Jazz and Improvised

Brian Dickinson – October Songs
Brian Dickinson; Kelly Jefferson; Jim Vivian; Penderecki String Quartet
Cellar Music CMF041026 (briandickinson.bandcamp.com/album/october-songs)

Exceptional jazz pianist and composer Brian Dickinson has just released a profound recording that integrates the beauty of a string quartet with the improvisational complexity of jazz. Brilliantly produced by Dickinson (and engineered by Chad Irschick), the gifted musicians of the Penderecki String Quartet (Jerzy Kaplanek and Jeremy Bell on violin, Christine Vlakj on viola and Katie Schlaikjer on cello) are brought into a contiguous musical relationship with A-List jazzers and Dickinson’s long-time collaborators, Kelly Jefferson on tenor and soprano saxophones and bassist Jim Vivian.

All of the material was composed by Dickinson, with the exception of the lovely Touch Her Soft Lips and Part, from British composer William Walton. Dickinson has always been captivated by the relationship between small jazz groups and chamber music ensembles and explores it throughout. First up is Autumn Glow. The nearly unbearable beauty of this track is perfectly supported by Vivian’s sonorous and expressive bass work. The synergy here is breathtaking, as is the composition. When Dickinson enters on piano, the musical mis en scene is complete.  

Clarity, taste and skill are ever-present, propelling the strings and the improvisations by Dickinson, Vivian and Jefferson into a higher vibrational realm. The three-part October Songs is a triumph, as well as a profound emotional journey. In part one, Dickinson utilizes the quartet’s staccato, arco lines as a rhythmic infrastructure, which morphs into a pulsing backdrop for Jefferson and Dickinson’s soloing, and vibrant pizzicato strings announce the end of winter in Spring Sprung In. 

Without question, this is one of the most original, well-produced and masterfully rendered recordings of the year. Bravo!

Amanda Tosoff – Where the Joy Is
Emilie-Claire Barlow; Allison Au; Amanda Tosoff; Jon Maharaj; Morgan Childs
Cellar Music CMF100125 (amandatosoff.bandcamp.com/album/where-the-joy-is)

A Marvelous Party
Duchess
Anzic Records (ink.anzicrecords.com/ANZ-0096)

The world is in dire need of cheering up, and two new albums have answered the call. 

First is from composer and piano player, Amanda Tosoff, who is wrapping up her artful trilogy (which started with Words in 2016 and Earth Voices in 2021, the latter reviewed in these pages in Volume 26, Number 6, March 2021) with Where the Joy Is. Born out of post-pandemic existential angst, this album is essentially about finding happiness in new ways and in old comforts. 

The number of personnel is substantially pared down from the ambitious Earth Voices, but when the roster is Tosoff (keys), Alison Au (sax), Jon Maharaj (bass), Morgan Childs (drums) and Emilie-Claire Barlow (vocals), who else do you need? Especially when the compositions demand a precise, agile unit, as Tosoff’s do. The album veers momentarily into standard territory with a gorgeous rendering of This Time the Dream’s on Me. There’s also a reprise from Earth Voices of Joni Mitchell’s The Fiddle and the Drum, but when the message is basically a plea for a powerful nation to stop being hostile towards its friends, it bears repeating, yes? Otherwise it’s all Tosoff’s well-crafted music, with lyrics by Jodi Proznick on a joyous ode to childhood, Little One. Two poems by Canadian writer Marjorie Pickthall were the source for Thoughts and Love Said which explore themes of learning to let go and allowing love and art to happen in their own time. 

In a completely different vein is A Marvelous Party. The fourth release from New York-based, two-thirds Canadian group, Duchess, the album showcases the vocal trio’s tight harmonies (à la Andrews Sisters) and penchant for jokey, light-hearted performances (à la Rat Pack). The three singers--Amy Cervini, Hilary Gardner and Melissa Sylianou--achieve a beautiful blend which necessitates a somewhat restrained approach. So there are no diva turns here, but plenty of solid, skilled vocalizing. 

