04 Brahms DoubleBrahms – Double Concerto; Symphony No.4
Pinchas Zukerman; Amanda Forsyth; National Arts Centre Orchestra
Analekta AN 2 8782

Pinchas Zuckerman, who retired after 16 years at the helm of the NACO, has certainly left his mark on the Canadian musical scene. His promotion of musical training for young musicians surely will be his most lasting legacy, alongside the hundreds of concerts and live recordings he generated. A case in point is a new Analekta disc recorded live. The Double Concerto by Brahms is like one of those amazing perfect recipes from The Joy of Cooking: get the right ingredients, follow the recipe exactly and presto: it always works. You need one virtuosic violinist (Zuckerman fits the bill perfectly), one cellist, who can keep up (Forsyth more than keeps up here!) and an orchestra that knows not to overstep. It helps that Zuckerman and Forsyth pair up frequently for this piece and have a definite rapport, developed over their years of playing together. So this Double Concerto hits all the right buttons – it is unrestrained, powerful, and tsunami-like in delivery, while shimmering with sans pareil melodic lines. There are virtuosic passages the likes of which Heifetz and Rostropovich made us expect from soloists. Real aural pleasure, if not breaking any new ground.

Alas, it is in the Symphony No.4 that we understand why Zuckerman will be remembered as a solo virtuoso, rather than a team player. His reading of the score seems muted and slowed down, as if he expects the orchestra will not to be able to keep up. The result is still Brahms, majestic, but somewhat leaden and heavy-footed, as if the will to live were slowly trickling out of the music. After 40 years of virtuosity, it may be the most honest pronouncement from Zuckerman – he is a solo act.

Nathaniel Dett

My Cup Runneth Over – Complete Piano Works of R. Nathaniel Dett
Clipper Erickson
Navona Records NV6013 (navonarecords.com)

Review

While we have enjoyed many opportunities to hear the choral music of Nathaniel Dett (1882-1943), this is the first ever recording of the prolific composer’s complete piano works which encompass quite a range, both in period and style. Pianist Clipper Erickson, who completed his DMA at Temple University researching Dett’s work, raised funds for this recording project through a Kickstarter campaign. Recorded in Germany for Navona Records and distributed by Naxos, the disc provides an enjoyable and significant dose of music history for professional and layman alike.

Canadian-born Dett’s styles range here from popular dance music and jazz to spirituals, romanticism and impressionism, with rags and salon suites alongside works influenced by Liszt, Dvořák, Debussy and Grainger. And like some of the aforementioned influences, Dett had both education and talent to seamlessly incorporate folk idioms into art music. His piano pieces explore diverse themes: the love of nature (Magnolia), the Deep South (In the Bottoms), Rosicrucian philosophy (Enchantment), the poetry of Rabindrath Tagore (Cinnamon Grove) and scripture (Eight Bible Vignettes). Erickson, an accomplished pianist, performs with great sensitivity to these themes and an obvious admiration for the great composer. Kudos to Erickson for his initiative and to those who chose to support this endeavour. A welcome release, just in time for Black History Month.

Dutilleux – Symphony No.1; Deux Sonnets de Jean Cassou; Métaboles
Paul Armin Edelmann; Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz; Karl-Heinz Steffens
Capriccio C5242

Dutilleux – Métaboles; L’arbre des songes; Symphony No.2 «Le double»
Augustin Hadelich; Seattle Symphony; Ludovic Morlot
Seattle Symphony SSM1007

Dutilleux – Tout un monde lointain
Emmanuelle Bertrand; Pascal Amoyel; Luzerner Sinfonieorchester; James Gaffigan
harmonia mundi HMC 902209

Last month was French composer Henri Dutilleux’s centennial, and commemorative recordings of his meticulously crafted works began appearing in the middle of last year. Despite the premature arrival of these particular discs, however, a reappraisal of his music has long been overdue. A relatively small oeuvre, combined with a high-placed enemy in the form of a young Pierre Boulez, worked to consign Dutilleux to relative obscurity for nearly all but the last two decades of his 97-year life.

