Jānis Ivanovs – Symphonies 15 & 16
Latvian National Symphony Orchestra; Guntis Kuzma
LMIC SKANI 126 (skani.lv)

I’d never heard any of the 21 symphonies by Latvian composer Jānis Ivanovs (1906-1983) before listening to the two on this CD, each lasting about half an hour, both filled with dark sonorities, propulsive energy and clamorous dissonances.

 Violence and disaster dominate Ivanovs’ Symphony No.15 in B-flat Minor (1972), subtitled “Symphonia Ipsa.” In the opening Moderato, quiet, tentative apprehension is suddenly shattered by brutal explosions. Heated struggle ensues in the Molto allegro’s agitated, snarling rhythms and desperate pleading. The grim, mournful Molto andante (Adagio) conjures, for me, a desolate battlefield strewn with bodies; brief, snide, sardonic phrases seemingly comment on the absurd futility of the preceding bloodshed. Nevertheless, martial mayhem returns in the Moderato. Allegro with cacophonous fanfares and pounding percussion before the symphony ends in a slow, ghostly procession.

Restless, fluctuating moods pervade Ivanovs’ Symphony No.16 in E-flat Major (1974), perhaps memorializing the victims of No.15. In the Moderato. Allegro moderato, gloomy, throbbing despair, sinister foreboding and dissonant shrieks are intermittently relieved by unexpected, hymn-like concordances and even touches of Sibelius. The Allegro busily churns with mechanized rhythms leading to the distressed Andante. Pesante. Here, dispirited resignation turns into anger and determined resistance until a gentle bassoon solo intones consolation. The Allegro moderato drives relentlessly to a strident triumphal chorale, ending in a simple major chord, the first happy moment on this CD.

Powerful music powerfully performed by conductor Guntis Kuzma and the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra.

Gail Kubik – Symphony Concertante
Boston Modern Orchestra Project; Gil Rose
BMOP Sound 1085 (bmop.org)

Three members of the Little Orchestra Society of New York were pestering conductor Thomas Scherman for solo opportunities, so Scherman commissioned Oklahoma-born Gail Kubik (1914-1984) for a work that would “kill three birds with one stone.” Using his trademark mix of Stravinskian neo-classicism, Coplandesque Americana, Hollywood and jazz, Kubik drew from his 1949 score for C-Man, a crime-caper B-movie, for the 1952 Pulitzer Prize-winning Symphony Concertante for Trumpet, Viola, Piano and Orchestra. The brightly orchestrated first movement is filled with fragmented melodies and snappy syncopations. In the middle movement, uncomfortably shifting tonal centres reinforce the viola and muted trumpet’s long-lined desperation over thumping piano chords. A jazzy rondo features the solo instruments taking turns in the spotlight before the work ends with a raucous orchestral blast.

Gerald McBoing Boing (1950), based on Dr. Seuss’ story about a boy who “couldn’t speak but made noises instead,” won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short. Unusually, Kubik composed his 13-minute, percussion-heavy score before the visuals were created to fit the music and narration, here provided by Frank Kelley.

Both Kubik’s five-movement, 15-minute Divertimento No.1 (1959), scored for 13 players, and his six-movement, ten-minute Divertimento No.2 (1958), requiring only eight players, are predominantly perky, with movements including Humoresque, Burlesque, Dance Toccata and Scherzino (Puppet Show). Seascape (in No.1) and Dialogue (in No.2) offer some pleasing breathing space. It’s all persuasively performed by conductor Gil Rose and the Boston Modern Orchestra Project. Entertaining throughout!

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Slatkin conducts Slatkin
Various Artists and Orchestras; Leonard Slatkin
Naxos 8574352 (naxosdirect.com/search/8574352)

“Not many know that I have been active as a composer,” writes Leonard Slatkin, who here conducts three of his orchestral works.

