David Blake – Fun House
David Blake; Thad Bailey-Mai; Brad Turner; Conrad Good; Bernie Arai
Cellar Music CM101521 (cellarlive.com)

There is a unique vibe present in Canadian jazz music that sets it apart from the goings on south of the 49th parallel and in other continents. Guitar might be the most distinctive example of this sound, conjuring up names like Ed Bickert, Lenny Breau and Nelson Symonds. All were influenced by the American fathers of this music, but they managed to never sound starkly beholden to the tradition. 

The aforementioned three guitarists spent most of their time in the eastern half of Canada, but Western Canada’s largest city currently boasts some outstanding players too. Enter David Blake. A Vancouver native currently living in New York City, Blake shows off his tasteful modern playing and composing on his latest release Fun House. It is well worth noting that this recording is tracked, mixed and mastered by another great Vancouver guitarist, David Sikula. 

An enthralling artsy photo of Blake lies inside of Fun House’s digipak for anyone who’s purchased it in CD form, and to me it was almost a surprise to see the guitarist holding a traditional looking archtop jazz guitar. The tones heard on these nine tracks are quite modern, but blurred lines are a theme heard throughout. Jon, No Jon and Devil Stick are both rhythmically labyrinthine despite being grooving and fun, while the two tracks that follow could be described as ballad-like. 

Blake treats Strayhorn’s classic The Single Petal of a Rose beautifully as an a cappella number, and after repeated listening this writer can’t quite tell what sort of ambient pedal effects are present.

“Fun indeed” was a note I took upon first hearing this recording, and that’s a perfect way to describe the multitude of dimensions Fun House provides its listeners.

Valse Sinistre
Billy Drummond and Freedom of Ideas
Cellar Music CM111022 (cellarlive.com)

Elegant, dynamic and innovative jazz drummer Billy Drummond has just released a stunner of a recording that not only embraces his seminal influences, but illuminates his musical path moving ahead – replete with nods to iconic figures in Drummond’s musical journey, including the title track, composed by the luminous Carla Bley, with whom Drummond performed. Drummond’s accomplished Freedom of Ideas quartet includes Micah Thomas on piano, Dezron Douglas on bass and Dayna Stephens on saxophones. 

The opening salvo is Little Melonae, where the incomparable Jackie McLean’s bop legacy is elegantly celebrated with a face-melting, rapid fire arrangement. Douglas’ commanding tenor solo is rife with pumpitude, and the relentless rhythmic force is propelled by Drummond, who phases us into a new dimension, creating an incendiary background for this incandescent celebration of a much missed grand master. 

The title track is an intriguing contribution to the program. Drummond’s close musical relationship with Bley is apparent here, invoking images of an exotic Eastern European circus, with madness and excitement in equal portions. Also of note are Grachan Moncur’s Frankenstein – where Drummond explores musical cognitive dissonance, while Stephens’ rapier-like soprano breaks through all imagined boundaries – free and exuberant. Drummond’s compelling composition, Changes for Trane & Monk is an invigorating joy. Other stellar tracks include the diaphanous Clara’s Room written by the eminent saxophonist Frank Kimbrough. A true standout is Drummond’s arrangement of the Tony Williams classic Lawra, where, although he is clearly channelling Williams’ creative spirit, Drummond makes his own mark on an exquisite tune.

From the Pen of… Fraser MacPherson (with lyrics by Joani Taylor)
Various Artists
Cellar Music CMFM002 (cellarlive.com)

Toronto may have a reputation for being the Mecca of Canadian music, but there is ample evidence to suggest that Vancouver might actually have as much (if not more) to offer as hockey-crazy Toronto. You have only to recall the late but still ubiquitous musicians such as Hugh Fraser, Ross Taggart and Fraser MacPherson to remember that musical Vancouver was a musical city nonpareil. 

Cory Weeds, the Cellar Music supremo is almost alone in gently reminding us that Macpherson is also deserving of a different kind of attention due to his prodigious compositions. From the pen of… Fraser MacPherson pays homage to that side of a musician we might recall as just a saxophonist. MacPherson was not really a prolific composer. Yet if the 11 compositions we have on this disc are any indication then clearly Macpherson is much more deserving as acomposer than is generally credited.

