know then, that weeks before he had recorded Bitches Brew, that the musical ground under our feet was shifting. We needed a Richter scale to measure it.
DeJohnette was at the root of it all, the rhythmic underpinning choppy, heavy so different from Tony Williams. Chick Corea’s electronics sounded thin and easily submerged under the relentless drums. Dave Holland struggled to make himself heard: the acoustic bass not really suited to this group being subjected to the vagaries of those controlling the balance. Wayne Shorter seemed to have changed little, he had already pioneered a radical route with the previous quintet. His use of the soprano shows his take on that difficult instrument and its keening quality cuts through the rhythmic barrage.
The cliche is the title “The Lost Quintet” that is often given to this group. They were never really lost. A better title would be “The Transition Quintet”. That is what you can hear, the morphing from one kind of jazz to a completely different kind of music. A few relics from the last quintet survive: “Milestones” butts up against “Bitches Brew”, “Miles Runs The Voodoo Down” segues into “No Blues”.
In the package of 4 discs you have three CDs and one DVD. There are two concerts from Juan les Pins from July 1969, one November concert from Stockholm and the DVD from Berlin two days later. This package makes you realise the debt that jazz owes to European broadcasters. American broadcasters virtually ignored this group as they did with the Miles’ previous group. There was even more. There are beautifully recorded concerts from the same tour in Paris, Rotterdam and Rome all exist and float around the internet. Lost!
Corea’s electric piano has a considerable influence listen to the Stockholm concert where Corea has to use acoustic piano and observe the difference. Doesn’t the acoustic sound have more gravitas?
Over everything is the playing of Miles: probing, assertive, restless, violent, uncompromising and occasionally lyrical, propelled forward all the time moving forward.
Being able to see the quintet on the DVD is certainly a bonus. The quality of the Berlin video is very good and reminds you that the BBC recorded this group at Ronnie Scott’s and wiped the tape to save money. This is a complete concert and you can see that Miles had changed from the hip, sharp suited musician to more of a rock personality.
In August 1969, between the two tours heard on these CDs, Miles recorded Bitches Brew in the Columbia studios. It is interesting to compare the heavily edited studio music that is filtered through Teo Macero’s mind and what is produced at these European concerts.
This is an essential buy: one of the greatest musicians at a period that is as crucial as any in his career when he bravely turned his back on his past and moved on.
Reviewed by Jack Kenny
Top of Page
3 CDs 1 DVD
Miles Davis (trumpet); Wayne Shorter (tenor and soprano saxophones); Chick Corea (electric piano, piano); Dave Holland (bass); Jack DeJohnette (drums)
Recorded on 25/7/69; 26/7/69; 5/11/69; 7/11/69.
I can still remember the shock as this group played their first piece at Hammersmith in November 1969. Miles’ previous quintet, the one with Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams and Ron Carter, had reached a kind of perfection; this one sounded different, completely different: savage, rough, electronic. Miles had again: changed everything. We didn’t know then, that weeks before he had recorded Bitches Brew, that the musical ground under our feet was shifting. We needed a Richter scale to measure it.
DeJohnette was at the root of it all, the rhythmic underpinning choppy, heavy so different from Tony Williams. Chick Corea’s electronics sounded thin and easily submerged under the relentless drums. Dave Holland struggled to make himself heard: the acoustic bass not really suited to this group being subjected to the vagaries of those controlling the balance. Wayne Shorter seemed to have changed little, he had already pioneered a radical route with the previous quintet. His use of the soprano shows his take on that difficult instrument and its keening quality cuts through the rhythmic barrage.
The cliche is the title “The Lost Quintet” that is often given to this group. They were never really lost. A better title would be “The Transition Quintet”. That is what you can hear, the morphing from one kind of jazz to a completely different kind of music. A few relics from the last quintet survive: “Milestones” butts up against “Bitches Brew”, “Miles Runs The Voodoo Down” segues into “No Blues”.
In the package of 4 discs you have three CDs and one DVD. There are two concerts from Juan les Pins from July 1969, one November concert from Stockholm and the DVD from Berlin two days later. This package makes you realise the debt that jazz owes to European broadcasters. American broadcasters virtually ignored this group as they did with the Miles’ previous group. There was even more. There are beautifully recorded concerts from the same tour in Paris, Rotterdam and Rome all exist and float around the internet. Lost!
