07 SheSleepsShe Sleeps, She Sleeps
Fire!
Rune Grammofon RCD 2178 (runegrammofon.com)

Specializing in blending basement timbres, so all of their gradations are audible, the Swedish trio of drummer Andreas Werliin, double bassist Johan Berthling and saxophonist Mats Gustafsson welcomes a couple of guests here to add additional textures. But the auxiliary tones simply intensify the trio’s characteristically powerful stance.

Cellist Leo Svensson’s intermittent string plucks and swipes are permeable enough, so like a youngster mimicking an adult’s movements, he merely strengthens Werliin’s thick power stops. On the other hand Gustafsson’s foundation-shaking bass saxophone gusts not only provide a bonding continuum throughout, but also showcase multiphonics encompassing glossolalia, split tones and concentrated overblowing. Most notably, that ad hoc foursome’s more-than-18-minute She Penetrates The Distant Silence Slowly never plods, but is invested with rhythmic swing, even as it plays out at a tortoise-like gait.

Gustafsson is equally powerful playing baritone saxophone on the title track, plus visitor Oren Ambarchi’s fuzzy guitar drones and Werliin’s high-density polyethylene bottle-like reverberations played on steel guitar overlay a variety of contrasting tones onto the nearly opaque narrative. But drum beats, migrating from martial to shuffle, and wrenching double bass slaps provide a solid enough foundation for the saxophonist’s output. Slurping, honking, burping and blowing as if he were a bull moose yearning for his mate, Gustafsson manages to express his individuality in every solo.

Don’t look for subtlety or elegance in Fire! – or Gustafsson’s – playing. But be prepared to be bowled over by the sheer audacity of expression that highlights every low-pitched nuance here.

08 TomRaineyHotel Grief
Tom Rainey Trio
Intakt Records CD 256 (intaktrec.ch)

Comfortable in settings from big band to solo, guitarist Mary Halvorson joins with soprano and tenor saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock to roughen the edges of the five instant compositions on this CD. Cultivated and self-effacing, leader/drummer Tom Rainey is as far removed from a braggadocious percussion show-off like Buddy Rich as Donald Trump is from Martin Luther King. Discretion doesn’t mean withdrawal however, and in context the drummer’s sophisticatedly positioned strokes contribute more to the architectures of the tracks than would any clamorous rhythm display.

With the guitarist’s strategies ranging from distorted reverb to sly, slurred fingering, and the reed tessitura soaring from clenched squeaks to harsh rasping whispers, the drummer’s role is analogous to a U.N. peacekeeper in the Balkans: maintaining consistency without favouring either side and keeping their extended techniques from occupying the other’s territory.

Proud Achievements in Botany, the CD’s almost-19-minute centrepiece, is a microcosm of how Hotel Grief’s tracks evolve. Halvorson’s widening or winnowing licks take on spacey qualities at the same time as Laubrock’s intense single reed bites settle into linear melodies. With the saxophonist’s now modulated tones circumscribed by string chording, drum rattles manipulate any stray lines so that the three eventually move like regimental guards in formation. Breaking the concordance with what could be a slo-mo version of Wipe Out, Rainey’s tough drum beats join with Halvorson’s lopping reverb and Laubrock’s slurps and snarls to create a finale that may rattle like an old jalopy, but still conveys the grace and speed of well-plotted locomotion.

Although titled Hotel Grief, this musical dwelling offers very little despondency except for fleeting moods in context. Instead, by imagining each track as a separate room, the CD offers a set of quietly resplendent chambers furnished with innovative touches by a trio of sonic designers.

09 BillEvans SomeOtherTime CoverSome Other Time: The Lost Session from the Black Forest
Bill Evans
Resonance HCD-2019 (resonancerecords.org)

For six months in 1968, Bill Evans led one of the great versions of his trio, with bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Jack DeJohnette, a group previously heard only in a single concert recording from the Montreux Jazz Festival. However, they did a studio session for the German MPS label, a session of trio, piano-bass duets and solo piano pieces for which contracts were never signed and which was never released until the appearance of this two-CD set.

In company with the singularly gifted bassist Scott LaFaro, Evans had redefined the jazz piano trio by 1960, treating it as a highly interactive unit in which the bass regularly functioned as melodic counterpart as well as rhythmic and harmonic foundation. By 1968 Gomez was two years into his 11-year tenure with the trio, probably the most adroit and inventive bassist to play with Evans following LaFaro’s death in 1961. The presence of DeJohnette added another level of rhythmic definition to the group, feeding Evans’ increasing interest in detailed, shifting accents in his improvisations.

The material consists of standards, superior show tunes (Leonard Bernstein’s Some Other Time stands out) and a couple of Evans originals, typically filled with subtle harmonic recastings that create complex moods, much of it enlivened here by DeJohnette’s light, sparkling balance of cymbal and snare. Among numerous highlights, the trio shines on performances of Evans’ own Very Early and a brilliant version of My Funny Valentine.

