Resonants
Artie Roth Quartet
Three Pines Records TPR-0016 (artieroth.bandcamp.com/album/resonants)

Resonants has many overarching themes, but sonically one in particular hits the ground running and never looks back: Artie Roth’s bass sounds nothing short of astonishing in this mix. Whether this reality is brought to the actual forefront as on the delicate Sound and Sky or greatly heightening the impact of every single Anthony Michelli drum hit on Refrain, Roth is the bedrock of what gives his group its distinctively substantial and grounded sound. The band itself displays an incredible grasp for mood, accessing a palette that not only delights in its sophistication, but fluctuates considerably between each track with effortless precision. The entire tracklist only consists of two (showstopping) segues, but the thoughtful sequencing and Roth’s refined compositional touch binds Circle Maker and Second Moment together as soulmates. 

Resonance makes up one half of the album’s conceptual namesake (“tenants” is the other), and it is a key element that is manipulated by the entire band to great effect. Soloing throughout is divorced from the idea of isolation that is often associated with the practice, taking the form of calculated traversal through a living soundscape rather than self-contained reactions to a set of harmonic constraints. Sam Dickinson’s guitar work shines in this respect, with active accompaniment that provides a resolute sense of warmth. The most energetic sections are characterized by an irresistible swing, kept page-turning by a constant shifting of beat emphasis, never allowing momentum to yield. Freshness flourishes.

L’Origine Éclatée
Jean-Marc Hébert; Lex French; Morgan Moore; Pierre Tanguay
Independent (jean-marchebert.bandcamp.com)

L’Origine éclatée is an interesting album, and in many ways a rather selfless offering from guitarist Jean-Marc Hébert. It is one thing to have an understated style, or to showcase compositions and ensemble over one’s individual prowess, but Hébert truly takes an egalitarian stance with this recording, letting his great band shine on the seven unique original compositions we are treated to. The album doesn’t eschew the fact that Hébert is an excellent guitarist, but rather celebrates the trust and confidence he has in his bandmates to interpret his musical vision in a way that is extremely engaging to listeners. 

This is the guitarist’s third album as a composer and leader, and perhaps this is why Hébert has no problem stepping back and letting his music breathe through his bandmates. Another factor could be that he is classically trained. To me, this training is reflected in his mature and fully realized compositional style, as well as his technique on the instrument. I can’t point to a single moment on the album that displays the types of virtuosic shredding so many guitarists are drawn to, but each note Hébert plays is deliberately placed and full of intention. 

If you are starved for virtuosity and shredding, you won’t be disappointed after hearing trumpeter Lex French’s rich contributions to the album. French, bassist Morgan Moore and drummer Pierre Tanguay, are all represented on L’Origine éclatée as features and supporting artists. Check it out for yourself.

Swirl
François Bourassa Quartet
Effendi Records FND169 (francoisbourassa.com)

I have had the pleasure of reviewing two albums from Quebec this month, and this province continues to produce the kind of outstanding art our country has come to associate with it. Pianist François Bourassa’s latest release Swirl: Live at Piccolo is a beautiful mix of improvised and composed elements and is full of contrast to its core. 

Years ago, there was a stereotype that contemporary jazz from Quebec tended to be either avant-garde or straight ahead, with little room in the middle. Whether that was ever entirely true stands to be determined, but the improvised music currently being produced in La Belle Province is an amazing melange of improv and tradition, and to this listener it contains a better range of influences than most other music forged in our country. 

I assumed Live at Piccolo meant this album was recorded live off the floor at Studio Piccolo in the east of Montreal, but audience applause quickly alerted me to the fact that this was a performance as well. This brings a certain realness to the music, which is expertly choreographed and precise while simultaneously sounding entirely improvised. Bourassa has been working with reed player André Leroux and bassist Guy Boisvert for more than two decades now and the most recent addition to the group, Guillaume Pilote, does more than hold his own. The album is just over an hour in duration but manages to keep even the most distractable ears glued to their stereo. I recommend it to curious listeners nationally and globally.

Stages
Dan Pitt Trio
Independent (dan-pitt.com)

During Part Two, there is a realization one may arrive at; where it becomes clear that bassist Alex Fournier will indeed have to halt his climb up the thumb register at some point. When that simple, descending two-note phrase adds a skip with its last few repetitions before finally falling back on its sustained apex, it feels like the musical equivalent of holding a person’s gaze. Guitarist Dan Pitt and drummer Nick Fraser then promptly enter the canvas, as if occupying the same mind. This entrance occurs mid-trill, prompting one to rewind the track and locate the exact source of the inciting gesture. The snaking 11-beat pattern that follows serves as the backdrop for continued Fournier arco explorations, cyclical and possessing the assurance of having always occupied its indelible spot in the piece’s conscience. The pattern begins to open up gradually, with Pitt emphasizing offbeats and Fraser dropping open cymbal hits like stones in a glassy stream. Synchronized with this increased generosity, Fournier begins to show his hand as well, weaving what will become the primary motif into his solo.

