Marta Sanchez - SAAM (Spanish American Art Museum) February 25, 2022 Whirlwind Recordings

Marta Sanchez’s creative voice is strikingly original – circling rhythms, elaborate forms and criss-crossing counterpoint distinguishes her sonic signature on the crowded New York contemporary music scene. Following three critically acclaimed quintet releases, the Madrid-born pianist-composer presents SAAM (Spanish American Art Museum) on Whirlwind Recordings, an album driven by emotional candour and boundary-pushing compositions.

A talented cast realises her knotty, technical writing – frontline partners Alex Lore and Roman Filiu meet Sanchez, Rashaan Carter andAllan Mednard on backline duties.

SAAM riffs on the Smithsonian American Art Museum, on an album that’s an exhibition of Sanchez’s life in musical form: “It’s made up of all the elements of society from both countries [Spain and America] that impact my life and make me who I am.” Matters internal and external are realised in musical expositions of complex feelings. The pieces took shape in lockdown, as Sanchez exchanged fortnightly composition tasks with a pen- pal. “Those compositions express all the phases I was going through at that time. I was reflecting super deeply on what’s important, and how we might give some sense to life.”

Most of the album draws on those precisely realised emotions. The colouristic, texturally driven opener ‘The Unconquerable Areas’ describes parts of herself “that are still vulnerable. These weak parts of myself; even though I’ve been dealing with them for a long time, they’re still there.” Similarly reflective is ‘Dear Worthiness’, a “sad ballad that reflects on my self worth” – it features beautifully lithe melodies, but melancholy is never far away. ‘SAAM’ cuts through that smoothness, in a jagged, Schoenberg- inspired outburst full of intense feelings and dense clusters, built around an essential pain.

A different form of pain features in ‘The Eternal Stillness’ – mournful sighs and cries emanate from the saxophones, as layered textures shift underneath. Then something very different comes along – ‘Marivi’, featuring Ambrose Akinmusire and Camila Meza, offers a warm tribute to Sanchez’s mother, who died during lockdown. “I tell her things I could never tell her,” says Sanchez of the lyrics. “I loved my mum but it was really hard to tell her the deep things.”

‘If You Could Create It’ strikes a lighter tone, with cascading torrents of tenor sax sound, before ‘The Hard Balance’ offers reflection, both musically and personally – the track is finely balanced on an intricate polyrhythm, that reflects the difficulties of maintaining a work-life balance. ‘December 11th’ is the day Sanchez’s mother died, a personal tribute featuring an extended, heartfelt piano solo.

The album concludes with ‘When Dreaming is Only’, the most complex tune on the album; insistent piano rhythms and duelling saxophones give way to a band texture that’s bustling, brimming with energy. “Sometimes I just take the vibe, compose the atmosphere, and sometimes I focus on something super specific.” Sanchez’s ability to tap into emotional expression through detailed instrumental music is without parallel – this collage of moods and feelings is testament to that.

1. The Unconquered Vulnerable Areas

2. Dear Worthiness

3. SAAM (Spanish American Art Museum)

4. The Eternal Stillness

5. Marivi

6. If You Could Create It

7. The Hard Balance

8. December 11th

9. When Dreaming Is The Only

Alex LoRe - alto saxophone

Roman Filiu - tenor saxophone

Marta Sanchez - piano

Rashaan Carter - bass

Allan Mednard - drums

Camila Meza - voice and guitar (5)

Ambrose Akinmusire - trumpet (5)

Charlotte Greve - synths (5)

Recorded by Chris Allen at Sear Sound

(March 15/16, 2021)

Mixed by Dave Darlington

Mastered by Dave Darlington

Produced by Marta Sanchez

Executive Producer - Michael Janisch

Liner Notes - Michael Formanek

Photography by Kimberley M Wang

Graphic Design by Dave Bush

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Gabriel Vicéns - The Way We Are Created (2021)

Gabriel Vicéns blends Jazz and Puerto Rican Rhythms in his New Album, “The Way We Are Created”

The guitarist expands his musical expression by mixing bomba and plena rhythms from his native Puerto Rico with his unique brand of Jazz.

“The Way We Are Created,” the third album from the brilliant New York City-based musician Gabriel Vicéns, offers a detailed picture of his multiple talents. It portrays the evolution of his own voice, not only as a guitarist but as a composer and conceptualist as well.

Vicéns has previously released two widely acclaimed albums, “Point In Time” and “Days.” He has blossomed into his signature sound on “The Way We Are Created;” a delicate sound that conveys robust, cleanly-articulated ideas, with solos that add depth to his melodic and thematic compositions.