10 LarryYoung InParis coverIn Paris – The ORTF Recordings
Larry Young
Resonance HCD-2022 (resonancerecords.org)

Larry Young emerged in the mid-60s, taking the Hammond B-3 organ in a fresh direction, shifting it away from its soul jazz roots toward the modal jazz of John Coltrane and exploring the instrument’s subtler timbres for atmospheric effects. By the end of that revolutionary decade, he would be playing with Miles Davis and Jimi Hendrix, but in 1964 and ’65, he was working in Paris as a sideman in expatriate American saxophonist Nathan Davis’ quartet, along with drummer Billy Brooks and trumpeter Woody Shaw, who would turn 20 in the midst of these recordings.

This two-CD set consists of recently discovered recordings from French radio archives that include the quartet, an expanded version called the Jazz aux Champs Elysées All-Stars, and organ and piano trios led by Young. Virtually unknown at home, these musicians roar with surging invention in the post-bop style then in flower. Anthemic pieces such as Young’s Talkin’ About J.C., Shaw’s Zoltan (beginning with a quotation from Kodály’s Háry János Suite) and Wayne Shorter’s Black Nile give rise to hard-driving, extended modal explorations. Davis will fasten on a phrase, repeating it with increasing focus to generate tremendous tension. Shaw, the last to emerge in a cohort of brilliant young trumpeters, was already demonstrating the fluid creativity that would distinguish him. Young is almost a band in himself, creating bass lines and surging rhythms, constantly feeding new material to the horns until he breaks free in his solos.

The booklet that accompanies the CDs has extensive background on the mid-60s Paris milieu, along with interviews with Young’s collaborators and followers, including John McLaughlin and John Medeski.

Those Who Teach Can Also Play

As shibboleths go, the hoary “those who can do, those who can’t teach,” must rank at the very top of the list. Besides libelling the majority of educators who devote themselves to the task of imparting knowledge to students, it negates the activities of those who teach and do. Here are some musicians who maintain a full-time teaching career along with consistent gigging.

01 ZooCase in point is American drummer Gerry Hemingway, now on the faculty of the Hochschule Luzern in Switzerland. This commitment doesn’t stop him from being part of many working bands. One is The Who trio, filled out by pianist/synthesizer player Michel Wintsch and bassist Bänz Oester, both Swiss natives. Zoo (Auricle Aur 14+15; gerryhemingway.com/auricle) is one all-acoustic CD and another featuring Wintsch on keyboards, each of which demonstrates the drummer’s sensitivity. On some of the electronic tracks his percussion colouration is such that its unobtrusiveness is reminiscent of the drum pulses in the film Birdman. Hemingway is a full partner on these discs however. On Sloeper for instance, which could define the acoustic jazz trio, he relaxes into poised and positioned accents which chime clockwork-like alongside Oester’s juiced-up thwacks, allowing Wintsch to extend the line. Subsequent nimble piano inventions are met with Gatling gun-like swats from the drummer until the exposition reverts to simple swing. Hemingway’s unfussy paddling keeps the exposition flowing even when the pianist unleashes evocatively flowery chords. Introduced by arpeggiated double-bass string shaking, Raccitus confirms that hard back beats and cymbal clangs can manoeuvre a gentle melody into a dramatic narrative of resonating strength. With capricious echoes and processing from the synthesizer adding unforeseen granular synthesis and oscillated wiggles to the program, the percussionist adopts cutting-edge techniques. On the extended Lamp Bowl for example, dealing with timbres that could come from Hammond organ, murmuring computer programs or signals from outer space, Hemingway’s polyrhythms break up the narrative at the same time as they steady the beat. Considering Wintsch’s playing is equally protean, highlighting both vivid acoustic melodies and buzzing electric oscillations, the drummer’s rugged pops plus staccato interjections from the bassist further ground the piece. Hemingway’s artful shadings in both settings confirm why the professional development days on his teaching calendar are marked by playing opportunities with ensembles of various sizes.

