Cuenta el pianista McCoy Tyner que cuando el 9 de
diciembre de 1964, alguien bajó la intensidad de las luces del estudio
Englewood Cliffs, de New Jersey, supuso que la intención era la de recrear un
clima de ‘night club’ o algo así, espacios en los que el cuarteto liderado de
John Coltrane, que completaban Jimmy Garrison y Elvin Jones, exploraba nuevos
caminos para su música.
En ese clima, el genial saxofonista dio a luz a A Love Supreme
(Impulse!), una de sus obras esenciales en la que, según él mismo consignaba en
el texto incluido en la presentación original, consagraba su música al Creador,
a quien responsabilizaba por su “despertar espiritual”, tras sus experiencias
de adicciones al alcohol y las drogas.
En el marco de una especie de suite de cuatro movimientos, Coltrane
desarrolló una apertura, Acknowledgement, basada en el riff inicial
definido por el contrabajo de Garrison tras el sonido de un gong, sobre la cual
construyó líneas melódicas con su instrumento y una suerte de mantra que repite
el título del álbum una y otra vez.
Seguida por Resolution y Pursuance, dos piezas que transitan
patrones rítmicos y formales habituales para la época, aunque proponiendo
cierta expansión hacia incipientes destellos del free jazz, la obra cerraba con
Psalm, una epifanía en la que el saxofonista tradujo al lenguaje de su
saxo tenor un poema que había escrito a Dios.
Sin embargo, su carácter místico no impidió que A Love Supreme se
transformara en uno de los discos más populares de la historia del jazz y, con
su más de medio millón de copias vendidas, en uno de sus mayores éxitos
comerciales.
Con tales antecedentes a su favor, la nueva edición del álbum permite ir más
allá de lo hasta ahora conocido, y entrar en su proceso de realización. En ese
sentido, la inclusión de versiones alternativas del mismo día de grabación, y
del día siguiente, muestra tanto la evolución como la solidez de la idea que
inspiraba a Coltrane.
Aún cuando, en su búsqueda, el 10 de diciembre sumó a su cuarteto el
contrabajista Art Davis y al saxo tenor Archie Shepp, con quien en Acknowledgement
sostuvo diálogos y contrapuntos cuya publicación no hace sino enriquecer aún
más la obra original.
El saxofonista, compositor e improvisador sueco Mats Gustafsson
además de ser un ícono del free jazz escandinavo es, sin lugar a dudas,
una de las figuras esenciales de la música creativa de nuestro tiempo.
En su dilatado e infatigable trayecto musical colaboró con Sonic Youth, Jim O’Rourke, Barry Guy, Merzbow, Ken Vandermark, Peter Brötzmann, Derek Bailey, Peter Evans, Otomo Yoshihide, Paul Lytton, Evan Parker, Agustí Fernández, Misha Mengelberg y Peter Evans y ha liderado algunas de las bandas más destacadas de este milenio, tales como The Thing (con Ingebrigt Håker Flaten y Paal Nilssen-Love), Fire! (junto a Johan Berthling y Andreas Werliin), el multiestelar ensamble extendido Fire! Orchestra y la agrupación Swedish Azz (con Per Ake-Holmlander, Kjell Nordeson, dieb13 y Eric Carlsson), entre otros.
A esa fascinante producción discográfica se sumará en los próximos días el álbum Hidros 6 – Knockin’, trabajo en el que se presenta bajo la denominación Mats Gustafsson & NU Ensemble.
Este emprendimiento –en origen constituido en 1996 y reformado en 2013- incluye una rutilante alineación integrada por Mats Gustafsson en saxos slide, tenor, barítono y bajo, electrónicos y piano, Ingebrigt Håker Flaten y Jon RuneStrøm en bajos, Per Åke Holmlander en tuba, dieb13 en bandejas, Kjell Nordeson en vibráfono, batería y glockenspiel, Agustí Fernández en piano y órgano, Joe McPhee en trompeta de bolsillo, saxo tenor y órgano, Peter Evans en trompetas, Stine Janvind Motland en voces, Christer Bothén en clarinete bajo y guimbri y Paal Nilssen-Love en batería.
Los cuatro temas contenidos en el álbum –cuya autoría corresponde a Mats Gustafsson-
están dedicados a la música y las letras del legendario cantante,
compositor y pianista afroamericano de rock’n’roll Little Richards.
Hidros 6 – Knockin’ será publicado hacia finales de este mes y
contará con dos ediciones, una en CD simple y otra en formato de box
set que incluye dos discos en vinilo, cinco CD, un cuadernillo con
información y un DVD.
El lanzamiento de este nuevo material, en sus dos ediciones, corre por cuenta del sello discográfico polaco NotTwo Records.
