Tuesday, November 2, 2021

Pere Miró - Camarades (November 2, 2021)

Pere Miró is a baritone saxophone player most active in the jazz, R&B and jamaican Barcelona scene. He plays regularly with his projects Scaramanga, Insistim and Camarades and as a member of the Gramophone Allstars Big Band and the great honker Dani Nel·lo. Beside his role as a blower, he also composes, writes music arrangements and teaches music. He'd recorded more than 40 albums.

1. Covid Blues (Pere Miró) 03:08
2. Bohemia After Dark Feat. Pepe Martínez (Oscar Pettiford) 04:26
3. I'll Remember April (Raye-De Paul) 03:59
4. We're in love again Feat. Héctor Martín (Harry Carney) 04:38
5. Cotton Tail (Duke Ellington) 02:37
6. Tea for Two Feat. Pau Vidal (Vincent Youmans) 02:50
7. Smoke gets in your eyes (Jerome Kern) 02:37
8. Straight no chaser (Thelonious Monk) 02:25

Every song (except track 1) is dedicated to a baritone player I admire: Sahib Shihab (track 2), Gerry Mulligan (track 3), Harry Carney (track 4), Nick Brignola (track 5), Serge Chaloff (track 6), Leo Parker (track 7) and Pepper Adams (track 8).

Recorded by Pere Miró, April - May 2020
Mixed and mastering by Marc Ferrer at Àmbit Produccions, June - July 2020
Photo by Jep Jorba
Graphic Desing by Cesc Miró (Imagium)

Lluc Casares - Septet (November 2, 2021 The Changes Music)

The Changes presents the 3rd album as a leader of Lluc Casares, "Septet" (TC014). Septet narrates the return of Lluc to his hometown after 2 years living in New York and represents the enthusiasm and joy of playing again with his lifelong friends who at the same time are some of the best musicians of the Barcelona scene. Echoes of Duke Ellington, Herbie Hancock or Wynton Marsalis resonate on this album where the vast majority of the pieces are original compositions plus a couple of arrangements of songs by Cedar Walton and Frank Strozier.

1. Foam 05:43
2. Jep's Job 08:40
3. A Walk 09:22
4. How Far is Washington Heights 04:37
5. Nova Iberia (intro) 01:25
6. Nova Iberia 06:55
7. Plantukis 06:44
8. Plantukis (outro) 01:36
9. I'll Let You Know 05:03
10. A Starling's Theme 06:02

Pol Omedes: Trumpet
Irene Reig: Alto Sax
Alba Pujals: Trombone (tracks 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
Rita Payés: Trombone (tracks 1, 7, 9)
Xavi Torres: Piano, Rhodes, Hammond Organ
Pau Sala: Bass
Joan Casares: Drums
Lluc Casares: Tenor Sax and Clarinet

All tracks by Lluc Casares except #9 by Cedar Walton and #10 by Frank Strozier.

Recorded at: Vertigo Studios (July 2021)
Recording engineer: Ferran Donatelli
Mixing engineer: Enric Peinado aka "Big Daddy Pein"
Mastering engineer: Dave Darlington
Graphic design: Joan Casares

Kenne Thomas K-TET - YESTERDAYS (November 9, 2021)

Drummer, Kenne Thomas brings his group, Kenne Thomas K-TET to the scene with their album, YESTERDAYS. A well-travelled drummer, Kenne honed his skills in the grinding jazz organ trios, hard bop jazz groups and progressive fusion bands of Chicago. Early he spent time as a roadie for Elvin Jones. The many genres in which he is skilled, came from a wide range of experiences. K-TET is comprised of jazz musicians from around the country who display their skills with fire and zest. The up-front saxophone/trombone lineup, with trumpet sometimes echoes the spirit of the Art Blakey.