With a full band of rhythm players plus 5 horns (arranged by Oded Lev-Ari) the group swings its way through mostly post-World War 2-era hits made famous by other jokesters like Dick Van Dyke (Put on a Happy Face) and Dean Martin (Ain’t That a Kick in the Head). Peggy Lee’s bittersweet Is That All There Is? in particular strikes a chord with “If that’s all there is, my friends, then let’s keep dancing, let’s break out the booze and have a ball.” Indeed.

In Real Life
JabFung
Independent (jabfung.bandcamp.com)

The album art really fits the music flawlessly here; multimodal, intermeshed and finding multiple simultaneous access points with which to engage the senses. Bandleaders Julian Anderson-Bowes and Anthony Fung continue to build creative momentum from last year’s debut record, refining their sound while painting over the peripheral sonicscape with new radiant elements. The final mix is more pristine than pristine (not backhanded, it sounds incredible), while the band’s ideas are rounded out with real experimentation and grit. 

Each instance feels dynamic and full of potential to fluctuate in a single breath. One cannot with confidence guess where the metre or a soloist’s line is heading, but this unpredictability invariably leads to exciting and even intuitive places. Intricate melodicism and rhythmic intensity are primary sources of intrigue throughout the tracklist, with the serpentine Skander being particularly addictive as a result of this overt synthesis, while the humorously-albeit-existentially-titled Methadone for Doomscrolling immediately recreates this effect in a more patient and understated way. 

As an ensemble, JabFung’s aural road mapping within each piece often visits two theoretical extremes in quick succession as a means of slowly eroding any differences between these modes. There will be an elaborate bass solo that plays with time and texture underneath blissful horn pads, with the totality making perfect sense. If there is one thing that unites the success of everything this album sets out to convey, it is JabFung’s steadfast commitment to their craft. 

Listen to 'In Real Life' Now in the Listening Room

Le Sourire
Jean Derome & Somebody Special
ambiances magnetiques AM 286 CD (ambiances-magnetiques.bandcamp.com/album/le-sourire)

This is Canadian saxophonist, bass flutist, vocalist Jean Derome and ensemble Somebody Special’s second recording of improvisations, adaptations and swing touches on compositions by soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy (1934-2004). The band takes its name from Lacy’s tune of the same name. Derome’s longtime collaborators are Normand Guilbeau (double bass), Pierre Tanquay (drums) with new members Alexandre Grogg (piano) and Karen Young (vocals). Together their musical ideas and performing expertise create brilliant, tight renditions of 11 Lacy originals featuring settings of texts by diverse writers Anna Akhmatova, Samuel Beckett, Robert Creeley, Bob Kaufman, and Judith Malina.

Jack’s Blues starts with Derome’s attention-grabbing sax solo. Midstream, his alto sax incorporates some bluesy phrasing. His singing blends beautifully in duet with Karen Young in Robert Creeley’s text. Piano and drums add a jazzier feel to the closing held note. The Smile (Le Sourire) encompasses some of the best Derome ideas. Repeated slightly atonal piano, bass held notes and sax start. Young’s emotional singing of Anna Akhmatova text is moving with Derome’s sax lines and his expressive solo is supported by bass line, drum kit and piano chords. High pitched piano solo is followed by vocal re-entry. Touching slower ending with vocal held notes. All the musical lines are independent yet fit together seamlessly, setting the stage for the other Lacy songs here. 

Slower, hypnotic, calmer instrumentals and Akhmatova text feature in The Cuckoo. Young’s hilarious pronunciation of the word “cuckoo” evokes the cuckoo clock’s “singing.” Derome leads the other tracks with equal musicality.

 Liner notes with bilingual French/English lyrics are included. Derome’s solo and ensemble music is always SO carefully adventurous yet thoughtful in these renditions of Lacy compositions!