Corea’s electric piano has a considerable influence listen to the Stockholm concert where Corea has to use acoustic piano and observe the difference. Doesn’t the acoustic sound have more gravitas?
Over everything is the playing of Miles: probing, assertive, restless, violent, uncompromising and occasionally lyrical, propelled forward all the time moving forward.
Being able to see the quintet on the DVD is certainly a bonus. The quality of the Berlin video is very good and reminds you that the BBC recorded this group at Ronnie Scott’s and wiped the tape to save money. This is a complete concert and you can see that Miles had changed from the hip, sharp suited musician to more of a rock personality.
In August 1969, between the two tours heard on these CDs, Miles recorded Bitches Brew in the Columbia studios. It is interesting to compare the heavily edited studio music that is filtered through Teo Macero’s mind and what is produced at these European concerts.
This is an essential buy: one of the greatest musicians at a period that is as crucial as any in his career when he bravely turned his back on his past and moved on.
Reviewed by Jack Kenny
Top of Page
CHRISTIAN McBRIDE & INSIDE STRAIGHT –People Music
Mack Avenue – MAC 1070
Christian McBride (bass) Christian Sands, Peter Martin (piano) Warren Wolf (vibes) Steve Wilson (alto & soprano sax) Ulysses Owens Jr, Carl Allen (drums)
Recorded at Avatar Studios, New York, no date given.
Of all the contemporary bassists qualified to occupy the throne vacated by Ray Brown, Christian McBride must surely be the main contender for his big, generous sound embodies the style his illustrious predecessor – himself an heir to the seminal Jimmy Blanton tradition –bequeathed to the jazz world. At only 40 McBride already has a stellar career at the back of him with several releases under his own name as well as high profile sideman appearances with the great and the good of the current scene evidencing the high regard in which he is held. Recent recordings by the likes of Joshua Redman, James Carter are made special by his presence in the line up.
Here it is his role as bandleader that takes centre stage as he heads up his quintet `Inside Straight` on their second recorded appearance and it is to his highly compatible colleagues that he distributes solo responsibilities preferring to support and propel the music with his powerful , resonant bass line. He does however, allow himself a couple of solos and as we have come to expect they are exemplars of the art-form but this is not a showcase for a display of singular virtuosity, rather a cohesive group enterprise fulfilling a clear musical vision.
Central to McBride’s musical vision is accessibility –hence `People Music` - for without making any concessions to the easy virtues of the latest pop and rock trends he has put together a set of essentially hard bop originals in the classic tradition of late period Art Blakey, shorn of acerbic tendencies, with the emphasis of melody carried through from theme to solo and borne on a variety of infectious rhythmic modes. One is minded of Bobby Watson – Mc Bride’s first employer- and the wonderful 1990 disc he made with his group `Horizon` entitled `Post Motown Bop`- hard bop for those who don’t want the melody thrashed out of it.
As already noted McBride has chosen a team of highly accomplished `simpaticos` to help him achieve his mission and with them he shares composer credits: all are memorable themes with one a reworking for jazz combo of an original four part suite that McBride composed for quartet and gospel choir, another a ballad dedicated to Maya Angelou and featuring the silky soprano of Steve Wilson who elsewhere on alto achieves a cogency of invention that is unforced and free of showy histrionics. Warren Wolf, recently heard on Aaron Diehl’s impressive Mack Avenue debut – demonstrates why he is one to watch and Peter Martin ( sometime musical director to Dianne Reeves), combines the linear directedness of bop piano with an elegant lyricism that adds dimension to the overall group sound. Drumming, whether by Owens or Allen follows the polyrhythmic template typical of the best modern practice but without usurping the seamless flow and all play their part to ensure that the music has coherent form and is more than just a string of solos.
Jazz encyclopaedists may have already noted that the title `Inside Straight` appears on John Zorn’s somewhat infamous recording ` Naked City` where it graces a postmodern punk jazz thrash. McBride’s use of this title as the name of his excellent group is- you may be re-assured - devoid of Zorn’s ironic motor-psycho fantasies and serves to signify music that is both straight taking and firmly inside the tradition.