Slatkin’s 13-minute Kinah (2015) pays tribute to his distinguished parents, violinist Felix Slatkin and cellist Eleanor Aller. In 1963, two days after they had rehearsed Brahms’ Double Concerto, Felix suddenly died. Kinah (Hebrew for elegy) features metallic chiming and a noble, long-lined string melody, ending with hushed, haunting, incomplete phrases from Brahms’ concerto. In this recording of its world premiere, Leonard’s brother Fred plays the solo part on their mother’s cello. 

Slatkin says that his 12-minute Endgames (2014) “celebrates the unsung instruments of the orchestra whose players sit at the far ends of the woodwind section.” Scored for piccolo, alto flute, English horn, E-flat clarinet, bass clarinet, contrabassoon and strings, it includes a cheerful, vigorous dance and a sweetly serene middle section, finishing with familiar quotations for each solo instrument, guaranteeing smiles of recognition from the audience. In the 26-minute The Raven (1971), atmospheric, cinematic background music accompanies Alec Baldwin’s recitation of five poems by Edgar Allan Poe.

This CD includes In Fields (2018), a nostalgic four-minute piece by Leonard’s son Daniel (b.1994), archival recordings of Felix playing arrangements of Brahms, Dvořák and Bizet, and a soundtrack excerpt from the 1946 film Deception, in which Aller, who premiered Korngold’s Cello Concerto, plays a bit of Haydn’s Cello Concerto in D Major, with Korngold conducting his newly composed cadenza for it!

Matthew Schreibeis – Sandburg Songs
Tony Arnold; Various Artists
Albany Records TROY1856 (albanyrecords.com)

Hong Kong-based American composer Matthew Schreibeis’ elegantly urbane music seems eminently suited to capturing the pastoral imagery of Carl Sandburg’s poetry, which forms the second half (or so) of the repertoire of this album, Sandburg Songs. 

Schreibeis’ voice is unique. His songs appear to come from a pen dipped in the ink of Erik Satie and Alfred Schnittke. However, being his authentic self in all of this music, Schreibeis’ notes leap in divergent directions into a mysteriously poignant realm completely of his own creation. He is also stoically authentic to melodic and harmonic flights made in a spectral dimension not unlike Gérard Grisey.

The composer’s sound world seems to unfold in a series of moist landscapes that dissolve one into the other. His conceptions are extraordinarily vivid though, and he can conjure the reality of an extremely complex landscape with relatively spare noted phrases written for the piano or guitar as he does on the piece, Inner Truth and the cycle, They Say. 

The considerable range of his compositional palette is revealed twice on this recording. The curtain rises on the clarinet-violin duet Noticing and on In Search of Planet X, where a piano makes it a trio. Schreibeis’ power is unveiled on the fully orchestrated Sandburg Songs cycle, replete with piano, strings, reeds, woodwinds and percussion from the Zohn Collective conducted by Timothy Weiss. Carl Sandburg’s breathtaking verse soars in the keening soprano of Tony Arnold.

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Editor’s note: Matthew Schreibeis was originally scheduled for a composer residency at the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto in this month but that has been postponed due to the Omicron variant. A new work for violin and vibraphone written for faculty members Mark Fewer and Aiyun Huang is now scheduled to have its premiere at the soundSCAPE Festival in Italy this July (soundscapefestival.org) where Fewer, Huang and Tony Arnold will be among the featured musicians. Schreibeis’ Toronto residency is tentatively planned to take place this fall.

Krists Auznieks – Coiled Horizon
Auziņš, Čudars, Arutyunyan Trio; JIJI Guitar; Sinfonietta Riga; Normunds Šnē
LMIC SKANI 091 (skani.lv)

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unrest worldwide, with no country handling it the same. Canada has tended to err on the safer side, while the United States has largely thrown caution to the wind. Right in between these approaches, Europe has found a fascinating middle ground when it comes to maintaining arts and culture during turbulent times. 

