Wings – Chamber Music by Rami Levin
Various Artists
Acis APL53875 (acisproductions.com/wings-chamber-music-by-rami-levin)

Rami Levin (b.Brooklyn 1954) composed five of this CD’s works while living in Brazil (2010-2017). The two sprightly movements of Asar (Wings) for clarinet, violin and piano utilize bird calls “heard constantly outside my window.” The soulful Saudade (Longing) for guitar follows. Reflections of Reflections (11.11.11) for wind quintet matches the numerical uniqueness of November 11, 2011 with drily mathematical music – 11 sections, each 11 measures. Caprichosa (Capricious) for flute and harp is more engaging, songful and rhythmically “capricious.”

Três Cançöes (Three Songs), commissioned by Brazilian soprano Veruschka Mainhard, set poems by Mainhard’s then-seven-year-old daughter Laura. The texts of Os Macacos Brincalhöes (The Playful Monkeys), O Pequeno Barco (The Little Boat) and Porco (Pigs) are delightfully imaginative and charming, as is the music, charmingly performed by bright-voiced soprano Alisa Jordheim and pianist Kuang-Hao Huang. Jordheim, accompanied by flute, harp and guitar, also sings Four English Songs (1997), light-hearted settings of the nursery rhymes Sixpence, Apple Pie, Hey Diddle Diddle and The House that Jack Built.

In Linguas Fraternas (Fraternal Languages) for viola and piano (2019), Levin drew upon her experiences teaching ESL in Brazil. Leste-Oeste (East-West) juxtaposes Afghani elements on the viola with American blues on the piano; in Norte-Sul (North-South), the instruments play in different rhythms, “a musical representation,” writes Levin, “of different ways of saying the same things…The piece is an homage to the beauty and richness of language and the experience of merging different cultures.”

Listen to 'Wings: Chamber Music by Rami Levin' Now in the Listening Room

Vigil
Ethel & Layale Chaker
In A Circle Records ICR030 (ethelcentral.bandcamp.com/album/vigil-icr030)

Radio Afloat
Layale Chaker & Sarafand
In A Circle Records ICR031 (layalechaker.bandcamp.com/album/radio-afloat-icr031)

For violinist Layale Chaker, the trigger for her composition Vigil, performed with the ensemble ETHEL, was the revolution in Lebanon. The work, however, takes its inspiration from the poem What They Did Yesterday Afternoon by the Somali-British poet Warsan Shire. As the liner notes tell us, the poem “sketches, with startling economy, a world torn by a cascading series of problems…” 

Chaker’s musical lines are closely aligned with the rhythm of the “world torn” and their dark tones and textures reflect the density of this “cascading.” Like the writer, she too visualises the fabric of humanity like expensive raw silk. This is reflected in the harmonic overtones that enrich the stark narratives of each of the movements of Vigil, building up to an almost frenzied crescendo in the fifth, and final episode of the tone poem. 

The members of ETHEL also contribute a piece each to this recording that describes a world in the thrall of a dark, existential angst. Chaker and the members of ETHEL employ an inspired understanding of Phrygian modes that inform Andalusi literature using a strophic form called qasida and maqama which Chaker brilliantly transforms into phrases made of ephemeral, almost ghostly glissandi that turns her into a kind of shamanic alchemist, enabling her to send audiences into emotional states that border on both the mystical and the magical. This (inspired use of maqama in her art) spells the true genius of Chaker’s musicianship. It is also what makes this recordingirresistibly hypnotic. 

If you listen to Chaker’s next recording Radio Afloat, fairly soon after you’ve listened to Vigil and you sense more pain in the works therein, you would be absolutely right. But consider this. The city of Beirut, (capital of her birth-country Lebanon), was once called the “Paris of the Middle East.” It was the proverbial city of light, so alive with joie de vivre that the sun never seemed to set on its citizenry. But internecine wars precipitated by religious strife, the greed of those who held positions of power and the residual effects of colonialism spelled the city’s (and country’s) doom.

