Thursday, February 11, 2016

Michel Benita Ethics - River Silver (2016)



Michel Benita is the Algiers-born double-bassist who has been an influential recent collaborator with Andy Sheppard, but though River Silver has a Sheppard-like songlike warmth, it’s a more world-folkish venture. It features the zither-like Japanese koto, atmospheric electronics (from another Sheppard sideman, Norwegian guitarist Eivind Aarset), and the mellifluous sound of Swiss flugelhornist Matthieu Michel. A quiet snare tattoo, sturdy bass countermelody and airy flugel lines mix eloquently on the dreamily cruising Back from the Moon, while the brass sound on I See Altitudes suggests 80s Miles Davis of his Tutu/Amandla era with a sleepwalking momentum instead of funk; and Aarset’s guitar builds an intensifying rockish groove on the initially purring, koto-driven Off the Coast. Yeavening is a yearning ballad for Michel’s voicelike flugel; Mieko Miyazaki’s koto feature is a lyrical sway with Benita in close attendance; and Snowed In a spacily affecting finale. It has a tranquillisingly warm-bath feel at times, but the melodies are seductive, and very delicately unfolded.


1. Back From The Moon (Composed By – Michel Benita) 5:49
2. River Silver (Composed By – Michel Benita) 4:37
3. I See Altitudes (Composed By – Michel Benita) 5:54
4. Off The Coast (Composed By – Michel Benita) 6:13
5. Yeavering (Composed By – Kathryn Tickell) 3:46
6. Toonari (Composed By – Michel Benita) 5:58
7. Hacihi Gatsu (Composed By – Mieko Miyazaki) 4:43
8. Lykken (Composed By – Eyvind Alnæs) 6:02
9. Snowed In (Composed By – Michel Benita) 6:21

Design – Sascha Kleis
Double Bass – Michel Benita
Drums – Philippe Garcia
Engineer – Stefano Amerio
Flugelhorn – Matthieu Michel
Guitar, Electronics – Eivind Aarset
Koto – Mieko Miyazaki
Photography By [Cover Photo] – Woong Chul An
Photography By [Liner Photo (7)] – Charles Moraz
Photography By [Liner Photos] – Dániel Vass
Producer [Produced By] – Manfred Eicher

Recorded April 2015
Auditorio Stelio Molo RSI, Lugano

An ECM Production

In collaboration with RSI Rete Due, Lugano
Thanks to Paolo Keller

℗ © 2016 ECM Records GmbH, München


JAVI

Nils Landgren with Janis Siegel - Some Other Time (A Tribute to Leonard Bernstein) 2016


The great Leonard Bernstein would recognise a kindred spirit in Nils Landgren, the Swedish trombonist, singer and all-round musical prodigy who conceived this expansive tribute to him. Combining his own jazz quartet, the voice of Janis Siegel (Manhattan Transfer), the Bochum Symphony Orchestra and star arranger Vince Mendoza, Landgren achieves exactly the right blend of classical and popular modes. The 12 pieces include tunes from West Side Story – among them a version of America for multitracked trombones – with a gorgeous version of Lonely Town from Siegel and, to close, Landgren’s own warm, elegant improvisation on a melody from Bernstein’s 1971 Mass.






01. Overture: America
02. Some Other Time
03. Cool
04. Maria
05. Somewhere
06. The Story Of My Life
07. One Hand, One Heart
08. Something's Coming
09. Lonely Town
10. A Quiet Girl
11. Lucky To Be Me
12. A Simple Song

Nils Landgren / trombone & vocals
Janis Siegel / vocals
Jan Lundgren / piano
Dieter Ilg / bass
Wolfgang Haffner / drums

Members of the Bochumer Symphoniker
arranged & conducted by Vince Mendoza 

Recording Information
Produced by Nils landgren
Curator, Design & Executive Producer: Siggi Loch

Recorded by Adrian von Ripka & Nico Schütte at Sound Studio N, Cologne, November 1 - 4, 2015.
Recording assistance: Georgi Topalov, Hans-Günther Kasper & Uli Zimmermann.
Mixed and mastered by Adrian von Ripka at Bauer Studios, Ludwigsburg,
November 2015, assisted by Hannes Fritz
Additional vocals and trombone recorded by Lars Nilsson at Nilento Studio 