El músico ha grabado y editado 'River, Tiger, Fire' con
motivo de su 60 cumpleaños
Música inovidable del año 2015
Agustí Fernández es el improvisador español más relevante de
su generación, un músico poliédrico que, década a década, ha forjado una
carrera impecable a medio camino entre el jazz, la música contemporánea y la
improvisación libre. Su talento ha sido requerido y compartido por gigantes del
jazz de vanguardia como Evan Parker, Mats Gustafsson, Marilyn Crispell, Peter
Kowald, William Parker o Ken Vandermark, y sus propios proyectos, constantes,
variados e inagotables, constituyen un corpus creativo como no se ha visto en
nuestro jazz.
"El jazz no tiene género"
"Me considero un superviviente de la música"
"Sin orden ni concierto"
"Mantengo la consigna de alejarme del aburrimiento y
del Estado"
Fernández ha cumplido 60 años en 2015, evento que sirvió
como motivo para la grabación y edición de este River, Tiger, Fire, cuando fue
invitado a protagonizar una residencia de cuatro noches en el festival Ad
Libitum de Varsovia, seleccionando tres proyectos suyos y dirigiendo un grupo
de improvisadores polacos cuidadosamente seleccionados para la ocasión. El
resultado discográfico es un exuberante disco cuádruple que sirve como catálogo
estelar del arte de Fernández, tanto desde la retrospectiva como desde la
novedad.
River, Tiger, Fire es una criatura tetracéfala que contiene
algunas de las facetas más estimulantes –y diferentes– de su protagonista,
empezando por la desnudez y la apasionada delicadeza de El laberinto de la
memoria, un acercamiento en piano solo a la música tradicional de nuestro país,
tan personal como sugerente. Por otro lado, el trío Aurora, completado por el
virtuoso contrabajista británico Barry Guy y el fascinante percusionista
valenciano (afincado en París) Ramón López, es uno de los proyectos más
duraderos de Fernández, y podríamos considerarlo la revisitación del trío de
jazz más sofisticada que ha dado nuestro país en las últimas décadas. Su música
mece al oyente y lo hace transitar entre la melodía, la emoción, la rotunda
espontaneidad de la interactuación de los músicos y un suave tinte mediterráneo
que le da un carácter muy especial al grupo.
En el otro extremo, un estreno: el del trío Thunder, encuentro de
Fernández con los norteamericanos Frances-Marie Uitti (chelo) y Joel Ryan
(electrónica) en busca de explorar las fronteras de la improvisación
electroacústica, con los tres músicos tejiendo paisajes sonoros a partir de
todas las posibilidades de cada instrumento y de los tratamientos electrónicos
en directo de Ryan. Un portento de música creativa.
NYC Unforeseen is Bob Wijnen's first project as a band leader, and what a band it is! Next to Wijnen, who lays down a really tasteful yet adventurous way of playing the piano, NYC Unforeseen features the always fantastic sounding Peter Bernstein on guitar, the "voice of reason" Dezron Douglas on bass, and the ever swinging Billy Drummond, who participated on so many great jazz records, on drums.
Wijnen was a sideman in many bands for a long time, and still is. Yet he always felt the urge to chase dreams and to show that realizing them can make you a happier and more complete person. One dream was to go to New York, the city where the jazz scene is all about what Wijnen is striving for in music: groove, swing, energy, an open mind and the spirit of the tradition of America's true original art form. With this wonderful band it all comes out.
You can order the cd in the retail store when you scroll down the page and through iTunes, Amazon and Google Music. Reviews will follow shortly!
"Bob Wijnen is a fine pianist, who has assembled a terrific band of some of New York’s top jazz players for his debut recording. NYC Unforeseen is a great CD, fresh music from a mature pianist/composer who has honed his own swinging, lyrical voice as a player and composer. Not to be missed!" - David Berkman, pianist
Trumpeter Gerard Presencer has a way of always giving sophisticated
jazz writing a really hip, rhythmic push. His music always travels and
it always grooves, so the title of this album is spot on.
It’s a pity we don’t get new releases from his pen and his
trumpet/flugelhorn more often – 14 years is a long time between albums
by anyone’s standards – but, hey, let’s not be moaning, let’s just
celebrate this fine new release.
After many years teaching at the Royal Academy in London, Gerard is
now and sharing his skills in Europe and living in Copenhagen where he
is a trumpeter in the Danish Radio Big Band. Groove Travels gives us five Presencer tunes plus McCartney’s Eleanor Rigby, Shorter’s Footprints and I Can’t Stop Loving You – no, not the Ray Charles song, the Leo Sayer one!
That last named, the album’s closer, gets a terrific arrangement with
the horns playing echoing patterns behind gently cascading saxophones,
Presencer’s trumpet dancing over the whole thing. Ms Rigby becomes more
of an Eleanora with a cruising Cuban rhythm helping the song to bowl
along, while Footprints is given the kind of catchy groove, chord
revoicings and section writing that gives the warhorse a new lease of
life. It trots along shaking its mane with pride. Lovely solos from Hans
Ulrik on tenor and Steen Hansen on trombone. And from Gerard, natch.