The feeling of loss, of the sharp pain of having to leave behind what you love and emigrate elsewhere, will never leave a person who had experienced the kind of paradise that Beirut once was. This sense of loss is what burns with a slow blue flame throughout Radio Afloat. 

The music is played here by Chaker and the ensemble Sarafand, which comprises a cello, contrabass, piano, microtonal keyboard and a drum set that includes Lebanese frame drums. It also features Chaker’s vocals, characterised by ululating, high and lonesome wailing. Radio Afloat is an eight-movement suite which, as Chaker tells us, is woven into, and echoes, The Trace of Blue Passion, a poem by the Lebanese writer Ounsi el-Hage. 

The Trace of Blue Passion is a glorious lament in which the poet informs us: “After we witnessed the extent of bird’s wisdom / I remind you that it is in the nature of creatures / to harm themselves.” Like the poet, Chaker and the performers of Sarafand match the poem’s lyricism with profound musical beauty and classical pathos.

Cello Unlocked
Bryan Hayslett
Neuma 132 (bryanhayslett.bandcamp.com/album/cello-unlocked)

Feeling almost carved from the ground up, this album is full of interesting and innovative dialogues. Not only is it beautifully played, the pieces come to you as transcriptions of voices and stories through the cello and voice of Hayslett without affect or personal interference. 

There is a genuineness throughout the album which is refreshing. Vocals are raw and focus on the works, the poetry and the stories they tell. Haylsett’s performances are deeply interpretive, which is not necessarily the same as improvised, and he draws on fascinating academic research for his book The Theory of Prominence, where he discusses rhythm of music in relation to language. Throughout the album he illustrates this theory with his connection of the cello to the human voice. Beginning with Caroline Shaw’s in manus tuas, based on Christ’s final words on the cross it begins with a deep grittiness on the cello, where we first hear the voice intoning notes. Mary Kouyoumdjian’s and there was is an absolutely stunning working of a text rich with grief and loss, a full dialogue between cello and voice. Joan La Barbara’s with the years is a commanding work with text from a poem by Dorothea Tanning seen on the NYC subway. It is beautifully interpreted, from the delicate harmonic opening to the double-stopped vocal lines.  

The middle anchor of the album is Unlocked by Judith Weir, a work in five movements based on the John and Alan Lomax 1930s recordings of folk songs collected from Black prisoners in the American south. These are a range of direct transcriptions of whispers to blues, giving voice to prisoners otherwise unheard. Tonadas, Germán Marano’s gentle arrangement of two milking songs, is followed by recovering (speech rhythm study 1), a transcription from an original poem virtually matched on the cello. The album closes with Brent Michael David’s Cello Chili, a recipe for a pot of chili stirred with cello parts, a fun but also fascinating blend of speech and music.

Listen to 'Cello Unlocked' Now in the Listening Room

Decoda
Decoda
Bright Shiny Things BSTC-0203 (brightshiny.ninja/decoda)

There isn’t space here to recount every good thing about this disc, so let me start with the playing. Decoda is a septet of winds, strings and piano who reach beyond their instrumentation, aided of course by the material they choose. Valerie Coleman supplies the opening tracks. Commissioned and premiered by the group in 2018, and recorded for the first time here, Revelry isn’t exactly Pop, but it pops with exuberance and vigour. Mysterio is about the fun to be had in gathering together, but the second movement, War, evokes the darker side of collective action. At just over ten minutes, it doesn’t wear out the listener. You want the first to go on, but you need the second to stop. The playing is excellent.

Arrangements by group members of William Bolcom’s Three Rags become almost quaintly American, not quite parody and somewhat an homage. The arrangements leave out the piano, so they sound like a travelling band ready to hit the pubs. Having just escaped to Ireland recently, I highly recommend the group consider this. I found the latter two, Graceful Ghost and Poltergeist, more effective and less cliché than Incineratorag. Gotta love the titles though.  