Part Two is Stages’ shortest song, and a great chunk of its runtime is Fournier’s intro, but it encapsulates the album’s overall tendencies. Gentle, satisfying phrases are meditated on for stretches that manipulate a listener’s time perception, gliding along an axis with ease while each musician applies careful changes with blink-and-you’ll-miss-it subtlety. This music feels truly nurtured.

Open Spaces – Folk Songs Reimagined
Daniel Hersog Jazz Orchestra
Cellar Music CMR010123 (cellarlive.com)

Vancouver-based composer, arranger, trumpeter and conductor Daniel Hersog leads a 17-musician ensemble in his renditions of four well-known folk songs, and six of his own compositions on this, his second album. Recorded in Vancouver, Hersog’s takes on the familiar folk tunes are varied, musical, jazz flavoured, improvised, yet always true to the original and all performed perfectly.

Gordon Lightfoot’s The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald is given a jazz rendition with classical orchestration and harmonies. Held notes lead to Lightfoot’s memorable melody, repeated with gradual entrance of jazzy countermelodies and variations performed by Dan Weiss’ lively drums, Noah Preminger’s improvised tenor horn solo, Kurt Rosenwinkel’s solo/comping guitar and Frank Carlberg’s flourishing piano solo. A brief silence leads to closing gradual instrumental entrances of legato high-pitched rhythmic lines and held-note melody. Unbelievable how respectful, sad and beautiful this all is. 

Hersog’s adaptation of Red River Valley features repeated bass notes from Kim Cass, full orchestra theme and alternating solos, with Rosenwinkle’s guitar leading back to the famous song, now a big surprise, sung by the musicians to closing loud full orchestra and drum cymbal crashes. How Many Roads is Hersog’s self-described “re-composed” version of Bob Dylan’s Blowin’ in the Wind. His Dylan melody sounds simultaneously familiar yet different, especially in the calming yet fast colourful Carlberg piano solo above Weiss’ drum rolls and orchestral glissandos. Hersog’s compositions are equally enjoyable. Rentrer opening Cass bass line is so intriguing, followed by lengthy colourful orchestral lines and solos. Hersog provides so much space for his musicians to improvise, and there’s so much musical fun for everyone!!

Projet Seb Parent
Sébastian Parent
Independent (projetsebparent.bandcamp.com)

Projet Seb Parent, the debut album of Montreal-based drummer Sébastien Parent, leaves the impression of being long in the making. Tight jabs and stabs from the astonishingly cohesive 13-piece horn section inject the most tranquil of rhythm section passages with adrenaline. These sudden shots are surges of pure energy and chutzpah that leave pregnant pauses in between; fleeting voids of suggestion, soon to be realized. This method of tireless tension building through choreographed involvement places Projet Seb Parent on the small ensemble-big band continuum, clueing in while never quite revealing its exact coordinates. The results of Parent’s distinct sound facilitating style: a gleeful grab bag of tuneful goodies that feel equal parts organized and unrestrained. 

Mont Saint-Bruno features acoustic fingerpicking, an irresistible shuffle beat, a whimsical trombone melody and an assertive slide guitar solo played by Patrick Bourdon. Bling Bling’s unabashed usage of 808s, choppy horns and sub bass simultaneously conjures the approaching menace of a Metro Boomin intro, the vigour of a Comet is Coming beat and bravado of your local brass band. Station Du Collège is an absolute highlight, with Parent himself helming an elusive groove reminiscent of early Tune-Yards, not ever quite fully swinging or straight, which makes the song itself feel like it’s constantly lurching forward and backward; reflecting the profoundly danceable quality this whole album possesses.

Plaît-il
Allochtone
Tour der bras tdb 000067cd (tourdebras.com)

Quebec-recorded, but ingeniously expressing its so-called foreign background with a band name that translates as non-native person, Allochtone uniquely mixes currents of electronica, rock, folk and free jazz. Created at the Saint-Alexandre-de-Kamouraska music camp, 195 kilometres north of Quebec City, the group includes local percussionist/turntablist Rémi Leclerc; pianist André Pelletier from Saint-Pascal; guitarist Olivier D’Amours and accordionist Robin Servant from Rimouski; Montreal bassist Alexandre Dubuc and Parisian Cathy Heyden playing alto saxophone and bagpipe chanter.