The Sinfonietta Riga Chamber Orchestra of Latvia found themselves amidst this turmoil when attempting several times since 2020 to record exciting new guitar music by Krists Auznieks. Once the music was finally able to be performed live in 2021, the results became the album Coiled Horizons. It features two different approaches to the guitar: music for trio, performed by saxophonist Kārlis Auziņš, guitarist Matīss Čudars and the drumming/percussion of Ivars Arutyunyan, followed by an orchestral work that features the aforementioned Sinfonietta Riga Chamber Orchestra and classical virtuoso JIJI playing electric guitar. 

The album begins slow and ambient but draws the listener in immediately with a generous soundscape. Despite sounding like an adventurous jazz trio at first, Auziņš, Čudars and Arutyunyan wait until close to 20 minutes into the disc before providing something close to a “groove.” This makes for a beautiful transition into the album’s more classical sounding second half. 

The orchestral finale to this recording is a specimen to behold, fusing dense 20th-century composition with virtuosic guitar playing. No matter how ambient the first half gets, and however dense the second, this is a treat to listen to as foreground or background music.

Kranenburg Tree
Florian Wittenburg
Edition Wandelweiser Records EWR2104 (florianwittenburg.com)

German composer/musician Florian Wittenburg was musically inspired by a small tree at the former Kranenburg train station. He took a photograph of it and then used it as a template for sketches in the Metasynth software program, with which one can draw/paint music. The four resulting tree/branch drawings are the basis for this four-part ambient electronic music composition. 

Each kranenburg tree part is just over six minutes in length, and includes a calming connective drone sound Wittenburg describes as a “branch.” Part 1 opens with a long held colourful note that resonates throughout the part. A subsequent pulse, build in volume, additional notes and higher pitch is very engaging. More intense drone with pulse in Part 2, which builds with many held notes, until a totally unexpected sudden slide downwards to a single pulsing tone fade. Part 3 is dramatic as higher and lower drone pitches, washes and “crashing” drone cymbal-like sounds add texture until the closing sweeter drone fade. Part 4 opens with another held note from nowhere. Love the very high pitch drone above it and spacious sound effects, which disperse to a single note fade. Each part is separated by a one-minute track of reflective spacious silence. 

I understand Wittenburg’s musical inspiration here – since childhood I have loved sitting under trees and listening to them grow. This release is a great tree-listening addition. At under 30 minutes, it is short in length but multiple listenings will illuminate countless sweet electronic music moments.

O Mistress Moon – Canadian Edition
Jennifer King
Leaf Music LM245 (leaf-music.ca)

The moon is an ever-popular musical inspiration. Canadian pianist Jennifer King chose 12 solo piano works by six Canadian composers for their environmental relationship to the moon, night and outer space in this “Canadian version” sequel to her earlier recording. Each was released as a single to a monthly full-moon cycle related to folk and Mi’kmaq symbolism. Together, King’s self-described “musical meditative journey” takes off! 

Opening track, In the Falling Dark 1 by Derek Charke, sets the musical twilight moon stage with chorale opening, repeated notes, calming sparse parts and improvisations. Kevin Lau’s The Dreamer is an accessible mystical dreamworld soundscape held together by repeated E flat “heartbeat” notes. Sophie Carmen Eckhardt-Gramatté’s Nocturne shows off King’s expertise in playing an expressive Chopin/Schumann influenced work. Sandy Moore’s three Nocturnes combine classical and modern music. Nocturne 3’s lyrical opening makes for relaxing moon watching until lower pitches and fast lines build dramatic tension before returning to a hopeful reflective closing. 

Three Richard Gibson works include Espaces in which I love the outer space tranquility created silences interspersed by few notes, ringing strings and atonal moments. Emily Doolittle’s Gliese 581c looks at a planet from outer space with faster high and contrasting dark sounds. Short, crisp, sudden flash-freeze chords and slower frost forming overlapping patterns in Amy Brandon’s brilliant Frost Moon. Jean Coulthard’s Image Astrale is dramatic out of this world sonic listening featuring contrasting harmonic textures.