The duo of Catherine Gregory (flute) and Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir (cello) cover the most territory, and deserve the most praise, in Folksongs (Set No.9) by Reza Vali. Vali mines his Persian heritage for extant and invented material, and the duo ramble through the roughly twenty-minute collection with elegance and verve. This set alone is more than enough reason to grab this disc, but the material on either side shows off Decoda’s full range and chops.

Emergence
Joel Chadabe
Intellegent Arts ARS-08 (joelchadabe.bandcamp.com)

Pioneering American electroacoustic composer Joel Chadabe (1938-2021), an early Robert Moog collaborator, was even earlier a student of modernist composer Elliott Carter. During his productive career Chadabe honed the cutting edge of innovation in his compositions and interactive musical instrument designs.

The career-spanning 18-track Emergence encompasses a wide range of his work from 1960s acoustic chamber music to recent electroacoustic compositions. All composed in 1967, 3 Ways of Looking at a Square for solo piano, the two-piano Diversions and the flute, clarinet, piano, cello quartet Prelude to Naples lean toward angular modernism.

Street Scene (1968) for English horn, tape, recitation and synthesizer on the other hand reveals Chadabe’s unexpected lyrical side – performed by the English horn melody – the spoken lyrics based on the tough/sensitive Lawrence Ferlinghetti beat poem The Long Street. This moody work deserves to be more widely programmed. 

The joyous Birdbath is a constant motoric burble of stereo synth 16th notes counterpointed by percussion interjections and birdsong. This short track demonstrates the composer’s deft command of synthesizer technique, instrumental timbre and wit. 

One World 2, an electronic dialogue between birdsong and globally-sourced human sounds, reflects Chadabe’s passionate environmentalism. He even posited three ways to sonically engage with the environment. “We can listen to the sounds of the world around us. We can listen through the ears, sensibilities, and talents of sound artists, which is more compelling and engaging. Or we can create sound art, which leads us to become yet more deeply and thoughtfully engaged.” This effective work illustrates the third path.

Victor Marquez-Barrios – The Moments Between
Various Artists
Blue Griffin BGR651 (bluegriffin.com/cd-catalog/p/the-moments-between-victor-marquez-barrios?rq=the%20moments%20betw)

I like a disc that neither clamours for your attention nor sends you out of the room seeking peace. Therefore, I like the music of Victor Marquez-Barrios as represented here on The Moments Between, although I exclude, for private reasons, the opening and title track for soprano and bass clarinets. I have grown allergic to the sound of my own instrument, even while I recognize the two performers, Jesse Krebs and Xin Gao, are just fine. Once past my own pain, I truly enjoy the diverse chamber works of the collection. The titles date from 2000 through 2022, so all fairly recent. Marquez-Barrios has a great understanding of a range of instruments, and demonstrates his own prowess on guitar on Introspección, a duet with cello, here played with poise and aplomb by Yolena Orea.

Other instruments, all played so well, but too many to note every name: flugelhorn, trombone, vibes, saxophone, string quartet and English horn, played by Elaine Aubuchon who gets special mention because she’s darned good and I especially liked Waltz for Kyle (2022). 

It would be fair to classify the composer as neo-Romantic if such designations still have meaning. Post-modernism allows artists to simply do what comes, I think, and only when they seem driven by an agenda beyond expressing their own ideas and voice and calling do I close up my ears and move on. The last cut on the disc, The Visitor (2022), is a collaborative work, Rafael Vera sharing writing credits. Perhaps that explains why it is the most overtly “contemporary” or exploratory (or, depending on your taste, the most difficult).

Second Wind
John Lee; Peter Washington; Kenny Washington
Cellar Music CMF121823 (johnleejazz.bandcamp.com/track/second-wind)

Second Wind is West Coast multi-instrumentalist John Lee’s sophomore album as a leader, providing a formidable, swinging continuation of his development as a musician. I had the pleasure of reviewing Lee’s debut album The Artist in 2022, and Second Wind offers a departure from this while staying true to its stylistic aesthetic. 