The album becomes a part of the Inner Circle Music canon, a label established by influential saxophonist Greg Osby, which “provides a forum for some of the next generation’s most provocative composers and stylists.” Also behind the release of the album is the Puerto Rican non-profit organization 71 Associates, which was created by Jochi Dávila to help experimental musicians.

Vicéns’ music has arrived at a complex but sentimental soundscape, as this set of compositions live within the world of bomba and plena, which are folkloric Puerto Rican styles. This album enjoys a natural, organic blend of Jazz with fiery, propulsive rhythms, in his own original compositional style.​ ​The Afro-Puerto Rican percussion instruments barril de bomba and panderos de plena intertwine beautifully within the harmonic and melodic complexity of jazz, while Vicéns’ compositions utilize nostalgic yet challenging Afro-Carribean rhythms.

Thus, the album is an array of bold themes brimming with personality, including “It Doesn't Matter,” “The Upcoming,” and “A City of Many Mysteries,” which employ yubá, sicá, and rulé rhythms from the bomba tradition. “To The Unknown” is an energetic plena, and one of the many pieces on the record that stirs up your mind as well as your feet.

“This project is the result of my own investigation into the worlds of these traditions,” says Vicéns, a distinguished graduate from Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico (BM) and Queens College (MM), currently pursuing his Doctorate in Guitar Performance in New York. “When I begin a composition, I first establish a rhythmic foundation which comes from Afro-Puerto Rican folkloric traditions, and then I build the composition from that underlying structure. The music you’ll hear on this record is authentic to my roots and comes directly from my life.”

“The Way We Are Created” was co-produced by star Puerto Rican saxophonist Miguel Zenón, and confirms Vicéns’ gifts as a skilled bandleader. Several of the finest New York musicians give life to these compositions with Román Filiú on alto sax, Glenn Zaleski on piano, Rick Rosato on bass, E.J. Strickland on drums, and Víctor Pablo on percussion. Their solos shine with a cool, fluid mastery throughout the whole work. Three short interludes work as breathers while reinforcing the album’s coherence as a whole.

“Being able to release this album in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic has been an incredible and challenging experience for me,” explains Vicéns. “There were moments I asked myself if this was the right time, but I arrived at the idea that art is a relieving outlet for people, can build community, and can comfort pain. I feel good about it.”

“The Way We Are Created,”​ i​s an homage to the power of all artistic expressions, including painting. Vicéns is also an accomplished painter, and the cover of the album is a recent work of his. While discussing the thought process behind the album title, Vicéns says that “When I complete a work, sometimes it seems personified. It’s almost like the composition speaks in the first person, and is their own being. If compositions could speak for themselves, maybe they could explain to us how they were created.”

To the listener, it’s a testimony to Gabriel Vicéns’ constant evolution as a musical thinker and leader, able to show new paths of expression for others to follow. Above all, “The Way We Are Created” is a great listen for jazz aficionados, and bomba and plena lovers alike. “When I came up with this title, it had two meanings. It’s a reflection on the way that all living beings are created to be naturally inventive and imaginative. It is a tribute to how we are all born to be creative.”

2. It Doesn't Matter 06:45

3. Caribeño Pensador 01:51 video

4. The Upcoming 06:12

5. A City of Many Mysteries 06:40

6. Fuera de mi Cuerpo 01:38

7. Definite Purpose 05:28

8. To the Unknown 07:24

9. Retorno 01:47

10. The Mystery of S.T. 07:21

Gabriel Vicéns: guitar

Roman Filiú: alto saxophone

Glenn Zaleski: piano

Rick Rosato: bass

E.J. Strickland: drums

Victor Pablo: percussion

Recorded by Chris Benham at Big Orange Sheep, New York, May 2019.

Mixed and Mastered by David Darlington

Editing Engineer: Danilo Pichardo

Produced by Gabriel Vicéns

Co-produced by Miguel Zenón

Associate producer: Greg Osby

Executive producer: Jochi Dávila & 71 Associates

Pre-order

Saxophonist Kyle Nasser's Persistent Fancy via ROPEADOPE RECORDS (October 5, 2018)

Saxophonist/Composer Kyle Nasser Strikes a Vivid Balance Between the Cerebral

and the Sensual on New Album

Persistent Fancy, out October 5, 2018 on Ropeadope, draws inspiration from literature and

philosophy as well as personal experience and struggle, with a stellar band

featuring Roman Filiú, Jeff Miles, Dov Manski, Nick Jost, and Allan Mednard

“[Nasser’s] exquisitely balanced works reflect both his ardent creativity and his urbane artistic composure.”

– Hrayr Attarian, All About Jazz

“Kyle Nasser… is intelligent and soulful, has a sense of freedom yet understands the concept of structure and is

a leader with a finely tuned sense of organization and order… vital new music.”