What’s more, the music which he did permit, after years of revision, to pass through the pinpoint mesh of his self-criticism never had pretensions of epoch-making in the first place. There is no avant-garde formalistic demagoguery, no school of thought behind his work (though the long shadows of Ravel and Berg loom). Instead, Dutilleux commandeers entire orchestras, as Proust commandeered thousands and thousands of pages, to convey nothing more than a deeply personal – though phantasmagorical – inner world.

Comparisons to artists in other mediums always abound when one speaks of Dutilleux, likely because he makes no secret of his debts to the Belle Époque; he has also cited Baudelaire and Van Gogh as inspirations. And yet his music is rarely programmatic, or even narrativistic. If anything, it is architectural; his pieces often feel like they occupy considerable space, like musical edifices composed of forces held in perfect equilibrium.

Review

01a Dutillieux Symphony 1His first major work to embody this panoramic style is his most performed. Written in 1964 for the Cleveland Orchestra, Métaboles is a précis of Dutilleux’s work. Tired with the thesis-antithesis of theme A versus theme B, Dutilleux looked to nature in search of a more malleable symphonic form. There he saw that, given enough transformations, evolution could bridge unimaginable gaps between organisms (as that between, say, a primordial bacteria and a human being). Adapting this model to Métaboles, he steadily modifies his thematic material until it becomes unrecognizable – yet still inextricably linked through a kind of musical metabolism to the material which germinated it.

01b Dutillieux MetabolesTwo fine recordings of this piece appeared last year. The first, recorded by Karl-Heinz Steffens and the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, is expansive, smoothing the kaleidoscope turn of Métaboles’ transformations. The next, recorded by Ludovic Morlot with the Seattle Symphony, is notable for its excellent mastering, which enhances the work’s already galactic compass. Taken together, these CDs present a kind of “métaboles” of Dutilleux’ entire career: the Rheinland-Pfalz disc contains his early works, including a rare vocal setting, while the Seattle recording features a brilliant performance of Dutilleux’s late violin concerto by Augustin Hadelich (entitled L’arbre des songes, it too draws inspiration from nature and has structural similarities with Métaboles).

01c Dutillieux CelloFilling in the gaps is Emmanuelle Bertrand’s performance of the Baudelaire-inspired cello concerto, “Tout un monde lointain…” with the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester. The concerto is worth the price of admission alone – it is perhaps his greatest work, ably performed here – but the CD also includes some historical context with a recording of Debussy’s cello sonata. Sensibly enough, for though Dutilleux was scorned by the Paris establishment, he was one of its rightful heirs. The recordings appearing now on this important anniversary are the definitive proof.

 

02 Poulenc concertosPoulenc – Piano Concertos; Aubade
Louis Lortie; Hélène Mercier; BBC Philharmonic; Edward Gardner
Chandos CHAN 10875

This sparkling CD includes Francis Poulenc’s works for piano and orchestra plus music for two pianists. I’ve loved Poulenc’s cheeky brews of popular and classical elements since a lighthearted teenage attempt at his Sextet for Piano and Winds, when we had a mock waiter serve drinks during my first piano solo! Compositionally, Poulenc invites us to loosen up and accept new things, but performance is not easy. In the Concerto (1949) Lortie’s ensemble with orchestra is precise without compromising rhythmic life, and he dashes off the first movement’s lounge-piano flourishes without belabouring them. Originally written for a ballet, Aubade (1929) is quintessential Poulenc. It is evocative of 1920s Paris, for piano with an orchestra stripped down to 18 instruments emphasizing winds and brass. Lortie plays the opening toccata with its challenging repeated chords immaculately, and manages the juxtaposed contrasting phrases well. The BBC Philharmonic’s winds shine in wonderfully bittersweet double-reed instrument passages and in several fine clarinet solos.