Lee is adept at several instruments and his choice to play piano on this recording is an ambitious and intimate one. The piano work on Second Wind does not come across like “a bassist playing the piano,” in the same way that Lee’s bass playing on The Artist doesn’t sound like “a drummer playing the bass.” The only way Lee can be accused of “multi-instrumental privilege” might be the knack it gives him for finding the best personnel to surround himself with. In this case, it’s stalwart American rhythm section Peter and Kenny Washington.    

The bassist and drummer share a last name but are unrelated biologically. I make the “biological” distinction because their musical relationship spans decades, and Lee notes that he has been enamoured with their work since he was a teen. This lineage may just be why the trio functions so well as a unit, sounding like they’ve played together far more than just one day in a Vancouver studio. 

If you are looking for dense harmonies or quirky mixed-meter originals, Second Wind may not be your first choice, but the music is far from sounding stuffy or dated. Lee holds true to the jazz tradition, while bringing a fresh energy to it no matter what instrument he’s playing.

Tribute to the Groove
Brasstactics
Independent (thebrasstactics.com)

Brasstactics bring the heat and punchy rhythms on their newest release, perfect for these end-of-summer, scorching days. Known for their complex rhythms, soaring horn melodies and driving bass lines, the group has been deemed “Edmonton’s premier party brass band.” The record has a lineup of both fiery original tunes penned by members of the group, as well as dance-worthy covers of popular songs, such as Bad Guy by Billie Eilish and Runaway Baby by Bruno Mars. Of course, a great album like this wouldn’t be possible without fantastic musicians, something this record definitely isn’t lacking, with renowned names like Audrey Ochoa on trombone, Jonny McCormack on tenor saxophone and Allison Ochoa on baritone saxophone. If you’re into the heavy brass-driven sound heard from the likes of the Heavyweights Brass Band, this is an album for you. 

The energy that runs throughout each of these tunes is captivating and puts the listener in a good mood, no matter what kind of day you’re having. Take the aforementioned cover of Bad Guy for example: featuring a continuously raunchy bass melody and dynamic rhythm section, overlayed by flighty trumpet and trombone lines, the listener is immediately drawn along on a fun, lively musical ride. Their own compositions don’t fall short either; Dutch Angles sets the tone for an album of perfect, feel-good music with its groovy saxophone melodies and never-ending, hypnotizing beats.

The Sixth Dimension
Doug Wilde
Independent (dougwilde.com/new.html)

Opening ourselves to the previously unexplored is often what we need to reset and take on a refreshed perspective on life. Doug Wilde’s newest album allows us to accomplish just that, exploring unique tonal systems that are new to listeners’ ears and open up doorways to understand music in different ways than we have previously. Coming from the renowned contemporary music supergroup Manteca, Wilde is no stranger to introducing listeners to deeper meanings hidden within music and alternative melodies and rhythms. Featuring famed names like Paul Novotny on bass, Colleen Allen on saxophones and bass clarinet and James Ervin on horns, this is an album that will take you on an exciting musical trip through unexplored territory. 

This recording could be interpreted as both an outward exploration of new sonic worlds and an introspective journey during which the listener can venture as far as they feel comfortable. Hexachords are the basis for the music – simply put, six-note scales as opposed to the typical seven. Each tune uses a different hexachord and the result is truly refreshing and captivating: there’s a certain mysticism and sense of the “unknown” within each piece that keeps the listener on their toes. It’s fascinating how this record manages to sound both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time, and the combination and interplay of those two aspects reflected within these melodies is what makes this a fantastic addition to any music lover’s collection. 

It’s Time
Paul Tobey
Jazzmentl Records (paultobey.com/product/its-time-by-paul-tobey-cd)

Paul Tobey’s grand (piano pun) return to recorded music is a focused, light and deeply enjoyable affair that sees him interpret the classics – both ubiquitous and personal – while conveying a love for improvising through every key stroke. Heavy on the ballads and equally chock-full of charm, the tracklist delivers hit after hit, while allowing Tobey immense expressive terrain to roam. With a selective yet emotive left hand and dazzlingly nimble right, each solo sounds like a seasoned mixologist meticulously curating their favorite flavours, with impeccable grace. Each actual jazz head is played with a grounding precision and faithfulness to the original melody, with each subsequent repeated chorus feeling like a response to the last, as the tunes gradually begin to soar and become something completely new. 