Each musician also uses some version of electronic instruments giving the eight selections electro-acoustic timbres that are as much otherworldly as they are terrestrial. The result can range from strained reed squeals, piano clicks and tremolo accordion vibrations meeting voltage buzzes and blats or keyboard clusters and metallic guitar flanges establishing a linear theme which must balance on top of consistent electronic drones. Throughout, almost ceaseless percussion ruffs are as prominent as programmed oscillations and stop-start voltage buzzing. Leclerc’s vinyl manipulation also means that tracks like rouge interject snatches of bel canto singing and backwards running syllables into the electronic- and percussion-dominated mix. The tracks aren’t all opaque however. The occasional calliope-like accordion squeeze and slide-whistle or split tone reed trill adds needed airiness at certain junctions.

As an exercise in group improvisation fusing multiple sonic streams, Plaît-il achieves its goals. But more indications of what each musician can contribute individually could have prevented some sequences from descending into near-impenetrable density and lightened the mood.

Jeb Patton – Preludes
Jeb Patton; John Ellis; David Wong; Quincy Davis
Cellar Music CM091822 (cellarlive.com)

New York-based pianist Jeb Patton has made a name for himself in the jazz world, having played with famed acts such as Etta Jones, George Coleman, the Dizzy Gillespie All Stars and many more. On this latest release though, we see Patton’s compositional and musical talents really shine. The album is chock-full of tunes composed by the pianist himself and features an all-star group of musicians backing him, with renowned names such as Mike Rodriguez on horns, Quincy Davis on drums and David Wong on bass. Born during the dreary times of the pandemic, the record is overflowing with creativity and brings a true, enjoyable musical experience. 

Patton grew up in a household where both classical music and jazz were deeply appreciated, with his father being a self-taught pianist. We often think of there being a very strict divisional line between classical and jazz, that the two don’t really ever mix and that mindset is just what Patton sets out to change throughout this record. Inspired by his childhood, each of these songs features notable technical elements we would usually hear in classical music blended in seamlessly with swing rhythms and mellow horn solos attributed to jazz. The result? A terrific record end-to-end, showcasing Patton’s proficiency in genre-crossing and blurring that distinct line between the two genres. A fantastic record for jazz lovers that love broadening their horizons and delving into new musical territories that they have yet to explore.

Counterclock
Clark Gibson; Sean Jones; Michael Dease; Lewis Nash; Nick Mancini
Cellar Music CMR111022 (cellarlive.com)

Renowned jazz saxophonist, educator and composer Clark Gibson’s latest release is a toe-tapping pick-me-up and a breath of musical fresh air. Featuring a roster of talented musicians such as Sean Jones on trumpet, Pat Bianchi on organ and Nick Mancini on vibraphone, Gibson’s sweeping saxophone riffs are supported by a fantastic backing band. This fourth release includes songs that are penned and arranged, for the most part, by the stellar musician himself and his talents as a composer are truly highlighted throughout the record. For those jazz aficionados that like a fresh, modern take on a traditional jazz sound, this is definitely one for your collection. 

Gibson reflects, “Counterclock refers to looking back and not discounting art you created in your early stages as an artist.” The focus of the album, then, is how the saxophonist came to embrace his compositions from the time that he was just starting out. Throughout the tunes there is a definite continuous, broader theme of “looking back to yesteryear,” a hark back to the traditional and appreciating the roots of modern jazz music and many of the greats. Gibson and band have a knack for finding the perfect balance of classic and current, enlivening that jazz sound we’ve all come to know and love yet adding just enough of a contemporary twist to bring it into today’s musical landscape. From start to finish, this album is a sonically pleasing, immersive and snazzy musical journey.

Short Stories
Vicente Archer; Gerald Clayton; Bill Stewart
Cellar Music CM060922 (cellarlive.com)

New York City-based bassist and composer, Vincente Archer is a bit of a gifted chameleon, and with the release of his first recording as a leader Archer feels that he has finally revealeds his authentic self – personally and musically. Archer’s inspired collaborators here include pianist Gerald Clayton and drummer Bill Stewart. This compelling project was propelled by executive producer Cory Weeds, along with producer and noted trumpeter Jeremy Pelt. With the exception of three tracks, all compositions were created by the gifted triumvirate. 

