A bandleader can command with his ego or he can direct from his heart. At the top of his game after twenty-plus years of musical experience, it's obvious that Jeremy Pelt, his exceptional talents as a trumpeter and composer accounted for, has tapped into a generous and encouraging spirit and built Make Noise! from the band up. That is, Pelt's four handpicked musical compatriots were fully expected to bring a firm artistic identity and fertile ideas to the game, which not surprisingly, each offered in abundance. Allowing his bandmates to shine only threw greater light on their intuitive leader. In addition to leading his own bands since the turn of the new millennium, Pelt worked with such legendary jazz veterans as Johnny Griffin, Cedar Walton, Wayne Shorter, James Moody and Louis Hayes. Throughout Make Noise!, Pelt incorporates his accumulated knowledge of still vital jazz conventions, while also blending dynamic contemporary rhythmic and harmonic ploys in to the mix.
A godfather of original funky fusion has lately made it a point to demonstrate that there’s still no one who can make this kind of music better than him. Since reviving the Jeff Lorber Fusion moniker in 2010, Jeff Lorber has been stamping out an album every year of so with no letup in quality. His fifth since the JLF comeback is just around the corner, too: Prototype is coming out March 24, 2017 courtesy of Shanachie Entertainment, Lorber’s first for the label.
The Jeff Lorber Fusion has always been scary talented beyond its namesake leader and keyboard whiz, lately including Yellowjackets co-founder and electric bass legend Jimmy Haslip and in-demand drummer Gary Novak (Chick Corea, Allan Holdsworth). The latest addition is saxophonist Andy Snitzer, who recently starred on Jason Miles’ terrific live Grover Washington tribute record. Prototype is also chock full of high caliber guest musicians such as Chuck Loeb, Dave Mann, Larry Koonse and Paul Jackson, Jr. Today Shanachie released an advance single from Prototype, “Hyperdrive,” that you can dig to your heart’s content in the stream above. And you’ll want to, because this snappy groove features those signature polyrhythms so tightly woven into a worldly, catchy keyboard/sax-rendered melody and capped off by an accomplished Lorber Rhodes aside. What “Hyperdrive” doesn’t have is Haslip on bass…because another bass legend Nathan East is filling in. Lorber contributed this song for an East project but East left it off of his record; Lorber was quite happy to take it back and put it on his own next record.
Charlie Sepúlveda is trumpeter of power and nuance. On this new recording, Sepúlveda takes on the challenge of preserving culture without being trapped by it. He can take a tried-and-true classic like "Besamé Mucho," and instead of falling into the routine he completely modernizes it, stripping the tune of his sometime over-emphasized bolero rhythm and makes something completely new and communicative. Here paying tribute to his former boss, Eddie Palmieri, Sepúlveda brings his distinctive style to eight imaginative tracks with Palmieri delivering two solo tracks. This isn't salsa and it isn't jazz, and it's not exactly a fusion of the two but an exciting and imaginative place between them.
White Noise Trio is a Berlin based modern jazz group formed in 2015 by Robin Hartkopf (Drums), Stefan Merz (Piano) and Florian Dupuy (Double Bass). White noise, from a physical point of view, simply means a test-signal containing the whole spectrum of audible frequencies. But for Hartkopf, Merz, and Dupuy, white noise means a musical approach to developing songs out of free improvisations, reflecting the fragile moment when a melody first begins to evolve, and diffuse frequencies get shaped into harmonies and rhythm. Coming from different musical backgrounds, White Noise is exactly the point where Hartkopf, Merz & Dupuy meet to merge their contrasting influences into an exciting rendition of modern melodic Jazz.
About 25 years ago, Florian Dupuy decided to pick up a cello, played his first classical pieces, and was later engaged by orchestras in Paris, Cambridge, Geneva and Berlin. At the same time, Robin Hartkopf fell for the complex and energetic grooves of progressive rock and mildly disappointed his father and grandfather, who both have been jazz drummers. And about 20 years later, Stefan Merz switched from piano to synthesizers to perform House and Techno driven live-sets in Berlin’s night clubs, getting into harmonic minimalism and textures. So how did this become a Jazz trio? Even though their musical paths might have been a bit divergent, there was one thing all three of them had in common: Jazz was part of their musical education in their early years. Later, this foundation turned out to be the perfect playground to experiment with genres, styles and attitudes, while developing their own individual musical identity. Today, all three have found their way back to Jazz, yet strongly influenced by their love affair with other genres. So whenever Hartkopf, Merz and Dupuy play together, the classical lines of chamber music meet the loop-driven approach of electronic dance music, combined with the energy and complex measures of progressive rock. But in the quest for their own musical identity, the trio does not forget to follow the path of their musical heroes like Avishai Cohen, Keith Jarrett or Brian Blade.