1. Bouncy 02:29
2. Illinois Central (the IC) 04:48
3. I'll Be There With You (Vocal - Llla Ammons) 05:32
4. Franfurt-am-Main 05:26
5. QZ9HB1700305 - Big Jim 04:51
6. The Plugged Nickel 04:39
7. Osaka Blues 03:58
8. Yesterdays (Vocal - Lila Ammons) 06:36

Rich Manik - Tenor Saxophone, Alto Saxophone
Soloman Parham - Trumpet
Dave Graf - Trombone
Javier Santiago - Acoustic Piano
Ted Olsen - Acoustic Bass
Kenne Thomas - Drums
Lila Ammons - Featured Vocalist

©Copyright 2021 JeruJazz Records.  All rights reserved.
JJR-CD-15
Produced by Kenne Thomas
Recorded at Wild Sound Studio, Minneapolis, Minnesota, July 2, 2017
Steve Kaul, Recording and Mixing Engineer
All songs composed, written and arranged by
Kenneth A. Thomas (Kenzongs Music ASCAP)
except, Yesterdays (James Van Heusen) Licensed and used by permission

Fredrik Nordström - Dolores: Two (November 5, 2021)

Here is the follow-up album of Swedish saxplayer Fredrik Nordström's band, Dolores! The group's first album "Dolores: One" was released in April 2021. Recorded during the same studio session, "Dolores: Two" features compositions by Fredrik, complemented by a freely improvised track. This album takes the listener on a beautiful, but sometimes also heartbreaking journey. The contemporary jazz of Dolores is grounded in responsive improvisation and personal expression.

Fredrik Nordström says:
"I composed the material for Dolores with the purpose of creating music that was bare and dynamic. At the same time, perhaps due to the band's drumless setting, I wanted it to maintain a rhythmic dimension and movement that brought it forward. I have been inspired by folk music, perhaps mainly from Scandinavia and from North America. The different musical and cultural backgrounds of the musicians in this band influenced me in the writing process and contributed greatly to the final result."

1. Mirus
2. Sun Bleached
3. Drop
4. Calling the Doves
5. Canadian Tuxedo
6. Melancholia
7. The Big Question - No. 2
8. Ground Frost

Fredrik Nordström - tenor & baritone saxophones, clarinet
Staffan Svensson - trumpet
Andreas Hourdakis - guitar
Ilaria Capalbo - double bass

All compositions by Fredrik Nordström except Drop by Capalbo/Hourdakis/Nordström/Svensson

Recorded on November 23-24 2020 at BAS in Bandhagen, Sweden by Mats Äleklint
Mixed and mastered by Fredrik Nordström at Bluenord Studio
Produced by Fredrik Nordström

Illustrations by Jenny Svenberg Bunnel
Design by LOUP Studio

Lina Allemano & Nick Fraser + Remixes by Mira Martin-Gray, Bryan Qu, Karen Ng, Nick Dunston - Trumpet & Drums REMIX Festival (November 2021)

++ SERIAL DIGITAL ALBUM IN 5 WEEKLY INSTALLMENTS ++

The entire album is now online! 2 tracks were released every Monday for 5 weeks from Oct 4 - Nov 1, 2021. Unadulterated trumpet & drums duo tracks: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10. Remix tracks: 2, 4, 6, 8.

Lina Allemano, trumpet & Nick Fraser, drums + Remix artists from New York City, Berlin & Toronto: Mira Martin-Gray, Bryan Qu, Karen Ng, Nick Dunston.

1. ORANGE 04:38
2. Brass Slippers 03:59
3. Other Ways (number one) 04:05
4. Inorganic 04:28
5. LEMON 05:17
6. Linick 2.0 05:00
7. Deadly Night Shade 04:37
8. A Bashful Droid 05:54
9. LIME 04:33
10. Other Ways (number two) 04:05

Lina Allemano, trumpet
Nick Fraser, drums

Mira Martin-Gray, remixing (track 2)
Bryan Qu, composer/producer (track 4)
Karen Ng, sax/synth/processing/editing (track 6)
Nick Dunston, prepared banjo/processed samples/hacked tape cassette player (track 8)

Produced by Lina Allemano & Nick Fraser
Trumpet & drums recorded by Fedge at Union Sound Company in Toronto on Jan 15, 2021
Remix tracks contain recorded materials from this same studio session
Tracks 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10 mixed by Fedge
All tracks mastered by Fedge