02 FormanekSize is no hindrance for bassist Michael Formanek, who teaches at Baltimore’s Peabody Institute. The 71-minute, multi-sectional The Distance suite he composed is performed with élan and ebullience by the specially organized 19-member Ensemble Kolossus (ECM 2484 ecmrecords.com). Notable for more than its enormity, the effect of listening to the CD’s ten tracks is like standing in front of a large painting of an important 19th-century battle. While the canvas initially draws you to the conflict in the foreground, very soon you begin noticing the details on the scene’s periphery. It’s the same with Exoskeleton, the CD’s eight-part centrepiece. Introduced by the bassist’s own pedal-to-the-metal string pumping, the work quickly settles into sequences that alternate vamping section work with solo expression. With five reed and eight brass players, the undulating horn crescendos often put into bolder relief, or are put into bolder relief by, the sophisticated musings issuing from Kris Davis’ linear piano lines or guitarist Mary Halvorson’s darkened finger picking. This means that despite huffing theme variations by the four trombonists in the early sequences, a finger-snapping rhythm remains. Subsequent tonal deconstruction in the form of a duet between tenor saxophonist Chris Speed and cornetist Kurt Knuffke, or trumpeter Ralph Alessi’s tongue flutters contrasting with trombonist Alan Ferber’s more moderated blasts, are kept in check by Formanek’s strong arrangements. Not only does the layered note colouration flow around the soloists, but acting like a drill sergeant, the guitarist’s hammered notes never allow the sound excursions to travel off into uncharted musical paths. All this doesn’t weaken the compositional thrust in any way and by the penultimate section, A Reptile Dysfunction, concentrated polyphony generated by growling horns plus thick smacks from the bassist and drummer Tomas Fujiwara give way to a polished chamber-like duet. Oscar Noriega’s contralto clarinet tones brushing up against Patricia Brennan’s chiming marimba reveals one more painterly detail of the composition. Finally, Metamorphic, the climax, involves trumpeter Dave Ballou’s polished grace notes soaring like a dove of peace over vamping, bellicose multiphonics that involve every other player. Ballou’s brassy resolution helps direct the suite to wrap up with the same intensity with which it began. With detailing demanding repeated listening, Formanek’s creative triumph is confirmed.

03 CosmopolitanOn a much smaller scale, but with the same sort of sonic concordance is Cosmopolitan Greetings (Red Piano RPR 4699-4419-2 redpianorecords.com), where a quartet featuring pianist Frank Carlberg, who teaches at Boston’s New England Conservatory, plays three of his originals and three free improvisations. Although not a regular group, there’s no fissure between the academic and the jobbing musicians: guitarist Joe Morris, bassist Pascal Niggenkemper and drummer Luther Gray. If anything, the pianist’s writing and versatility come across like line drawings which break a solid page of text in a publication. Thematic links to Thelonious Monk’s crooked time sense (especially on Now and Forever) and Herbie Nichols’ joyous abandon (more pointedly on Get it?), allow Carlberg to create a space where bop, cool and free impulses intersect. On the second tune for instance, the melody is paramount, with a drum solo offering a lesson in how to gradually minimize the tempo while maximizing swing. Elsewhere, as on the title tune, Niggenkemper’s string segmentation suggests minimalism, tempered with keyboard clip-clops; while walking and sliding bass stops plus ratcheting guitar licks turn Cadillac Squawk, another Carlberg line, into unexpectedly relaxed Third Stream-like music. Like a champion kayaker crewing on a larger boat, veteran free improviser Morris expresses himself with nuanced distinction within the group improv that’s Who Eats Who. As his guitar picking creates time dislocation alongside Gray’s clattering fills, the piece reaches its zenith as keyboard swabbing gives away to fluid squirms from Carlberg, making the finale as dramatic as it is didactic.

04 EricPlatzPiloting a mid-course between freedom and formalism are the seven compositions on Life After Life (Allos Documents 012 allosmusica.org), written and performed by percussionist Eric Platz. Platz, a music professor at Brandon University (BU) in Manitoba, is joined by cellist Leanne Zacharias who also teaches at BU, local electric bassist Don Benedictson, who recorded the disc, and Chicagoan James Falzone, who plays clarinet and adds a shruti box drone to some tracks. Three successive variants on the title track are chamber music-like duos, the last confirming the near-identical timbres of cello and clarinet; the first two demonstrating that Falzone and Platz can produce enlightened textures with the organization of synchronized swimmers plus the improvisational smarts that could imagine Jimmy Giuffre playing with Max Roach. Elsewhere, Zacharias, equally capable of plucking a swing line, emphasizes the innate woodiness of her instrument which joins with moderato clarinet tones and the timbered parts of Platz’s kit to form an appropriately tree-spanning confluence that delineates the composer’s mystical vision of Redwood Vesper. These inferences, plus sonic seasoning that bring in rock music-like rhythms via Platz’s back beat plus an exotic shruti box buzzing, are part of the CD’s 21-minute chef-d’oeuvre Blood Meridian. More closely related to the integration of separated impulses than blood, the sectional piece begins with droning undulations that sound electronic as well as acoustic, then introduce a rhythmic undertow that shares space with wheezing clarinet puffs, marimba pops and cello riffs. Like a radio shunting from one station to another, additional sequences include a duet with dreamy cello strokes and whimsical clarinet yelps; maracas shakes, bell pealing, wood-block echoes; and human-sounding panting and breathing. Ultimately the composition memorably resolves itself as the wave form oscillations cease and an overlay of clarinet trills signal a triumphant resolution. Conclusively, the drummer’s echoing pop puts an onomatopoeic period on the program.