First up is Mirai (Archer), a gossamer-like jazz ballad, replete with a steady, heartbeat of bass punctuated by contrapuntal electric and acoustic piano work from Clayton and incredibly sensitive and yet powerful drumming by Stewart. Clayton’s Round Comes Round follows with boppish motifs coming into play, along with a dizzying piano intro by Clayton, followed by a symbiotic entrance of bass and drums. The trio seems to communicate with pure telepathy here, and the ESP continues in the form of a sinuous bass solo and superb, nuanced drumming from Stewart. 

Another of Archer’s tunes, Lighthouse, is an energizing highlight, featuring Archer’s lithe fingers flying across the bass fingerboard and laying it down with his unique voice. Of rare beauty is Stewart’s Drop of Dusk which exemplifies the “art of the trio” – replete with its stirring, Romantic sub-text, punctuated by brilliant, complex piano work from Clayton. On every track here, Archer’s bass sings and deftly touches those deep, subcutaneous parts of us that are shared by all human beings, underscoring and celebrating our one-ness. The only flaw with Short Stories is that the stories should be longer!

Are You Sure You Three Guys Know What You’re Doing?
Mike Jones; Penn Jillette; Jeff Hamilton
Capri Records (caprirecords.com)

This enjoyable recording features the prodigious talents of pianist/arranger/producer Mike Jones, the potent and thrilling drum work of Jeff Hamilton, and solid, musical bass playing from internationally known magician, Penn Jillette (of Penn and Teller). The tongue-in-cheek title of the CD is a reference to when The Three Stooges would show up as house painters, carpenters or God forbid, doctors! It was in 2002 that Jones was hired to be the opening act of Penn and Teller’s irreverent and entertaining magic show – a hot ticket in Las Vegas for more than 30 years – the only proviso being that Jillette (who had taken up the bass at the age of 48) would join Jones in a duo format for the opening set – which turned out to be six nights a week, for 21 years. After stopping by to see a show, it was actually Hamilton’s idea that the three record together.

Fresh, energetic takes on a number of beloved jazz standards are included here. On the zesty opener, Gershwin’s ‘S Wonderful, Jillette more than holds his own – digging in with authority while generating a big, fat, satisfying sound. Jones masterfully lays it down in the stylistic mode of the greats and Hamilton is simply one of the finest jazz drummers of his (and any other) time. A standout is a swinging take on the great Sonny Rollins’ Doxy. The trio grooves like a single-celled animal, and Jones’ solo is a thing of rare beauty. Other fine tracks include Jobim’s classic The Girl From Ipanema, which features an extended bass solo from Jillette where he carries the melodic line, and is also consistently expressive, in tune and in time. The stunning ballad, You’ve Changed, displays the trio’s skilled use of space as well as a formidable lyrical sensibility. 

These guys know what they’re doing; they should do it more often!

For Mahalia, with Love
James Brandon Lewis; Red Lily Quintet
Tao Forms 13 (taoforms.bandcamp.com)

Tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis’s previous CD with his Red Lily Quintet, Jesup Wagon, dedicated to George Washinton Carver, resided at or near the top of 2022 jazz polls. This homage to gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, to whose work Lewis was introduced in childhood by his grandmother, is even stronger – at once impassioned, reverent and nuance-alert throughout its 71-minute-playing time. The homage may extend to saxophonist Albert Ayler’s similar recording from 1964, Swing Low, Sweet Spiritual, with Lewis frequently referencing Ayler’s distinctive tone and phrasing. 

Lewis is intensely expressive here, in part through his taut control, holding his lines in check until they explode. Trumpeter Kirk Knuffke is a brilliant foil, on theme statements, solos and counter melodies, while cellist Chris Hoffman, bassist William Parker and drummer Chad Taylor supply stellar support, from a certain formal but empathetic rigour to the haunting bowed strings that introduce Calvary. The quintet’s special closeness comes through in extended theme statements that are simultaneously loose, collective improvisations, melodic components passed among the instrumental voices, for example, Were You There and Precious Lord.    

The limited first edition CD comes with an additional CD, These Are Soulful Days, Lewis’ eight-part composition for his tenor saxophone and string quartet, performed with the Lutosławski Quartet

of Poland. It’s a lucid work imbued with the spirit of gospel music (Wade in the Water emerges at one point). Its spacious melodic clarity suggests the compositions of another American master, Virgil Thomson. 

Starlighter
Kinan Azmeh; Brooklyn Rider
In A Circle Records (kinanazmehbrooklynrider.bandcamp.com/album/starlighter-icr026)

Okay, this is the stuff. There’s this guy who writes music for strings and percussion and his own voice (a clarinet that sometimes passes for the best alto flute you’ve ever heard). His name is Kinan Azmeh and the string quartet is Brooklyn Rider (look ‘em up); plus there’s a percussionist Mathias Kunzli adding to the mayhem. 