Reviewed by Euan Dixon
Top of Page
Christian McBride (bass) Christian Sands, Peter Martin (piano) Warren Wolf (vibes) Steve Wilson (alto & soprano sax) Ulysses Owens Jr, Carl Allen (drums)
Recorded at Avatar Studios, New York, no date given.
Of all the contemporary bassists qualified to occupy the throne vacated by Ray Brown, Christian McBride must surely be the main contender for his big, generous sound embodies the style his illustrious predecessor – himself an heir to the seminal Jimmy Blanton tradition –bequeathed to the jazz world. At only 40 McBride already has a stellar career at the back of him with several releases under his own name as well as high profile sideman appearances with the great and the good of the current scene evidencing the high regard in which he is held. Recent recordings by the likes of Joshua Redman, James Carter are made special by his presence in the line up.
Here it is his role as bandleader that takes centre stage as he heads up his quintet `Inside Straight` on their second recorded appearance and it is to his highly compatible colleagues that he distributes solo responsibilities preferring to support and propel the music with his powerful , resonant bass line. He does however, allow himself a couple of solos and as we have come to expect they are exemplars of the art-form but this is not a showcase for a display of singular virtuosity, rather a cohesive group enterprise fulfilling a clear musical vision.
Central to McBride’s musical vision is accessibility –hence `People Music` - for without making any concessions to the easy virtues of the latest pop and rock trends he has put together a set of essentially hard bop originals in the classic tradition of late period Art Blakey, shorn of acerbic tendencies, with the emphasis of melody carried through from theme to solo and borne on a variety of infectious rhythmic modes. One is minded of Bobby Watson – Mc Bride’s first employer- and the wonderful 1990 disc he made with his group `Horizon` entitled `Post Motown Bop`- hard bop for those who don’t want the melody thrashed out of it.
As already noted McBride has chosen a team of highly accomplished `simpaticos` to help him achieve his mission and with them he shares composer credits: all are memorable themes with one a reworking for jazz combo of an original four part suite that McBride composed for quartet and gospel choir, another a ballad dedicated to Maya Angelou and featuring the silky soprano of Steve Wilson who elsewhere on alto achieves a cogency of invention that is unforced and free of showy histrionics. Warren Wolf, recently heard on Aaron Diehl’s impressive Mack Avenue debut – demonstrates why he is one to watch and Peter Martin ( sometime musical director to Dianne Reeves), combines the linear directedness of bop piano with an elegant lyricism that adds dimension to the overall group sound. Drumming, whether by Owens or Allen follows the polyrhythmic template typical of the best modern practice but without usurping the seamless flow and all play their part to ensure that the music has coherent form and is more than just a string of solos.
Jazz encyclopaedists may have already noted that the title `Inside Straight` appears on John Zorn’s somewhat infamous recording ` Naked City` where it graces a postmodern punk jazz thrash. McBride’s use of this title as the name of his excellent group is- you may be re-assured - devoid of Zorn’s ironic motor-psycho fantasies and serves to signify music that is both straight taking and firmly inside the tradition.
Reviewed by Euan Dixon
Top of Page
CHRISTOPH STIFEL INNER LANGUAGE TRIO - Live
Basho Records SRCD39-2
Christoph Stiefel (piano) Thomas Lähns (bass) Lionel Friedli (drums) Kevin Chesham (drums) track 6
Recorded live at Saalfelden, Amberg and Munich, April 2011
It could be said that we are living in a golden age of piano jazz if the constant stream of virtuosi talent is anything to go by. Hardly a month goes by than we are presented with a new talent to admire each one exceeding the other in terms of technique and ambition. Swiss pianist, Christoph Stiefel is such a player and this fine disc from Basho Records represents his UK debut.
His reputation in Europe is, however, well established as is that of his trio members and these live recordings reveal a take on the piano trio format that incorporates ancient and modern devices to a quite devastating sonic effect.