But what about the originals?
The opener, Another Weirdo, lopes along nicely as a fine
introduction to Presencer’s rich, multi-layering of the horns with his
flugelhorn the solo voice. Blues For Des ups the funkiness and
there are some particularly gleaming trumpet section punches, around a
stylishly powerful tenor solo from Karl-Martin Almqvist and Presencer on
trumpet, with some effective accents from guest Cuban percussionist
Eliel Lazo. Ballad or Tango For The Misunderstood has a gorgeous, woozy
sway about it, sinuous lines and a seductively stepping rhythm section
sequeing seamlessly between tango and samba-swing. Solos are handed like
a baton from Rhodes-player Henrik Gunde, to Presencer and on to Pelle
Friddell on soprano. Devil’s Larder is the rock track, with
Gunde on organ, guitarist Per Gade suitably forceful and the bari lines
cutting through at just the right moments; it’s also a prime example of a
big band piece where there is no need for individual solos. Istanbul Coffee Cup has a touch of the exotic in the form of
a snaking soprano line and a jumpy rhythm, but again the abiding
enjoyment comes from the big, lush, rounded sound that Presencer’s
arrangements give the band.
A lovely album that is both detailed enough to deliver new surprises
over the months and years while also being easy on the ear. Let’s just
hope we don’t have to wait too many years and months for its successor.
1. Another Weirdo 05:40 2. Blues for Des 09:09 3. Ballad or Tango of the Misunderstood 07:10 4. The Devil's Larder 05:13 5. Eleanor Rigby 06:00 6. Istanbul Coffee Cup 05:53 7. Footprints 06:53 8. Can't Stop Loving You 06:41
Gerard Presencer - trumpet Per Gade- guitar Kaspar Vadsholt- bass Søren Frost- drums Henrik Gunde- synths
SAXOPHONES Nicolai Schultz Pelle Fridell Hans Ulrik Jensen Karl-Martin Almqvist Anders Gaardmand
TROMBONE Vincent Nilsson Steen Hansen André Jensen Anders Larson Ola Nordquist
TRUMPETS Adam Rapa Christer Gustafsson Thomas Kjærgaard Jens Chr. Gotholdt Michael Mølhede
Il y a dans ce nouvel album du pianiste allemand la marque d'une grande diversité. Celui qui vit en France et que l'on sait élevé au biberon de la musique dite « classique » et des orgues des grands compositeurs allemands, celui que l'on jurerait élevé à l'école du rigorisme protestant et qui affiche en apparence des airs de gendre idéal s'est plongé avec délice depuis plusieurs années dans un jazz de bad boys parfois bien déjanté notamment aux côtés de Mederic Collignon (Jus de bosc).
Cet album, c'est justement le reflet d'une personnalité musicale aussi riche qu'ambivalente. Entre jazz électrique, musique de chambre et ambiant jazz, Franck Woeste navigue entre l'acoustique et le fender. Il se fait ici moins soliste que formidable arrangeur, directeur artistique et compositeur. A quand Franck Woeste pour Big band !
Des compagnons de route et stars du label passent la porte du studio et viennent en ami prêter main forte. Ibrahim Maaalouf emporte avec lui quelques beaux moments paroxystiques comme sur un "Moving Light" incandescent alors que la chanteuse Youn Sun Nah laisse planer un univers plus mystérieux et mélancolique sur "Star gazer ".
Mais si l'album est superbement arrangé on a parfois l'impression de perdre le pianiste qui dirige plus qu’il ne joue. On en est un peu frustrés. N'empêche, chacune de ses interventions est absolument précieuse et lumineuse. Où fusionnent un certain clacissime et un sens du groove terrible (Terlingua) mais toujours intelliogemment et sans esbrouffe.
Parfois il se fait très americain (on pense à Bill Frisell) sur Pocket Rhapsody avec un Ben Monder étonnant de grâce. Franck Woeste a aussi l'intelligence d'ajouter parfois quelques cordes et de venir au clavier accompagner en surimpression. Franchement classieux ! Et puis c’est tout autre chose lorsque, après une intro apaisée se déclenchent des foudres noires sur un Nouakchott sombre porte par les déchirures d’Ibrahim Maalouf et les bombardements guerriers de guitare presque hendrixiennes de Ben Monder conçu comme une vrai suite.