 The eloquent bellow of Scott Hamilton’s tenor or the luscious glide of Harry Allen’s saxophone on Night Spot and Waltz for Willi respectively and Bernie Senensky, Neil Swainson and Terry Clarke playing on Our Blues clearly mark this as a masterful disc. It is also the liquid virtuosity of clarinettist Virginia MacDonald (Queen’s Pawn), the volcanic heat of Jocelyn Gould’s guitar and voice (It’s a Human Race), Joani Taylor’s questing vocals (For Your Love) and James Danderfer’s elegantly growling bass clarinet (Theme) that add to the enormous allure of this disc.

Joy
Ernesto Cervini
TPR Records TPR-010 (ernestocervini.com)

JUNO award winning multi-instrumentalist, composer and bandleader Ernesto Cervini has been at the forefront of Canada’s modern jazz scene, becoming a beloved and desired musician both locally and nationally over the years. It’s not very often when an in-demand performer has either the time or opportunity to be able to release an album that is entirely a personal project such as this release is, which makes it all the more special. It is clear that it has truly been an “absolute labour of love” as Cervini himself mentions, right down to the fact that the musicians in the backing band were hand picked by Cervini as he imagined them specifically playing the solos on the album. Featured are widely known talents such as Emily Claire-Barlow on vocals, Adrian Farrugia on piano and Dan Fortin on acoustic bass. 

The record directly harkens back to a series of mystery novels by Louise Penny centring around Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and life in a Quebec village called Three Pines. Each piece is an incredible soundscape on its own, reflecting the personalities of specific characters throughout the books, calling forth images of beautiful landscapes and just generally giving a great overview of the world of Three Pines and village life through distinctive rhythms and melodies. Captivating and thoroughly engaging from beginning to end, this album is an enticing deep dive and journey, which the listener will want to continually explore further.

Listen to 'Joy' Now in the Listening Room

Tardif
Brûlez les meubles
Tour de bras; Circumdisc TDB900058cd; microcidi030 (tourdebras.bandcamp.com)

L’appel du vide
Brûlez les meubles
Tour de bras; Circumdisc TDB900059cd; microcidi031 (tourdebras.bandcamp.com)

Brûlez les meubles (a name that translates to Burn the Furniture) suggests a doffing of the proverbial hat more towards the kind of existentialism and Jean-Paul Sartre’s primary idea that people, as humans, are “condemned to be free.” This may seem to be at cross purposes with the kind of Impressionism that has come to be associated with – perhaps even the clarion call of – many contemporary musicians.  

The consistent use of distortion – not simply harmonic dissonance – suggests that these two musicians are flying more than the flag of Impressionism that became associated with many who are influenced by Debussy. 

The duo Brûlez les meubles – guitarist Louis Beaudoin-de la Sablonnière and bassist Éric Normand – claim that they owe as much to Jim Hall as they do Bill Frisell. But that tells only part of their story. The real proof of their musicianship lies in the effect that the repertoire on these two discs under review has on the senses. 

Listening to Tardif (which means Late) it would seem that songs such as Stoique and Journée pédagogique are indicative that the musicians want us to listen for a deeper meaning in their music. The aforementioned distortion is not simply a musical gesture that frequently runs through this music, but a device to provoke putting a keener ear to work, to listening more deeply to this music. 

The duo’s free association with noise together with saxophonoist Jean Derome and the arrhythmia of principal guest John Hollenbeck’s drumming sends a powerful musical message. When we get through the repertoire of Tardif and come to the recording’s climactic conclusion J’en ai connu d’autres we find ourselves wondering if the sense of alienation – or otherness – is not what really propels the musical intention of Brûlez les meubles . 

If there was any doubt as to the depth of thought that they want you to listen out for, the album L’appel du vide (The call of The Void) ought to make it eminently clear where these musicians are coming from. Songs such as Nous ne savions pas, L’appel du vide, Diapositive and La suite des choses suggest a powerful tide that goes against the flow of convention. 

