Igor Lumpert & Innertextures - Eleven (CLEAN FEED RECORDS 2018)

Here is the third reprise of Igor Lumpert’s project Innertextures, but this time (after “Innertextures” and “Innertextures Live”), not with the previous trio format. The band with Chris Tordini and Nasheet Waits is now a quartet, with Greg Ward playing the second saxophone and Kenny Grohowski taking the drum sticks, and in “Eleven” there’s two guests summing up: trumpeter Jonathan Finlayson on a couple of tracks and bass clarinetist John Ellis playing on another one (in the past, Lumpert had the collaboration of musicians like Robert Glasper and Jacob Bro, and even his trio was once formed with Matt Brewer and Tommy Crane).

Important to notice is the fact that Lumpert, Tordini, Grohowski and Finlayson studied together at the New School of Music. The musical formula remains the same, but now more matured and with other nuances: a kind of «hyper-mode bop» with funk elements and some aspects of Slovenian folk music (he was born in Novo Mesto), as the specialized press noted, with «odd-metered rhythmic pacing and mesmeric variances in pitch». For more than 15 years living in New York, Lumpert’s jazz is sounding more American than ever, full of verve and groove, but without losing its “trademark” of complexity and unpredictability.

Maybe the most internationally recognized of all Slovenian jazz musicians, this former pupil of Chico Hamilton and Billy Harper who played with luminaries like John Abercrombie and Sonny Simmons is really the face of the present universal dimension of this music genre, with each composition brilliantly confirming that status. A must listen, must have record, marvelously produced by Robert Sadin.

1. 13th of August 7:27

2. XmD 4:44

3. Poseidon 7:49

4. Paha 5:40

5. Eleven 8:28

6. Brela 7:29

Igor Lumpert  tenor saxophone

Greg Ward  alto saxophone

Chris Tordini  double bass

Kenny Grohowski  drums

Jonathan Finlayson  trumpet on 3 and 5

John Ellis  bass clarinet on 6

All compositions by Igor Lumpert

Recorded at Bunker Studios, Brooklyn, New York on May 10th, 2017 by Ted Tuthill | Mixed and Mastered by Dave Darlington at Bass Hit Studios

Produced by Robert Sadin | Executive production by Pedro Costa for Trem Azul | Design by Travassos

Mark Egan / Arjun Bruggeman - Dreaming Spirits (WAVETONE RECORDS 2018)

On this duo project Dreaming Spirits, bassist-composer Mark Egan joins forces with tabla-percussionist Arjun Bruggeman along with guest guitarist Shane Theriot for a set of music that is at once meditative and invigorating, incorporating drone tones and ambient textures into a compelling world music mix while also leaving room for dynamic improvisation and in-the-moment dialoguing between the players. “I feel like I’ve always heard this music and I’ve always wanted to record this type of project” says the acclaimed bassist whose distinctive sound on his Pedulla fretless electric basses has made him a world renowned musician with a mastery of many styles of music. “This music is an entrance into more ambient sonic spaces and I’m pleased that we have created some calming music to offset this hectic world that we live in.”

The exotic Eastern percussion grooves and textures heard on Dreaming Spirits are supplied by Arjun Bruggeman’s tabla, frame drum and tone drums. Arjun has recorded and performed with artists such as Jason Mraz, Belinda Carlisle, Jon Anderson, Trevor Hall, Robert Bly, Michael Franti, Hu Dost, Snatam Kaur and Shyamdas.

Egan explains that he met world percussion and session recording artist Bruggeman in 2008 when they were both recruited to record and tour with master Kirtan singer-chanter Krishnas Das. “We had an immediate musical connection and we’ve had this wonderful musical dialogue ever since,” says Egan. “We’ve been talking about doing a creative project together since we first met and finally decided to organize sessions at my studio which were the genesis of this project.” Together these two kindred spirits reveal rare chemistry in their duets on Dreaming Spirits like “Morning Light,” “The In Between,” “Waking Spirits” and “Joy Ride.”

