Republic of Jazz: Nov 26, 2016

Saturday, November 26, 2016

Dimitri Howald Trio - Three Flamingos (UNIT RECORDS 2016)

Zwischen Farben.

Was hier drei Künstler

Töne mischen,

die Arme ausgestreckt nach der alten Wärme

und gleich nach den neuen Brüchen

(wo sich keiner hervortut, tut sie keiner hervor)

ist leise konsequent ist seltenschön.

Wie ein Magnet ziehen die Stücke den Zuhörer an oder lassen ihn zwischen den Farben stehen. Die drei jungen Musiker kreieren einen intimen Klang, der leise und verspielt, aber auch laut und ausgelassen daher kommen kann. In verträumter Atmosphäre wechseln sich melodiöse Themen und Ostinati ab mit interaktiven Improvisationen.

1. Nosila 4:23

2. Steaming Street 5:55

3. Three Flamingos 4:08

4. Feather 5:25

5. Green Eyes 6:38

6. Backlight 4:52

7. Falling Grace 5:24

8. Schlaufe 6:08

Dimitri Howald – guitar

Valentin von Fischer – double bass

Philipp Leibundgut – drums

All compositions by Dimitri Howald except Nr. by Steve Swallow

Recorded at Papiermuhle-Studio, Bern

Recording Date: 25. & 26.01.16

Studio engineer and mastering by Chris Diggelmann

Special Thanks to Valentin and Philipp, Patrice Moret, Chris Diggelmann, Harald and Lukas, Kim and Moe, all my friends and family.

TOUR 2017

Konzertdaten:

Rotbart, Berlin DE 02.01.2017

Kulturfabrik Schlot, Berlin DE 03.01.2017

Donau 115, Berlin DE 07.01.2017

Schon Schön, Mainz DE 09.01.2017

Jazzclub Tübingen DE 11.01.2017

Werkhof 102, Bern CH 12.01.2017

Zoobar, Bern CH 14.01.2017

Illegal Crowns - Illegal Crowns (ROGUEART 2016)

We treasure the long-time collaborators who share the same commitment to the creative journey, and we thrill at meeting new partners who converse with the same hybridized and willfully corrupted musical vocabulary. A cooperative project like Illegal Crowns celebrates all of the above.

Illegal Crowns: a group both old and new, music accessible and experimental, a name revolutionary and royal. Four individuals and one ensemble, in the kind of harmony that needs no resolution. Taylor Ho Bynum, excerpt from the liner notes

01. Colle & Acrylique 6:21

02. Thoby’s Sister 6:29

03. Illegal Crown 9:03

04. Holograms 4:09

05. Solar Mail 7:18

06. Wry Tulips 14:44

Mary Halvorson: guitar

Tomas Fujiwara: drums

Benoît Delbecq: piano, prepared piano

Taylor Ho Bynum: cornet, flugelhorn

Frankfurt Exploration - Blue Clouds (UNIT RECORDS 2016)

Frankfurt hat eine lange und wichtige Tradition als Jazzstadt. Die Brüder Mangelsdorff sowie der Veranstalter Horst Lippmann waren wichtige, prägende Personen der Szene. Die Verbindung von Musikern höchster Qualität mit Personen deren Stärken in den Bereichen Medien und Veranstaltungen lagen, hat Frankfurt diesen Status in Sachen Jazz ermöglicht.

Der Kreis um Albert Mangelsdorff hat sich in den Fünfziger Jahren etabliert und ist bis heute im Jazzensemble des Hessischen Rundfunks aktiv. Die Verbindungen zwischen den "alten" Vertretern der Szene, eine Szene die sich differenziert hat durch ihre Offenheit und ästhetische Breite, und den "jüngeren" Szenemitgliedern sind über die Jahre nicht genug gepflegt geworden.

Frankfurt Exploration ist eine Formation die sich für ein Konzert im Oktober 2014 zusammengefunden hat. Dieses Projekt versucht eine Brücke zwischen den Generationen zu bilden.

