Monday, June 6, 2016

I.P.A. - I Just Did Say Something (2016) CUNEIFORM RECORDS



present



Powerhouse Scandinavian Quintet I.P.A. Explores
the Jagged Contours of Form and Freedom on its Cuneiform Debut,
I Just Did Say Something


Maybe it’s the region’s boundless but stark natural beauty or its internationally envied social order, but whatever the cause Scandinavia has nurtured a particularly vivid jazz scene marked by a tantalizing balance of form and freedom. Over the past decade the quintet I.P.A. has come to embody the best of this volatile sensibility, which makes sense as the band draws its players from definitive Nordic ensembles such as Atomic, Motif, Ensemble Denada, Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, and The Thing. I Just Did Say Something is I.P.A.’s fourth release and its first recording on the USA-based label Cuneiform. The quintet’s most exhilarating statement yet, it’s the work of a band fully alive to its own power, while eagerly investigating new directions.

Featuring Oslo-based Atle Nymo on tenor saxophone and bass clarinet, Norwegian-born, Austin, Texas-based bassist Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, Trondheim drummer Håkon Mjåset Johansen, and Stockholm’s Magnus Broo on trumpet and Mattias Ståhl on vibraphone, I.P.A. is strongly influenced by the seminal 1960s work of Don Cherry and Ornette Coleman. Harmonically unfettered, rhythmically unpredictable, and melodically unvarnished, the quintet thrives on live-wire interaction, with rapidly intersecting lines that swoop and collide, disentangle and divide.


“We have melodies, but not really structured melodies,” says Nymo, one of the band’s primary composers. “We’re definitely influenced by Don Cherry. I see us as part of this Scandinavian jazz scene, but we’re open to influences from all over.”

I Just Did Say Something kicks off in high gear with Nymo’s “Kort Hilsen,” an exploration of cellular improvisation flowing from three brief phrases that expand, constrict, and blend through the course of the steeplechase (the title is Norwegian for “brief hello”).

From the frantic to the sublime, Nymo’s arrangement of the traditional Balinese theme “Sayembara” explores the metallophone qualities of the vibes, connecting a distinctly Ornettish approach to phrasing with the cadences of gamelan. It’s an ingenious piece that sounds unlike anything else on the contemporary scene. Nymo concludes his winning, opening trifecta with the woozy ballad “Naked Ø,” a hymn-like summons inspired sonically and conceptually by Swedish ethnomusicologist, drummer, and composer Bengt Berger classic 1981 ECM recording Bitter Funeral Beer (featuring Don Cherry’s pocket trumpet).


The album takes an Ellingtonian turn with Ståhl’s “Majken,” a playful melody introduced and concluded by Broo’s Cootie Williamseque solo trumpet. Propelled by Johansen’s dancing brush work, Ståhl delivers a shimmering passage that eventually coaxes the saxophones into the fray. Ståhl’s bouncy five-note theme “Slakt Sving” takes the quintet in a different direction. A loose and limber tune that waxes and wanes in density, it inspires a searching tenor solo by Nymo.

Broo also contributes two incisive tunes to the proceedings, with the mood-shifting, Caribbean-inflected “Sir William” and the elegant “Barbro Violet,” a spacious arrangement that keys on the transparent textures of the brushes, vibes and bass. 

The album closes with Flaten’s joyous title track, a piece that captures much of what makes I.P.A.’s music irresistible. Deceptively simple at the start, the tune’s celebratory feel gradually takes on a frenzied air, like a party in the wee hours when restraint no longer holds.

In the end, no one is hurt and nothing is broken, but the intimations of danger and freedom leave you eager for the next celebration.

I.P.A.’s origins go back to 2007 when Nymo, Flaten and Johansen released their electrifying interpretation of Don Cherry’s classic1966 Blue Note album Complete Communion on the Norwegian label Bolage. When Broo joined forces with the triumvirate the following year, I.P.A. was born. The quartet introduced itself on Bolage with two critically hailed albums, 2009’s Lorena and 2011’s

It’s A Delicate Thing. By 2014’s Bubble, which came out on the top-shelf Swedish indie Moserobie, vibes master Mattias Ståhl had expanded the band to a quintet and All About Jazz proclaimed the ensemble “one of the best kept secrets in the fertile Nordic musical scenery.”


“Adding Mattias really opens up the possibilities,” Nymo says. “He’s a fantastic player, and helped us expand the colors and how we interact within the band.”

Born in Valnesfjord near Fauske, Norway, Atle Nymo has been a standout on the Norwegian jazz scene since the turn of the century.

In 2001 he earned the Young Nordic Jazz Comet award with the band Motif, and went on to collaborate with artists such as John Taylor, Palle Danielsson, Bugge Wesseltoft, Chick Corea and Pat Metheny. In addition to I.P.A., he works in bands like Motif, Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, and Ensemble Denada, which earned the 2010 ECHO Deutscher Musikpreis Jazz Award for big band album of the year.