Aux côtés de Franck Woeste, une impressionnante rythmique avec un Justin Brown qui, depuis que nous l’avions entendu aux côtés d’Ambrose Akinmusire s’avère comme l’un des véritables petits génie de la batterie. Débordant, cet album dit beaucoup. Tout simplement luxuriant! Jean-Marc Gelin
A qui voudra se lancer dans la carrière du jazz, on pourra conseiller de jeter un coup d'oeil à ce Watt's équilibré, gréé de ce qu'il faut de maîtrise autant que de folie, de morceaux de jouissances béates les plus grands publics aux clins d'oeil presque hardcore destinés à un auditoire plus fanatique et restreint. Qui voudra se lancer dans cette carrière pourrait s'inspirer des deux leaders, échappées d'une promo du CNSM qui ne manque pas de talent, et pollinise toujours plus le jazz français, à travers notamment l'Amazing Keystone Big Band où l'on retrouve en sus de Boutellier et Nardin ainsi que David Enhco et Bastien Ballaz, ici invités.
Watt's va surtout piocher, comme tant d'autres albums mais bien mieux que beaucoup, dans l'âge d'or des années 50 et 60, notamment le hard-bop : le pianiste Fred Nardin s'inspire de Tommy Flanagan pour composer « Round Twenty Blues », de Winton Kelly pour un solo enflammé et virtuose qui ne dénote pas avec votre discothèque du meilleur de Blue Note. D'ailleurs, à être juste et circonspect, le pianiste ne cesse d'impressionner, en soliste ou avec la section, par une discrétion générale et élégante officiant comme rampe de lancement vers des fulgurances parfois moins feutrées, toujours justes (« Highlander's Walk », si l'on veut).
L'ensemble du quartet fonctionne cela dit avec une homogénéité de talents et de bonne entente palpable, soulignée par chaque solo de l'un ou de l'autre. La section rythmique offre une ossature à l'exquise fermeté pour l'ensemble de ce Watt's, mâtinée du groove de la basse de Patrick Maradan – parfois aidée par les arpèges et autres block chords de Nardin – ainsi que du swing de Romain Sarron à la batterie.
N.B. : qu'on soit bien clair, Jon Boutellier, c'est très bien aussi, je ne savais simplement pas trop où le caler dans cette chronique.
Les invités – copains, amis, ce qu'on voudra – font des interventions nombreuses mais sachant ne pas se montrer trop invasives ; y compris les deux standards où chante, divine, Cécile McLorin Salvant. Au contraire, ces featuring révèlent plus encore l'art consommé de ce quartet, dans la réalisation aussi bien que dans l'écriture et l'arrangement, ici ciselés avec un perfectionnisme presque inquiétant : « The Gentleman is a dope », avec Bastien Ballaz, David Enhco et Cécile McLorin Salvant, un tube ; plus encore le « Chinoiserie » osé d'Ellington.
En cent mot comme en un, Watt's déchire, dans un jazz presque historique, qui lasse souvent à passer le cap du disque. Rien de tout ça ici, ce quartet diablement fin et libéré parvenant à trouver le fil rouge d'une musicalité généreuse, touche-à-tout, parfois inconvenante, le plus souvent bienvenue. Pierre Tenne
Why don’t we hear about jazz pianist and composer Renee Rosnes more? She’s just as good, if not better, than most of her male counterparts. Her February 5, 2016 album,Written In The Rocks, on Smoke Sessions Records puts her up there as one of the most in-flux, fluid, fantastic artists around.
Everything on this new record seems to rush at you, in a hurry, with some urgency, but rounded out with a fleshy magic. Her quartet is scheduled to debut Written In The Rocks at a CD release celebration February 5-7 of next year in three sets at New York City’s Smoke Jazz & Supper Club.
This is no ordinary release, built on the whims and aspirations of a jazz artist in flux. The Canadian expat found inspiration in nature, building seven of the nine compositions to “The Galapagos Suite.”
Nature has always played a major role in Rosnes’ life growing up in beautiful British Columbia. “The infinite blue-green hues of coastal British Columbia are in my blood,” she explained in a recent DL Media press release. “My family's home sat at the bottom of a street that opened up into a deep ravine, and a half-hour's drive from there, the city lights were dim enough to offer an astonishing view of the night sky. Salty air, the smell of seaweed, the relentless pounding of waves, and the agreeable aroma of cedar — all of these provide me with spiritual nourishment and inspiration. To compose music about our planet's evolution was a stimulating concept and one brimming with possibilities.”
With Rosnes on this natural journey are her bandmates: Steve Wilson (sax, flute), Steve Nelson (vibes), Peter Washington (bass), and Bill Stewart (drums). “All of us have personal and musical relationships that have been growing for decades,” Rosnes continued. “As a band, we've developed a focused sound with a wide and nuanced palette of colors and rhythms. We play off of each other.”
Her bandmates play no small role on her album. That’s Nelson’s vibes all over the place on “Lucy From Afar,” touching on the intriguing discovery of humankind’s ancestor amongst the ruins of civilization. In the opening, “The KT Boundary,” her entire band joins in, notably drummer Stewart with Wilson on flute and soprano sax. Together, they posit the possibilities of new life from the end of the dinosaurs in a kind of mass, avant-garde hysteria that never quite takes leave of its senses.
