Jazz and Improvised

Usual Suspects
No Codes
(benjamindeschamps.bandcamp.com/music)

No Codes’ sophomore release pulls no punches, and constantly proves that less is more. Exhibit A is the title track, which drops a single eighth note during the second phrase of the head, making an already irresistibly danceable syncopated rhythm feel subversive and lively. From there, the groove seamlessly transitions into a half time feel, Louis-Vincent Hamel’s open hi-hat providing emphatic weight to every snare hit. Returning to the original pattern and back again, that bar of seven offsets the listener’s expected arrival point of the next section, gripping them with a feeling of constant momentum. The track is just over two minutes long, but it feels dense and eventful nevertheless. 

All this profound power, generated from the mere omission of one beat, is a testament to the cohesion of this wonderful combo. Exploring many points on the musical spectrum while embracing dissonance and allowing each musician their own improvisational space, there is nary a dull moment to be found across these ten sprawling tracks. It is not only easy to find one’s self in awe of the two-piece rhythm section’s pas de deux, but also how consistently both saxophonists sound like an extension of this bond, playing percussively and interpretively while contributing to the overall driving pulse of each respective composition. Usual Suspects is a singular blend of being accessible and thought-provoking and is an absolute joy to listen to.

Listen to 'Usual Suspects' Now in the Listening Room

Neil Swainson – Here For A While
Neil Swainson Sextet
Cellar Music CMF022024 (neilswainsonquintet.bandcamp.com/album/here-for-a-while)

Bassist Neil Swainson is taking a playful, back-handed swipe at us (Canada and others alike) saying that he’s been Here For A While. He has been here for quite a while. In fact, bass-playing associate Steve Wallace informs us that Swainson has contributed mightily to music played by “Woody Shaw, George Shearing, and Roberta Gambarini…” Which leaves you wondering how this can only be Swainson’s third album as leader, especially as he has been celebrated in that music community by such leading aficionados as Don Thompson while passing like a ship in the night elsewhere. 

And so, here is Swainson and his Sextet – comprising pianist Renee Rosnes, drummer Quincy Davis, trombonist Steve Davis, saxophonist Kelly Jefferson and trumpeter Brad Turner. The focus ought to be – and it surely is – not only on the fine playing by one and all, but also Swainson as an exquisite composer. That, of course, and his consummate, undefiled virtuosity and inspirational leadership. 

Swainson’s sextet is in cracking shape throughout this set. The leader’s playing is both vibrant and urgent. This pays huge dividends in the pulsating, swinging opener The End of the Day and in the rest of the fare. But the composer’s artistry is hardly one dimensional. He has a deep feeling for bluesy work (cue Jerry’s Blues) and his balladry (as In the Path of Angels) evolves in fine-spun rhapsodizing that make this recording one for the ages.

Mosaic
Stefan Bauer; Terry Clarke; Matthew Halpin; Matthia Akeo Nowak
Cornerstone Records CRST-CD169 (cornerstonerecordsinc.com/pages/cat169.html)

Improvising musicians from several generations would give a lot to perform with Terry Clarke, the éminence grise of Canadian drumming. He is one of the celebrated rhythm-twins (the other being Don Thompson, who plays bass, vibraphone or piano). Thompson and Clarke, some may remember, were effectively head-hunted by the celebrated alto saxophonist John Handy in the early 1960s and played in Handy’s seminal ensemble at the 1965 Monterey Jazz Festival. That ensemble released Recorded Live at the Monterey Jazz Festival (Columbia, 1966). For the unfettered and ingenious nature of the musicians’ improvisatory performance, Ralph J. Gleason (on album notes) called it “an exciting group and one that will make jazz history.” 

It is this same epic excitement that Clarke & Co. evokes on Mosaic. The main story here is what Clarke calls “the sound of surprise,” quoting the legendary music critic Whitney Balliett. That brief quote is characteristic of the usually taciturn drummer. He is infinitely better at letting his drumsticks and brushes do the talking with a swinging rattle and roll on the shells and skins of his snare and tom-toms, punctuated by the depth charges on the bass drum and the sizzle and bop of the cymbals and high-hat. Indeed, Clarke gives us a drumming masterclass supported by bassist Matthias Akeo Nowak, vibraphonist Stefan Bauer and tenor saxophonist Matthew Halpin – together embodying “the sound of surprise” indeed.

Listen to 'Mosaic' Now in the Listening Room

Darn, That Band
Eric St-Laurent; Chendy Leon; Magdelys Savigne; Calvin Beale
Independent (eric-st-laurent.bandcamp.com/album/darn-that-band)

Excellent arrangements of timeless classics. Patient, cyclical grooves that subtly develop and then find their way back home. A four-piece band where half the group plays percussion and the other half plays percussively. Dedication and faithfulness to the originals that will leave familiar listeners satisfied, but also a penchant for exploration and experimentation that allows for catharsis from unexpected places. 

Take for example, what El Cumbanchero metamorphoses into leading out of Magdelys Savinge’s conga solo. As guitar and cajon syncopate each other’s syncopations, all three instruments coalesce into one wall of sound, building in density but not noise. After this hushed swell hits a certain point, Calvin Beale comes in with three chromatic bass notes, and a new cycle is born, as the synthetic becomes merged with the acoustic once and for all. 

This consistent interplay, decisiveness and willingness to embrace dissonance makes for an equally engaging exercise in exactness and freedom. Because of all the percussion and rhythmic playing it feels like every inch of the time feel spectrum is always accounted for, but never in an overbearing way. It also feels like there are multiple ways to listen to this, and they’re all equally fruitful. If one allows themselves into a trance, they will emerge in a completely new location. If oneclosely listens the whole way, they will glean an entire universe. Also, the end credits (Darn Credits) are hilarious, and a wonderful touch.