Photo (Nils Landgren with Janis Siegel) by Lutz Voigtländer


JAVI

Luca Nostro Quintet - Are You OK? (2015)



Luca Nostro | guitar, compositions and arrangements
Donny McCaslin | tenor sax
John Escreet | fender rhodes
Joe Sanders | bass
Tyshawn Sorey | drums

Esce nell’autunno 2015 Are You OK? il nuovo cd di Luca Nostro per Jando Music (in
associazione con Via Veneto Jazz).

Are you OK? è un disco di jazz contemporaneo registrato a New York da Luca Nostro con alcuni tra i più noti musicisti americani, molto attivi, sia
come leader che come sidemen, in formazioni considerate dal pubblico e dalla critica tra le più innovative nel panorama jazzistico statunitense e
mondiale: Donny McCaslin, John Escreet, Joe Sanders, Tyshawn Sorey.

La scena musicale newyorchese è continua fonte di ispirazione per Luca, la cui idea compositiva è quella di costruire strutture musicali movimentate e modulari in cui innestare temi brevi e incisivi, quasi pop. L’improvvisazione si sviluppa così su idee melodiche semplici e riff ritmici ripetuti concatenati in modo complesso attraverso l’interplay tra i musicisti.

La musica di Are you OK? è ispirata anche da alcune opere di Steve Reich, Frank Zappa, John Adams, Michele Tadini e Jacob TV che Luca ha suonato insieme al Parco della Musica Contemporanea Ensemble (PMCE) di cui fa parte da tre anni. Luca ha anche collaborato e registrato con Scott Coley, Antonio Sanchez e Mark Turner, per citarne alcuni.

La registrazione, il missaggio e il mastering sono stati fatti da Mike Marciano e Max Ross nello studio Systems Two di Brooklyn, uno degli studi più importanti per il jazz, dove hanno registrato, tra gli altri, Chick Corea, Clark Terry, Brandford Marsalis, Ravi Coltrane e molti altri.


1. Are You Ok? … 6:29
2. … No 3:18
3. Trematoda 10:28
4. My Dear Fears Intro 0:57
5. My Dear Fears 7:01
6. Wane Lèn Ma Yone Bi 5:34
7. Reverse Cone in Spite of a Square Woman 5:51
8. I Had to Hurt You for No Reason 7:45
9. I Hate 10:14


Domi

Rosario Bonaccorso - Viaggiando (2015)


Quando si intraprende un viaggio,
credo che più della meta sia
importante scegliere con chi viaggerai.

Voglio ringraziare Roberto, Fabrizio
e Javier, per aver intuito la mia meta
musicale, condividendone il percorso
interiore... Grazie alla loro poesia
interpretativa si è ancor più arricchito
questo mio viaggio d’oltremare tra
Mediterraneo, l’America del Jazz, il
Brasile e l’Argentina, luoghi del Mondo e
luoghi dell’Anima.

Questa è stata la parte più bella del
viaggio.

Grazie a Giandomenico per il grande
supporto, i consigli e la fiducia, a
Stefonico, per le riprese del suono di ogni
nota e respiro, a Eduardo, per il magico
equilibrio dei nostri suoni sul disco.
E infine Grazie alla mia “Musa” Renate.
Questo disco è dedicato a mio Padre,
che centinaia di volte ha attraversato gli
Oceani. Grazie a lui non ho mai avuto
paura di viaggiare.

Viaggiando cominciamo a trovare quel che
cerchiamo, noi stessi…

Rosario Bonaccorso


When on a journey, I believe that
the choice of whom you travel
with is more important than that of the
destination.

I wish to thank Roberto, Fabrizio and
Javier, for having sensed my musical
objective, sharing in its inner unfolding...
Thanks to their poetic interpretation, my
overseas trips around the Mediterranean,

America’s jazz scene, Brazil and Argentina
- places belonging to the World and to the
Soul - have been further enriched.