King’s sensitive performances make for moving moonlight listening.

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Bones
Millerd Meyers
Dream Tower Records (andymeyers.bandcamp.com/album/bones)

Piano and trumpet player Simon Millerd (of Nomad fame) and guitar player Andy Meyers were ships in passing for many years. Though Millerd had done time with drummer Buff Allen and guitar legend Derek Bailey, the two had never managed to work together until finally having a chance to hang out and do some improv in 2019. What was captured is nothing short of beautifully quirky “art punk Euro jazz” (Meyers). Delightful improvisations (reminiscent of many lost nights at The Tranzac) unfold, and we are treated to rich and responsive listening. Spontaneous compositions are both tight and loose, organically stretching out over time and space in a free but equally orderly capsule. Tuneful but unrestrained, textured but melodic, the music holds shape and never loses interest. 

The four collage art cards included with the CD, created by Meyers and Susheela Dawne, are representative of the delightfully retro, fun miniature films included in the Bandcamp release which lent a vintage feel to the whole experience. The cards make a lovely souvenir of my journey. With only three compositions on the menu, coming in under 55 minutes the album is over too fast. Hopefully it is an appetizer for more releases in the future.

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Bell Tolls Variations; Fleur Revisited
Philippe Côté; Marc Copland; Quatuor Saguenay
Odd Sound ODS-21 (oddsoundmusique.com)

In this release we have two different albums packaged together with the players themselves as the common theme; Philipe Côté, on soprano saxophone and bass clarinet, Marc Copland, piano, and the Quatuor Saguenay. The string quartet is the central anchor throughout both albums, with several tracks written for only the quartet, adding an interesting element to the material and keeping it fresh and varied. The double release is written as two suites. 

With an opening sounding very much like a certain Arvo Pärt piece, we are gently led through the first album. Reed player Côté infuses his warm and melodic soprano sax sonorities throughout the album, keeping it just shy of contemporary classical with Copland’s deeply harmonic piano adding a jazz sensibility to the project. This is an album that is already so varied, it could be experienced either start to finish or popping up as surprises; most of the tracks are quite short and would be enjoyable sorbets in any playlist.

The second suite, Fleur Revisited (“revisited” as this is the second incarnation of this piece), follows a slightly darker, more adventurous path, with sonorities leading us through images of “a flower, growing on a rock in a very harsh environment” (Côté) and is an apt image for the times. Still edging between contemporary classical and jazz, this suite is more thematic and flows as one. A booklet of poetry by Lee Tsang is included with the CD, and the timing to take a moment to read poetry written to infuse the music could not have been better, giving me the opportunity to sink in and take a break from the isolation and too much news.

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Moments
Alyssa Giammaria w/Evan Dalling; Christian Antonacci; Nick Adema; Jen Lo; Leighton McKinley Harrell; Jacob Slous
Independent (alyssagiammaria.com)

Alyssa Giammaria’s debut album Moments is a perfect sonic getaway from the restless pace and the noise of our daily lives. This concept album tells a story of an inner journey, at a peaceful pace and with an array of subtle emotions. 

Vocalist Giammaria is the full author of this 28-minute EP – in addition to composing, she also wrote the lyrics and arrangements for all the songs. Giammaria is currently enrolled in the master’s program at the University of Toronto for jazz voice performance and the accompanying band features a talented crew made up of fellow students from the same university. The album certainly has a youthful energy, driven by engaging rhythms, but there is also a thoughtful depth to both music and lyrics. Giammaria’s voice is airy and bright, effortlessly soaring and illuminating the space just outside the meaning of the words. She combines jazz with musical theatre and classical music elements which, coupled with classy arrangements, produces a recognizably unique overall sound. Nothing seems rushed, and everything is expressed in elegant and slightly understated ways.