A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes soothed my tabby cat to sleep with how wistfully and sensitively Tobey plays its intro, and then my cat awoke again at some point during the masterfully subtle transition into a buoyant double-time swing feel. Tobey’s own composition Caminar – The Walking Song feels almost like a sentimental centrepiece for the album, with each transition between sections marked by a space, coming across as reflective and a means of bringing the listener into the recording room, reminding us that all this beautiful sound is coming from one mouthpiece. In stretching time, condensing time and manipulating time, It’s Time embodies its title.

Flip Side
Lina Allemano’s Ohrenschmaus
Lumo Records LM 2024-16 (linaallemano.bandcamp.com/album/flip-side)

Forget other recordings of wholly improvised music – not that this is better than Arve Henriksen, Nate Wooley and the rest – it’s merely that such comparisons are redundant. When the musicians of Lina Allemano’s Ohrenschmaus begin to improvise, you get the wondrous impression that they seemingly don’t believe the first bar of a work ought to herald its beginning, nor do they believe that works on this recording, Flip Side, need end with a rousing conclusion.

The result is a meta-work that creates myriad associations, resonances and new perspectives, not just between the lines and spaces of each work but also within the whole cycle of songs from Sidetrack (the recording’s opening salvo) to its explosive end, Sidespin. 

In between this panoply of musical gestures trumpeter Allemano, bassist Dan Peter Sundland, drummer Michael Griener and accordionist Andrea Parkins (who also comes to the party with found objects and electronics) continuously let listeners know that they may have stepped into an ongoing dialogue. Sidetrack is initially mouse-like, creeping and scurrying, but subsequent creations do more than suggest that the musicians simply nibble at this ongoing feast.  

Everyone contributes wonderfully to the heft of the music. Allemano is particularly engaged, drawing the other musicians into the frenzy of the improvisations. This is especially true of the whirligig velocity of such pieces as Sideswipe and Stricken, from where irruption bursts forth. Overall, this is a muscular, exhilaratingly voiced and lucidly inventive musical excursion.  

What It Means
Bria Skonberg
Cellar Music CM072624 (briaskonberg.bandcamp.com/album/what-it-means)

Back in the second half of the year 2000 aficionados, jazz bandleaders and critics were busy extolling the virtues of a young musician from Vancouver. Her name was Bria Skonberg and she played trumpet and sang with seductive vulnerability. Two decades later Skonberg reminds us why so many fell in love with her music, returning to what Hugues Panassié rightly described as le jazz hot. 

Skonberg’s 2024 installment – her eighth album, entitled What it Means – is red-hot indeed. As with her earlier recordings this one too is eloquent, enterprisingly and imaginatively programmed and reshapes classic repertoire as she propels “hot” charts into a whole new world of her music making. 

In Skonberg’s playing, there’s the familiar virtuosity and refinement that marked her previous albums. She embraces the full resources of her trumpet to recreate classics such as Louis Armstrong’s Cornet Chop Suey and Sidney Bechet’s Petit Fleur. Her originals, In The House and Elbow Bump, show a native’s grasp of the New Orleans idiom and are a triumph of music-making. Her eminently captivating voice adorns John Lennon’s Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy).

Skonberg is helped along the way by New Orleans “royalty” including banjoist Don Vappie, drummer Herlin Riley and the adorable vocalist Gabrielle Cavassa.

Hello! How Are You?
Caity Gyorgy and her trio
Independent (caitygyorgy.com)

With Hello! How Are You? Caity Gyorgy continues on her path toward world domination of the vocal jazz scene. Jokes aside, since embarking on her career a few short years ago, the singer and songwriter has released two EPs and three albums – two of which have won JUNO awards – and completed a Master’s degree, all before turning 26. With her fourth album Gyorgy not only gives us her trademark brilliant vocals, but her songwriting just keeps getting stronger, too. All but three of the tracks were written by her, in the style of the Great American Songbook, yet they sound very fresh, as Gyorgy combines sophisticated lyrics with interesting musicality.