The senior member of the band, Magnus Broo was born in Småland, Sweden, and was already a well-established international figure when he joined I.P.A. A graduate of North Texas State University, he first gained widespread notice in the band Atomic. 

He’s released a series of acclaimed quartet sessions under his own name, while also recording widely with Swedish guitarist Fredrik Nordström and Chicago saxophonist Ken Vandermark.


Hailing from Oppdal, Norway, Ingebrigt Håker Flaten spent his formative years in the mid ‘90s studying at Trondheim Music Conservatory. Before the end of the decade he had performed widely with The Source, the Maria Kannegaard Trio, the Paul Bleyinspired trio Close Erase, and the Coltrane-inspired quartet Element. 

Settled in Oslo by 1996, he became one of the busiest bassists on the scene, performing and recording prolifically with Petter Wettre in The Trio, Jazzmob, Bugge Wesseltoft's Sharing, School Days, The Scorch Trio (with Raoul Björkenheim and Paal Nilssen-Love), and The Thing (a trio with Nilssen-Love and Mats Gustafsson). Before joining I.P.A. he had worked extensively with Broo in the all-star band Atomic. Since moving to Austin, Texas in 2009, Flaten has honed an expanding network of improvisers, relationships manifested in his band, The Young Mothers, with drummers Stefan Gonzalez and Frank Rosaly, trumpeter/poet/rapper Jawaad Taylor, saxophonist Jason Jackson, and guitarist Jonathan Horne.


Drummer Håkon Mjåset Johansen was born and raised in Trondheim, Norway, where he gained early attention playing with the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra featuring Chick Corea at Moldejazz in 2000. He’s earned a series of awards and distinctions, including the coveted Kongsberg Jazz Award in 2013. As essential member of several high profile ensembles, he’s toured and recorded with Come Shine, Urban Connection, Svein Olav Herstad Trio, Excess Luggage, Maryland, and most visibly, Motif.

The band’s latest addition, vibraphonist Mattias Ståhl, was born in Oskarshamn, Sweden and lives in Stockholm. His quartet Ståhls Blå released two critically hailed albums featuring his original compositions, earning Ståhl the Swedish Radio Award 2002 as newcomer of the year. A busy sideman, he’s performed and recorded with the award-winning Fredrik Nordström Quintet, Klaus
Holm Kollektif, Emil Svanängen (aka Loney Dear), Cecilia Persson Quintet, Martin Küchen’s Angles, and legendary bassist/composer Georg Riedel.

While all committed to an array of bands and projects, the five musicians in I.P.A. have found kindred exploratory spirits in the band.

With I Just Did Say Something the combo has staked a larger claim, coming close to capturing the full creative breadth of this all-star ensemble.

“We really cover a lot of ground,” Nymo says. 

“That’s something we realized while making this record. This is what we sound like now, but we’re already off in new directions.”


For more information on I.P.A.:

STREAM/SHARE: "Sir William"




Cat. #: Rune 422, Format: CD / Digital Download
Genre: Jazz
Release Date: June 24, 2016

I Just Did Say Something Track Listing:

1. Kort Hilsen (6:21)
2. Sayembara (8:11)
3. Naked Ø (5:19)
4. Majken (6:03)
5. Globus (6:18)
6. Sir William (5:46)
7. Barbro Violet (6:33)
8. Slakt Sving (5:02)
9. I Just Did Say Something (4:24)

I.P.A.:

Atle Nymo - tenor saxophone
Magnus Broo - trumpet
Mattias Ståhl - vibraphone
Ingebrigt Håker Flaten - bass
Håkon Mjåset Johansen - drums

Recorded by Stein Bratland at Skansen Lydstudio, Trondheim, Norway, July 5–6, 2015.
Mixed by Chico Jones and Ingebrigt Håker Flaten at Ohm Recording Facility, Austin, Texas, August 2015.
Mastered by Morgan Nicolaysen at Propeller Studio, Oslo, Norway, September  2015.
Photographs by Heiko Punhagen.
Art and design by Max Franosch.

This recording is supported by Arts Council Norway.


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Rempis / Abrams / Ra + Baker - Perihelion (2016) AEROPHONIC RECORDS


This sophomore release by the working trio of Dave Rempis, Joshua Abrams, and Avreeayl Ra shows a band doubling down on the slow, patient approach to improvising that characterized their first release, 2014’s Aphelion. The trio continues to pulsate, expanding ever outwards, yet returning to a central core each time to launch their next adventure. The live sets presented on this new two-disc set document that musical expansion and contraction within the trio, but also take things a step further as the band adds enigmatic keyboardist Jim Baker to the fold as a special guest for disc two. Baker’s a logical choice to meet up with these three; his own trio with Abrams and Ra, although a sporadic grouping, dates back to the early aught’s, and he’s worked with both in countless other contexts across many years. Similarly, a multitude of collaborations between he and Rempis date back to the late 1990’s. On Perihelion, these two overlapping circles spiral seamlessly into focus to demonstrate the gravitational strength of a central core built by decades of shared history.