Review

05 FlorianMusically, Luminosity (Origin Records 82706 originarts.com) may be the most straight ahead of the sessions here, but it’s also the one with the most varied cast. The program is eight compositions by German-born-and-raised pianist Florian Hoefner, who after a long period in New York, now teaches at Memorial University in St. John’s. The quartet is completed by American bassist Sam Anning, Austrian drummer Peter Kronreif and Vancouver-raised, Manhattan-based tenor and soprano saxophonist Seamus Blake. Obviously attracted to his new surroundings, Hoefner penned two fluid ballads The Narrows and North Country, which flow like the clear water in a Newfoundland harbour, and more obviously Newfound Jig. A frolicking piece that manages to bring in the tenth province’s old country musical history, Newfound Jig swings and swirls as Blake outputs John Coltrane-like slurs and slides and the pianist builds up intense modal chording. Ebullient, Blake adds the necessary crunch to the bossa-nova-like In Circles, working up a piston-driven head of steam without ever lapsing into screech mode. Dipping into the tenor’s lowest registers on Elements, Blake doubles the jazz-rock feel engendered by Kronreif’s scrambling thrusts. Overall though, Hoefner’s linear comping keeps the piece moving like a veteran sailor righting a scow in an ocean storm. Perhaps the key to the session is appropriately expressed on The Bottom Line. Pushed by tremolo piano chords and rattling drums, the melody expresses toughness without discontent. Those sentiments would seem to be the perfect way to adapt to the sometimes rugged life in Newfoundland – as well as describing the skills needed to be both a patient teacher and an innovating musician.

 

01 Brenda LewisFar & Near
Brenda Lewis
Independent BL-00220 (brendalewis.ca)

With her second jazz-inspired CD release (and fifth as a leader), rich and sonorous vocalist Brenda Lewis has presented an exceptional and intriguing recording. Co-produced by Lewis and longtime collaborator, guitarist/keyboardist Margaret Stowe, she has created a compellingly stripped-down performance and recording unit, which harkens back not only to Neolithic and contemporary jazz, but also embraces timeless roots, blues, gospel and Afrocentric folk musics. All of the arrangements here involve a Spartan but potent instrumentation of voice, electric guitar, keyboards and the contributions of multi-instrumentalist Jeff Bird on harmonica, mandolin, bass and percussion.

Lewis fires her opening salvo with an appealing and no-nonsense take on Do You Know What it Means to Miss New Orleans (featuring Bird on a soulful harmonica solo). Her adept jazz sensibility (as well as her variegated alto voice) is beautifully displayed on the classic jazz standard A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square. Lewis wisely includes a tip of the hat to her folk-ish/Western swing roots with the old warhorse, Cow Cow Boogie (which also features hearty solos from Bird and Stowe). Of special note is the jaunty He Surprises Me and the lovely I Wave Bye-Bye, in which Lewis evokes an almost Celtic aura of heartbreak and longing.

Very few vocalists would have the courage to present themselves in such an exposing, bare-bones way, but Lewis is refreshingly fearless, committed and transparent in her approach and taste; her consummate vocal skill shines throughout.

02 Avery RaquelLife Lessons
Avery Raquel
Independent (averyraquel.com)

Fourteen-year-old jazz vocalist Avery Raquel is a delightful breath of fresh air and already an international success, having appeared at key festivals and venues. On her debut CD, she serves up a tasty collection of jazzified material that includes compositions from such diverse artists as Harold Arlen, Stevie Wonder, Johnny Mercer and Sting. Raquel’s voice is a diaphanous thing, ripe with jejune optimism as well as an effortless, innate understanding of vocal jazz. She is joined here by her skilled trio of producer/arranger Rob Fekete on piano, Mike Pelletier on bass and Joel Haynes on drums.

Kicking off the disc is a swinging take on Arlen and Mercer’s Ac-cent-tchu-ate the Positive. Raquel’s jazz chops are clearly evident, and her superb trio has an opportunity to stretch out in this fine arrangement. Also of note is Raquel’s take on the popular standard, Que Sera Sera, which was made famous by Doris Day in the film The Man Who Knew Too Much and is rendered here in a bluesy context that seems a very comfortable fit for Raquel.

The funky Wonder hit, Don’t You Worry ’Bout a Thing is a delight and utilizes Raquel’s natural, unpretentious, soulful feel. Other highlights include a rhythmic, Latin-infused arrangement of Sting’s Fragile, and although of tender years, Raquel’s emotional maturity and meaningful interpretation of this haunting ballad can’t help but resonate with the listener. A stunner is Arlen’s anthem of hope and longing, Over the Rainbow. A pristine a cappella intro is followed by a lyrical and uncluttered vocal interpretation that is both touching and musically eloquent.

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