ORANGE, LEMON, & LIME composed by Lina Allemano (SOCAN)
Other Ways (number one) & Other Ways (number two) composed by Nick Fraser (SOCAN)
Deadly Night Shade composed by Lina Allemano & Nick Fraser (SOCAN)
Brass Slippers composed by Mira Martin-Gray (SOCAN)
Inorganic composed by Bryan Qu (SOCAN)
Linick 2.0 composed by Karen Ng (SOCAN)
A Bashful Droid composed by Nick Dunston (ASCAP)

Parker Speirs - The Layman (November 2021)

The Layman is Parker's most recent release in the format of a trio. Selections include some favorite standards with a few original compositions interspersed. Braun Khan (bass) and Parker Swenson (drums) are featured throughout the album.

1. On A Clear Day 06:35
2. Four In One 05:49
3. Violet Satchel 04:09
4. Gingerbread Boy 06:05
5. The Layman 06:18
6. A Foggy Day 04:56
7. Giant Oarfish 05:19
8. Chelsea Bridge 06:13

Parker Speirs - Guitar
Braun Khan - Double Bass
Parker Swenson - Drum Set

Recording and Mixing - Mike Sasich, Man Vs Music, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
Mastering - James S. Anderson at The Bit Farm

Hans Sturm - Voyage: Hommage à François Rabbath (November 2021 Avant Bass)

Voyage is a set of unaccompanied pieces for solo double bass composed by François Rabbath. The works can be found published in Volume 3 and 4 of his Nouvelle Technique and this recording features several have not been recorded elsewhere. The recording was made in Paris, engineered by François' son, Sylvain, and performed on one of François' instruments.

1. Chasse a courre 02:29
2. Voyage 06:29
3. Thanatos 04:08
4. Ordis 02:49
5. Timbre phrase 02:52
6. L'Infinie Martine 04:45
7. Sylvain 02:05
8. Plus que perpetuel 04:10
9. Prades 02:37

Hans Sturm, double bass

Recording: Sylvain Rabbath
Mixing: Sylvain Rabbath & Vijay Tellis-Nayak
Mastering: Vijay Tellis-Nayak
Photos: Jackie Allen

Henning Neidhardt Trio - First Of The Roll | JazzThing Next Generation Vol. 90 (Challenge Records)

Another piano trio, you might think at first, but there are more sounds after a few minutes at the latest that don't really fit this characterization. Electronic effects and a synthesizer take over the direction in improvised interludes, but also sometimes provide the “right” songs with an ambient-like mood.

“We combine jazz tradition with electronics on the album, which is a very healthy mixture for me,” pianist Henning Neidhardt said, who gave the trio his name and composed most of the pieces. “We all grew up in the nineties and have no intention of denying that we have been influenced by that era. That's in us and that's why we let it happen.”

Neidhardt goes down this path together with the Vietnamese bassist Duy Luong and the drummer Karl F. Degenhardt. The three met while studying at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen; Neidhardt had previously studied in Amsterdam and Enschede. His teachers included Karel Boehlee, Sebastian Altekamp, Thomas Rückert and Ryan Carniaux.

However, he started playing the piano as a child. "In early musical education, my recorder teacher noticed my long fingers and said that I could become a pianist," he said. "That made sense to me, and I started taking piano lessons.”

After a lot of Mozart, the young Henning then experienced a kind of revelation with Scott Joplin's “The Entertainer” and he switched to a teacher who wanted to convey blues, jazz and pop to his students. This was precisely the right thing for him, because Neidhardt had found his way to jazz via the detour of the women's magazine “Brigitte”. “In a television commercial, they drew attention to their CD supplement with pieces sung by Ella Fitzgerald,” Neidhardt still remembers well. "I begged my mother to get me the magazine, and that was my first jazz CD. I next bought a Charlie Parker CD and thought he was great.”

