It's been a long time since the release of the first CD by Fourth Page (CD LR 619 Blind Horizons). Surreal, mystical and hypnotic, the music is like nothing you've heard before. It breathes and pulsates, it is scary and beautiful at the same time, yet it is utterly original. This new album covers a lot of ground from hushed ambience to immersive, trance-like grooves, folkish ballads and restrained bursts of abstract clutter. It is luminous, dark, seductive and edgy. The line-up is still the same: Charlie Beresford - voice and guitar, Carolyn Hume - keyboards, Peter Marsh - bass, Paul May drums.
This CD is a very personal statement from Marilyn Crispell. MEMORIA / FOR PESSA MALKA was composed as a memorial to her relatives who died in the Second World War, and to her parents, husband, and close friends who have passed on during the past several years. The five movements comprise a journey through suffering to redemption. First half of the CD is a trio with Tanya Kalmanovitch (violin) and Richard Teitelbaum (electronics), while the second half is a duo with Tanya. The seven violin/piano improvisations are not connected to the memorial piece, but they seemed to fit the ambience established by it.
In recent years, the irrepressible and inexhaustible tenor saxophonist Ivo Perelman has forged a special relationship with violist Mat Maneri, with whom he has recorded six albums since 2013. “When I play with him, I have the best of both worlds,” Perelman explains. “I have the wonderful sounds that a string instrument can produce – the bowing, the pizzicato, the sad timbre of the viola, the intimate sound; but I also get the wonderful phrasing of a woodwind player.” This no doubt owes to the influence of the violist’s father, the iconoclastic Boston-based saxophonist & clarinetist Joe Maneri. “I don’t have that relationship with anybody else that plays a string instrument,” adds Perelman, who remarked, after their first encounter, “it’s like each of us is playing both instruments at the same time.” This musical compatibility undergirds two new albums that inaugurate the saxophonist’s latest themed series of recordings. Strings 1 and Strings 2 (available November 16 via Leo Records) are the first of seven recordings, each of which showcases the core unit of Perelman and Maneri but in different settings formed by the addition of other artists. Perelman has previously employed a similar methodology to great success. In 2015, he issued five albums built around his relationship with drummer Gerald Cleaver. In 2016, he presented two separate projects in which he and his most frequent collaborator, pianist Matthew Shipp, welcomed varying combinations of bass, drums, and trumpet. Such projects present Perelman as a sort of experimental scientist, adding and subtracting reagents to affect the results, and they represent the most ambitious segment of his discography. On Strings 1, Perelman and Maneri are joined by two admired violinists known for their improvisation, Mark Feldman and Jason Hwang. This creates, for all intents and purposes, a string quartet – except for the fact that here, the tenor saxophone stands in for the cello. While this quartet represents a unique grouping, it is nonetheless rooted in the distinct similarities linking the tenor and the cello. They share an almost identical written range and tonal color, from luscious mahogany in the low notes to a sweet chartreuse in the upper register; each instrument is considered the most “vocally” expressive instrument within its respective family. (In fact, you could say that the cello sounds something like a “tenor violin.”) What’s more, Perelman has previously stated his tendency for his saxophone playing to “mutate” in the presence of the violin family, saying, “I start to incorporate the bowing, the instruments’ phrasing, in my own playing.” “I am particularly in love with this session,” Perelman admits now, “because I was not expecting anything like it at all. I thought that maybe this wouldn’t work, that maybe it was too many high-pitched violins. I never thought I would become the ‘cello’ anchoring it all down.” As is the case with any Perelman album, the music on Strings 1 sprouts from total spontaneity, created with neither written music nor even any outline regarding themes, tempos, form, or harmonic movement. But the results seem anything but haphazard: motifs arise and spread, counterpoint blinks in and out of existence, and passage after passage raises the question of where improvisation ends and true composition begins. Perelman has always had a strong affinity for the instruments that make up the violin family. The roots of this predilection extend to his youth: as a child in his native Saõ Paulo, Perelman played cello for several years before he turned to the saxophone, and the instrument still haunts him. As he explains when discussing Strings 2 – which marks his first partnership with a stand-alone cellist (as opposed to an earlier recording with the Sirius String Quartet) – he initially leaned toward excluding the instrument from any of the recordings in the “Strings” series. “When there’s a cello there,” he admits, “I kind of become a different animal, because I have sentimental values attached to it. Without the cello, I can work without distractions. Throw a cello in there, and it’s something else. The cello just drives me crazy. It’s a powerful thing; the deep, deep sound – it speaks to my soul immediately.” Strings 2 features cellist Hank Roberts, whose extraordinary eclecticism – he has played traditional jazz, folk and country music, rock, and avant-garde improvisation – has allowed him to perform with artists ranging from Gary Burton and Rudy Royston, to Bill Frisell, to Sting, to Julius Hemphill and Tim Berne. Like Maneri, Roberts de-emphasizes traditional praxis in favor of expressivity, sublimating pyrotechnics to achieve an elegant balance of resolve and fragility. Strings 2 also marks Perelman’s first on-disc meeting with Ned Rothenberg, among the admired reed virtuosos in post-freedom improvisation, who plays bass clarinet on four tracks. This represents another rare occurrence in Perelman’s extensive discography of 100-plus albums: until the 2018 release of Kindred Spirits and Spiritual Prayers, each of which comprised duo improvisations by tenor and bass clarinet, Perelman had previously recorded with another woodwind player only once. “This means so much to my development as an artist,” Perelman has said in describing the experience of working with bass clarinet. By including that instrument, along with the cello (his first great love) and the viola of Mat Maneri (another “kindred spirit”), Perelman has assembled a group that reaches into his distant and recent past to point his art in yet another new direction.