Once again the music is driven by a powerful, percussive pulse that suggests urgency and anger and even a sense of viewing their soundscape through a reflection in the dark shards of a shattered mirror. Clearly Brûlez les meubles are thinking musicians as well as musicians who believe that they are capable of seducing listeners like us into their world that is musical, yet one full of bitter sweetness and bluesy orientation, where musician and listener can co-exist “condemned to be free.”

Listen to 'Tardif' Now in the Listening Room

Twelve
Noam Lemish Twelve
Three Pines Records TPR-0012 (noamlemish.com)

When a ten-year labour of love comes to fruition in a beautifully designed CD, all that’s left to do is hold your breath and send it out into the world. Well, pianist/composer Noam Lemish can certainly heave a huge sigh of relief because his latest project, Twelve (the aforementioned labour of love), is exquisite.

During his doctoral studies, Lemish composed some of the music on Twelve while composer-in-residence with U of T’s then newly formed jazz 12tet. And now, leading his own 12tet – an all-star chamber orchestra of Canadian jazz artists – in a recording of six original, innovative, cross-cultural, captivating, expansive and evocative compositions, professor Lemish is in his element. 

While solidly grounded in the jazz idiom and Western classical music, influences from Lemish’s Israeli roots and Eastern European Jewish heritage – it turns out he has serious Romanian klezmer cred – appear throughout the CD. How else to explain the magnificent Beethoven’s 7th Visit to Romania, complete with 13-voice choir and outstanding solos by half the band? Or Between Utopia and Destruction, which invokes, poignantly, two “lost world” melodies by Soviet Jewish composers? 

Perhaps The Nagila Mayster says it best. A title drawn from English, Hebrew and Yiddish and roughly translating into “The Master of Joyfulness,” it showcases Lemish’s richly creative and diverse musical journey.  

Twelve is indeed a masterful expression of joy. Space limitations prevent my naming all 12 stellar musicians involved, so you’re just going to have to explore this superb album for yourself.

Pathways
Gordon Grdina; Mark Helias; Matthew Ship
Attaboygirl Records ABG-5 (gordongrdinamusic.com)

Gordon Grdina, Mark Helias and Matthew Shipp have sculpted what can be described as a sound network. All their lines intersect, interlace and interpolate into each other, as if making a coordinated attempt to weave an airtight sonic fabric in real time. The improvisational passages constantly ramp up the character of tension, but this effect is achieved with density before volume. None of the songs start with an easily identifiable rhythmic cell per se, but the pieces still manage to gradually crank up the intricacy dial, until the listener can’t help but marvel at all the dizzying syncopated architecture.

Along with the album’s unceasing subversion of pace, an astonishing equilibrium of creative input is maintained. If one were to isolate any 30-second segment at random, it would take much deliberation before they identified a bandleader. Therein lies the beauty: there isn’t one. Doing research beyond the surface, this was released through Grdina’s label, and Grdina is on production duty. However, remove Matthew Shipp’s piano wizardry from the equation and the music loses most of its dynamic range. If Mark Helias wasn’t present, the music would lose its underlying pulse and percussive edge. All the compositions are co-written by the trio, and the sum is informed by its parts. Helias moves when Grdina does, who waits for Shipp’s cue, who anticipates Helias’ whims long before they exist. Pathways is the epitome of impromptu alchemy.

Upon First Impression
Saku Mantere; Various Finnish and Canadian Artists
Orchard of Pomegranites (sakumantere.ca)

Finnish-born Montreal-based jazz vocalist/composer Saku Mantere’s ten-song debut release is a very personal musical project, touching on his diverse, emotionally moving life experiences. Mantere divides his time between Canada, where he works as a McGill University organizational theorist professor, and Finland. His English original compositions and cover song arrangements were recorded in Montreal and Helsinki with his musical collaborators from both countries.