On the title track, Nelson’s vibes gently make way for Rosnes, as she displays the kind of tranquil feminine touch missing in a lot of the slam, bang macho posturing found amongst the Millennial boys’ club nowadays. Yet, there’s the still life of a Bill Evans, a man who knew how to tap into his softer side for a melodic drowning, the fervor of the dying’s last wish. She contemplates the wonder, the history, the secrets beneath those age-old rocks, gently tapping at the grains of arctic sands, every note a forestry, a surging series of waves.
Outside “The Galapagos Suite,” Renee Rosnes and her band find common ground in the solid, straight-ahead jazz contemplation, “From Here To A Star,” and the hopefully nostalgic “Goodbye Mumbai.”
1. The KT Boundary 2. Galapagos 3. So Simple a Beginning 4. Lucy from Afar 5. Written in the Rocks 6. Deep in the Blue (Tiktaalik) 7. Cambrian Explosion 8. From Here to a Star 9. Goodbye Mumbai
Renee Rosnes - piano Steve Wilson - saxophone & flute Steve Nelson - vibraphone Peter Washington - double bass Bill Stewart - drums
Many know New York City as the Mecca of jazz. Very few recall the
illustrious players hailing from just across the Hudson in New Jersey.
Many of the greatest jazz names hailed from the Garden State, including
Wayne Shorter, Count Basie, James Moody and trumpeter Woody Shaw. It is
to correct this oversight that the fantastic trumpeter Freddie Hendrix
presents his new recording Jersey Cat, a wide ranging collection that
represents the unique swagger and groove of the Jersey jazz musician.
Growing up in Teaneck, Hendrix was originally attracted to music by the
way of doo-wop and R&B, most notably that of local legends, the
Isley Brothers. His initial foray into playing was on the guitar, a
struggle that led him to trumpet and junior high band. It was under the
tutelage of teachers like Dave Brown, Dave Rogers, Robert Hankle and his
church organist Dr. Maredia Warren that Hendrix’s love of jazz
blossomed. A failed audition for a Teaneck area big band led to a
renewed commitment to his studies, which finally led to Bachelor’s and
Master’s degrees in Music Performance and, ultimately, to performing for
two United States Presidents.
Out of school, Hendrix hit the ground running, playing with pop groups
and jazz luminaries, including Christian McBride, Alicia Keys, Jimmy
Heath and Wynton Marsalis. It was his work with the Count Basie
Orchestra and Teaneck resident Rufus Reid that led to his first forays
outside of the States, influencing much of his writing for Jersey Cat.
But it was his relationships in his home state that really made the
recording possible.
The members of the ensemble that Hendrix assembled were friends and
regulars at drummer Cecil Brooks III’s beloved, but now closed, Cecil’s
Jazz Club, in West Orange. Brooks not only plays on Jersey Cat , but
also produced the recording. The rest of the cast includes all former or
current New Jersey residents, including saxophonists Bruce Williams and
Abraham Burton and pianist Brandon McCune, along with Manhattan
resident trombonist David Gibson and the lone Brooklynite, bassist
Corcoran Holt. The ensemble is talented and flexible, as Hendrix
provides compositions for amalgamations of all sizes, including a octet
that allowed him to use his arranging and part writing skills in an Art
Blakey Jazz Messenger vein.
For the album, Hendrix wanted to provide a mix of original compositions
and standard pieces that represented the strongest material in his book.
He also wanted to make sure to represent the spirit of New Jersey, a
more relaxed vibe that can jump off at any moment. The way he did this
was to incorporate influences outside of jazz, namely R&B and
hip-hop, into his music, creating music that grooves but also swings and
is simultaneously current and retro.
The recording begins with Tex Allen’s snappy “St. Peter’s Walk,” which
Hendrix first heard on Louis Hayes’s The Real Thing with his hero Woody
Shaw, whose playing Hendrix lives up to. The trumpeter’s tone is
exquisite on the subdued quartet take on the classic “You Don’t Know
What Love Is,” while his travel inspired “The Journey Man” is a powerful
Latin based blues with great group interplay. The title track is
another original that features a laid-back tone and soulful melody, but
with moments of flair. Hendrix’s “On The Rise” takes inspiration from
Darren Barrett’s “First One Up,” but holds up on its own as an exciting
medium fast post bop gem.
The romantic “Madeira Nights” is an early piece inspired by Hendrix’s
initial trip to Portugal. The trumpeter pays tribute to another hero as
he performs Freddie Hubbard’s “Hubtones” in a unique arrangement with a
distinctive hip-hop influenced bounce. Hendrix’s take on the standard
“Invitation” is inspired by the sound of the Ahmad Jamal trio’s Live at
the Pershing session, but expanded to octet. The melody of “Whims of a
Waltz” appeared fully formed in Hendrix’s mind on a moment’s notice when
a blast of wind hit his face, while Horace Silver’s “Peace” has
occupied a place in the trumpeter’s favorite ballad pieces for as long
as he can remember.
