John Blevins' MATTERHORN - Uzumati (EARS&EYES RECORDS 2018)

In pursuit of an expressive and lyrical musical voice that balances the intellectual and emotional and emphasizes the fleeting but compassionate nature of our human condition, Blevins created MATTERHORN. 

This album, Uzumati, recounts a journey through a remote mountain wilderness in the northern Sierra Nevada in 2008. 

Synthesizing elements of jazz, rock, funk, and the avant-garde, ​Uzumati ​fuses electronic sounds and effects with acoustic instruments into a natural and captivating whole. 

Based on the enigmatic history of the Yosemite region and its inhabitants, these compositions question what can be lost in translation over time. ​Uzumati roughly translates to “grizzly bear” in the Miwok language, but it is often incorrectly attributed to the name ​Yosemite​--a​ ​corrupted phrase meaning “they are killers.” 

Told through the blurred lens of a decade now past, it is a story of resilience and gratitude--a sonic depiction of expansive beauty and wonder filled with fearful reverence. While relating memories and impressions of mountain trails, passes, peaks, meadows, and lakes, this music also shares the challenges inherent in any worthwhile journey. 

As the band's name tells you, ​MATTERHORN​ has a passion for climbing heights – both musically, with an alternately soaring and stargazing sound, and literally, drawing inspiration from trumpeter-leader John Blevins' backpacking exploits in Yosemite National Park's Matterhorn Canyon. 

Matterhorn's new album ​Uzumati​, a follow-up to its acclaimed, Shane Endsley-produced debut, will be released on October 12, 2018, on ​ears&eyes Records​. With their exuberant jazz harmonies, indie rock touches, Balkan feels and reggae grooves, Blevins and company create an intriguing aural landscape to reflect on mighty Yosemite. 

"Our lives are so fleeting--there's a timeline in the mountains of which we really have no conception," said Blevins. "On ​Uzumati​ [a Native American term for grizzly bear], we tried to capture some of that feeling." 

Matterhorn boasts an imposing lineup of New York-based players including Blevins label mate ​Drew Williams​ on bass clarinet and tenor saxophone; his college pal ​Jeff McLaughlin​ on guitar, ​Jesse Bielenberg​ on bass, ​Nathan Ellman-Bell​ on drums, and ​John Doing​ on percussion. 

Most of the members also contribute synthesizer and other electronic effects that give the music a cinematic feel – sometimes suggesting the dramatic soundtracks of the late Icelandic ​composer Johann Johannsson. There's an American heartland sensibility in the songs as well.

John Blevins - trumpet, effects, synthesizers

Drew Williams - bass clarinet, tenor saxophone, effects, Microbrute

Jeff McLaughlin - guitar, effects

Jesse Bielenberg - bass, effects

Nathan Ellman-Bell - drums, cymbals, percussion, Roland SPD

John Doing - percussion, glockenspiel

1. Peeler 09:15

2. Fearsome Creatures 06:09

3. Coda 09:11

4. Uzumati 03:26

5. Sawtooth 06:02

6. Kerrick 03:07

7. Paiute 03:35

8. Ember Dance 08:08

9. Mono 05:01

10. Deacon's Son 04:19

Recorded at Indaba Music in Queens, NY by Matt Dickey

Edited by Matt Dickey, John Blevins, and Drew Williams

Mixed by Matt Dickey and John Blevins

Mastered by Joseph Branciforte at Greyfade Studios

Produced by John Blevins with Drew Williams, Jeff McLaughlin, Jesse Bielenberg, and Nathan Ellman-Bell

Executive Production by John Blevins and Jon Lijoi

Art/design by Federico Maksimiuk and Rocio Galarza

All compositions by John Blevins © and ℗ 2018 John Blevins Music (ASCAP), except "Fearsome Creatures" by Drew Williams © 2018 (ASCAP), “Mono” by Jesse Bielenberg and John Blevins © 2018 (ASCAP), and "Deacon's Son" by Philip Bradford Barr and Andrew Gilmore Barr with permission from Secret City Records © 2011.