– Donald Elfman, The New York City Jazz Record

CD Release Dates:

• Thurs. Oct. 11 – Café 939 Berklee College of Music, Boston, MA

• Fri. Oct. 12 – Greasy Luck Brewpub, New Bedford, MA

• Sat. Oct. 13 – Cornelia Street Café, NYC

“’Tis no sin for a man to labour in his vocation.” The words of Sir John Falstaff, Shakespeare’s great

tragicomic rogue, grace the inside cover of Persistent Fancy, the latest release by saxophonist/composer

Kyle Nasser. Granted, Nasser’s passionate pursuit of jazz is more easily defensible than Falstaff’s chosen

profession of purse-snatching, but The Bard’s use of eloquent language in the mouth of such an incorrigible,

gluttonous rascal has a strong appeal for the saxophonist, who strikes his own musical balance between the

cerebral and the sensual.

Persistent Fancy, due out October 5, 2018 via Ropeadope, is highlighted by a pair of three-part suites that

straddle that boundary: the “Baroque Suite,” inspired in particular by Shostakovich’s Preludes and Fugues,

foregrounds the elegance of classical composition, while the “Eros Suite” dwells on the carnal, tracing the

stages of desire from initial attraction through consummation to reflection. As with all of Nasser’s music,

however, the intellectual and the emotional coexist vividly in both, epitomizing the same mix of impulses that

makes Shakespearean characters like Prince Hal so compellingly complex.

“Prince Hal had a very dissolute upbringing, palling around with Falstaff, this fat, comic philosopher, then has

to leave that behind to become King Henry V,” explains Nasser, who explores the prince’s maturation in his

piece “The Ascent of Henry Monmouth.” The wry wisdom of Falstaff echoes that of Svidrigailov in Crime and

Punishment, whose words provided the epigraph for Nasser’s previous release, Restive Soul. “I always find

that the best insight in literature comes from the most evil characters, or at least the characters that live

outside the mainstream.”

In assembling the ensemble to breathe life into the music of Persistent Fancy, Nasser surrounded himself

with stellar musicians who can deftly navigate the blend of intricacy and fire that these compositions require.

Guitarist Jeff Miles and keyboardist Dov Manski return from Restive Soul; drummer Allan Mednard has

worked with the likes of Kurt Rosenwinkel and Melissa Aldana, bassist Nick Jost swerves between acoustic

jazz virtuosity and powerhouse electric playing with heavy metal band Baroness, and Cuban-born alto

saxophonist Roman Filiú is an innovative voice who has performed with Henry Threadgill, David Murray,

and Chucho Valdés.

Much as Shakespeare’s young prince changed paths to follow his life’s true calling, Nasser switched gears

at a key moment in his own life – albeit somewhat less dramatically. Where Hal left behind a misspent youth

to rule a kingdom, Nasser changed his focus from Economics and Political Philosophy, which he studied at

Harvard, to pursue his love of jazz after crossing paths with iconic pianist Hank Jones. He went on to

Berklee College of Music and hasn’t looked back since, though he’s never wholly turned his back on his

intellectual and literary interests.

Persistent Fancy, in fact, takes its title from an idea posited by the poet and philosopher Samuel Taylor

Coleridge (best known for “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”), who contrasted the invention of new concepts

(imagination) versus the assembling of pre-existing thoughts or notions (fancy). Nasser comes down on the

side of 20th century critic T.E. Hulme, who countered that modern art should thrive on fancy as it relates to

familiar experience rather than high-flown fantasies.

“I was thinking about the way that thoughts tend to recur over and over again,” Nasser says. “Even if they’re

not the deepest thoughts in the world, they can be insistent and keep coming back so that you can’t shake

them. That’s not imagination, it’s not earth-shattering, it’s fancy – persistent fancy.” The title track is built on

that sort of insistent recurrence, with recurring melodic lines over a cyclical ostinato.

Playing from the gut is one way of praising impassioned musicality, but it became a very literal struggle for

Nasser during the writing of this album. Persistent pain prevented him from playing for a time, until a

physical therapist finally discovered that scar tissue in his abdomen was the cause; it was during Nasser’s

recovery that several of the pieces on Peristent Fancy were composed, including the opening piece, “Split

Gut,” which celebrates the recovery of his voice in dialogue with Roman Filiú’s alto.

The surging “Arrival” was initially written for a trio gig in Chile, where Nasser was collaborating with his

bandmate in the collective quartet Beekman, Chilean drummer Rodrigo Recabarren. Miles is given free rein

to shred over the bombastic grooves of Jost and Mednard on “Sticky Hipster,” named in homage to the rockinclined

denizens of Nasser’s Brooklyn neighborhood.

Despite following the “Eros Suite,” Nasser’s “3-Way” takes its title from a radio term, not a sexual innuendo.