On Jersey Cat, Freddie Hendrix provides a powerful program of original
tunes and choice covers that cement his playing as not only some of the
best in New Jersey, but also in the jazz world as a whole.
1. St. Peter's Walk 05:06 2. You Don't Know What Love Is 3. The Journey Man 4. Jersey Cat 06:24 5. On The Rise 6. Madeira Nights 7. Hubtones 8. Invitation 9. Whims Of A Waltz 10.Peace 05:50 11.JC Reprise
Freddie Hendrix - trumpet & flugelhorn Bruce Williams - alto saxophone & flute Abraham Burton - tenor saxophone David Gibson - trombone Brandon McCune - piano Corcoran Holt - bass Cecil Brooks III - drums
Only very special collaborations last 30 years, and rarely do they become more exciting and together over the decades. Trio da Paz, however, is one such long-lasting and still lightning band. The team of drummer Eduardo "Duduka" Da Fonseca, guitarist Romero Lubambo and bassist Nilson Matta, all Brasilian jazzmen of New York City, is just as dashing today as when the three first met in 1985.
So 30, their seventh album and ZOHO debut release, wastes no time glancing back. Rather, Trio da Paz celebrates the past as a way to get to what's now and what's next. This is not to imply that the band or 30 denies history. As friends, Duduka, Romero and Nilson are utterly secure in their enduring triangle, and as musicians they tap well-established elements of bedrock Brasilian samba and bossa nova -- the music of Jobim, Gilberto and Bonfá -- as well as bebop and its developments, Wes Montgomery, third stream and even free improvisation for ingredients of their signature sound. Romero's urban gypsy melodies and percussive chording, Nilson's firm yet flexible baselines and Duduka's rhythms -- which, whether surging or simmering, are always energized -- flow fast and inseparably over the course of 30.
Sampa 67 is characteristic: A brisk tune that welcomes the listener to enjoy the musicians' empathic interplay. The composition is slangily named for São Paulo, where Nilson, its composer, was born, and his rubato statement is at the track's center. Hear how Romero and Duduka, in stimulating exchanges, ramp the tempo back up to where it started.
In a similar mood and moving quickly, For Donato is Romero's tribute to bandleader and pianist Joao Donato, a Brazilian master who absorbed Caribbean accents during his stints with Mongo Santamaria, Cal Tjader and Tito Puente, among others, when he lived in the United States during the late '50s and '60s. The tune uses an afoxé rhythm that comes from Bahia, and is closely related to an Afro-Cuban groove.
The pace slows somewhat – Duduka using brushes instead of sticks - for Romero's bossa nova Outono ("Autumn"). Says the guitarist-composer: "With its changing of colors and cooler days after the summer, autumn is really a season for romantic music." And this is really music for romance. Alana is Duduka's piece for his older daughter, now an adult. Her father says Alana's personality is reflected in the song, which changes meter from 15/8 to 6/8 to a doubletimed 4/4 for the bass solo to Duduka's own episode in 15/8. So may we assume Alana is a sparkling and strong woman whose many dimensions fit together gracefully? Complementary yet contrasting, Luisa is for Romero's daughter, currently 17. The guitarist calls her "a beautiful person inside and out, who I love very much!" Although written in ¾, "Luisa" is not phrased as a jazz waltz but instead sways in a way that Duduka identifies as a waltz with a Brasilian lilt. Brasilian guitar virtuoso Baden Powell (1937 – 2000), obviously a hero to Romero, Nilson and Duduka as an early exemplar of the pan-stylistic approach Trio da Samba favors, wrote Samba Triste which at a breakneck tempo doesn't seem triste at all. Nilson's Águas Brasileiras refers to the Atlantic ocean, which has exerted implacable influence on the Trio's native land. A ballad, the song moves in soft waves; the trio's improvisation opens up the theme's depths and crosscurrents. Nilson recorded this previously, on his 2010 ZOHO album Copacabana.
Sweeping the Chimney, which Duduka calls "fast, really fast," was inspired by workers attending to Romero's house in New Jersey. "Luisa was three years old when I wrote that," the guitarist mentions, "and she helped me decide some of the notes." Duduka contributed Flying Over Rio, the melody of which came to him in an airplane taking off over Guanabara Bay, giving him a view of the mountains around Rio and Sugar Loaf, their peak. "Wow, it was gorgeous," he remembers – also remembering to credit Paulo Jobim (Tom Jobim's son) with suggesting to him one perfect note that launched the bridge "in a completely different direction."
To conclude, Nilson's LVM/Direto Ao Assunto (the initials of his wife and sons/"to the point") goes in a flash from subtle reflection to searing line. Both of these songs have been recorded before by Duduka and Nilson with pianist Helio Alves: "Flying over Rio" in 2008 on The Brazilian Trio's ZOHO release "Forests", and "LVM/Direto ao Assunto" on that group's album "Constelacao". Nilson introduced the song on the late pianist Don Pullen's album Kele Mou Bana, released in 1991.