Rounding out the chemistry on ten other melodic modal jams is guitarist Shane Theriot, a native of New Orleans who has played with the Neville Brothers and Dr. John and currently is the musical director for Hall & Oates and for the video series Daryl’s Place, hosted by Daryl Hall. Theriot’s acoustic guitar adds another layer of intrigue to atmospheric numbers like “Mombossa,” “C Drone Expanion,” “Framonics” and the spacious title track while he flaunts stinging blues-tinged electric guitar licks on numbers like “Village Call,” “Wave Motion,” “Canyon Walk,” “Spirit Blues” and the lively closer, “When Spirits Dance.” And he layers on a touch of lap steel on “Mombossa.” Said Egan of Theriot’s contribution on Dreaming Spirits, “I sent Shane some of the music that Arjun and I had recorded and he really did his homework,” Egan recalls. “He came to the session with a notebook filled with different altered tunings that he had prepared for the songs which gave each composition a distinctive guitar sound.”

A member of the original Pat Metheny Group of the mid ‘70s, Egan’s extensive credits also include recordings with the Gil Evans Orchestra, Sting, John McLaughlin, John Abercrombie, Larry Coryell, Pat Martino, Joan Osborne, Sophie B. Hawkins, Roger Daltrey and the Duran Duran off-shoot group Arcadia. His last two releases as a leader on his own Wavetone label— 2014’s About Now and 2015’s Direction Home — reunited him with drummer and longtime collaborator Danny Gottlieb, with whom he co-leads the group Elements.

But Dreaming Spirits is unlike anything the veteran bassist has done before in his illustrious career. “This recording draws from ideas from all of my past recordings, especially the more ambient moments playing 4 and 8 string fretless basses,” says Egan.

Along with his melodic, singing fretless bass lines, Egan adds layers of what sound like evocative synth washes but are actually triggered from his basses using various electronic effects units. “Everything that you hear on this CD that sounds like a keyboard pad or a synth or organ, is bass-generated,’ he explains. “I call them bass waves.” And there is even an all-important element of groove tying up these entrancing tracks. Indeed, you can hear a quote from Wilson Pickett’s “Funky Broadway,” a favorite R&B groove of Egan’s one-time bass teacher, Jaco Pastorius, pop up in his playing on “Mombossa.” As Mark says, “The music always has to have a thread of the groove happening throughout. That was something that obviously Jaco had intuitively in his playing and that’s something I also feel strongly about.”

Regarding the use of ambient textures throughout Dreaming Spirits, Egan acknowledged his longstanding interest in blending East and Western music coming to fruition on Dreaming Spirits. “I’ve always been interested in Indian music from the first time I heard Ravi Shankar in high school and later, Shakti with John McLaughlin. I haven’t formally studied traditional Indian music with odd meters and ragas but I’ve always been attracted to the aura of the music drone and the fretless bass is sympathetic to that sound zone. The Pedulla fretless bass also sonically compliments the low Bayan drum of Arjun” Says Egan, “Arjun and I wanted to make a record that had depth and intensity and also that was meditative and relaxing. I think there’s a sincerity to this music that allowed us to communicate from spirit to spirit.” Whether it’s the melodic grooves, hypnotic drones or the stellar musicianship and interplay, Dreaming Spirits will attract listeners that enjoy multidirectional adventurous music.

Village Call

Mombossa

Wave Motion

C Drone Expansion

Canyon Walk

Framonics

The In Between

Joy Ride

Spirit Blues

Dreaming Spirits

Morning Light

Waking Spirits

Voices

When Spirits Dance

Mark Egan Bass

Arjun Bruggeman Tabla

Shane Theriot Guitar

Orquesta del Tiempo Perdido - Stille (SHHPUMA RECORDS 2018)

The name of this project references Marcel Proust’s “In Search of Lost Time”, but that doesn’t prepare us for the music played on “Stille”. Orquesta del Tiempo Perdido is a wildly eclectic, ‘post- everything’ explosion, taking on aspects of contemporary classical music, jazz, experimental electro- acoustic, math-rock, pop, non-Western folklore, exotica and vaudeville. The points of reference are deftly approached on their own terms, and recontextualised in impossible composites. 