On the air it refers to a conversation between three people, reflecting the tripartite melodic voices of the

composition. The album’s sole non-original tune is “Arioso,” an excerpt from German composer Paul

Hindemith’s “Ludus Tonalis.” Finally, the ebullient “Coffee and Cannabis” ends the album on a joyful note,

finally giving in to those minor vices that may not provide a vocation but can make life that much more

enjoyable.

Kyle Nasser

A Massachusetts native and graduate of both Harvard and Berklee, Kyle Nasser has been described as

possessing "superlative musicianship as a performer, writer and a bandleader…ardent creativity and urbane

artistic composure” (All About Jazz). Since moving to New York City in 2010, he has played at some of the

city's most prestigious venues – including the Blue Note, Smalls, Iridium, 55 Bar, and Cornelia St. Cafe –

and has toured the U.S. and South America. Nasser has shared the stage with jazz luminaries such as Jim

Hall, Hank Jones, Joe Lovano, Dave Douglas, Rich Perry, Ethan Iverson, Michael Formanek, and Ben

Monder, among others. In addition to leading his own group, he also plays with and composes for the

international collective Beekman, whose sound has been described as "a joyful and continued speculation

flowing in almost all facts with surprising ease” (Jazz, ese ruido). Nasser's 2015 debut, Restive Soul,

features his quintet presenting "a collection of sophisticated and complex modern jazz originals" (Jazz

Weekly). The album's songs weave together sonata forms, baroque to 20th century counterpoint, and

modern rhythms with modern jazz vocabulary. "The saxophonist's debut is knotty with a contrapuntal weave

of voices, bumpy mixed meters, and alternating rhythmic currents that nonetheless groove, sometime with a

rocking edge" (Boston Globe).

kylenasser.com

David Virelles - Igbó Alákọrin (The Singer’s Grove) Vol. I and II (PI RECORDINGS October 26, 2018)

This album was made possible by the generous support of The Shifting Foundation. Research for this project was completed thanks to The Diaz-Ayala Cuban and Latin American Popular Music Collection, Florida International University Library. 

Igbó Alákọrin (a phrase in Yoruba which can be loosely translated as The Singer’s Grove) is the realization of my dream to document the under-sung musicians of my birthplace, Santiago de Cuba. Each time I go back to visit my family, I have made it a practice to seek out and reconnect with the music's elder statesmen and women whom I grew up knowing through my parents, who are also musicians. I feel extremely fortunate to have been able to assemble for this album some of the legends, all of whom are still at the peak of their craft. Most of them are not household names and have never received recognition beyond their Santiago community, but they remain arguably amongst the last living sources of our music's golden era. The album was recorded at Santiago's E.G.R.E.M. - Siboney studios, where I grew up attending my father's late night recording sessions and also where I made some of my first record dates. The Singer’s Grove is a homecoming of sorts as it documents a collaboration with roots in family, community and culture. As I strive to make original music that is equal parts folk and contemporary expressions, this is another step in my pursuit to understand the essence of music, beyond styles or vocabularies.

Volume I - David Virelles Introduces Orquesta Luz de Oriente 

The picturesque southeastern Cuban town of Santiago has historically been considered an important breeding ground for music on the island. Volume I encompasses genres/styles associated with key figures of the rich musical legacy of the city: danzón Oriental, chepinsón, pregón, bolero and trova. In compiling this material, I received the blessing and guidance of Enrique Bonne, a world-renowned composer whose work has been recorded by a who’s who of Cuban music giants. Most of this volume was conceived for a big band of seasoned veterans. Visionary Santiago musicians Electo Rosell (Chepín) and Mariano Mercerón pioneered the big band sound propelled by Cuban percussion in the 1930s. Their work was inspired by African- American groups, yet kept very profound connections to folklore native to this part of Cuba.

The Oriente region is home to son, changüí, nengón, conga, as well as traditions inherited from Haiti. The legendary Chepín-Chovén Orchestra was the brainchild of Chepín and the outstanding yet obscure pianist Bernardo Chauvín (Chovén), whose pianistic style is referenced on our renditions of Chepín classics. In their heyday, the Chepín-Chovén Orchestra was a fixture at many venues, including the sociedad de mulatos Luz de Oriente. This long-vanished society club, which was located in a building still standing in Santiago, is the inspiration behind the name of our ensemble.

It features the voices of Emilio Despaigne Robert, a veteran sonero (lead vocalist) of Los Jubilados, one of the funkiest Santiago groups, and Alejandro Almenares, who is also featured on his sublime requinto guitar. Many consider Alejandro – the son of trova legend Ángel Almenares – the last of the old style trovadores, a lineage dating back to the 19th century with deep roots in Santiago. The younger Almenares learned his craft at informal home gatherings from his father and his father’s friends, which included the prophet Sindo Garay. Volume I spans several decades of important music from Santiago. These sounds tell the history of our people.