Lortie’s long-time duo-piano partner Hélène Mercier joins him in the two-piano Concerto in D Minor. They play the opening movement’s quasi-Balinese passages seamlessly. The Larghetto’s classical nostalgia and more modern sentiments come through effectively. In the dissonant final movement, double notes are crisp and chords balanced. Works for two pianists alone close the disc; in Poulenc’s four-hand Sonata and two short duo-piano pieces, Mercier and Lortie find opportunities for free dialogue and joyous music-making.

03 Leo Brouwer

Leo Brouwer – Music for Bandurria and Guitar
Pedro Chamorro; Pedro Mateo González
Naxos 8.573363

Review

Cuban composer Leo Brouwer (b.1939) is an astonishing sound creator in this new release featuring music for bandurria and guitar. Brower’s masterful use of music of divergent musical styles like Cuban rhythms, changing metres, contemporary new music atonal references, simple folk music and South American references from other composers are, when combined and layered, surprisingly atheistically pleasing and challenging, yet never jolting.

Performers Pedro Mateo González on guitar and Pedro Chamorro on bandurria (a popular South American small lute dating from the 16th century) are stars both as soloists and as a duo. There is so much respect for the composer in their spirited performances. González is especially outstanding in capturing both the soul-wrenching slow lyricism in Variation 3, and the toe-tapping energetic and contrasting slower emotions in Variation 7 of Variaciones sobre un tema de Víctor Jara, a work drawn from Chilean musician/activist Victor Jara’s popular song Lo unico que tengo. Likewise, Chamorro easily conquers the fiery rapid lines and contrasting rhythms in both his solo performances which include a world premiere recording of Sonata para Bandurria. The 1957 duet Micropiezas para Bandurria y Guitarra is dedicated to Darius Milhaud. A theme and variation of the French children’s song Frère Jacques, Brouwer creates an unmatched spellbinding piece for the two musicians to shine in subtlety and simplicity.

Kudos too to the fine, clear work of the producers, Canadians Norbert Kraft and Bonnie Silver. This is beautiful music played beautifully.

05 Emily Doolittleall spring – Chamber Music of Emily Doolittle
Seattle Chamber Players and friends
Composers Concordance Records comcon0025 (emilydoolittle.com)

Behind Canadian composer Emily Doolittle’s music lies a passion for the relationship between music and nature, and specifically, bird and animal songs. Her recent album of chamber music, all spring, is a superb example of how she navigates this fundamental connection that has inspired generations of composers. This interest has led her to conduct research into birdsong and explore the aesthetics of whether animal songs can be considered music. As our world faces critical environmental choices, the question of how we relate to the forces of nature and all beings who live here is increasingly becoming a focus for many composers. How these concerns translate into music for acoustic instruments was uppermost in my awareness as I listened to Doolittle’s CD.

Her approach is to offer a distillation of the qualities of natural phenomena or personal experiences. In four pieces about water essential qualities of water are revealed, whereas in all spring the focus is on the characteristics of specific birds. Some of the ways Doolittle herself engages with nature – listening and hiking – are highlighted in her pieces falling still and col. The choices Doolittle makes to bring the listener into closer connection with nature works at subtle levels. It is less about recreating a sense of place or imitation of the soundscape, but rather creating a sonic experience to guide the listener into connection with the deeper layers of natural phenomena, an entry into the heart of nature.

10 Sally BeamishSally Beamish – The Singing
James Crabb; Håkan Hardenberger; Branford Marsalis; Royal Scottish Orchestra; National Youth Orchestra of Scotland; Martyn Brabbins
BIS 2156

British composer Sally Beamish has called Scotland home since 1990, and describes her love of Scottish traditional music, landscape and history along with an interest in jazz as her inspirations. There are many, many styles and traditions that Beamish draws upon in her compositions, making this release of her works written between 2003 and 2012 intriguing, accessible and exciting listening.