01. Cms 3:04

02. Blue Clouds 4:14

03. Free 2:36

04. Mingus Spirit 3:29

05. Bubbles 1:55

06. Checkpoint 2:21

07. Broken Distance 3:20

08. Metamorphosis 3:21

09. Pachorra 3:29

10. Corral 5:47

11. Pregunta 4:01

12. Subsequently 2:52

13. A Fish Starts Talking 2:21

Heinz Sauer: sax

Bob Degen: piano

Valentin Garvie: trumpet

Markus Schieferdecker: bass

Uli Schiffelholz: drums

Compositions by Valentin Garvie, Heinz Sauer, Bob Degen, Markus Schieferdecker and Uli Schiffelholz

Recorded at Fattoria Musica in Osnabrück

Recording Date: May 28th/29th 2015

Studio engineer and mastering by Walter Quintus

Oddjob - Oddjob Plays Weather Report (2016)

MORE INFO

1. Herandu

2. Three Clowns

3. River People

4. Badia

5. Scarlet Woman

Per ”Ruskträsk” Johansson, alto sax

Goran Kajfeš, trumpet

Daniel Karlsson, piano

Peter Forss, bass

Lars Skoglund, drums

Sam Mortellaro - Robotic Delusions (AUAND 2016)

Dieci tracce originali firmate dal pianista Sam Mortellaro compongono la scaletta del suo “Robotic Delusions”, l’album realizzato in trio, con Angelo Minacapilli al contrabbasso e Francesco Alessi alla batteria, per la Piano Series dell’etichetta Auand Records.

Il lavoro si distingue per la cantabilità delle melodie, spesso in contrasto tra situazioni di velata amarezza e aperture più solari, per l’etrema flessibilità ritmica del trio, e per lo scorrere di un flusso sonoro che parte dal mainstream fino a lambire lidi di contemporaneità espressiva. Il trio realizza un’estetica propria e riconoscibile, e l’album trova nel concetto di “tempo” la sua principale vocazione, che attraverso una nota stampa Mortellaro descrive così: «Credo che il tempo, inteso come musica in atto, sia un flusso che scorre continuamente in divenire, mai iniziato né finito e che continui sempre a scorrere anche quando stiamo in silenzio.

Bisognerebbe riuscire a cavalcarne l’onda senza inciamparvi, in questo modo riusciremmo a percepire ogni suo frammento. Ci renderemmo conto che il tempo è in realtà̀ indefinito e che bisogna fluire semplicemente al suo interno, con disinvoltura».

Bobby Selvaggio - Quantum Man (DOT TIME RECORDS 2016)

Achim Seifert Project - Plans to Wake up on the Beach (UNIT RECORDS 2016)

Auf „Plans to Wake up on the Beach“ bilden Groove, Energie und Sound ein spannungsgeladenes Dreigespann, das bei Komponist und Bassist Achim Seifert auf besonders fruchtbaren Nährboden fällt und zugleich den Motor für seine vielfältigen musikalischen Konzepte und Ideen darstellt: von düster-melancholischen Klanglandschaften bei Agabeys Song hin zu funky Grooves bei Too Late, von der lyrischen Schönheit der Modern-Jazz-Ballade Some Words über den imposant anschwellenden Band-Sound bei Ljubljana bis hin zum dichten und vorwärtstreibenden Drum’n’Bass-Rhythmus, der den Grundstock für Places bildet.

Auf diese Weise kreiert Seifert mit seinen musikalischen Mitstreitern ein facettenreiches Kaleidoskop und lotet eindrücklich verschiedenste Blickwinkel aus. Als Regisseur steuert er dabei in gekonnter Zurückhaltung das Geschehen, setzt Akzente und geht mit seinen einzigartigen Bassklängen stimmig im gemeinschaftlichen Sound seiner Band auf, ohne dabei in den Hintergrund zu rücken. Zusammen mit seinen musikalischen Weggefährten und Gästen stellt Achim Seifert mit „Plans to Wake up on the Beach“ ein Werk voller Spielfreude und Experimentierlust vor.