Mantere’s setting of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas’ And Death Shall Have No Dominion, is a storytelling jazz and pop mix. Canadian musicians support Mantere’s clearly articulated wide-pitch-range vocals like Lex French’s opening trumpet to mid-tune improvised Kate Wyatt piano and Adrian Vedady bass duet, to Jim Doxas’ upbeat drums throughout. Mantere reharmonized Tom Waits’ Time, upon which his childhood friend renowned Finnish arranger/conductor Jussi Lampela based his nonet score featuring Finnish instrumentals-like counterpoint and trills contrasting Mantere’s especially touching high-pitched singing and vocal whispers. 

Mantere’s originals are amazing. Highlights include his classic slightly edgy jazzy ballad Radio Silence, with broken-hearted emotionally sad lyrics and softer vocal and instrumental held notes. Nice change of pace with his closing upbeat tango-nuevo song Leap of Faith. His colourful vocal duet with Jennifer Gasol about a couple drifting apart, perhaps referencing Mantere’s own marriage breakup, and virtuosic Finnish musicians’ instrumental solos held together by drums is super fun.

Mantere’s music is superb. A song sung in Finnish next time would be illuminating too!

Avi Granite’s In Good Hands
Avi Granite; Various Artists
Pet Mantis Records PMR015 (avigranite.com)

Suffice to say, Avi Granite is in good hands with this one. The concept of this record is one of humility and gratitude, with Granite enlisting his distinguished friends in the Canadian jazz scene to interpret 11 of his compositions. Granite strictly plays the role of sonic curator on this album, and while one could argue, it’s difficult to fall short when working with such talent, In Good Hands proves that a steady hand can go a long way. 

In this reviewer’s mind, the biggest concern before listening was whether a scattered project of this nature could earn the “album” qualifier. An album is a collection of songs, sure, but there also normally exists a unifying logic that connects the various parts comprising an overall sum. If there are dissonances in this regard, they are intentional, or they unintentionally add intrigue to the overall atmosphere. 

In Good Hands is an example of everything falling into place. For starters, the way Granite sequences the tracks is nothing short of brilliant. Going beyond mere aesthetics, there is not only an even distribution of the specific instruments, but if one were to display images of all 11 sine waves alongside each other, they alone would tell a story. It is truly a revelation how many different ways there are to interpret a composition. Ted Quinlan makes Like John sing triumphant, while Nick Fraser’s Critical Eddie is a modest detonation in a wormhole.

Rich in Symbols II – The Group of Seven, Tom Thomson & Emily Carr
Chet Doxas
Justin Time JTR8636-2 (justin-time.com)

You couldn’t create a more Canadian session than this one involving Montrealer-in-Brooklyn saxophonist/clarinetist Chet Doxas’ modernist musical interpretation of paintings by the Group of Seven, Tom Thomson and Emily Carr. Doxas, who says he hears music whenever he looks at a picture, curates an art gallery’s worth of his own compositions which sonically reflect the mostly rural, remote and rawboned canvases. 

Intriguingly the tracks, which resonate with energetic but understated syncopation due to drummer Eric Doob’s nerve beats and hard ruffs, bassist Zack Lober’s controlled pulse and pianist Jacob Sacks’ calm comping and bent-note accents, reflect both Arcadian and urban impulses. Mellotron fluctuations and electronic whizzes provide an oscillating background for some tunes, while muted old-timey field recordings and echoes and clangs from Joe Grass’ pedal steel or banjo evoke rustic timelessness on others. 

That means a performance like Thomson’s The Jack Pine rotates among preserved radio sax licks and live assertive reed slurs as current drum rumbles overlap shaking steel-guitar licks. Still it ends with irregular tongue stops from Doxas. Or note lap steel echoes which join loon-like cries to describe Lawren Harris’ North Shore, Lake Superior and climax with string-shaking bass and piano harmonies topped by undulating saxophone runs.

CanCon that doesn’t have to apologize for expressing Canuck pride, the rich symbols defined here can be easily appreciated both musically and visually. Plus, the tracks also posit new concepts to consider when you next observe that iconic visual art.