Vol II - Danzones de Romeu at Café La Diana 

Volume II is focused on the iconic Cuban pianist/composer Antonio María Romeu, who played his danzones on piano accompanied only by güiro starting in 1899 at the legendary Café La Diana in Havana. Romeu introduced an improvised piano solo on the montuno section of his quintessential “Tres Lindas Cubanas,” which revisits and expands Guillermo Castillo’s son of the same name. I reproduced Romeu’s solo on our interpretation of “Tres Lindas” because it is considered part of the piece, following the tradition of virtually every performance of this composition by any Cuban pianist, from Odilio Urfé to Chucho Valdés. 

On this recording I also explored specific Romeu pianistic devices. To my knowledge, there are just a few recordings that feature only piano and güiro in all of Cuba’s vast musical output. Romeu himself did various sessions in this format for Radio Cadena Suaritos from the end of the 1940s until his death in 1955, released posthumously on one LP. The other recordings documenting this rare combination are by the late piano god Frank Emilio Flynn and the magician of the güiro Gustavo Tamayo. Their stunning interpretations date from the 1960s. Romeu’s and Emilio’s albums were my primary inspiration for this volume. I was fortunate enough to meet Emilio in Havana where he was a judge for the first young musicians' competition I participated in (JoJazz), when I was 14 years old.

The master güirero on our recording is the danzón specialist Rafael Ábalos, a veteran of Oriente charangas such as Típica Juventud and Estrella De La Charanga. I first met Ábalos when I was eight years old when members of Estrella realized the beautiful idea of coaching a charanga of children in which I played piano. Ábalos has been an invaluable resource in realizing this entire project, hipping me to long forgotten recordings, providing historical context and passing on secrets of this much talked-about but forever mystical genre of Cuban music, the danzón.

David Virelles 

What a marvel! Tradition and avant-garde come together in this offering of the highest order. In my opinion, David Virelles is a young virtuoso immersed in research. He knows our African roots with depth. He is an innovator, a perfectionist, and the most creative and advanced of our jazz pianists. Thank you, David, for making us happy and proud, and for updating our traditions. Ashé! Never stop! 

Chucho Valdés

1. Bodas de Oro 04:51

2. El Rayaero

3. Grato Recuerdo

4. Echa Pa' Allá

5. Canto a Oriente

6. Un Granito de Arena

7. Sube La Loma

8. Cosas de Mi Cuba

9. Ojos de Sirena

10. Tápame Que Tengo Frío

11. Tira la Cuchara y Rompe el Plato

12. Mojito Criollo

13. Mares y Arenas

14. Tres Lindas Cubanas

David Virelles: piano, chorus

Alejandro Almenares: requinto, lead vocals (3,5,8,9), chorus

Emilio Despaigne Robert: lead vocals (2,7) , chorus

Rafael Ábalos: timbal, guiro, chorus

José Ángel Martínez: bass

Lázaro Bandera: congas

Román Filiú: alto saxophone

René "La Flor" Domínguez: tenor saxophone

Baudelis Rodríguez: baritone saxophone

Abel Virelles: trumpet

José Aquiles Virelles: chorus

Gabriel Montero: pailitas criollas, claves (2,7)

— with John Benitez: bass (5,8)

Recorded March 1-7, 2017 at Estudios

Siboney - E.G.R.E.M., Santiago de Cuba

Additional recording and mixing at

The Bunker Studio, Brooklyn, NY

Producer, musical direction, arrangements,

transcriptions: David Virelles

Executive producers: Seth Rosner and Yulun Wang

Production coordinator: José Aquiles Virelles

Cultural resources: Rafael Ábalos, Alejandro

Almenares and Enrique Bonne

Engineer: Todd Carder

Assistants: Máximo Espinosa and Iván Salas

Mixed by Todd Carder and David Virelles

Mastered by Alex DeTurk at Strange Weather,

Brooklyn, NY

Piano technician: Brian Whiton

Art direction and photography: Rómulo Sans

Graphic design: Simon Grendene

Composition credits:

#1-2:  Electo Rosell (Chepín) – Peer International Corp.

#3:  Alejandro Enis Almenares Sanchez – Music Sales Corporation OBO Tumi Editorial Ltd.

#4:  Mariano Mercerón Maso – Peer International Corp.

#5:  Manuel (Manolo) Meléndez – Copyright Control

#6:  Enrique Bonne Castillo – Peer International Corp.

#7:  David Virelles – SOCAN

#8:  Ángel Almenares Guirola – Music Sales Corporation OBO Tumi Editorial Ltd.