The album launches with the hard-swinging title track, showcasing Gyorgy’s scatting skills alongside her super tight trio of Anthony D’Alessandro on piano, Thomas Hainbuch on upright bass and Jacob Wutzke on drums. Standout tracks for me are Just My Luck, a slightly melancholy and totally gorgeous piece of writing and music-making, driven by sparse yet compelling rhythm section work. The sharp wit of Letter From the Office Of is a nice contrast. Being a sucker for a heartbreaking ballad, I’ll be listening to Familiar Face on repeat for the next while. I also really liked the rhythmic take on Rodgers and Hart’s It Never Entered My Mind, which manages to make the song’s already poignant lament even deeper.

With this accomplished album I predict yet more accolades in Gyorgy’s future. “Hello Grammy committee! How are you?”

Listen to 'Hello! How Are You?' Now in the Listening Room

Pita Parka Pt. 1: Xam Egdub
Dun-Dun Band
Ansible Editions 007 (kunudusuvuntu.bandcamp.com/album/pita-parka-pt-i-xam-egdub)

When the music, instrumental credits (i.e. Craig Dunsmuir on single line electric guitar and P___r P____r, Colin Fisher on the “Hahahacksaw” Jim Duggan, Mike Smith handling keyboard transcombobulations), themes and textures defy categorization, why bother trying to categorize them? Pita Parka, Pt.1: Xan Egdub is the latest from Dun-Dun Band, which is an incredible improvised music project that has yielded truly unique odysseys across the sonic spectrum. As a ten-piece outfit sporting an impressive lineup of perpetual experimenters on their respective instruments, it is astounding to witness the places they go throughout this album, and perhaps even more inspiring to experience long stretches of restraint. 

Leader Dunsmuir’s influences include elements of minimalism and post rock, which is manifest in the strong devotion to repetition and atmospheric build throughout these compositions. No.1 in particular has hypnotic qualities to it, with the cyclical nature of its primary sequences continuously hooking and holding the listener in a trance, daring their ears to become lost in minute detail rather than any overt changes to each steadfast rhythmic pattern. Throughout, there is a tangible sense of interconnectedness and deep listening between musicians, primarily evident in magical instances where a sound or idea crawls to the forefront, and the rest of the ensemble immediately uplifts it on a whim. Why bother trying to categorize all this? Mileage may vary, but one thing is for certain: however you try, categorizations won’t stick.

Live in Vancouver
Ryan Oliver Quartet
(ryanoliverquartet.bandcamp.com/album/live-in-vancouver)

Toronto saxophonist extraordinaire Ryan Oliver’s sizzling new release takes us on a journey back in time to the 60s and the world of jazz at the time. The record is full of Oliver’s unique and catchy takes on classic tunes, such as John Coltrane’s Equinox and the American traditional folk song The Wayfaring Stranger, covered by many famous artists such as Johnny Cash and Burl Ives. Elevating the tunes to new heights is a group of star-studded musicians, some of Canada’s best: Brian Dickinson on piano, Neil Swainson on bass and Terry Clarke on drums. Oliver has this to say about the idea for this record: “I wanted to showcase compositions from the jazz lexicon associated with some of my influences while also adding in original music and new takes on existing repertoire.”

A notable aspect of this album is that it is recorded live, from a two-night stint that Oliver and company had at Frankie’s Jazz Club in Vancouver a year ago. Live records always have a certain magical quality to them, the raw emotions portrayed in the songs and the musicians’ talents, personalities and styles of playing come to the forefront, there’s less of a “polished” quality to the tunes. Take The Wayfaring Stranger for example, where the loneliness and ruggedness of the journey through life is expressed and heard directly through Oliver’s wailing saxophone melody. For an immersive musical experience, check out this album.