"Après avoir vécu une si belle histoire avec le Supersonic et le premier album, je n’envisageais pas retourner en studio en enregistrer un second. Je ne me voyais ni écrire de la musique pour ce groupe qui est né avec les chefs-d’oeuvre de Sun Ra (je me disais "Qui suis-je, moi Thomas, pour passer après ce génie?!"), ni faire un "Play Sun Ra volume II"… Je me suis presque résolu à cette idée que l’histoire s’arrêterait là… jusqu’à cette nuit de février 2016 pendant laquelle je fis ce rêve incroyable… J'étais une toute petite souris volante et me trouvais au milieu de Supersonic qui jouait dans un immense hangar. Je pouvais voler et aller partout, presque toucher les clefs du saxophone, me lover sur une cymbale, et puis tout d'un coup sauter sur les cordes du piano, c'était fou ! Mais ce qui était encore plus fou, c'était le son et l’énergie de ce que j’entendais. J'étais stupéfait, littéralement transporté et pouvant pour la première fois entendre mes tant aimés Edward, Laurent, Fabrice, Frederick et Arnaud avec une oreille extérieure. J'avais bien conscience auparavant que mon groupe avait une énergie et une alchimie qui lui étaient propres, mais dans ce rêve, l'ADN de Supersonic est devenu une sensation physique, il s'est inscrit dans ma chair. A mon réveil, une porte s’était ouverte, grande ouverte, cela m’est apparu comme une évidence, il ne suffisait que d’écrire des prétextes, ou plutôt des pré-textes, des terrains de jeu pour mes 5 camarades, dans lesquels nous inventerions le texte, la narration, les discussions et la matière tous ensemble . Il ne me fallait dessiner que le cadre. La problématique remplie d’égo du compositeur devant "sa vie, son oeuvre" et sa page blanche avait miraculeusement disparu ! Le mois suivant, béat, j’ai travaillé jour et nuit, pour écrire toutes ces idées, les transes et les mélodies qui arrivaient comme par magie ; habité seulement par l’envie de faire vibrer et sonner le groupe, comme nous l’avons fait avec tant de bonheur ces 3 dernières années, en concerts à travers le monde. C’est ainsi qu’est né le tome 2 de l’histoire de Supersonic, oiseau parti du nid divin de Sun Ra et qui maintenant prend son envol: il s’appelle Sons Of Love."Thomas de Pourquery
The debut album from this Norwegian-American trio consists of two long tracks that move between intimate lyricism and hardcore expressionism, shaping one of the strongest free jazz offerings we have heard for quite some time. Filipino-American Jon Irabagon has topped both the Rising Star Alto Saxophone and the Rising Star Tenor Saxophone categories in Down Beat´s critics polls and been named one of Time Out New York´s 25 New York City Jazz Icons. Among the seemingly endless praise we can read "stalwart technique and a deep understanding of avant-garde vocabulary" (JazzTimes), "a musician of intense concentration who wants nothing more than to indulge a spirit of play, emphatic and unreserved" (New York Times), "some of the most galvanizing jazz of the past few years" (Time Out New York) and "one of the strongest, most flexible, and daring saxophonists at work today" (Peter Margasak). A founder member of Mostly Other People Do The Killing, he is also an integral member of the Mary Halvorson Quintet, Dave Douglas Quintet and Barry Altschul´s 3Dom Factor and has taken part on a vast number of records. Guitarist John Hegre and drummer Nils Are Drønen have both been central on the fertile music scene in Bergen for many years, Hegre possibly most known for his long partnership with Lasse Marhaug in Jazzkammer and Jazkamer, while Drønen has played in a number of project and groups including The Last Hurrah!!. They met up with New York resident Irabagon during one of his many visits to Bergen where he has established a deep musical friendship with The Last Hurrah!! founder HP Gundersen.
Berlin-based pianist Julia Hülsmann returns to the trio format for Sooner And Later, an album which distils the experience of journeys to distant destinations. In the last couple of years Hülsmann, bassist Marc Muellbauer and drummer Heinrich Köbberling have taken their music around the world, from Europe to the US, Canada, Peru, Central Asia and China, “where something special developed. It helped to open up new sonic territory for us”. The Central-Asian weeks find their most explicit echo in the form of “Biz Joluktuk”, a tune the band heard in performance from a 12 year old violinist in Kyrgyzstan and which was later re-harmonized by Julia. Once again all three members of the trio have contributed compositions to the album. The title of Hulsmann’s “Thatpujai” is an anagram of “Jutta Hipp”, and its theme is comprised of phrases from the late German jazz pianist’s solos. The program is rounded out by a cover of Radiohead’s “All I Need” which, like the Hülsmann-penned tracks “J.J.”, “Soon” or “Mond” with their sometimes almost clubby grooves, emphasizes the subtle rhythmic aspects of the trio’s music. Sooner And Later was recorded in September 2016 in Oslo’s Rainbow Studio, and produced by Manfred Eicher.
The sixth CD by Zorn’s heaviest 21st century ensemble Simulacrum celebrates the 500th anniversary of the passing of one of the greatest painters the world has ever known—Hieronymus Bosch. A visionary of unparalleled power whose imagination and fantastical creations re- main uniquely his own, Bosch is one of the most enigmatic figures in world art. Inspired by his surreal visions of Heaven and Hell, “The Garden of Earthly Delights” blends heavy metal, blues, funk, jazz and modern classical music together into one of the strangest amalgams you’ve ever heard. Tighter than ever and joined by bassist Trevor Dunn, Medeski, Hollenberg and Grohowski are at their manic best in this jaw-dropping visit to a wild musical world where absolutely anything is possible!