Accordionist James Crabb is spectacular in the concerto The Singing. From long mournful singing lines, bagpipe imitations and breathing bellows and winds, the accordion and orchestra create lush soundscapes. Saxophonist Branford Marsalis is equally lyrical and moving in Under the Wing of the Rock, a piece originally scored for solo viola and strings and inspired by Celtic song and psalms. It’s back to downtown city living in the exciting Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra featuring soloist Håkan Hardenberger. The use of parts of scrapped cars and scaffolding pipes in the percussion section against the wailing trumpet in the third movement creates a dramatic edgy, hard sound. Reckless for chamber orchestra is witty and light while the orchestra emulates atmospheric washes of land and sea in A Cage of Doves. Conducted by Martyn Brabbins, both the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland, on the trumpet concerto, play with energetic precision and flair.

Beamish’s love and respect for her inspirations resonate throughout these intelligent works. Perfect music to warm up a cold winter’s day!

08 Bill AlvesBill Alves – Mystic Canyon; Music for Violin and Gamelan
Susan Jensen; HMC American Gamelan
MicroFest Records MF4
(microfestrecords.com)

East-West crossover combining gamelan and Western orchestral instruments is, of course, nothing new, and composer Bill Alves continues in the tradition established by the late American composer, Lou Harrison, who wrote more than 50 compositions in this genre. Like Harrison, Alves has composed many musical works for gamelan – specifically his “American gamelan,” the Harvey Mudd College American Gamelan (HMC), an ensemble of Javanese instruments whose tunings have been modified according to just intonation, and which is dedicated to performing new music rather than traditional gamelan repertoire. This CD showcases two such compositions for violin and gamelan: Mystic Canyon and Concerto for Violin and Gamelan.

This music is mesmerizing and quite beautiful. Susan Jensen’s superb violin playing, with its rich and languorous musical lines, overlays the soft, delicate and glimmering sounds of the bronze gamelan instruments. They provide a range of mellifluous musical patterns with their polyrhythms, sometimes static, and at other times gently shifting. The ambience of Mystic Canyon is ethereal and diaphanous, with contrasting sections where the violin is prominent, followed by occasional breaks with just gamelan, all fading away gently at the end of the piece. The six movements of the concerto display a variety of moods and techniques ranging from energetic and percussive, to changing textures and gentle interlocking rhythms, to more inert ostinati backing the violin’s soaring melodies. This is music that will appeal to gamelan and non-gamelan specialists alike.

09 Just StringsJust Strings – Compositions of Lou Harrison and John Luther Adams
Just Strings; Alison Bjorkedal; John Schneider; T.J. Troy; HMC American Gamelan
MicroFest Records MF7
(microfestrecords.com)

This sparkling album weaves together six works variously scored for harp, guitar and percussion by Pulitzer Prize- and Grammy-winning American composer John Luther Adams (b.1953), and his mentor Lou Harrison (1917-2003).

The liner notes call Harrison “the Godfather of World Music,” and not without justification. His compositions from mid-career on are marked by the incorporation of elements of the musics of non-Western cultures, particularly those of South, Southeast and East Asia. For example, from the 1970s to the end of his life Harrison composed dozens of works for Sundanese, North and Southcentral Javanese types of gamelan (orchestra). Along the way he influenced several generations of musicians including Toronto’s Evergreen Club Contemporary Gamelan.

Calling it “American gamelan” Harrison also constructed several of his own DIY versions of gamelan prototypes with his partner William Colvig. They chose to tune each gamelan set in just intonation, eschewing both mainstream equal temperament and the Javanese/Sundanese indigenous theoretical tuning systems (of which he was also well aware). We hear a work Harrison wrote for one of his American gamelans in the finale of this album. In Honor of the Divine Mr. Handel (1991), for concert harp and small Javanese gamelan in just intonation, is stylishly directed by composer and Harrison scholar Bill Alves. It manages a difficult and deft dual musical trick: it is not only a delightfully tuneful tribute to the baroque composer but also to the music of the Javanese gamelan.