The accompanying band, consisting of three horns, piano, bass and drums, has a nice synergy and supports the vocal lines wonderfully. All are also engaging soloists in their own right. Watch for bassist Leighton McKinley Harrell’s mesmerizing opening solo in For Myself and Jen Lo’s sophisticated piano playing in Understand. Excellent debut album, highly recommended.  

Boomslang
Rich Halley; Dan Clucas; Clyde Reed; Carson Halley
Pine Eagle Records 014 (richhalley.com)

Oregon-based tenor saxophonist Rich Halley is known as a great bandleader who has been churning out records for the past couple of decades. This latest release features a collaboration with acclaimed musicians Dan Clucas on cornet, Clyde Reed on bass and Carson Halley on drums; making for an engaging and energetic set of tunes. The album is all originals, penned by Halley himself and along with his band members. Bold and intriguing, this musical journey is sure to catch the attention of any jazz fan, new or old. 

Corroboration opens the record with a unique saxophone and cornet interplay, something that isn’t heard too often and thus instantly reels in the listener. A lively bass line underpinned with a tight rhythmic groove sneaks in and the result is a tune you just can’t resist moving along with. Northern Plains is noteworthy as well for its tribute to First Nations music, the melody  reminiscent of their chants and singing style and with the distinctive drum sound a constant in the background. Situational leads us into a more interpretive side of the record, where Halley showcases his talent of being able to mix a free-form style with what could be called a classic jazz sound. It’s an interesting balance and mix of sub-genres that captivates the listener and leaves them wanting more. For the connoisseur of jazz looking for something to freshen up their collection, this album is definitely it.

Pittsburgh
Matthew Stevens
Whirlwind Recordings WR4779 (mattstevensmusic.com)

Toronto-born, New York-based guitarist Matthew Stevens might be familiar to many as playing an instrumental part in creating the distinctive sound on several records by Esperanza Spalding. On his third solo release, Stevens manages to yet again carry over a completely unique sound to a set of all original tunes, penned by himself. The album is captivating in the way that it’s all acoustic, creating a warm and intimate atmosphere where the listener can almost imagine what the musician had in mind while composing these pieces. You could absolutely say the album is an entire soundscape, with each song calling forth images of different landscapes and experiences.

 Stevens mentions that “playing acoustic is a great way to develop a touch and a connection to an instrument” and that connection as well as the exploration of it is very apparent throughout this entire album. Each tune tells its own short story, whether it be more interpretive as heard on Northern Touch, a little more folksy and tranquil as showcased in Foreign Ghosts or altogether energetic like Blue Blues. Although Stevens credits taking inspiration from greats such as Pat Metheny and John McLaughlin who have been known to do a lot of acoustic exploration, the sound on this record is completely his own; being able to create such a niche for yourself is the mark of a true musician. A picturesque and pleasing whole, this record is a true gem.

Were We Where We Were
Michael Formanek Drome Trio
Circular File Records CFCD 2922002202 (michaelformanekdrometrio.bandcamp.com)

Making the most of a new trio configuration, New York bassist Michael Formanek calls on local drummer Vinnie Sperrazza and Montrealer-in-Manhattan Chet Doxas playing tenor/soprano saxophones and clarinet, to skillfully interpret four of his extended compositions. Avoiding sameness is the result of canny arrangements by Formanek, who has written and performed in many ensembles of various sizes over the years. Each track features one or another of Doxas’ reeds.

For example, Never Odd or Even initially contrasts speedy clarinet trills with thickened double bass thumps. Then, as the pliable theme vibrates with additional energy from sul tasto string buzzes and cymbal vibrations, tenor saxophone scoops and flattement maintain the triple balance. Recurring clarinet flutters return to introduce a rhythm-section-driven swing groove which defines the tune’s last section.