The album was conceived in the unquiet mind of the idiosyncratic Dutch musician and composer Jeroen Kimman, for whom this represents a first release as producer and engineer. In addition to playing most of the instruments of the Orquesta (although it also features contributions by some of Amsterdam’s most creative musicians), Kimman has produced the sound world of the album in microscopic detail, taking the instruments further into deranged sonic territories. Despite the scope of the record, there is a unity to the music that owes more to the film soundtracks of Ennio Morricone and Nino Rota, and the virtuosic experimentalism of early studio pioneers such as The Three Suns, Les Baxter and Martin Denny, than to other contemporary attempts at eclecticism. It comes out of Kimman’s genuine love of, for example, country and western or striptease bands, combined with his experiences writing for theatre, dance and animated cinema. The result may seem bizarre but it’s a work of genius.

1. scenario

2. blue train

3. strol

4. shawty

5. zen in tummy

6. cross

7. hillyrock II: fricchettone

8. jive mandolin

9. a merlefriend solid

10. poseidon

11. hills for seamus

TRISTAN RENFROW . drums on 1, 5 & 7, drum rolls on 4

LEO SVIRSKY . accordeon on 3 & 7

MICHAEL MOORE . clarinet on 1 & 4, alto sax on 11

ANNA VOOR DE WIND . clarinet on 10 & 11, bass clarinet on 10

KOEN KAPTIJN . trombone on 1 & 4

MARK MORSE . lapsteel guitar on 5 & 10, screw on 4

SEAMUS CATER . concertina & bass harmonica on 11

SJENG SCHUPP . double bass on 2 & 11

MICHIEL VAN DIJK . tenor sax and flute on 1

JEROEN KIMMAN . all other instruments

Orquesta del Tiempo Perdido - Strol from Jeroen Kimman on Vimeo.

The Heat Death - The Glenn Miller Sessions (3 CD) CLEAN FEED RECORDS 2018

We didn’t see (or, more exactly, heard) this coming. How could we expect a band like The Heat Death to turn their attention to the music of Glenn Miller? But here it is, once again confirming the notion that everything is possible when coming from the Scandinavian scene. Truth is that this quintet always had an orchestral approach, in the organization of the collective inputs and due to the doubling of instruments, Kjetil Møster playing clarinet besides his tenor saxophone and Martin Küchen turning to the flute when not playing the alto sax, summing up with the presence of a pasting trombone (Mats Aleklint) to unite every part, but what they use to do was miles way from the swing big band Miller’s sound: a free improvised music metamorphing to free jazz, sometimes with African rhythms, reminding us of Chris McGregor’s Brotherhood of Breath, and sometimes with the repetitive, “motorik” balance of krautrock, not so strange when we think that Can’s drummer, Jaki Liebezeit, was an original member of Alexander von Schllipenbach’s Globe Unity Orchestra. But here it is, introducing a new form to understand the problem with thermodynamic energy known by science as “the heat death”. If there was a compositional factor in the way this group used to improvise, finding structures when there wasn’t one, now they deal with it in a more committed way. Of course, the resulting music has few resemblances to what the Glenn Miller Orchestra continue to do until this day, but the spirit is there, exploring aspects which were implicit, but never fulfilled, with all the respect to the historic figure who conceived it. Prepare yourself to be surprised.

CD 1

Myriads of Space 1 29:05

2 Myriads of Space 2 23:45

3 See Don't Tell 15:13

CD 2

1 Myriads of Space 3 20:54

2 Hear Don't Say 11:15

3 Unservable Jazz Soup 30:51

CD 3

1 Towards the Uncool 31:30

2 A Clandestine Jazz Operation 18:47

3 Myriads of Space 4 15:09

Kjetil Møster  tenor saxophone and clarinet

Martin Küchen  alto saxophone and flute

Mats Aleklint  trombone

Ola Høyer  double bass

Dag Erik Knedal Andersen  drums

All compositions and arrangements by The Heat Death

Recorded by Mats Äleklint | Mixed and mastered by Christian Obermayer

Produced by The Heat Death | Executive production by Pedro Costa for Trem Azul | Design by Travassos

Michael Dessen Trio - Somewhere In The Upstream (CLEAN FEED RECORDS 2018)

Praised as a “musician for this moment” (Downbeat) for his imaginative work with music technology, trombonist Michael Dessen culminates over a decade with his electro-acoustic trio in this fourth Clean Feed release, an homage to the late Yusef Lateef.