Among today’s leading composers in the Western classical lineage, John Luther Adams is represented here by two suites, Five Athabascan Dances and Five Yup’ik Dances, both from 1995. Like Harrison before him, Adams, in these works, pays respect to indigenous music-making. Commissioned for the Just Strings trio, the works drew on traditional songs of the Athabascan people for the first set and on the songs of the Yup’ik of the Yukon-Kuskokwim delta for the second. Those songs were extensively reworked and rendered in the Pythagorean tuning by the composer, who remarked that he had “extended and transformed these … melodies in many ways. In the process, they have become something else, somewhat far removed from Alaska Native music in sound and in context.”

In the skillful musical hands of the three Grammy Award-winning musicians of Just Strings, this melody-forward music of Adams and Harrison rings true clear across boundaries marked by culture, musical performance practice and genre.

10 Elliott SharpElliott Sharp – The Boreal
Various Artists
Starkland ST-222 (starkland.com)

There is a sense of beautiful, orderly turmoil on Elliott Sharp’s The Boreal. Speaking first of the piece and then the whole album, the fullest appreciation of the music is, of course, to be had by following its schematics from Sharp’s score, which is exquisite in all its minimalistic glory. This, as the composer points out, includes “hocketed grooves, difference tones and non-pitched materials generated by the use of alternate bows made from ballchain and metal springs.” The effect is quite masterful, pleasing to the ear, mostly due to the clarity of the gestures, and of course, the JACK Quartet’s brilliant interpretation of this written/improvised score. You learn immediately to appreciate, the combustible spontaneity, the treasurable fire, communicative flair and consummate craft of Sharp’s indelible inspiration.

Headlined by The Boreal, the recording also features some of Elliott Sharp’s other remarkable pieces – Oligosono from 2004, Proof Of Erdős from 2006, performed by Orchestra Carbon, with David Bloom as conductor, and On Corlear’s Hook from 2007 performed by the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra with Peter Rundel conducting. The selection provides a peep into Sharp’s polymath-like artistry. The noteworthy Oligosono is a reference to the world of “little sounds” and what is even more remarkable is its transposition from the stringed instrument for which it was written, to the piano, and performed with wit and intuition by pianist Jenny Lin. Two hands here and a new generation of rhythm and harmonic overtones make this piece quite memorable. Proof Of Erdős is an erudite homage to the mathematician Pál Erdős. The tonal colours of On Corlear’s Hook are culled from Sharp’s ethereal palette and flawless artistry.

John Coltrane A Love Supreme

A Love Supreme
John Coltrane
Impulse/Verve 80023727-02

Review

Few jazz recordings have the significance of A Love Supreme, the four-part suite that Coltrane recorded on December 9, 1964, with his classic quartet of pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison and drummer Elvin Jones. With Miles Davis’ 1959 Kind of Blue, it virtually defines the concept LP in jazz. Inspired by a transformative experience that freed Coltrane of his addictions and turned his music into a spiritual mission, A Love Supreme is his most structured work, describing the progress through Acknowledgement, Resolution, and Pursuance to an ultimate Psalm. A definitive statement of the quartet, it was also a watershed between some of Coltrane’s most orderly work and the tumultuous free jazz that marked his last years.

For the 50th anniversary of its release, Verve has expanded on the previous deluxe edition of 2002 with two- and three-CD versions. For serious Coltrane listeners, the three-CD set, with extensive commentary and more new material, is the one to get. Some material seems superfluous, the mono dubs to which Coltrane listened adding nothing new, but the alternate takes and other versions (virtually the complete recordings) demonstrate the extent to which the released version is an image of order amidst rough seas. The day after the quartet recording, Coltrane set about recording the suite with a sextet that added tenor saxophonist Archie Shepp and bassist Art Davis. The set adds two sextet versions of Acknowledgement to those previously released. The music initially seems less successful, with Shepp adding a raucous, almost R & B flavour, but as one listens to the four takes, one appreciates the spirit of collective improvisation that Coltrane was exploring, with each version radically different than the one before, each growing in freedom and intensity.

Also included is Coltrane’s sole live performance of the work, recorded six months later at the Antibes jazz festival. This, too, is raw, more exploratory work, with the up-tempo Pursuance stretched from ten to 21 minutes in length. Listening to Coltrane’s further elaborations on A Love Supreme, reinforces the idea that the quartet studio recording captured a uniquely reflective (and structuralist) moment in Coltrane’s art, a gathering of one’s secure knowledge before launching again into the unknown.