Supermood is a debut CD and a welcome addition to the Leo Records' catalogue. It is a brainchild of great talent from Devon Roz Harding (alto sax & voice) who penned eleven compositions for this CD. Catchy tunes transform into collective improvisatitons and you can't tell when one finish and the other begin. Both Mike Outram (guitar, voice) and Jim Bashford (drums, voice) are virtuosos in their own right. Roz Harding organised the music as a non-stop narrative of life inside the Supermood.
There is nothing new about the piano/saxophone duo but Lucas Leidinger (piano) and Daniel Daemen (saxophone) managed to find a special mood and sound that are utterly original. The beauty of this CD is in the fact that there are eleven fairly short pieces, some of them spontanious, some written, snipets of beautiful melodies emerge and disappear into the thin air. What is striking is the broad musical culture of these two musicians who don't seem to divide music into genres but rather treat all genres as just music.
Daniel Studer (bass) and Dieter Ulrich (drums) are household names in the Leo Records catalogue while for Gabriela Friedli (piano) this is a debut CD. Out of 10 pieces presented here, five pieces each belong to Gabriela and Daniel. Extensive liner notes both in German and English give an idea about the method of playing. These Swiss musicians know each other very well and their music projects the feeling that anything is possible. They are not afraid to surprise each other, their music shines with intelligence that knows no boundaries, yet it is firmly rooted.
Artwork [Cover Art By] – Albert Mauerhofer
Bass – Daniel Studer
Design – Lora Denis
Drums, Bugle – Dieter Ulrich
Liner Notes [German] – Pirmin Bossart
Liner Notes [Translation (English)] – Bill Gillonis
Mixed By, Mastered By – Willy Strehler
Piano – Gabriela Friedli
Producer [Produced By (...) For Radio SRF2] – Peter Bürli
Producer [Produced By] – Studer*, Ulrich*, Friedli*, Leo Feigin
Untold Story is a document of a musical partnership dating back to 2013. Drawing on live recordings of improvisations, it is clear that Poll and MacDonald are entirely comfortable with each other's musicality. There is an uncanny, performative second sense of what the other will do in the very moment of creation. This, in essence, is what makes the music on the album so engaging. Poll's vocal performance is part of a rich trope in much twentieth and twenty-first century art music and free jazz. At the same time, Alistair MacDonald's laptop transformations tap into contemporary.
Second CD produced by Stefano Leonardi (flute, sulittu), with international quintet. Marco Colonna (clarinet, bass clarinet), Antonio Bertoni (cello), Fridolin Blumer (bass), Heinz Geisser (percussion), the first CD being "Conversations About Thomas Chapin" CD LR 702. All the musicians are firmly established in Leo Records catalogue and recorded before in different combinations L'Eterno is the name given to the silvery and dead trunk of an old Swiss pine, the remains of a majestic tree struck by lightning in the Lagorai mountains.
Artwork – Re delle Aringhe
Cello – Antonio Bertoni
Clarinet, Alto Clarinet, Bass Clarinet – Marco Colonna
Composed By [All Compositions By] – Antonio Bertoni, Fridolin Blumer, Heinz Geisser, Marco Colonna, Stefano Leonardi (3)
The free improvisations of Watts, Williams, Owens, and Armstrong provide a mixture of intensity, subtlety, lushness, and beauty on Sensoria that will reward repeated listening. Following the critical acclaim of Bright Yellow With Bass (LR 758), Sensoria is Heath Watts' third release on Leo Records and his first release with a quartet. These improvisations are simultaneously delicate and intense. They requiry deep listening, communication, empathy and selflessness. This was a leaderless session; each musician brought her or his experiences, methods and ideas to the summit, but each was willing to compromise instantaneously to make the improvisation stronger.