While still in school, Neidhardt decided to become a professional musician and the aforementioned studies followed. “Three different cities, many different teachers and influences: that proved to be just the right mixture in retrospect,” the pianist stated with satisfaction. “I found my path in music shortly before my final exam. Until then, I had always tried to be a bebop player, but finally I had to be honest with myself and admit that I wasn't one. I am more of a person who plays with colors, and Duy and Karl helped me a lot to do this. The two of them had just the right attitude for me. We don't have to play rhythm changes at 300 bpm now, but it's okay to play a lot of ballads and leave room for other things. Finally, we also started to incorporate electronics into our music. Sometimes it's just a long tone from the synthesizer that gives you just the right feeling.”

This diversity makes "First of the Roll" an album that is also dramaturgically coherent. Many of the songs mainly composed by Neidhardt – an exception is “Mild” by the Danish guitarist Jakob Bro – merge into each other and give the CD an inner coherence. This is not only important to Neidhardt, because he has also discovered this in another activity he is involved in. “I accompany the mentalist Timon Krause,” he said. “I learned a lot about musical dramaturgy and theatrical thinking in that context, that everything has to have a framework.”

This goes so far that the short sequence "Rewind" at the end of "First of the Roll" again refers to the "Intro" at the beginning of the album. In this case, it is more than a gentle hint that the best thing to do is to listen to the album again.

1 Intro 02:07
2 Epilogue 05:07
3 Milo 04:45
4 Interlude I 04:10
5 The Cleaners 05:15
6 Interlude II 02:16
7 Doris' Day 06:20
8 Featuring 02:47
9 Muffin Boy 05:49
10 Rewind 00:51

Pedway - Vitalic (November 2, 2021 Ears & Eyes Records)

Pedway was born in Chicago in 2006 when its members first became regular collaborators in the Chicago jazz scene. Caroline Davis (alto saxophone), Matthew Golombisky (acoustic/electric bass), and Quin Kirchner (drums) decided to form a trio that would only perform completely improvised sets. While sometimes bending towards abstraction, they chose to also remain firmly rooted in rhythm, melody & harmony. Throughout the 15 years that have followed, and even after Caroline & Matthew left Chicago for New York & Buenos Aires respectively, the members of Pedway have continually managed to reconvene from time to time to pick up where they left off.

August 2017 was the last such occasion, manifesting in shows in Chicago at Logan Square establishments The Whistler and Cafe Mustache. Culled from the 3 hours of recorded material those performances produced, Vitalic is a window into the aural communication these players have developed over time. Their 3rd full-length album once again blends elements of rock, jazz, minimalism and abstract expressionism together to form a unique take on the classic sax trio sound. While no two Pedway performances are alike, the musical rapport among its members is always evident and represents the through-line connecting all their work. Vitalic is available both digitally and as a super-limited 12" LP on ears&eyes Records.

1. Personal Floatation Device
2. Segmented Eye
3. Vapor
4. Refresher
5. Film as Dream, Film as Music
6. The Infrared
7. If we opened people up, we´d find landscapes
8. Home of Levi Coffin
9. Channels

Pedway is:
Caroline Davis - alto saxophone
Matthew Golombisky - electric bass
Quin Kirchner - drums

Recorded live by Dave Zuchowski at The Whistler & Cafe Mustache in Chicago IL, USA, August 29 & 30, 2017
Mixed & Mastered by Florencio Justo at Estudio Doctor F. in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Digital Album Mastered by Mikey Young in Melbourne, Australia
Art & Design by Daphné Essiet

All music improvised by Pedway

Muriel Grossmann - UNION (November 2, 2021 RRGEMS Records)

Muriel Grossmann's music had an immediate impact on me from the moment I first heard it. It was music with dedication, speaking from the heart. I felt it speaks of past and present, with joy and happiness. Ten seconds into listening and I was hooked. I was all over the web trying to find a vinyl copy, but strangely enough there wasn't any available. Without a second thought we decided to get in touch with Muriel and ask how that is possible. And behold, before long, we were listening to the premix of ''Golden Rule''. I remember being inside of that record for the first time and having this feeling you get when you don't really want to leave a place anymore. This was music performed with a great artistic concentration, integrity and energy. I felt a genuine love listening to the first side.