After studying with Lateef for several years and making his debut as an improviser on one of Lateef’s albums in 1996, Dessen has since carved his own individual path through jazz and contemporary music worlds, acclaimed both for his “black belt” trombone playing (praise from close collaborator Mark Dresser) as well as for his unique work as a composer-bandleader that “straddles the line between the avant garde and the accessible better than most” (All About Jazz). Here Dessen honors Lateef’s memory with Somewhere In The Upstream, a longform “scorestream” in which notations are displayed on screens for the improvisers to interpret, shifting unpredictably for each performance.

Fluidly melding intricate composition, radically open group improvisation and otherworldly live electronic soundworlds, the music of the Michael Dessen Trio has been recognized with major awards and commissions from Chamber Music America, the Fromm Foundation, and New Music USA. This album distills the core qualities that critics have praised in the band’s music over their previous three releases: Compositional structures deeply shape the music but at the same time are always elusive, abstracted by the band in such a way that the focus remains on the organically unfolding interactions among the improvisers and the incredibly wide-ranging expressive dynamics of an entire set.

Dessen wrote this music specifically for his longstanding trio members, virtuoso improvisers Chris Tordini (bass) and Dan Weiss (drums), and the album was recorded in a single take to capture the immersive feel and powerful chemistry that the band is known for in their live performances. Tordini deftly grounds the music’s kaleidoscopic polyrhythms and constantly surprises the listener with endless gradient explorations of sound, and Weiss similarly combines a broad timbral palette with his renowned rhythmic sensibilities. Dessen completes the trio with his own playing on both trombone and computer, using live processing and sampling in ways that  complement but never overwhelm the band’s acoustic foundation.

Combining the band’s live aesthetic with extraordinary recording quality and a heightened attention to sonic detail that will reward repeated listening, Somewhere In The Upstream is a singular compositional achievement by one of the truly original bands of our time.

1. Part 1 7:07

2. Part 2 2:55

3. Part 3 7:20

4. Part 4 6:24

5. Part 5 3:37

6. Part 6 6:19

7. Part 7 6:17

8. Part 8 10:05

Michael Dessen  trombone and computer

Christopher Tordini  bass

Dan Weiss  drums

All compositions by Michael Dessen (Cronopio Music, ASCAP)

Recorded at Systems Two in Brooklyn on June 6, 2016 | Recording Engineer: Max Ross | Mixed and mastered by Rich Breen

Produced by Michael Dessen | Executive production by Pedro Costa for Trem Azul

Jon Rune Strøm Quintet - Fragments (CLEAN FEED RECORDS 2018)

Yes, you can create a band concept from the double bass position, but instead of putting himself as the focus of the collective music of his quintet, bassist and composer Jon Rune Strøm enlisted a second bass player, Christian Meaas Svendsen, for the group, like him doubling the upright instrument with an electric one. Which means that the idea is on the sound, not the personality. And the choice of companion explains much of what we find in “Fragments”. If Strøm is known for his incredible energy and physicality, Svendsen is a force of nature, sometimes using two or three bows or performing with arms, legs, feet and mouth. The center of gravity of the music is low, but the two horns manage to take it to the highest levels possible, namely trumpeter Thomas Johansson and tenor saxophonist André Roligheten, with drummer Andreas Wildhagen gluing it all and covering the fortuitous gaps like an octopus. That’s what differenciates the Jon Rune Strøm Quintet from all the other bands including Strøm’s contribution, namely Friends & Neighbors, All Included, Universal Indians and Frode Gjerstad Trio. The project belongs to the same family tree, call it free music or free jazz as you wish, but there’s something else going on. Bass-driven pleasure in its purist form, that is.