In six of the nine pieces presented Stiefel exploits the medieval musical device of the isorhythm, a technique first employed in the choral motets of composers of the school of Guillaume de Machaut in which repetitive rhythmic patterns are repeated according to strict schemata independent of patterns in the main melody. The technique is not unknown in other musics such as Indian Classical Music and contemporary Western music like minimalism where overlapping isorhythmic patterns create a rich, tightly packed sonic tapestry, Minimalist music can appear mechanistic and repetitive but is possessed of a rich internal world of shifting sounds and it this aesthetic that Stiefel draws upon to create his `inner language` concept.
It is the application of these isorhythimc techniques that is slightly problematic in jazz terms for it calls for a discipline that is somewhat inimical to the flexibility and free expression typical of jazz performance. One finds a similar polytextural approach at times in the music of Brad Mehldau but when it occurs it builds up to a tension laden climax that eventually finds release in some cathartic bluesy ride out. Stiefel, for his part, espouses a formative interest in rhythm and blues but it is never fully realised beyond an occasional toccata ostinato that is applied with a precision that emasculates the original intent.
These reservations apart, this disc is a must for all those who are interested in contemporary piano trio jazz and the strict application of classical European techniques should not discredit it for this is clearly integral to the artistic vision the musicians aspired to achieve. Stiefel is an extraordinary pianist who with his trio produces staggering feats of virtuosity that will have you clutching the edge of your seat. The trouble for some jazz fans is that you may never quite believe that you face the risk of actually falling out of it.
Reviewed by Euan Dixon
Top of Page
Christoph Stiefel (piano) Thomas Lähns (bass) Lionel Friedli (drums) Kevin Chesham (drums) track 6
Recorded live at Saalfelden, Amberg and Munich, April 2011
It could be said that we are living in a golden age of piano jazz if the constant stream of virtuosi talent is anything to go by. Hardly a month goes by than we are presented with a new talent to admire each one exceeding the other in terms of technique and ambition. Swiss pianist, Christoph Stiefel is such a player and this fine disc from Basho Records represents his UK debut.
His reputation in Europe is, however, well established as is that of his trio members and these live recordings reveal a take on the piano trio format that incorporates ancient and modern devices to a quite devastating sonic effect.
In six of the nine pieces presented Stiefel exploits the medieval musical device of the isorhythm, a technique first employed in the choral motets of composers of the school of Guillaume de Machaut in which repetitive rhythmic patterns are repeated according to strict schemata independent of patterns in the main melody. The technique is not unknown in other musics such as Indian Classical Music and contemporary Western music like minimalism where overlapping isorhythmic patterns create a rich, tightly packed sonic tapestry, Minimalist music can appear mechanistic and repetitive but is possessed of a rich internal world of shifting sounds and it this aesthetic that Stiefel draws upon to create his `inner language` concept.
It is the application of these isorhythimc techniques that is slightly problematic in jazz terms for it calls for a discipline that is somewhat inimical to the flexibility and free expression typical of jazz performance. One finds a similar polytextural approach at times in the music of Brad Mehldau but when it occurs it builds up to a tension laden climax that eventually finds release in some cathartic bluesy ride out. Stiefel, for his part, espouses a formative interest in rhythm and blues but it is never fully realised beyond an occasional toccata ostinato that is applied with a precision that emasculates the original intent.
These reservations apart, this disc is a must for all those who are interested in contemporary piano trio jazz and the strict application of classical European techniques should not discredit it for this is clearly integral to the artistic vision the musicians aspired to achieve. Stiefel is an extraordinary pianist who with his trio produces staggering feats of virtuosity that will have you clutching the edge of your seat. The trouble for some jazz fans is that you may never quite believe that you face the risk of actually falling out of it.
Reviewed by Euan Dixon
Top of Page
THE NEW GARY BURTON QUARTET – Guded Tour
Mack Avenue Records MAC1074
Gary Burton (vib); Julian Lage (g); Scott Colley (b); Antonio Sanchez (d)
Recorded n.d
Having turned 70 in January of this year, vibes maestro, Gary Burton, shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon. Not content with his not inconsiderable achievements as an innovator and leading exponent of his chosen instrument, a forty year musical association with pianist Chick Corea, and an educational career at Boston’s Berklee College of Music that spans some 30 years; he also finds the time and energy to write his autobiography and record a second album for Mack Avenue featuring his New Quartet.