This has been the best part of the trip.
I’d like to thank Giandomenico for
his precious support, advice, and trust,
Stefonico for recording the sound of
every note and breath, Eduardo for the
magical balance of our album’s sound.
And finally, special thanks to my muse,
Renate.

This album is dedicated to my father,
who crossed the oceans hundreds of
times. Thanks to him I’ve never been
afraid of travelling.

By travelling we start to find that which we are
seeking for: ourselves

Rosario Bonaccorso

Music and lyrics by Rosario Bonaccorso

Rosario Bonaccorso doublebass and vocals
Roberto Taufic guitar and backing vocals
Fabrizio Bosso trumpet and flugelhorn
Javier Girotto soprano sax, quena and moxeño
Recorded in Rome at Toto Sound Studio by Stefano Del Vecchio
Mixed and Mastered in Natal (Brasil) at Studio Promidia by Eduardo Taufic
Roberto Taufic plays a Rodolfo Cucculelli guitar
Cover: Giando‘ Blu - 1997 Oil on Canvas by Luigi Boille
Photos: Paolo Soriani
Artwork: Enzo Criscione





01. Viaggiando
02. Matto
03. My Faith
04. Storto
05. A.C.J.
06. Domin
07. Come la neve
08. Give Me Your Hand and Sing
09. Song for My Father
10. Buon volo
11. Agosto
12. Indian Summer
13. Mister Kneipp
14. Mon frere 


Domi

Michael Rosen - Sweet 17 (2015)


Michael Rosen, tenor sax
Lage Lund, guitar
Ralph Alessi, trumpet
Domenico Sanna, piano
Matt Penman, double bass
Bill Stewart, drums

At 17, one’s dreams are alive and vivid and there’s always hope that one day these may come true, as they did for American saxophonist Michael Rosen. Rosen began studying the cello at the age of seven for two years before moving to the piano, and later at eleven he moved to the saxophone.

In the following years, he was first alto saxophone with the Middle School and High School Big Bands and received numerous state and local "best Soloist" awards. Initially, his interests lay more towards “progressive” groups such as Yes, Led Zeppelin, and Talking Heads, but when in 1985 Michael Rosen moved to Boston to study at the Berklee College of Music with renowned teachers such as Gary Burton and George Garzone, where he started to cultivate his soaring passion for the music of Charlie Parker, Joe Henderson, Miles Davis, Stan Getz and John Coltrane, and many other jazz artists who since then have been the main source of his inspiration.

Rosen has been living in Italy for almost 30 years and spends most of his time between Rome and London, highly active in the musical circles of both capital cities. Today, after 35 years of international success with 9 CDs as a leader, over 200 as a sideman, and having collaborated with leading artists of the day such as Bobby McFerrin, Sarah Jane Morris, Mike Stern, the Orchestra della Scala, and countless other American and European musicians, the seventeen-year-old boy with long and disheveled hair, now at the height of his artistic career, returns to New York, his hometown, to record his new music together with a stellar cast of jazz musicians. Sweet 17, as with all albums of the saxophonist / composer, leaves ample room for melodic beauty, fluidity and expressiveness, and introduces the more dynamic, modern and evolved compositions that Rosen has written so far, reflecting all the experience gained from the late 80s to date.

Accompanying him on this musical experience are highly-acclaimed musicians such as: Lage Lund (guitar), Ralph Alessi (trumpet), Domenico Sanna (piano), Matt Penman (double bass) and Bill Stewart (drums). It can be truly said that Michael Rosen’s dream, his "Sweet 17", came true and this album is the evidence.


01 Architextures (Michael Rosen)
02 Ebb Tide (Michael Rosen)
03 Sweet 17 (Michael Rosen)
04 Fair Weather Ahead (Michael Rosen)
05 Hopefully (Michael Rosen)
06 Safe As Houses (Michael Rosen)
07 39 Belgrave Square  (Michael Rosen)
08 Yellow Barn Road (Michael Rosen)
09 Jacoby’s Ladder (Michael Rosen)
10 The Way We Were (A. Bergman, M. Bergman, M. Hamlisch)


Domi