Listen to 'Rich in Symbols II' Now in the Listening Room

Water & Tools
Jairus Sharif
Telephone Explosion Records (jairussharif.bandcamp.com)

The fattest and grimiest of synth tones kicks this one off. It gives way to a shimmery soundscape that cascades down both channels, akin to a chorus of wind chimes, while the harsh drone reintroduces itself with the panicked urgency of a boat horn. Then, the tides part briefly for a rubato saxophone statement, with just the right amount of reverb and panning sprinkled on it to slice through the noise. All this simmering tension is released in sublime fashion when the drums arrive in an explosion of ecstasy, adrenaline and violence, setting the spectator free. 

The aforementioned sonic elements in dialogue have one thing in common: they were curated by one-man ensemble Jairus Sharif. Sharif’s canvas is the bedrock of uneasy tranquility his music unfailingly returns to and, sprawling across this induced tabula rasa, the continuum of visceral sonic paint he draws from is emphasized ingeniously throughout this album. 

The textures and shapes the music evokes bears a striking resemblance to the vibrant cover art. While sounds coexist altruistically, there is also a separation created in the way they disrupt each other, creating concrete space between these expressions. On the track Earth III, the drum groove moves like it spitefully diverges from the electronic blips, each additional snare hit feeling like an evasive maneuver. Maximilian “Twig” Turnbull is credited with mixing this album and what he pulls off is nothing short of astonishing. Dissonance is embraced, but so is clarity.

Micro-Nap
Walking Cliché Sextet (SeaJun Kwon)
Endectomorph Music EMM-013 (seajunkwonmusic.com)

Have you ever been drifting off into a much needed, deep afternoon nap; still lingering in that in-between state that acts as a transition from wakefulness to dreamland? These types of liminal spaces, where uniformity and chaos coexist are what the Walking Cliché Sextet attempt to reflect within their music on this latest release. Korean-born, New York-based composer, bassist and improviser SeaJun Kwon, has always been fascinated by liminal spaces and the duality within them and so decided to gather a fantastic group of musicians and classmates to give this concept a musical voice. Featured in the backing band are rising stars such as Aaron Dutton on alto sax, Jacob Shulman on tenor sax and Erez Dessel on piano.

Throughout the album, songs reflect that aforementioned duality incredibly well; even allowing for a clear image unique to each piece to be called forth in the listener’s mind. Muad’dib is a track where dissonance and consonance, peace and chaos co-exist, taking the listener on a true dream-like journey. Possibly most intriguing, intense mental imagery aside, is the way that both traditional and modern aspects of jazz have been incorporated into the pieces and how they peek through; constantly toeing the line between the familiar and unfamiliar. A truly unique example of contemporary, experimental jazz, this album would be a great addition to the collection of the adventurous aficionado.

Listen to 'Micro-Nap' Now in the Listening Room

Uncharted Faith
Jason Kao Hwang; J.A. Deane
Tone Silence Music/Blue Cross Music TSM 00013 (jasonkaohwang.com)

A combination of triumph and tragedy, this devastating six-track project was created over a two-month period as New York violinist Jason Kao Hwang and Colorado synthesizer/software expert J.A. Deane improvised live sounds sent to one another over the Internet, which were then tone-shifted, synthesized, mixed and mutated into this comprehensive program. Believing in spiritual transition, Deane, 71, had already refused treatment for his illness and died of cancer just as the CD was completed.

Using electric and acoustic violins, Hwang’s initial and overdubbed string sweeps and strained buzzes are amalgamated with a series of watery whooshes and constantly rotating live processes from Deane whose screaming and gonging reflect fiddle glissandi at the same time as they mutate them. The mid-point Shamans of Light moves the timbre fusion to even higher levels as two separate layers of string stops and strums become audible. As granulated synthesized tones widen into thunderous drones, Hwang’s angled violin swipes include brief lyrical interludes. These remain during the climactic title track. A concluding sequence, Uncharted Faith, finds Deane’s processed wash of interlocking textures projecting an organ-like tremolo continuum over which near-melodic violin drones pitch-shift, connect and highlight disparate parts of the reconstituted improvised mixture. 