After the record ''Golden Rule'' received good reviews, got accolades from record collectors around the world, was voted best record of 2018 by UK VIBE and was nominated for the Jazz Album Of The Year for the Gilles Peterson Worldwide Awards, Muriel Grossmann and the band were back to their usual routine, performing, touring and recording the follow up to ''Golden Rule'', a formidable record entitled ''Reverence''. While the record was still in the making, I called Muriel and told her that it would be great to finally meet in person. Muriel suggested we meet on her forthcoming tour of the Balearic Islands in early autumn of 2019. I proposed immediately to make a short road movie about that tour and that the band should record live if possible. The task of capturing a live performance at the concert proved to be impossible, but she managed to book a two-day recording session in Mallorca studio Caja Del Ruido with an actual Hammond B3. I remember we arrived one day prior to the gig in Mallorca to make a recording session the same day. Gina Schwarz - the bass player - could not make it so early though, and it took Llorenç Barceló by surprise. While warming up his fingers on the Hammond he realized that Gina was not going to participate in the recording session and he had to step into her territory. But after all, Muriel just wanted to capture the live set and she did it exceptionally and with grace.

The set opens in a cool tempo when the band enters into a deep meditation, playing ''HAPPINESS'' with Muriel picking up the tenor saxophone in a composition from her 2016 album ''Natural Time'', a compositional embodiment and a reminder of why she caught the wide interest and imagination of dedicated listeners. When Llorenç picks up the groove on the Hammond bass pedals, you can instantly feel the tension growing and from that moment on, I realized it’s going to be one hell of a ride. Radomir Milojkovic takes the first solo, playing intricate bebop lines coupled with extraordinary excursions into blues. He pays a passionate and heartful homage to his guitar heroes - Wes Montgomery, Pat Martino, Grant Green and George Benson. After the guitar solo Muriel brings the band back into a meditation, playing an airy and atmospheric solo, taking the road less traveled. The way the band accompanies Grossmann is state of the art in delivering the true sense of the musical expression ''to accompany a soloist''. The third soloist, Llorenç Barceló, displays his deep knowledge and dedication for the Hammond as an instrument and for the masters that played it. Barceló's attention to details, refined language and musicianship shines through this well executed solo, bringing to mind such icons of the instrument as Lonnie Liston Smith, Don Patterson, Larry Young, Sonny Phillips and Richard Groove Holmes. Llorenç Barceló's unique way of playing and thinking was confirmed in a conversation that I held with him where he explained to me how he built up his first Hammond organ from scratch, buying piece by piece online. All this heavy-duty playing is guided by a steady ''hand that rocks the cradle'' embodied in the masterful, hard swinging and grooving man behind the drum set, Uros Stamenkovic, the rhythm man who digs deep into a groove, embracing the performance as a whole.
On the second tune ''TRANEING IN'' all guns are blazing. The composition from her celebrated record ''Golden Rule'' is played here in a slightly faster tempo, a soprano saxophone workout dedicated to none other than John Coltrane. Grossmann takes charge, displaying her perfect melodic sense and storytelling skill while leading the ensemble into an energetic trance. The band responds with elastic multidirectional grooves, psychedelic soundscapes and superimposed harmonies, which proves to be a powerful ending for Side A.

Side B opens up with one of my all-time favourites ''SUNDOWN'', a composition from the 2019 record ''Reverence'', which was at that time only being road tested, since this session took place while the recording of ''Reverence'' was still in full flow. I remember meditating during the recording of this song and drifting into a state of semi-consciousness between the two takes, because I felt so relaxed, the music detaching me from reality. In the beginning Barceló gives a hint of an already familiar bass line on the upper keys, before he abandons it at the same time as Radomir Milojkovic pulls out the slide, confirming that it wasn’t a one-off when he played his stellar slide solo on the composition ''Wien'' from their last 2020 record ''Quiet Earth''. While the slide guitar in ''Wien'' was played more in a Muddy Waters tradition, here in ''SUNDOWN'' it serves as a cinematic backdrop and counterpoint to Muriel's gorgeous, gentle and soothing tenor playing. Altogether it creates an empowering experience, which really allows you to step into a place and a time reflecting your inner being and inner direction feeling substantially connected to nature and the universe.