1. Enceladus 43:09
2. Cassini Division 32:10
3. Pan and Daphnis 08:22

Dave Rempis – alto/tenor/baritone saxophone 
Joshua Abrams – bass/clarinet 
Avreeayl Ra – drums/wooden flute 

+ Jim Baker – keyboard/electronics (disc two)

DISC ONE - Recorded August 27th, 2015 at Elastic Arts in Chicago 

1) Enceladus 43:09 

DISC TWO - Recorded January 3rd, 2016 at The Owl in Chicago 

1) Cassini Division 32:10 
2) Pan and Daphnis 08:22 

Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Dave Zuchowski 

Design by Johnathan Crawford 
Produced by Dave Rempis 

Special thanks to Paul Giallorenzo and Elastic Arts, and to Aaron Dexter and The Owl

Releases June 21, 2016

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DEMY

Bovet-Coleman Trio - It's Time to Go (2016)


Source & Label:http://www.unitrecords.com/page.php?pid=1000&fid=4797&lx=en
Genre: Modern Creative / Post-bop
GAB's Rating: ★★★★★


Over the last years, Cedric Bovet composed several nice jazz pieces. Cedric and his brother Lucien expressed a common wish to have them recorded someday, the challenge being to find a bass-player able to upgrade them in a trio formula. Ira Coleman gently accepted to join us for a recording session and a few concerts. Ira, a fantastic and creative bass-player who played with famous musicians as Herbie-Hancock, Tony Williams, Freddy Hubbard and Betty Carter during his career accepted the challenge to play Cedric’s music with us. After rehearsing some Cedric’s compositions it clearly appeared that some of them required a richer musical background to fully express their substance. We therefore asked our great friend and impressive trombonist Samuel Blaser and the young talented pianist Mathieu Scheuber to be part of the recording session for some pieces. Finally the alchemy between us turned out to be so effective that we recorded enough music for two CD’s, one in trio and the second in a quartet or quintet package. We hope that our musical and human experience will touch you as much as it filled us with positive sensations, peace and love.

 
 CD 1:
01. Lacustre 30:30
02. Serenade for a Black Moo04:19
03. Sangsue amoureuse 03:20
04. It's Time to Go 04:13
05. Esquisse 05:10
06. Senza Piu 05:42
07. Sans facon 03:34
08. Hongroiserie 05:51
09. Serenade for a Black Moon (2nd Version) 04:22




CD 2:
01. Etat de Choses 04:38
02. Point of No Return 03:25
03. Pierre avoi 04:02
04. Nardis 03:33
05. Jungle Blue 04:16
06. Pas sans monk 04:33
07. Few Miles Away 03:59
08. Etat De Choses (Live) 12:43
 

Cedric Bovet: tenor and soprano saxophones
Ira Coleman: acoustic bass
Lucien Bovet: drums
Samuel Blaser: trombone
Mathieu Scheuber: electric piano  


BUY IT @

https://itunes.apple.com/ch/album/its-time-to-go/id1102946112

Sam Crowe - Towards The Centre Of Everything (2013)


Label:
Source: The Guardian
Genre: Modern Creative
GAB's Rating: ★★★★☆


On this successor to his 2010 album, Synaesthesia, pianist Sam Crowe has added some New York muscle to his lineup – with Kairos 4tet's Adam Waldmann and Oxford guitarist Will Davies joined on sax by US-resident Brit Will Vinson, genre-crunching downtown drummer Mark Guiliana and bassist Alan Hampton. It's a set of robust originals in which Crowe writes impressively for the sax/guitar voicings that made Synaesthesia stand out, and his tunes are lifted here by the extra firepower. The backbeat-driven title track features Vinson's soulful alto and Davies's shapely reflections; the chiming, floaty Gaia engages Crowe and Hampton in an elegant dance; and Guiliana's hip-hop precision marshals the riff-melody of The Global Brain. Occasionally the plethora of clever sounds seem like a throng of characters in search of stories, but Crowe is a maturing compositional force and his A-list players rise to his challenges.


1. Towards The Centre Of Everything 08:57
2. Gaia 06:39
3. 64 (Interlude) 05:27
4. Back Into The Earth 07:24
5. The Global Brain 09:03
6. Lydia 05:45
7. Bad Science 06:57
8. The Arrow Of Time 07:17
9. Circles 06:41
10.64 Part II (Ending) 06:48
    

Sam Crowe: Grand Piano/Fender Rhodes
Will Vinson: Alto Saxophone
Adam Waldmann: Soprano Saxophone
Will Davies: Electric Guitar
Alan Hampton: Bass
Mark Guiliana: Drums 


BUY IT @

http://www.whirlwindrecordings.com/towards-the-center-of-everything/




https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/towards-centre-everything/id710499429