#9:  Sindo Garay - Peer International Corp.

#10-11:  Antonio María Romeu – Copyright Control

#12:  Antonio María Romeu – Spirit Music Inc. (ASCAP) OBO Hadem Music Corp. / Copyright Control

#13:  Rosendo Ruíz and Antonio María Romeu – Peermusic III Ltd.

#14:  Antonio María Romeu – Peer International Corp.

All rights reserved: El Tivoli Music and Pi Recordings, 2018

Román Filiú - Quarteria (SUNNYSIDE RECORDS May 11, 2018)

Six buildings in close proximity with families living one on top of another within a constant melee of sound, including music of all sorts. This is the public housing of Santiago de Cuba, known locally as cuartería. These apartments and their confederation of people and sounds serve as the inspiration to saxophonist and composer Román Filiú’s new musical suite and subsequent recording, Quarteria. 

Growing up in the far eastern province of Cuba, Filiú was aware of music all around him. His father was a music theory teacher who encouraged his son to explore classical music scores. Filiú’s own musical studies began with classical piano before he focused on the saxophone. While visiting his friends who lived in the local cuartería, the budding musician was exposed to a wide variety of sounds of Cuban extraction, including liturgical music for Bembé, conga oriental, tumba francesa, classical, jazz, and popular music, the cuartería was Filiú’s own musical Tower of Babel. 

Filiú left Santiago de Cuba some time ago. He continued his studies in Camagüey and at the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana. He lived and played locally in Havana, including a stint in jazz super group Irakere, before he moved to Madrid, where he lived for seven years. Filiú has been in New York since 2011 and has made his mark on the jazz scene as a bandleader, composer, instrumentalist and collaborator of note, playing alongside well-known musicians like Henry Threadgill, Steve Coleman and Dafnis Prieto. 

Upon receiving a commissioning and residency grant from The Jazz Gallery of New York City, Filiú was able to compose his Quarteria. His goal was to create a suite of music that involved an eclectic range of musical styles performed by a diverse group of musicians. In composing, Filiú utilized a number of methods, including writing by transcribing piano improvisations, playing his saxophone, singing the melody or even without the influence of an instrument, putting his thoughts straight to paper. Through the entire process, Filiú made sure that the pieces served improvisation. 

The ensemble grew out of Filiú’s intention to have as full a sound as possible with as compact an assemblage as he could muster. The ensemble ended up as a septet with an additional horn on two pieces, all members being brilliant stylists and improvisers well-versed in a variety of musical traditions.

Trumpeter Ralph Alessi has been a frequent collaborator with Filiú in Dafnis Prieto’s band, the two having originally met while the trumpeter traveled with Steve Coleman to Havana. Dayna Stephens’ s sonorous tenor saxophone is a perfect foil for Filiú’s alto. Also from Santiago de Cuba, pianist David Virelles has been a long time collaborator and is responsible here for widening the ensemble’s panoramic sound. Bassist Matt Brewer was a must for his steady rhythm and expert time, while drummer Craig Weinrib is equally adept in support and widely steeped in rhythmic traditions from all over the world. 

The suite begins with the staggering “Fulcanelli,” the piece inspired by its namesake’s study of the sacred geometry of cathedrals and which utilizes symmetry within its compositional makeup. Olivier Messiaen’s compositional style informed “Grass,” which was written away from the piano and utilizes expanded voicings between the three horns and the piano. The title of “Harina Con Arena” refers to the period of Russian withdrawal from Cuba in the 1990s and the food crisis that followed where there developed a common practice of adding sand to the cornmeal sold to the population. The piece is meant to have the jilting feeling of biting into that unexpected texture. 

Utilizing hints from his choir director brother, Filiú wrote the beautiful “Choral” with formal voice leading, lending to the shifting harmonies within the instruments. On his week long Jazz Gallery residency at the Pocantico Center in Tarrytown, New York, Filiú composed three danzas at the piano: the improvised “Danza #5,” the Messiaen influenced “Danza #1,” and “Danza #3,” which was inspired by the rhythms of his childhood neighborhood comparsa ensemble, San Pedrito. The wonderfully disjointed “Glass” uses one melody, which is delayed a half beat between the parts, creating a unique counterpoint. 

The stately “Imperator” mirrors the walk of an old Haitian refugee who lived near Filiú’s childhood home and who used to help the young saxophonist carry his horn home from school. Saxophonist Maria Grand appears on “For Horns and Bells,” which is a chorale and an experiment in conduction and voice leading. The final two pieces came from an idea to create crazy names and then write music for them. “Tursten” is a mysteriously laconic piece, while “Kaijufrem” is aggressive and utilizes a compositional system devised by Filiú in which he assigns a note to each letter of the name but then allows the structure to mutate from there. 