Furthermore, while the fluid rhythm which characterizes both versions of Tattarrattat may be projected using Sperrazza’s popping press rolls and the bassist’s guitar-like strums, it’s the soprano saxophonist’s flutter-tongued twists, sometimes advanced a cappella, that fully personify the tunes. With a range that encompasses sweetened glissandi, slurping vibrations and fragmented split tones, Doxas’ dedicated reed individualism helps make the compositions stand out. These and others evolve linearly and confirm Formanek’s high-quality musical concepts.

Although each Drome Trio member gets some solo space on this, its fine first disc, perhaps next time out more, shorter tracks could create distinctive showpieces for each player.

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Route 84 Quarantine Blues
Joe McPhee
Corbett vs Dempsey CvsD CD 081 (corbettvsdempsey.com)

An engaged improviser for about 55 years, tenor saxophonist Joe McPhee adapted to COVID-19 restrictions in characteristic fashion. He recorded these individualistic tracks at night over a two-week period within a closet in his Poughkeepsie home. 

Unconstrained by claustrophobia, McPhee’s tracks are as radical as those on his other discs. Besides thematic riffs he adds extended reed techniques encompassing overblowing cries, dedicated multiphonics, doits and flattement, as well as speechifying and singing phrases associated with the Black Liberation Movement and the career of Charles Mingus. Twisting in and out of Mingus’ Self Portrait in Three Colors, he salutes the exploratory bassist/composer with fragmented bites and scooping squawks on two other tracks. He references Joni Mitchell and Carla Bley melodies during other intense improvisations and adds the percussive sounds of water splashing on a pie plate in a salute to Ruth Bader Ginsberg,

Expressing humour brought out by the pandemic, he inserts recordings of cars motoring on the actual freeway during the title track, which tweaks the 12-bar blues form. On it he also manages to simultaneously project two separate circling saxophone lines, one of which maintains the melody while the other becomes gradually louder as it fragments and hammers out sharp variations on variations. Elsewhere, other interpretations are lyrical and balladic.

Overall the impression taken from this disc is that in responding musically to the pandemic’s limitations, McPhee uses it astutely as he has assimilated other stimuli throughout his remarkable career.

Love for Connoisseurs
Angela Verbrugge
Independent (angelasjazz.com)

Although a relative newcomer to jazz, enchanting and witty vocalist/composer/lyricist Angela Verbrugge has already received numerous accolades. Verbrugge has created a vibrant presence internationally, performing at the world’s finest boîtes, concerts and festivals. Her latest offering was three years in development and features 12 original tunes (some written in collaboration with Ray Gallon, Ken Fowser, Neal Miner, Saul Berson, Nick Hempton and Miles Black). Joining Verbrugge (who also wears the producer’s hat here) are noted Vancouver jazz artists Dave Say on saxophones, Miles Black on piano, Jodi Proznick on bass and Joel Fountain on drums.

The original title track is a classic swinger, replete with witty lyrics, harkening back to Dorothy Parker, Cole Porter, Dorothy Fields and even Dave Frishberg, and Say’s warm, saxophone sound is the perfect complement to Verbrugge’s mellifluous vocal style. Enough’s Enough is a special, bebop-ish treat, co-written with Gallon and reminiscent of the great Lambert, Hendricks and Ross. Fountain tastefully urges the tune along, utilizing an array of tasty bop modalities. The sensual Je Ne Veux Pas Te Dire Bonsoir (I Don’t Want to Say Goodnight) is rendered here in perfect, sibilant French. Black manifests the mood with his exquisite, stylistic choices – superbly framing Verbrugge’s diaphanous and romantic vocal.

Other must-listens on this excellent vocal jazz project include Jive Turkey – rife with infectious lyrics and a lilting, cheeky Latin arrangement. Verbrugge’s charming trading of fours with Say are the icing on the jazz cake, and the closer, Maybe Now’s the Time (co-written with Black), is a clever tip of the hat to the great Charlie Parker tune. Proznick lays it down on bass with taste and a ridiculous, rich sound – seemingly channelling aspects of the late, great bassists Ray Brown, Leroy Vinnegar or Red Mitchell.

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