Jazz and Improvised

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.