02 Susie ArioliSpring
Susie Arioli
Spectra Musique SPECD-7854
(susiearioli.com)

For this, her eighth studio album, Montreal-based singer Susie Arioli looked to Toronto and its roster of heavy-hitters in the jazz realm for support. Produced by Grammy Award-winner John Snyder and arranged by the legendary Don Thompson, Spring is about renewal and fresh starts. In other words, it’s a break-up album. A glance through the list of songs – Those Lonely, Lonely Nights, Me Myself and I, After You’ve Gone – tells the story. The clever illustrations by Arioli that accompanying each song title on the CD cover, literally paint a picture.

So, while lyrically this is an unhappy album, the music is anything but. There’s nary a ballad to be found. It’s upbeat and swingy with a bouncy horn section and Arioli’s deep, warm voice casually cataloguing a list of hurts. With Thompson’s vibraphone doubling Reg Schwager’s guitar, the cool 60s are evoked on a number of tunes including Mean to Me and I’m the Caring Kind. Arioli’s own compositions, of which there are four on the album, range in style from a country and western homage to the lure of the bottle on Can’t Say No, to a breezy bossa nova-style indictment of infidelity on Someone Else.

Ariloi has a number of tour dates in 2016 in Quebec, with more to come. Check susiearioli.com.

03 John Alcorn

Flying Without Wings
John Alcorn
Loach Engineering LE1001 (jazzinthekitchen.ca/product/flying-without-wings)

Review

This project was conceived and recorded by trumpeter/engineer/producer John Loach, and came about as a result of his being inspired by a performance by leading Canadian jazz vocalist John Alcorn. During his show, Alcorn not only rendered gems from the Great American Songbook, but also deftly included anecdotes and fascinating factoids about each composer and composition. This idea of creating a total, composer-focused experience propelled Loach to produce this fine CD – which features talented musicians Mark Eisenman on piano, Reg Schwager on guitar, Steve Wallace on bass and the world-renowned cornetist Warren Vaché.

Throughout the 12 tracks (which include contributions from Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, the Gershwins and more), Alcorn’s rich baritone is expressive and infused with life experience. His intuitive understanding of a witty, ironic or devastatingly emotional lyric coupled with his intuitive communications with the other players are part and parcel of the contagious appeal of this charismatic and thoroughly gifted musical artist.

Standouts include Porter’s Just One of Those Things, which cooks along with an irresistible percolation from the rhythm section and features a masterful solo from Eisenman. Also of note is It’s Like Reaching for the Moon (Marqusee/Sherman/Lewis), featuring an intimate guitar/voice intro, which segues into trio perfection, as well as a stunner of a solo from Warren Vaché, who embraces the era of the composition while adding his own contemporized sensibilities.

Also of special note is an evocative arrangement of the rarely performed You’re My Thrill (Clare/Gorney), which conjures up a languid, sensual garden of delight. The CD closes with Harry Warren’s I Wish I Knew – a track filled with almost unbearable beauty and longing.

This exceptional CD – so full of heart – is aptly dedicated to the memory of the lovely Diane Alcorn.

04 Ron DavisPocket Symphronica
Ron Davis
Really Records REA-ED-5886 (rondavismusic.com)

With the release of his tenth recording, eclectic and skilled pianist/composer/producer Ron Davis has reaffirmed his position as one of the most tenacious and engaging musical artists in Canada. Pocket Symphronica embraces the wide range of Davis’ skills and taste (which includes explorations into the milieus of jazz, world, pop/dance and classical musics). Comprised of 11 original compositions (and with Davis performing brilliantly on piano, Fender Rhodes and Hammond B3), this new project is a fresh distillation of his previous, innovative CD, Symphronica – a clever symphonic jazz recording which in turn led to the current chamber-sized, more portable version of the larger ensemble.