I get carried away when clarinet tone colour doesn’t assault my ears with plangent “listen to me!” swipes left and right. Azmeh can certainly invoke that strident animal, the upper register, but he shows true restraint. Mostly his velvet colour floats across the strings’ texture like syrup on waffles, like gravy on poutine, like tahini on falafels. Who’s hungry? The quintet-plus-one fires up dance rhythms straight out of the very Near East. Alongside “exotic” modalism and dance figurations, Azmeh draws on contemporary rhythmic complexity and dissonance. His writing is lyric, kinetic and narrative too. The disc opens with the three movements of In the Element, written in 2017-2018; Run and Rain describe themselves, and Grounded (the third movement added a year after the first two were written), narrates feelings from his recent return visit to his home city of Damascus. His other work, Dabke on Martense Street for string quartet, describes an imagined round dance on the street where he lives in Brooklyn.   

Brooklyn Rider violinist Colin Jacobsen’s title track Starlighter was inspired by the magical transference of energy into matter known as photosynthesis. It takes more than one listen to get inside, but it’s worth the effort. The final track is a work adapted for the same quintet plus percussion by Ljova (aka Lev Zhurbin). Originally written for the Silk Road Ensemble, Everywhere is Falling Everywhere (a Rumi reference) makes an apt bookend to the disc. A different version of similar language, more latkes-and-applesauce than falafels-and-tahini, but delicious as well.

El Swing Que Yo Tengo
Alex Cuba
Caracol Records (open.spotify.com/album/0IHxZjy8PyE5I5CBwF0JlW)

Ever since we first became aware of the music of the Juno and Grammy Award-winning Alex Cuba, we have always known that the elements of music – melody, harmony and, especially, rhythm – have throbbed and pulsated through his veins. And like the celebrated album Mendó that came just before this one, El Swing Que Yo Tengo, continues to buck every trend while remaining true to the glorious rhythms of the island from which he takes his name.

In the repertoire of the latter album Cuba pushes the proverbial envelope even further, including electronic elements in music that is steeped, as much in traditional Cuban dance forms as in funky and hip-hop-inspired rhythmic flavours. 

Cuba’s lustrous tenor swoops and soars fuelled by seductive romantic lyricism, often entwined with harmonies that he has overlaid on these delicious melodies. This is true even when – as on songs such as El Swing Que Yo Tengo and Son Para Tu Boca – more adventurous vocal elements and styles such as rap and other localized Caribbean song elements intervene. 

On this album Cuba plays all the instruments, including those powered by electronics, blending superbly with the percussion and he even treats us to an elegantly slapped-on bass. The apogee of the album, hands down, is Agüita de Coco, a song that is powered by Cuba’s eloquent voice together with the chocolate-and-chilli-coated vocals of the Rwandan music sensation, Butera Knowless.

Maelstrom
Duplex
ARC Music Productions EUCD2959 (duplexmusic.be)

Respected Belgian musicians, accordionist Didier Laloy and violinist Damien Chierici, worked together the first time in 2018 on a Nirvana music-based project. They continued working together forming Duplex, incorporating Laloy’s internationally renowned diatonic accordion explorations in traditional world/folk styles and Chierici’s violin in non-classical styles like pop and rock. The 2020 COVID outbreak/lockdown forced them to change their touring plans to recording imaginary world travels with music inspired by books, personal experiences and such. Invited drummer Olivier Cox and keyboardist Quentin Nguyen join them, with guest trumpeter Antoine Dawans on one track, in this debut Duplex release of Laloy/Chierici folk, rock, world, electro-pop, jazzy and cinematic compositions.

The duo “visit” global countries on the 14 tracks. The opening track Cast Off has fast short repeated ascending and descending intervals emulating boat sails in the wind. Magic House, in winter Saint Malo, features a violin-interval melody, diatonic accordion-chordal rhythms, a sudden slower section returning to upbeat loud electronics and banging drums. Off to London in Bakerloo Circle. Love the rumbling opening sound like a subway train entering the underground station. Trumpet melodies create a sense of London transit and street buskers. Great accordion in the fast Cuban dance, Cabestan’go. Enjoy New York City clubs in Vera, with louder more jazzy intense, full instrumentals. A detached beat opening, repeated diatonic accordion melody throughout with gradual instrumental and drums entries add to the wonder of the Rockies in Wapta Falls, especially emotional now during the BC wildfires.