Thomas Johansson: trumpet

André Roligheten: tenor saxophone

Christian Meaas Svendsen: double bass, fender bass [left channel]

Jon Rune Strøm: double bass, fender bass [right channel]

Andreas Wildhagen: drums

All music by Jon Rune Strøm (Tono)

Recorded by Christian Obermayer at Victoria, Nasjonal Jazzscene, March 2017 | Mixed by Obermayer at Strype Audio, Oslo, September 2017 | Mastered by Obermayer and Strøm at Strype Audio, Oslo, November 2017

Produced by Jon Rune Strøm | Co produced by Pedro Costa at Clean Feed | Design by Travassos | Picture by Petra Cvelbar | Painting by Jon Rune Strøm

Mats Gustafsson Trio: Fire! - The Hands (RUNE GRAMMOFON 2018)

For 20 years Rune Grammofon has made a habit of releasing music that is beyond easy classification, in later years typified by Swedish trio Fire!, consisting of Mats Gustafsson, Johan Berthling and Andreas Werliin. All three are highly accomplished musicians, but Fire! music is not “difficult” in the sense that jazz and especially free jazz is often perceived. Very much a tight knit unit with three equal players, Fire! has been likened to powerful guitar led trios such as Cream and The Jimi Hendrix Experience, but with Berthling´s heavy, doom laden basslines being such a typical identifier, we can´t help but thinking of Black Sabbath´s debut album when it comes to hypnotic impact.

The Hands is the trio´s sixth album and once again displays a totally uncompromising and intriguing mix of (mostly) heavy, dark and intensely burning music whether one decide on calling it jazz or rock. The album closes on a quiet and reflective note with the appropriately titled “I Guard Her To Rest. Declaring Silence”.

And we say it´s easily their best so far.

1 The Hands 4:39

2 When Her Lips Collapsed 4:52

3 Touches Me With The Tips Of Wonder 3:31

4 Washing Your Heart In Filth 4:54

5 Up. And Down 4:44

6 To Shave The Leaves. In Red. In Black 9:10

7 I Guard Her To Rest. Declaring Silence 4:50

Mats Gustafsson: Tenor, baritone and bass saxophones, live electronics

Johan Berthling: Electric and double bass

Andreas Werliin: Drums, percussion and feedback

Simon Lasky Group - About the Moment (33JAZZ RECORDS 2018)

UK based pianist/ composer, Simon Lasky recently released his follow-up album to his debut release, “Story Inside”. Titled “About The Moment”, this new CD sees Simon in a quartet setting with a number of guest players including Kuljit Bhamra (tabla) Fergus Gerrard (percussion) and Phillip Achille (harmonica) . Rounding out the quartet is Pete Billington on Bass, Sophie Alloway on Drums and Luca Boscagin Guitar.

Simon Lasky is one of those musicians that has been successfully able to put one foot firmly in both the Classical and Jazz world without compromise. With this in mind, it’s not surprising that trait’s of the classical genre appear in both his playing and compositional style. The compositions and arrangements are tightly structured and at times symphonic in nature however at the same time organic and natural. Simon’s playing style displays the technical discipline of a classical pianist mixed well with the freedom of a jazz musician.

In the liner notes Simon states that he has always enjoyed “…those big moments in music, the build up of tension, then a climax followed by the release..” and goes on to mention the great symphonic works of Mahlar, Bruckner and Messian as inspiration. He rightly states that it’s not possible to achieve this symphonic effect with a 6 piece combo however the concept of tension and release can be heard throughout the album both in the compositions themselves and the improvisations.

I can remember in my student days, a lecturer answering when asked about the certainties in life “that the only three things you can be sure of in life are death, taxes and the fact the guitar and piano never work together.” Of course, this was meant in jest and has been proved incorrect by Herb Ellis and Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans and Jim Hall etc. On “About The Moment” Simon Lasky and Luca Boscagin also prove this statement incorrect. The two consistently stay in their own lane giving each other the room to move while at times coming together creating a seamless composite. The opening theme of the first track on the album “Dancing in the Rain” is a perfect example.