Davis has surrounded himself here with a stalwart group of collaborators, including arrangers Mike Downes, Jason Nett and Tania Gill and co-producers Dennis Patterson, Mike Downes, Roger Travassos and Kevin Barrett. A breathtaking string quartet (including genius Andrew Downing on cello) and a first-call core band comprised of guitarist Barrett, bassist Downes and drummer/percussionist Travassos fully manifest Davis’ creative and stylistically diverse visions.

Included in the recording are Davis’ impressions of such far-flung motifs and artists as Lady Gaga (the ambitious Fugue and Variations on Gaga and Poker Face), funk (Gruvmuv – featuring a few face-melters from Barrett), Middle Eastern/Sephardic elements (the exciting and rhythmic D’hora) and a beautifully string-laden and evocative take on the traditional Jewish Passover song, Chassal Siddur Pesach (featuring sumptuous cello work from George Meanwell).

Additional memorable tracks include the uptempo string/piano feature, Presto and the gentle, bossa-infused beauty of Jeanamora. This is a deeply satisfying CD, as well as a portrait of an artist at the peak of his creativity and technical facility.

05 Artie RothDiscern
Artie Roth Quartet
Independent (artieroth.com)

Bassist Artie Roth’s latest offering, Discern, is a highly textured and interactive affair, combining a loose, open feel with remarkably precise and detailed arrangements. The mix of electronic sounds with acoustic instrumentation lends itself to approaches that are both highly varied and coherent. His writing is steeped in the harmonic and rhythmic language of contemporary jazz while retaining a strong melodicism.

The Compromise Blues establishes the tone of the recording with its majestic soundscape and drummer Anthony Michelli’s Elvin Jones-inspired groove. Roth opens the soloing, elaborating on the lyricism of the melody and paving the way for Mike Filice’s tenor sax. Filice’s understated opening lines and relaxed style gathers momentum as he fluidly weaves his way in and out of the tune’s harmony. Guitarist Geoff Young, equally adept in the language of modern jazz, makes use of a rich overdriven tone to build into inspired double time lines. As well, Young’s sonic palette orchestrates the proceedings in ways that become increasingly apparent as the album unfolds.

The textural aspect of the CD comes into full fruition in Still Hear, dedicated to the late drummer Archie Alleyne, a long time cohort of Roth’s. Tenor saxophone and bass clarinet are overdubbed, meshing with Young’s atmospheric guitar colours. Frontline instruments converse and Michelli lets loose over Roth’s ostinato bass figure. This is a beautifully played and produced recording that is a pleasure to listen to.

06 Heillig ManoeuvreWait, There’s More
Heillig Manoeuvre
Independent HM 6015 (heilligman.com)

The latest incarnation of bassist and composer Henry Heillig’s Heillig Manoeuvre continues the shift from the group’s earlier more electric sound to the decidedly mainstream bent of Wait, There’s More. The constant in the band’s evolution has been Heillig’s accessible, groove-oriented compositional style. The current group, including longtime Manteca cohort Charlie Cooley on drums, pianist Stacie McGregor and saxophonist Alison Young may be its most compelling lineup to date. Young, who has established herself as an important new player on the scene, brings a confident, fresh voice to the quartet’s blend of bebop, blues and funk. McGregor embraces a similar sensibility, occupying both frontline and rhythm section roles with aplomb.

Wait, There’s More, the opening tune, highlights Heillig’s and Cooley’s ease with classic Latin and swing feels. The drum/sax duet off the top of Young’s solo is a perfect setup for her soulful, swinging style. McGregor follows suit, complementing the sax solo with her own well-rooted sense of the tradition. Arrangements are the key here and solos are concise and to the point without feeling truncated. Wonky Rhomboid features bass and baritone saxophone over a seven-beat figure that slips momentarily into a fast swing, reminiscent of Mingus’ Fables Of Faubus. Young’s composition Waltz For Harriet showcases the composer’s command of nuance with a nod to Cannonball Adderley’s funky exuberance. Groove and fun are the order of the day in this highly satisfying outing.

Back to top