As a follow up to its predecessor, Common Ground, Burton has sourced material from within the band, with the exception a single selection each from the pen of Fred Hersch and ‘Once Upon A Summertime’ by Eddie Barclay and Michel Legrand, and thus produced an album that is not just compositionally fresh, but also find the quartet fairly sprinting out of the blocks in a programme that pricks up the ears with the sheer variety of timbre and dynamic interplay of all concerned.
All the instruments are superbly recorded, with the resulting ensemble sounding greater than the sum of its parts. From the opening cut, ‘Caminos’ the foursome have a vibrancy and vitality in the delivery that is infectious to say the least.
The quartet play with a lithe and flexible rhythmic feel that is utterly contemporary, and yet swings hard. This rhythmic drive is evident on pianist, Fred Hersch’s ‘Jackalope’, a tricky theme which is mostly written in 7/4, with the flipside immediately presented on the other ‘cover’ in a wonderful interpretation of ‘Once Upon A Summertime’ with Scott Colley’s beautiful arco bass.
All the compositions written by members of the quartet show a strong sense of melody, and coupled with the empathy that the foursome have developed over two recordings and a world tour, all in all it makes for a completely satisfying album.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
Top of Page
Gary Burton (vib); Julian Lage (g); Scott Colley (b); Antonio Sanchez (d)
Recorded n.d
Having turned 70 in January of this year, vibes maestro, Gary Burton, shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon. Not content with his not inconsiderable achievements as an innovator and leading exponent of his chosen instrument, a forty year musical association with pianist Chick Corea, and an educational career at Boston’s Berklee College of Music that spans some 30 years; he also finds the time and energy to write his autobiography and record a second album for Mack Avenue featuring his New Quartet.
As a follow up to its predecessor, Common Ground, Burton has sourced material from within the band, with the exception a single selection each from the pen of Fred Hersch and ‘Once Upon A Summertime’ by Eddie Barclay and Michel Legrand, and thus produced an album that is not just compositionally fresh, but also find the quartet fairly sprinting out of the blocks in a programme that pricks up the ears with the sheer variety of timbre and dynamic interplay of all concerned.
All the instruments are superbly recorded, with the resulting ensemble sounding greater than the sum of its parts. From the opening cut, ‘Caminos’ the foursome have a vibrancy and vitality in the delivery that is infectious to say the least.
The quartet play with a lithe and flexible rhythmic feel that is utterly contemporary, and yet swings hard. This rhythmic drive is evident on pianist, Fred Hersch’s ‘Jackalope’, a tricky theme which is mostly written in 7/4, with the flipside immediately presented on the other ‘cover’ in a wonderful interpretation of ‘Once Upon A Summertime’ with Scott Colley’s beautiful arco bass.
All the compositions written by members of the quartet show a strong sense of melody, and coupled with the empathy that the foursome have developed over two recordings and a world tour, all in all it makes for a completely satisfying album.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
Top of Page
LARRY ANKRUM – The Dream of the Ballerina
©2012 larry ankrum / all rights reserved
Larry Ankrum (tenor sax, flute, alto flute) Joe Ashlar (piano) James Singleton (bass) Kevin O’Day (drums)
Recorded in New Orleans, June 16, 2010
Larry Ankrum may be an unfamiliar name to jazz enthusiasts on this side of the Atlantic but that shouldn’t deter one from making his acquaintance by way of this superlative disc of delightfully varied music performed by all concerned to the highest musical standards.
Although Ankrum presents a quite diverse recital of pieces ranging from the dreamy and impressionistic through hard edged modal bop to essays in group improvisation the programme is suffused throughout with a sunny ambience typical of the `Big Easy `environs in which it was created ; however, although it is undoubtedly easy on the ear it cannot, be dismissed as `easy listening` for whilst this is music that seduces the senses it stimulates the intellect in equal measure but without reaching for angst –ridden effect to gain attention and to make its point.