Yuhan Su - City Animals (SUNNYSIDE RECORDS October 26, 2018)

New York City can be like a jungle. With a menagerie of people intermingling in seemingly never ceasing action, the City has ecosystems within ecosystems. Vibraphonist/composer Yuhan Su has been inspired by her chaotic new home and her experiences with the individuals she has met there. Her new recording, City Animals, captures her enthusiasm for the craziness of the City and the adventures she has had since her arrival. 

Originally from Taiwan, Su came to the States in 2008 to further her music studies at Berklee College of Music in Boston, where she expanded her classical percussion knowledge to the world of jazz and improvisation. In 2012, Su moved to New York; she fell in love with the City and immediately immersed herself in the wilds of the jazz scene. 

Su began to check out the local musicians in an effort to create her own ensemble. She started writing music for a quintet of trumpet, guitar, bass, vibes and drums, which was able to record an album and tour, including a visit to her native Taiwan. As her compositional style evolved, Su wished to both open the sound and to have more harmonic control of the group through her vibes. So she recruited saxophonist Alex LoRe to replace the guitar and join the tightly knit ensemble, which features trumpeter Matt Holman, bassist Petros Klampanis and drummer Nathan Ellman-Bell. 

Her decision to have the vibes as the only harmonic instrument freed up the group’s sound, enabling a stripping down to single voices or a wide harmonic spectrum. Su’s music continues to blend elements of modern jazz and contemporary classical into a texturally rich and dynamic fusion, while always maintaining a groove. Having wanted to be a novelist as a child, Su is a natural storyteller who uses words to remember feelings that will drive compositions inspired by experiences and stories that she has grown fond of. 

The program begins with “Y El Coche Se Murió,” a dramatic piece that interprets Su’s nerves when her band’s van broke down en route to a gig in Spain, the van’s pace echoed by an insistent pulse that dies out leaving the musicians to their own devices. Echoing the optimism and wariness of the immigrant experience, “Viaje” is written in two parts, dark and disjointed leading to bright and optimistic. Su has had an increasing interest in dance, which led her to write “Feet Dance,” a bounding aural study of dancers’ feet as they move. 

As a vibraphonist, Su is a harmonic instrument player, so pianists are obvious inspirations. “Poncho Song” captures her appreciation for the approach of piano legend Bill Evans. The title track is about the noisy yet grooving experience of living in New York, with the band dancing around the groove and rich harmony. 

Su wrote the Kuafu Suite using the Chinese folk tale about a giant who chases the sun only to exhaust himself, try to revive himself by drinking a lake and, finally, dying with his goal unrealized, thus creating mountains and valleys. Seen by many as a warning of overestimating oneself, Su’s fascination with the story led to her romantic take of running towards your goals. Three parts, “I. Rising,” “II. Starry, Starry Night,” and “III. Parallel Chasing,” follow the giant’s journey in a wonderfully expressive musical narrative. 

The beautiful ballad “Tutu & D” is inspired by Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama’s The Book of Joy, which tells readers to find happiness, which for Su is finding beauty in music. The raucous “Party 2AM” looks to a more inebriated style of merriment, with the ensemble playing rambunctiously against one another. 

Yuhan Su looks to find the joy in the hectic life she has chosen in the jungle that is New York City. Her City Animals is a deft and uplifting journey that will separate the young vibist from the herd. 

Yuhan Su - vibraphone

Matt Holman - trumpet, flugelhorn

Alex LoRe - alto saxophone

Petros Klampanis - bass

Nathan Ellman-Bell - drums

1. Y El Coche Se Murió

2. Viaje

3. Feet Dance

4. Poncho Song

5. City Animals

6. KuaFu (I. Rising)

7. KuaFu (II. Starry, Starry Night)

8. KuaFu (III. Parallel Chasing)

9. Tutu & D

10. Party 2AM