Then you wake from a dream when the band pumps up the tempo once again on the vibrant composition called ''AFRICAN DANCE'', which was first recorded for the aforementioned album ''Natural Time''. Stamenkovic gets into the burning hard, driving up-tempo Afro-Cuban rhythm, while Grossmann delivers motifs and short burst phrases, this time on the alto saxophone. Milojkovic and Barceló are locked into an infectious riff that makes you want to put on your dancing shoes and start jumping, pumping and shouting. It is an intense performance encompassing the trademark sound of this band, which gets under your skin after just a few bars.

The album closes with another tune from the record ''Reverence'' that was also a part of a live set at that time, an impeccable piece of music called ''UNION''. Uros Stamenkovic plays a great Milesian groove and the whole band gets into the trance, while Grossmann delivers the melody in shaman-like fashion. It is free from fears and totally disconnected from belief systems and in its culmination you can feel the divine spiritual connectedness of this group as they deliver an exercise in sound that embodies a UNION.

In the context of this record and the previous ones, we can clearly talk about Muriel Grossmann’s music as a style of music that is distinctive and recognizable from the very first note. If there is any remotely positive side to the situation that the whole world has found itself in, it is that this record is able to see the light of day, which otherwise would have been unlikely, since Muriel already had her follow up to ''Reverence'' composed and ready for recording. As it turned out, both records ''Quiet Earth'' and ''Union'' got their opportunity to be heard rather than being shelved deep in the recording vaults.

As Muriel told me on the road:
“True kindness and compassion are arising from the understanding that all things are interacting interdependently, are connected but constantly changing, somehow impermanent. And it is through this kindness and compassion that we are united.”

Liner notes by Dmitri Kalinin

1. Happiness
2. Traneing In
3. Sundown
4. African Dance
5. Union

Muriel Grossmann saxophones
Radomir Milojkovic guitar
Llorenç Barceló hammond
Uros Stamenkovic drums

Adán Mizrahi - DISSIDENT (ears & eyes Records)

Containing Argentinean textures and traditional rhythm influences, 20th century “classical music” ideas, deep grooves, and free improvisation would land this record in the overall genre of “contemporary jazz.” It’s fusion music in the sense that it takes elements from different worlds and puts them together to create new, well conceived music with clear influences and yet its own identity. The compositions are often contrasting in style with one another, whilst keeping a coherent aesthetic as a whole. These contrasts will probably lead to a favorite track depending on each listener’s taste. The kind of album that can satisfy the Jazz and Improvised Music enthusiast but also tickle the curiosity of others, like a Rock or World Music lover.

The ensemble is made up of musicians from different backgrounds and generations. This is true in many aspects. Not only is there a 20 year difference of age between the oldest and the youngest member but also their careers have been formed from various “schools” and literal varying hemispheres giving the overall sounds a richness that’s not often heard. It features the Argentina-born, Netherlands-living tenor saxophonist Natalio Sued and the Dutch alto saxophonist Ben Van Gelder - icons of two different generations and latitudes.

Adán had a late start, and was a “mature student” during his Jazz and Classical studies at the Conservatory of Amsterdam where his varied influences included (but were not limited to) Contemporary Jazz, Free Improvisation, Argentinian Music, Blues, Rock and more and represents the unity of Adán’s musical life.

With his beginnings rooted on blues guitar, he was active in several scenes in Buenos Aires from the late 90s throughout the 2000s. He played punk guitar at the iconic Cemento, and was later a member of the Jazz and also the Tango scenes, now with the double bass, performing at virtually all Tango Saloons, opening the Buenos Aires Tango festival and later touring Europe, getting to share a stage with the legendary bandoneonist Luis Stazo.

Once settled in Amsterdam, a strong, long lasting collaboration with Natalio Sued was born. Besides performing together frequently as a duet and a trio, they co-founded Antimufa together with other Argentinian members of the local improv scene. The quartet revisited the Argentinean Tango and Folklore songbook, subsequently performing original compositions and was eventually joined by guest Martín Sued on bandoneón.