In the first three pieces Ankrum demonstrates is prowess as a flautist, the opener having a distinctly Gulf of Mexico feel with its calypso- like measures. It is followed by “A Day in Athens” a charming jazz waltz also metaphorically bathed in sunshine paying homage to the muse of Southern climes. For the title piece Ankrum takes up his alto flute for an impressionistic soliloquy of thwarted ambition which serves both as programme music and a stand- alone composition. `The Dream of the Ballerina` is a singular achievement , a sort of jazz oriented `La’apres-midi d’une faune’ being , as those who take the trouble to seek out the You Tube clip will find, a sophisticated ballet score dramatising the would be ballerina’s plaintive story. As well as showcasing the mellifluous sound of the alto flute it contains one of the most melodic bass solos ever committed to disc.
The mood changes with a spiky Monk inspired piece of bop, cheekily underpinned by some accent laden `second –line` drumming by Kevin O’Day whose nimble technique and fluid propulsion is heard to great effect on every piece, imparting a pervasive vitality to the whole enterprise.
O’Day is given a showcase spot in a modal bop piece cryptically entitled `The Worse the Deed, the Better the Confession` and in the sturdy tango, `Cartas de Suelto` pianist Joe Ashlar comes to the fore, although by this stage in the proceedings we need no further proof of his exemplary credentials. There is stunning piano playing to be heard on every track.
Apart from the last two tracks which are exercises in group improvisation all the compositions are attributed to Ankrum : all are of substance, more than the mere motivic etudes that are often passed off as jazz themes, but the most memorable is `Champagne Moon` , a heart stopping jazz waltz that deserves to become a contemporary jazz ballad.
Ankrum rounds off his disc with an extended piece of free improvisation that gives all the musicians space to demonstrate their qualities as individuals and as group players. The music is exploratatory but never formless perhaps suggesting that without the devices and disciplines of harmony, melody and rhythm, unstructured freedom is a road to nowhere.
The first order musical empathy and technique heard in these nine pieces should guarantee these musicians the attention they deserve, lift them from the relative obscurity of session work however prestigious and set them on road to headline success and we can help by investing in a copy of this fine disc.
Reviewed by Euan Dixon
Top of Page
Larry Ankrum (tenor sax, flute, alto flute) Joe Ashlar (piano) James Singleton (bass) Kevin O’Day (drums)
Recorded in New Orleans, June 16, 2010
Larry Ankrum may be an unfamiliar name to jazz enthusiasts on this side of the Atlantic but that shouldn’t deter one from making his acquaintance by way of this superlative disc of delightfully varied music performed by all concerned to the highest musical standards.
Although Ankrum presents a quite diverse recital of pieces ranging from the dreamy and impressionistic through hard edged modal bop to essays in group improvisation the programme is suffused throughout with a sunny ambience typical of the `Big Easy `environs in which it was created ; however, although it is undoubtedly easy on the ear it cannot, be dismissed as `easy listening` for whilst this is music that seduces the senses it stimulates the intellect in equal measure but without reaching for angst –ridden effect to gain attention and to make its point.
In the first three pieces Ankrum demonstrates is prowess as a flautist, the opener having a distinctly Gulf of Mexico feel with its calypso- like measures. It is followed by “A Day in Athens” a charming jazz waltz also metaphorically bathed in sunshine paying homage to the muse of Southern climes. For the title piece Ankrum takes up his alto flute for an impressionistic soliloquy of thwarted ambition which serves both as programme music and a stand- alone composition. `The Dream of the Ballerina` is a singular achievement , a sort of jazz oriented `La’apres-midi d’une faune’ being , as those who take the trouble to seek out the You Tube clip will find, a sophisticated ballet score dramatising the would be ballerina’s plaintive story. As well as showcasing the mellifluous sound of the alto flute it contains one of the most melodic bass solos ever committed to disc.
The mood changes with a spiky Monk inspired piece of bop, cheekily underpinned by some accent laden `second –line` drumming by Kevin O’Day whose nimble technique and fluid propulsion is heard to great effect on every piece, imparting a pervasive vitality to the whole enterprise.
O’Day is given a showcase spot in a modal bop piece cryptically entitled `The Worse the Deed, the Better the Confession` and in the sturdy tango, `Cartas de Suelto` pianist Joe Ashlar comes to the fore, although by this stage in the proceedings we need no further proof of his exemplary credentials. There is stunning piano playing to be heard on every track.