Design [Cover Design By] – Brandi Watts
Double Bass [Acoustic Double Bass] – Blue Armstrong
Liner Notes [English] – Ann Tappan, Blue Armstrong, Heath Watts
Producer [Produced By] – Heath Watts, Leo Feigin
Recorded By [Recording By], Mixed By [Mixing By], Mastered By [Mastering By] – Dory Ritrovato
Soprano Saxophone, Voice – Heath Watts
Trombone, Piano, Melodica, Voice – M.J. Williams (2)
This is the nineth CD by Mark Harvey and his Aardvark Jazz Orchestra. As Mark writes in his notes, Democratic Vistas is a musical exploration of American socio—political situation. Influences include Charles Ives, Charles Mingus, Charlie Haden, Sun Ra, and Dada. Focused on America, there are many resonances around the globe. The Aardvark Jazz Orchestra now in its 46th season, is one of the longest continuously operating jazz orchestra in the world.
1 Franklin's Wager 8:30
2 Dreaming 4:44
3 Samba313 5:42
4 De-Evolution Blues 8:55
5 March of the Delusional, Dysfunctional Demagogues 2:39
Naked Dance is the child of Stephen Rush which was founded with the idea of playing without a bass. This album is Naked Dance's third attempt and includes a bass player. All compositions are by Stephen Rush and range from New Orleans street music to open graphic scores (Time Cycles). The album includes multiple "realizations" or takes of Stephen's piece "Time Cycles" which is a graphic score study with ovals and circles laid over staves — open to interpretations by musicians. Jeremy Edwards — drums, Andrew Bishop — clarinet and base clarinet, Tim Flood — bass, synthesizer, Davy Lazar — trumpet. Stephen Rush plays piano, rhodes, micromoog, trombone and euphonium.
This old Irish saying is about John Wolf Brennan: "You dont need to be crazy to be an artist — but it helps." This CD is the most ambitious project of his entire life. 16-page booklet in German and English full of colour photos give an idea of what's going on: full-scale wind orchestra, Pago Libre quartet plus three outstanding soloists, plus six guest musicians from Ireland. The big names of the Swiss scene are all there: Arkady Shilkloper, Christy Doran, Christian Zehnder, Patrice Heral. This madness was recorded live at the Alpentone Music Festival and witnessed the standing ovation of a huge crowd.
Alto Saxophone [Alpentöne Blasorchester] – Alexandra Müller (tracks: 1, 3, 5, 8 to 10), Laetitia Epp (tracks: 1, 3, 5, 8 to 10)
Trombone [Alpentöne Blasorchester], Bass Trombone [Alpentöne Blasorchester] – Martin Huser (tracks: 1, 3, 5, 8 to 10), Philipp Gisler (tracks: 1, 3, 5, 8 to 10), Stefan Christen (tracks: 1, 3, 5, 8 to 10)
Trumpet [Alpentöne Blasorchester] – Christian Simmen (tracks: 1, 3, 5, 8 to 10), Marco Bissig (tracks: 1, 3, 5, 8 to 10), Martin Arnold (10) (tracks: 1, 3, 5, 8 to 10)
Tuba [Alpentöne Blasorchester] – Paul Gisler (2) (tracks: 1, 3, 5, 8 to 10), Tobias Zwyer (tracks: 1, 3, 5, 8 to 10)
The Last Taxi is a transport vehicle. Its routes are many and its Destinations are unknown . You have but one chance to board, as it’s mission is immediate and urgent. Yet you know that you MUST go in, otherwise you will be walking alone in a desolate place Once inside the taxi, you are going home, yet you understand that home is an endless journey. What was your world is now seen through the window as a dream that is passing, an obscure and blurred image. Your life is now lived on the inside. Your travelling compagnions share the experience of the Last Taxi with you, yet each’s preception is different from the other’s. The Taxi is a forum of life stories, sometimes you tell yours at other times you listen, sometimes you discuss the stories with a few travellers, other times they all discuss. Your ride in the Last Taxi is free, you may come and go as you please. Yet, once you have ridden, your life will be forever seen through a different perspective.
“One’s Destination is never a place, but a new way of looking at things” - Henry Miller