Here on this debut as a leader, Mizrahi allows any and all of the above to influence the compositions of DISSIDENT.
Mizrahi states that the choice of musicians came out of their affinity with the styles and good camaraderie. He wasn’t planning on a super-group, it just happened that way. In fact when he decided to pursue a career in music he didn’t really envision having such a top notch group of musicians playing his material, it just happened that way. 

The double bass is always present without becoming dominant, with subtle inflections and suggestions that spark responses from the combo. A very elegant conversation that happens within the framework provided by the compositions, which also share the understated beauty and intelligence.

It’s a very well balanced recording, fresh without being superficial, adventurous without being pretentious.

1. Javastraat 04:59
2. Open Flag 04:11
3. Tone Deaf Morning Chant 04:15
4. Sin Cobrar 06:29
5. Picadita Tropical 04:40
6. Rubata e Ritrovata 10:31
7. Melush 03:42

About the tunes:

JAVASTRAAT: While in a funky 7-4 groove, the opening tune Javastraat utilizes Tango practices with its sudden stops, chromatics (think: Pugliese) and semitone modulations (think: Piazzolla). The piece also serves as a presentation card of the band, with everyone but the drums taking a solo. First is the bandleader's which is very groovy, fluid and makes eloquent use of the “chromatic” element in combination with open strings. The tune modulates a semitone down for the guitar solo; an interesting incorporation of harmony to what is otherwise a “vamp-heavy tune”. And once more, we venture a semitone down for the short, yet distinct alto sax solo. For the tenor sax solo, we go back to the original key of C. But now for a sequence: 4 bars of C and 4 bars of B, and this will loop throughout the solo. Sued takes good advantage of this for what is probably the most developed solo, making use of several elements from the tune and from previous solos. While being the only instrument not taking a solo, this tune introduces us to what is clearly a refined, groovy drummer. Hip too, yet supportive and unpretentious.

OPEN FLAG starts off as a bluesy tune with some interesting phrasing. The B section, with the guitar now playing a melodic role seems at first to have more of an introspective vibe which is surprising but very satisfyingly matched with some Tristano-like lines, magnifically performed in unison by Sued and Van Gelder. Semey’s rock sounding solo is also somewhat contrasting in a satisfying way. The next section now features a sax duo improvised “soundscape”, over which the original guitar (counter)melody takes place.

TONE DEAF MORNING CHANT turns the quintet into a sextet with the addition of George Dumitriu on guitar. The big sounding orchestration in the beginning is followed by the quizzical main theme in parallel 6ths and dominant chords moving by intervals of seconds and thirds catapulting Van Gelder into his freely improvised solo. 

SIN COBRAR includes an intriguing bass groove that simulates the “bordoneo” of the Tango guitar and is so smoothly performed the 5/4 bar goes barely noticed. What seemed to be a dark tune turns to a fresher, more Folkloric aesthetic, reminiscent of Guillermo Klein’s music. It later turns into a faster, danceable groove with a guitar solo and later an obsessive ending loop where Tijn Jans shows some fine drumming.

PICADITA TROPICAL is a fun uptempo tune in the Latin Rock style but chord progressions reminiscent of Tom Petty. The kick off energy is never lost, but rather augmented soloist after soloist.

RUBATA e RITROVATA is two compositions in one. The first part is totally rubato, and stays so during the solos. There is a bass cadenza connecting to the next piece which features solos on a jazz waltz, being the only moment of the album with a swing feel.

MELUSH is an “Argentinean Zamba” ballad performed without harmonic instrument but with guest Marcos Baggiani on the characteristic Argentine drum bombo legüero and cymbals. Mizrahi stayed on the bow with a captivating tone on the melody and made use of some Tango technique subtleties before going to pizzicato. A nice, relaxed, simple, open aired closure to a recording that is otherwise energetic and rather “in your face”.

Adán Mizrahi - Double Bass & Compositions
Ben Van Gelder - Alto Sax
Natalio Sued - Tenor Sax
Teis Semey - Guitar
Tijn Jans - Drums

Special Guests:
George Dumitriu - Guitar on 3
Marcos Baggiani - Drums on 7