That was just one year before Trio da Paz's own recording debut, Brasil from the Inside. Annotating that album, I wrote, "If North Americans hadn't invented jazz, surely Brasilians such as guitarist Romero Lubambo, bassist Nilson Matta and percussionist Duduka Da Fonseca would have." In fact, the members of Trio da Paz have invented jazz that's personally and musically unique. Their music is cool and hot, rooted in Brasilian heritage but cosmopolitan, timely and timeless.
"After 30 years together, we still bring the same energy, emotion and happiness whether we're stepping onstage or into a recording session," says Nilson. "That's the secret to Trio da Paz, what captivates our fans and why we keep making new ones all over the world." Romero agrees: "To play as Trio da Paz is a unique experience because the music always transcends notes, chords, tempos and anything written on sheet music. Naturally, because we've been playing together for 30 years, we know each other so well that we don't need to explain anything. These are qualities that are impossible to teach or articulate in words. They come from the hearts, souls and feelings that we have as individuals and as a group." Duduka adds simply, "When we play, we're very organic and spontaneous. Even to songs we perform often, we like to take a fresh approach. Sometimes one of us does something a little different, and we all realize it's better, so we stick with that. It's like a democracy. We all have ideas and try to do our best." The best of Trio da Paz is very fine. And though journalists used to use "-30-" to indicate the end of a story, 30 whets the appetite for more from a band in its prime. Howard Mandel
1 - SAMPA 67 5:16 2 - FOR DONATO 5:46 3 - OUTONO 4:18 4 - ALANA 5:02 5 - LUISA 3:33 6 - SAMBA TRISTE 4:06 7 - ÁGUAS BRASILEIRAS 4:47 8 - SWEEPING THE CHIMNEY 4:06 9 - FLYING OVER RIO 3:31 10- LVM/DIRETO AO ASSUNTO 5:24
Romero Lubambo - Acoustic & Electric Guitars Nilson Matta - Acoustic Bass Duduka Da Fonseca - Drums
Aly Keïta is one of the grand masters of the balafon, the West African xylophone. The Ivorian musician fits the balafon in interaction with artists such as Joe Zawinul, Omar Sosa and Jan Garbarek. Together with the Swiss clarinetist Jan Galega Brönnimann and Swiss drummer Lucas Niggli Keïta mixes the traditional African repertoire with Western jazz, Improvisation and African rhythms. This "Brotherhood of vibes and grooves" takes the audience on an adventurous ride. The first element that underlies “Kalo-Yele” (“moonlight” in Bambara) is a human and affective dimension, whose origin lies many miles from Switzerland and several decades before the three musicians entered the studio. Niggli and Jan Galega Brönnimann were actually born in Cameroon and they have been friends since they were… one year old! So, they spent their youth to the sounds and rhythms of West African music. Thierry Quénum writes in the liner notes: "If you ever wanted to try and classify the repertoire and interaction of these three musicians, I’d just have to wish you good luck! For each of them can handle the melody as well as the rhythm, or sail close to the jazz coasts as easily as near the banks of so called “world music”.
Aly Keïta: Balafon, Kalimba
Jan Galega Brönnimann: Bass Clarinet, Contrabass Clarinet, Soprano Saxophone
Pianist Myra Melford and clarinetist Ben Goldberg have an association that goes back a ways, and they’ve worked together in various groups and various projects, most recently for Goldberg’s recent grand opus, The Orphic Machine. Since 2008, they’ve also partnered as a duo and that’s finally led to a set of recordings with only the two performing.
Dialogue is a true meeting of the minds between musicians who value a lovely strain and places just as much value to go anywhere with it. Over thirteen radio-friendly length performances (if not exactly radio friendly commercial-wise, anyway) Melford and Goldberg each contribute originals that emphasize their remarkable telepathy. The unencumbered tête–à–tête between piano and clarinet calls to mind the one Art Pepper did with George Cables at the end of Pepper’s life but Dialogue is freer and looser. Nonetheless, it’s got the same personal feeling.
It’s so intimate, you can clearly hear Goldberg pressing the keys of his clarinet. From the start with the first song “An Unexpected Visitor,” we hear them sync telepathically, sometimes moving together and other times interacting sympathetically with other. And when the melody takes a turn — which can happen at any time — they turn with it intuitively and gracefully.
There are echoes of the jazz tradition such as the swing found in “9 + 5” and the show tune sensibilities of “Anymore”. However, these songs, eight from Melford and five from Goldberg, are for the most part not explicitly jazz; they seem conceived to facilitate open and probing conversations. Occasionally flowing in and out of dissonance with Melford even breaking out some Cecil Taylor a few times, but the two always perform with purpose, emotion and unity.