1. Ljubljana 7:38
2. Balcony View 7:16
3. Agabey's Song 8:14
4. Too Late 4:11
5. On My Way 3:41
6. Cherokee 6:38
7. Some Words 5:45
8. Places 7:09

All compositions by Achim Seifert except Cherokee (Ray Noble, arrangement by Achim Seifert)

piano and rhodes: Julius Martinek
tenor/sopranosaxophone: Nicolai Finke
drums: Julian Külpmann
bass/composition: Achim Seifert

guests:
percussion and programming on 5: Stephan Emig
flute on 6: Sarpay Özça-Atay
piano on 2: Christoph Spangenberg

drums on 2: Rainer Winch

Andrew Cyrille & Bill McHenry - Proximity (SUNNYSIDE RECORDS 2016)

The recessed red and black stage of the legendary jazz institution The Village Vanguard has been a backdrop for creative inspiration and spirited collaboration for over 80 years. It has remained an intimate venue where artists can let music blossom over an extended engagement. It was during a weeklong residency of saxophonist Bill McHenry that Vanguard regular Max Koslow was struck by a particular partnership, enough so to jump into a business in which he had no experience: recordings.

On his usual Thursday night attendance at the Vanguard, Mr. Koslow heard McHenry perform in a duo with the luminary percussion master Andrew Cyrille. The chemistry between McHenry and Cyrille was palpable and the music magical. Koslow knew that this magic had to be preserved and approached the two musicians to see if they would allow him to record them together.

The rare duo setting between percussionist and saxophonist has only a few recorded examples, think John Coltrane and Rashied Ali’s classic Interstellar Space. Cyrille has long been a leader in the improvisatory field, most notably in the New York downtown loft and spiritual jazz scenes of the 1970s and 1980s. McHenry hails from a later generation that revamped New York’s small club scene in the 1990s, most visible in the inception of Small’s Jazz Club in the West Village. He has also been regarded as one of the torchbearers of the saxophone over the past decade.

The resulting Proximity was recorded over two days in November 2014 for Koslow’s newly minted Brain Schism Productions, LLC. The recording features pieces written and improvised by the duo along with tunes written by Cyrille’s peers Don Moye and Muhal Richard Abrams. The approach to the music was relaxed and fluid with both musicians finding inspiration in the other’s voice.

The recording begins with “Bedouin Woman,” a subtle rumination on Moroccan music that was highlighted in a documentary on John Coltrane that transfixed McHenry and composer Cyrille. The version of Don Moye’s “Fabula” is playful and offbeat. Cyrille’s “Drum Song For Leadbelly” is a joyful tribute to the blues icon Huddie Ledbetter and an adaptation of the guitarist’s “Green Corn,” featuring some tremendous interplay between sax and drums. Muhal Richard Abrams’s “Drum Man Cyrille” is a feature for the man for whom the song bears its name and, in support, equally dynamic playing from McHenry.

The title track is a somber, even toned tribute to Cyrille’s friend, trombonist John Bernard Gordon. The strident “Let Me Tell You This” is a moving duo improvisation with echoes of Ornette Coleman, which is followed by the brief and beautiful “Broken Heart.” Lithe saxophone introduces “Aquatic Life” before Cyrille swings in with an energetic pulse all his own. “Double Dutch” is playful and demure. “Seasons” is all about tone and pulse with McHenry playing long tones and Cyrille utilizing minimalist percussion in creating a tone poem of sorts. “Dervish” continues the playful Moroccan mood established earlier with a vigorous, percussive conclusion to the recording.

The duo setting provides an intimate setting for creation. Andrew Cyrille and Bill McHenry’s Proximity presents a fantastic example of the type of inspired music that can come from musicians of high ability and individuality being paired together. Thanks are due to the individual who immediately heard the singular promise of their collaboration within the nurturing confines of the Village Vanguard.