Apart from the last two tracks which are exercises in group improvisation all the compositions are attributed to Ankrum : all are of substance, more than the mere motivic etudes that are often passed off as jazz themes, but the most memorable is `Champagne Moon` , a heart stopping jazz waltz that deserves to become a contemporary jazz ballad.
Ankrum rounds off his disc with an extended piece of free improvisation that gives all the musicians space to demonstrate their qualities as individuals and as group players. The music is exploratatory but never formless perhaps suggesting that without the devices and disciplines of harmony, melody and rhythm, unstructured freedom is a road to nowhere.
The first order musical empathy and technique heard in these nine pieces should guarantee these musicians the attention they deserve, lift them from the relative obscurity of session work however prestigious and set them on road to headline success and we can help by investing in a copy of this fine disc.
Reviewed by Euan Dixon
Top of Page
GEORGE SHEARING – At Home
Jazzknight Records JKR001
George Shearing ( pno ) Don Thompson ( bass )
Recorded New York, 1983
If British pianists were included in the Balance of Payments calculations this country would be well in credit. If you take a random sample of British pianists who have emigrated to the US and carved out a successful career for themselves you would have to include, Marion McPartland, Ralph Sharon, Victor Feldman, Ronnie Ball, Derek Smith and last but not least George Shearing.
George already had a well established career in London but decided he would try his luck in the States in 1947 and worked with a trio and quartet until 1949 when he formed his historic quintet which went on to be highly popular. From the early seventies he worked mainly with a duo & formed a successful partnership with singer Mel Torme.
This recording features a duo with the Canadian born bassist Don Thompson who worked with George from 1982 to 1987. The recording was made in George’s New York flat where the duo played together for their own pleasure, and the bass player thought it might be good idea to record their efforts just for fun. George agreed and the results of a selection of these recordings are contained in this CD.
On the opening track ‘I Didn’t Know What Time It Was’ George introduces the melody using his single note style which is so effective in creating a propulsive swing from which he goes into his well loved locked hands playing. For ‘The Things We Did Last Summer’ he uses the same approach to the tune, and it is probably the most satisfying track on the album.
George’s style was developed during the early period of bebop, and so it is not surprising that he was so adept in playing the early bebop repertoire, and the track included on this album ‘Confirmation’ is no exception. ‘Ghoti’ an original written by the bass player Don Thompson is in a similar style and just as successful. His slower ballads tend to be a little rhapsodic and display his classical leanings but are well developed & interesting to listen to.
All in all this is a well balanced programme with some fine piano and bass playing, and would grace the collection of any lover of great piano albums, and therefore I would highly recommend it.
Reviewed by Roy Booth
Top of Page
George Shearing ( pno ) Don Thompson ( bass )
Recorded New York, 1983
If British pianists were included in the Balance of Payments calculations this country would be well in credit. If you take a random sample of British pianists who have emigrated to the US and carved out a successful career for themselves you would have to include, Marion McPartland, Ralph Sharon, Victor Feldman, Ronnie Ball, Derek Smith and last but not least George Shearing.
George already had a well established career in London but decided he would try his luck in the States in 1947 and worked with a trio and quartet until 1949 when he formed his historic quintet which went on to be highly popular. From the early seventies he worked mainly with a duo & formed a successful partnership with singer Mel Torme.
This recording features a duo with the Canadian born bassist Don Thompson who worked with George from 1982 to 1987. The recording was made in George’s New York flat where the duo played together for their own pleasure, and the bass player thought it might be good idea to record their efforts just for fun. George agreed and the results of a selection of these recordings are contained in this CD.
On the opening track ‘I Didn’t Know What Time It Was’ George introduces the melody using his single note style which is so effective in creating a propulsive swing from which he goes into his well loved locked hands playing. For ‘The Things We Did Last Summer’ he uses the same approach to the tune, and it is probably the most satisfying track on the album.
George’s style was developed during the early period of bebop, and so it is not surprising that he was so adept in playing the early bebop repertoire, and the track included on this album ‘Confirmation’ is no exception. ‘Ghoti’ an original written by the bass player Don Thompson is in a similar style and just as successful. His slower ballads tend to be a little rhapsodic and display his classical leanings but are well developed & interesting to listen to.