Dialogue went on sale January 15, 2016 through BAG Production Records. Look for upcoming live shows by Myra and Ben.
Orphic Machine is an ambitious project from clarinetist/composer/bandleader Ben Goldberg, which is arguably a way you could describe any Goldberg project, but he reaches both further out and further back to find his chief motivation this time. Instead of taking his primary cues from a music beacon like Steve Lacy, Thelonious Monk, or even Bob Dylan and Sebastian Bach, Goldberg found inspiration from an old college professor back at Brandeis University in the late ’70’s.
Back then, poet Allen Grossman taught a course on “The Representation of Experience” which introduced Goldberg to the idea of thinking about things unconventionally. Those ideas planted seeds in the young Goldberg that never left him, but also became more poignant during a recent period of deeper reflection. That’s when he decided to revisit Grossman from both his personal recollections and Grossman’s book of maxims The Sighted Singer: Two Works on Poetry for Readers and Writers — a sort of poetry about the role of poetry in mankind — to craft a set of music around these powerful precepts.
Since this is an album built around philosophical poetry and Goldberg is an instrumentalist, it presented a special challenge to Grossman’s former student; though one he’s not unaccustomed to facing. It’s the way he met the challenge that makes Orphic Machine (on sale from BAG Production Records/Royal Potato Family) succeed as a musical tribute to the ideas he encountered over thirty-five years ago. First, he needed Grossman’s verses to be recited in such a way that the words and the melodies blend into a seamless single being. Enter violinist Carla Kihlstedt, whose breathy, lithe delivery brings to life the words, singing them as if it were another instrument.
For this endeavor, in fact, there are an assemblage of exceptional musicians but knowing Goldberg’s career, he clearly picked them because his deep familiarity with them and trust in them, another key ingredient that makes this abstract idea convert into concrete results. Joining Goldberg’s clarinet and Kihlstedt’s violin and vocals are Ron Miles (trumpet), Rob Sudduth (tenor sax), Myra Melford (piano), Nels Cline (electric guitars), Kenny Wollesen (vibes), Greg Cohen (bass) and Ches Smith (drums). Goldberg knows exactly how to deploy all this talent at his disposal, where everyone gets solos but it never feels like they are the variety; it’s all part of the overall fabric of the music. Often more prominent is how, in using jazz and classical music arrangement techniques, they work together to form the complex character of each of Goldberg’s compositions, each of which slices across musical boundaries in forming mini-suites on every track.
Take, for instance, “Immortality,” beginning with Cohen’s ruminative bass figures, segueing into a soft march to match Kihlstedt’s floating recitals, and a chamber sequence sandwiched a rock shuffle that thanks to Cline’s rhythm guitar sounds not too unlike the Rolling Stone’s “Beast of Burden.” Gradually, a dominant note emerges, seemingly from Wollesen’s vibes and gets increasingly insistent as one by one everybody joins in playing it to bring the song to a rousing conclusion.
For most albums, that would be the apogee, but several other tracks are just as aspiring. “Reading” is launched by just a handful of sung poetry, followed by Cohen’s own interpretation of the phrases on bass, and some crafty layering of clarinet, sax, trumpet and violin and vibraphone followed by a swinging solo turn by Melford. The other players return with the meticulously weaved score, a perfect balance of jazz and avant chamber music. Cline’s menacing guitar lurks just behind the front line, embedding yet another element into an eclectic mixture. “Care,” at least as it begins, is a pretty folk strain which suits Kihlstedt’s voice rather well. A syncopated motif led by Smith’s pliant rhythms makes up a key part of an arrangement perfectly fit the elegant, sophisticated melody that unfolds. That would be plenty good enough for this performance but Cline breaks out with some stinging blues phraseology just as Kihlstedt completes her final stanza.
The whole package of these ten tunes culminates into the title song. After a delicate piano intro by Melford, Kihlstedt’s airy voice suddenly appears out of nowhere, repeating the line “The Orphic Machine is the poem: a severed head with face turned away that sings,” which may appear weird in print but the ingenuity lies in Goldberg fashioning music around these and other Grossman aphorisms in such a way that they don’t sound weird at all…and even makes perfect sense sometimes put in this context. The song proceeds in a quiet, almost chamber music manner until Cline’s signature Nordic rage takes over more than nine minutes in, leading a circular figure that recalls (but does not mimic) the extended coda of the Beatles’ “I Want You (She’s So Heavy).” It puts a raucous exclamation point on the album, a release that seemed to be building up and lurking for the entire project. And yet, totally unexpected.
Allen Grossman, by the way, passed away just last year. Orphic Machine is a testament to the immortality of forward-thinking ideas that keep the soul of its originator alive after the body has passed. It’s also testament that a part of Grossman remains alive in Goldberg, who has sublimely assimilated so many disparate influences, and is able to distill them into a product he projects through his own, kaleidoscopic lens.