The metaphor of a large edifice with people from of all walks of life comingling with the soundtrack of the music of Cuba is fitting for Roman Filiú’s Quarteria, which is an exceptional example of a lifetime’s exposure and dedication to the study of music in all its forms, coalescing into a moving musical experience. 

1. Fulcanelli

2. Grass

3. Harina Con Arena

4. Choral

5. Danza 5

6. Danza 1

7. Glass

8. Danza 3

9. Imperator

10. For Horns and Bells

11. Tursten

12. Kaijufrem

Román Filiú - alto saxophone

Ralph Alessi - trumpet

Dayna Stephens - tenor saxophone

Maria Grand - tenor saxophone (10 & 11)

David Virelles - piano

Matt Brewer - bass

Craig Weinrib - drums

Yusnier Sanchez - percussion

Henry Threadgill Ensemble Double Up - Old Locks and Irregular Verbs (2016) PI RECORDINGS

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Henry Threadgill Ensemble Double Up - Old Locks and Irregular Verbs (2016)

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Henry Threadgill’s important new release Old Locks and Irregular Verbs is his heartfelt tribute to an old friend, the composer-conductor Lawrence D. “Butch” Morris, who passed away in 2013. He describes the work as “An emotion, a thought, a feeling that I retained in my memory of Butch.” Threadgill first came to know Morris – a significant figure in jazz who was responsible for creating a distinctive form of conductor-led collective improvisation for large-ensemble built on a technique he called “Conduction” – when he moved to New York in the mid-1970s from Chicago. They were subsequently members of saxophonist David Murray’s Octet in the early 1980s when Morris was still best known as a cornetist. Close friends for almost four decades, they lived near each other in the East Village and were both Viet Nam War veterans, but mostly, they were fellow musical explorers who were each keen on developing his own individual creative voice. Old Locks was commissioned by and premiered at New York’s Winter Jazz Fest in January 2014, where it was performed twice in front of rapt, overflowing audiences at the historical Judson Memorial Church. It features Ensemble Double Up, Threadgill’s first new band to record in fifteen years, an unorthodox instrumental combination of Jason Moran and David Virelles on pianos, Curtis Macdonald and Roman Filiu on alto saxophones, Jose Davila on tuba, Christopher Hoffman on cello, and Craig Weinrib on drums. Threadgill, who is of course also well-known as a saxophonist and flutist, says that he has always wanted a group where he didn’t have to play so that he could focus on composing and sculpting the music. The work opens an exciting new chapter in the ever evolving artistry of one of the greatest composers in modern music.

Threadgill has recently continued his amazing streak of accomplishments. He was named the recipient of a prestigious Doris Duke Impact Award; released the highly acclaimed In for a Penny, In for a Pound with his band Zooid, which the New York Times called “brilliant;” and helped the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), of which he is an early member, celebrate its 50th anniversary with a series of concerts culminating in a reunion of Muhal Richard Abrams Experimental Band at the Chicago Jazz Festival and the release of Jack DeJohnette’s Made in Chicago, which also featured AACM mates Abrams and Roscoe Mitchell. Threadgill was also the subject of a two-day career retrospective organized by Jason Moran and held at New York’s Harlem Stage where works stretching his entire career were reinterpreted by an all-star assemblage of musicians including Moran, Cassandra Wilson, Greg Osby, James Carter, Steve Lehman, Yosvanny Terry, Darius Jones, Henry Grimes, Liberty Ellman, David Virelles, and many others. Speaking to the festival’s importance, Moran said “Thread is my favorite composer of all time. African-American composers are generally honored after they have passed away, and the festival was my way of insuring that this would not be the case for Henry.”

But even at age 72, Threadgill is pushing forward as emphatically as ever. After 15 years developing his unique interval-based system of improvisation with his band Zooid, he takes it one step further with Ensemble Double Up. Threadgill describes the new music as “an extension of Zooid. The interval stuff is already written into the composition but not as tightly prescribed. It’s more based on the musicians’ ears so there is more room to move around.” The use of two pianos vastly expands the harmonic and tonal palette, adding a much wider range of color, texture, and weight. Curtis Macdonald, who as Threadgill’s music copyist for the last three years has an intimate view of his compositional process says “Henry demonstrates what he’s creating by playing the harmonic structures on the piano so it makes sense that he has decided to add pianists to this band. It’s a big shift in his approach, as there is now a new polyphonic density with a larger-than-life sonic landscape to explore.”