All in all this is a well balanced programme with some fine piano and bass playing, and would grace the collection of any lover of great piano albums, and therefore I would highly recommend it.
Reviewed by Roy Booth
Top of Page
CLAUDIO SCOLARI - Synthesis
Principal Records – CSMD 05
Claudio Scolari (drums, percussion, flute, piano and synths), Daniele Cavalca (melodica, drums, percussion, piano, synths, vibraphone and bass) Simone Scolari (trumpet)
Recorded January 2012, Vox Recording Studio, Italy.
Under the nominal leadership of Claudio Scolari, described as the founder of the project, this enterprising trio produce a dazzling array of sounds that embrace a wide ranging diversity of musical genres.
There is perhaps something architectural in the way the music is assembled with elements being added presumably according the will of a central controlling intellect rather than the free interplay of the musicians involved and consequently the multifarious synthesiser and percussive effects sound rather mechanistic. This is not a criticism and may be integral to the founder’s musical concept. One is minded of Frank Zappa’s synthclavier projects which utilised sampled sounds to stunning effect or Palle Mikkelborg’s Aura collaboration with Miles Davis.
Scolari builds his music up from synthesiser riffs, adding percussive effects, strands of melody and ornamental motives using keyboards and winds. Some of the melodic devices are rudimentary alternating with free-form passages which coalesce into powerful dance rhythms only to fragment again into polytonal disputations. At times an Eastern Mediterranean feeling is invoked in the dance passages and when these occur the European art house feel is temporarily dissipated. Overall , however, the theme is constructivist and impressionistic as titles like `Expression of image’, Fragment of Autumn’, and `Hymn of the inventions` readily aver.
Against the shifting melange of synthetic sound the often plaintive cry of Simone Scolari’s trumpet plays a significant and crucially expressive role which could be interpreted as a man versus machine dichotomy. This may be far from what was intended but when it comes to evaluating abstract art one often imposes one’s own meaning when the artistes’ personal vision isn’t immediately accessible.
For those who thrive on jazz electronica, ambient and world –beat soundscapes this will prove a fascinating disc that will reward close attention.
Reviewed by Euan Dixon
Top of Page
Claudio Scolari (drums, percussion, flute, piano and synths), Daniele Cavalca (melodica, drums, percussion, piano, synths, vibraphone and bass) Simone Scolari (trumpet)
Recorded January 2012, Vox Recording Studio, Italy.
Under the nominal leadership of Claudio Scolari, described as the founder of the project, this enterprising trio produce a dazzling array of sounds that embrace a wide ranging diversity of musical genres.
There is perhaps something architectural in the way the music is assembled with elements being added presumably according the will of a central controlling intellect rather than the free interplay of the musicians involved and consequently the multifarious synthesiser and percussive effects sound rather mechanistic. This is not a criticism and may be integral to the founder’s musical concept. One is minded of Frank Zappa’s synthclavier projects which utilised sampled sounds to stunning effect or Palle Mikkelborg’s Aura collaboration with Miles Davis.
Scolari builds his music up from synthesiser riffs, adding percussive effects, strands of melody and ornamental motives using keyboards and winds. Some of the melodic devices are rudimentary alternating with free-form passages which coalesce into powerful dance rhythms only to fragment again into polytonal disputations. At times an Eastern Mediterranean feeling is invoked in the dance passages and when these occur the European art house feel is temporarily dissipated. Overall , however, the theme is constructivist and impressionistic as titles like `Expression of image’, Fragment of Autumn’, and `Hymn of the inventions` readily aver.
Against the shifting melange of synthetic sound the often plaintive cry of Simone Scolari’s trumpet plays a significant and crucially expressive role which could be interpreted as a man versus machine dichotomy. This may be far from what was intended but when it comes to evaluating abstract art one often imposes one’s own meaning when the artistes’ personal vision isn’t immediately accessible.
For those who thrive on jazz electronica, ambient and world –beat soundscapes this will prove a fascinating disc that will reward close attention.
Reviewed by Euan Dixon
Top of Page