A fitting memorial to an electroacoustic pioneer, the CD once again confirms the sympathetic interaction of Hwang’s playing in many and some seemingly difficult contexts.

Songs of Ascent, Book 1 – Degrees
Dave Douglas Quintet
Greenleaf Music GRE-CD-1096 (davedouglas.com)

Trumpeter Dave Douglas is a musician so prolific that he has been hard not to notice over the past handful of years. While Douglas may not yet be a household name, achieving this kind of notoriety within the jazz and improvised music realm is a feat unto itself. Douglas’ label Greenleaf Music has been a brilliant springboard for the trumpeter’s ample releases under his own name, while simultaneously fostering a space for likeminded talents to produce and promote their music.

Greenleaf employs a smart business model, offering traditional sales and streaming of album-length content alongside subscription only “optional extras.” Songs of Ascent, Book 1 is offered in the former format, with Book 2 available only when curious listeners subscribe to Greenleaf Music. This writer was only given a copy of Book 1 to review, but this was enough of a journey to make me curious about what lies on its counterpart recording. 

Several noteworthy things jumped out during my first listen, namely the smooth high-quality studio sound. This is almost a contrast to the often-avant-garde music heard on the disc, but makes for an immersive listening experience. The sound quality of the band as a whole is even more impressive given that this album was recorded remotely.

Early tracks are loose and ethereal in nature, but from the very start of Peace Within Your Walls listeners are offered more traditional sounding song forms. The contrast between loose and composed moments sets a precedent for the rest of this exciting album.

Emerald City Nights: Live at The Penthouse 1963-64
Ahmad Jamal
Jazz Detective DDJD-001

Emerald City Nights: Live at The Penthouse 1965-66
Ahmad Jamal
Jazz Detective DDJD-002
www.deepdigsmusic.com

At 92, Ahmad Jamal can look back on a brilliant career, one reaching levels of success unimaginable to most jazz musicians. Cited by major figures such as Miles Davis and Keith Jarrett as an influence while often being dismissed by critics, Jamal explored unusual formal and textural dimensions, concentrating on rhythmic invention in a distinctive way and organizing his tunes into elaborate patterns of vamps and riffs that expanded on the kinds of big-band formal practices developed by Duke Ellington.

These two 2CD sets come from 1960s performances at the Penthouse, a prominent Seattle jazz club of the period at which Jamal performed frequently. Originally recorded for radio broadcasts, the sound is excellent, with each set covering appearances over a two-year period. Jamal is joined by a series of rhythm section pairings, including bassists Richard Evans and Jamil Nasser and drummers Chuck Lampkin and Vernel Fournier, each team forming a vital partnership in executing Jamal’s complex extrapolations, combining detailed arrangements and fluid improvisations. Works here often develop at length, including a crystalline version of Jamal’s own Minor Moods and a virtuosic I Didn’t Know What Time It Was, one approaching the quarter-hour mark, the other exceeding it, but there are no empty segments, each one a model of focused musicality. The contemporary Feeling Good, a hit for Nina Simone, sounds like it was written for Jamal. Meanwhile, Jamal’s art is also an allusive one, whether he’s inserting Nat Adderley’s Work Song into that Bricusse-Newley pop hit or Charlie Parker’s Now’s the Time into Cole Porter’s All of You. 

Jamal’s multi-dimensional art, already set deep in jazz traditions, might be linked with the architectural dimension of his faith. In 1959, following travels in Muslim Africa, he moved to Chicago where he opened an alcohol-free night club called the Alhambra. Hearing the compound, suddenly shifting patterns that he and his bandmates bring to Richard Rodgers’ Johnny One Note, from delicate tinkling upper-register figures to rolling bass crescendos and sustained drum rolls, one might readily imagine that 1959 trip very likely included a visit to Spain and that other Alhambra: the palace in Cordoba. Like the palace, a Jamal performance can be a hypnotic series of abstract signs, whether geometric forms, an unknown alphabet or both, organized into fluid patterns, ones in which abstraction and attraction can arise, often free of specific meaning, everything in celebration of a transcendent symmetry.