Parts One through Three of Old Locks (the entire composition is in a single movement and indexed for reference only) is a largely composed, meticulously arranged work that has all the hallmarks of Threadgill’s recent work: complex forms, multi-layered counterpoint, and rhythmic convolution. According to Virelles, “The ensemble parts are like a maze that need to be played very precisely, with interlocking phrases throughout, keeping a very specific rhythmic, harmonic and textural relationship between all the elements.” In the ensemble passages, Moran and Virelles play mostly single-note counterpoint, which Moran describes as “popcorn explosions” while still providing the music with its harmonic framework. Macdonald and Filiu invoke Threadgill’s logic on saxophones but bring their own sound; Hoffman and Davila – both holdovers from Zooid – provide the thrust that gives the music its most obvious connection to Threadgill’s recent music, while Craig Weinrib on drums drives the labyrinthine rhythms with poise.

Part Four is altogether different. As Macdonald puts it, “Henry deviates from his usual compositional system and composed an epic, deeply personal and emotive chorale in homage to Butch. It’s hauntingly beautiful and mournful, and it left a profound effect on us from the very first time we heard it in rehearsal.” According to Moran, “Every time we reach the end of this piece, I’m always crying because it is an emotional moment. Threadgill has always had an affinity for funeral bands, and this becomes a powerful moment when Double Up becomes a funeral band.” The movement starts off a slow dirge before turning into an elegy and finally building to a crescendo and abrupt end, a moving and poignant final remembrance.

David Virelles summarizes it best: “Henry is making some of the most advanced original music today. He’s at the peak of his craft, yet still very curious and completely open to all possibilities when combining sounds, and always looking to expand and learn. When listening to his music, one enters a very personal sonic world, with a very colorful, recognizable personality. I feel fortunate to be able to watch closely a consummate, original composer with a very personal language who keeps expanding and refining his craft.” True to form, Threadgill is already moving ahead, adding a third piano to the ensemble to perform his work “Double Up Plays Double Up Plus.” His personal quest continues, and we are all the more fortunate for it.

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Henry Threadgill: composition

Jason Moran: piano

David Virelles: piano

Roman Filiu: alto saxophone

Curtis MacDonald: alto saxophone

Christopher Hoffman: cello

Jose Davila: tuba

Craig Weinrib: drums

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Rubén Carlés - Water Lily (2016) FRESH SOUND NEW TALENT

FRESH SOUND NEW TALENT

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Rubén Carlés - Water Lily (2016)

Rubén Carlés Website

Bassist Rubén Carlés was born in Madrid, in 1989. It is in this city where he started falling in love with music. Coming from a very musical family, Ruben was strongly influenced by his his father, a well accomplished musician and arranger and at the age of thirteen Ruben started to study the classics by listening intently to jazz bassists like Ray Brown, Charles Mingus or Paul Chambers. At eighteen he started to tour all over the Iberian peninsula participating on some of the most prestigious music festivals and competitions as a member of the band Mr Chacho.

It will be a year later when Ruben wins a full tuition scholarship to study at Berklee College of Music in Boston. In Boston Ruben had the opportunity of studying with masters such as John Patitucci, Hal Crook or Terry Line Carrington. After greaduating with a major in Performance he wins the conexus Scholarship to study a Master at Berklee Valencia where he currently lives. Ruben recently recorded his original work on his first music album as a leader called "Water lily". It features master artist such as Roman Filiu, Borja Barrueta or Albert Sanz, this recording will be released in 2016.

Ruben has toured and performed with bands such: The Jason Palmer band, Perico Sambeat Quintet, Albert Sanz trio, Roman Filiu Quartet, Javier Vercher Quartet/Trio, Phil Grenadier band, Iago Fernández Quartet, Xan Campos trio, Rotem Sivan trio, Jorge Vistel trio or the Luis Guerra trio among others.

01. El abuelo

02. La marcha del niño

03. Skylark

04. Urbino

05. Paquita's Train Ride

06. Igbó

07. La casa del Mago

08. Water Lily

All songs composed & arranged by Rubén Carlés, except #3 written by Hoagy Carmichael & Johnny Mercer

Personnel:

Rubén Carlés (bass)

Maikel Vistel, Javier Vercher (tenor sax)

Román Filiú (alto sax)

Albert Sanz (piano)

Borja Barrueta (drums, steel guitar)

Iago Fernández (drums)

Ganavya Doraiswamy (vocals)

Recorded at PKO Studios, Boadilla del Monte, Madrid, on November 25, 2015 except #6,7,8 recorded at Scoring State Berklee Studios, in Valencia, June 27, 2015

Voice recorded by Paco Cabanillas at Loose Recording Studios, Madrid, January 6, 2016

Engineered, mixed & mastered by Caco Refojo

Photography: Alejandro Sánchez

Album art by Alicia Martín

Produced by Rubén Carlés

Exceutive producer: Jordi Pujol

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