Bassist Pete Billington, is strong throughout the album providing together with Sophie Alloway (drums) a rock solid base for the ensemble and when requested, stepping out with a number of beautiful melodic solo’s for example on “She Said” and “Chasing Shadows”. The addition of the special guests Kuljit Bhamra (tabla) and Fergus Gerrard (percussion) without doubt add value to the line-up, these two together with Alloway provide a rhythmic bed that is omnipresent throughout the album but never intrusive. The third guest on the Album is Phillip Achille (harmonica) who provides a melodic kaleidoscope adding to the albums sound-scape.

It’s a difficult task finding any negative points on this album, however if there is one it would be the placement in the track listing of “Mila’s Song”. This solo piano track differs so much in style from the compositions on the rest of the album that in my opinion, the placement within the track list breaks the flow of the album.

After listening not only to “About the Moment” but also Simon’s previous release, “Story Inside” it’s clear to see Simons development not only as a composer but also as a pianist. All in all “About The Moment” is a wonderful album that will appeal to a large jazz audience. Highly recommended.

1. Dancing In The Rain

2. She Said

3. Mountain Spirit

4. Nightrider

5. Intro to Close to Ecstasy

6. Close to Ecstasy

7. Mila's Song

8. Mendocino

9. Chasing Shadows

10. New Day

Simon Lasky (piano, keyboards & composer)

Luca Boscagin (acoustic & electric guitars)

Pete Billington (fretless and electric bass)

Sophie Alloway (drums)

Kuljit Bhamra (tabla)

Fergus Gerrand (percussion)

Philip Achille (harmonica)

Reggie Washington European Tour Dates

European Tour Dates:

Reggie Washington Tours “Rainbow Shadow” In Europe

In December bassist Reggie Washington released his latest CD "Rainbow Shadow Vol 2" to great critical acclaim (see review on this platform). To support the release of the album Reggie and his band will play a select number of European dates in some of the continents major jazz venues.


The Tour kicks off in Berlin on the 8th of February at the Zig Zag Club. Following this the band will play concerts in Belgium, France and Spain. Read More....


Originally from New York, Reggie Washington was a key participant in the Modern Jazz revolution of the 80's and 90's. His list of credits include touring, recording and performing musicians as Steve Coleman, Branford Marsalis, Roy Hargrove, Chico Hamilton, Oliver Lake, Cassandra Wilson and Lester Bowie to name just a few. 

In 2005, Reggie began touring with his own bands and in 2006 he released his first album as a leader. Since then Reggie has released four albums as a leader and led projects collaborating with both American and European musicians including Ravi Coltrane, Gene Lake, Stéphane Galland, Jef Lee Johnson, Erwin Vann, David Gilmore, Jacques Schwarz-Bart and EJ Strickland.

"Rainbow Shadow Vol 2" is the follow up to Reggie Washington's successful 2015 release "Rainbow Shadow Vol 1" and the continuation of his tribute to legendary guitarist and singer/songwriter Jef Lee Johnson who died prematurely of complications from pneumonia and diabetes at age 54.

The album features Reggie’s current band with Marvin Sewell – Guitar, Dj Grazzhoppa – Turntables and Patrick Dorcean on Drums who (with the exception of Marvin Sewell) will also accompany Reggie on his tour.

On the tour the band will be joined by guitarist David Gilmore (Wayne Shorter, Steve Coleman). Reggie stated when asked about the addition of David Gilmore to the line-up "We have shared the stage together with many great artists and also our own projects over the last 30 years. His mastery of the instrument & knowledge of "Rainbow Shadow - A Tribute to Jef Lee Johnson" makes him a perfect fit."

Full tour dates are as follows:

Feb 8 - Zig Zag Club - Berlin, Germany 

Feb 9 - Theatre Marni - Brussels, Belgium

Feb 13 - New Morning - Paris, France

Feb 14 - Jazz Fola - Aix-en-Provence (Luynes), France

Feb 16 - Jamboree - Barcelona, Spain

Feb 17 - Sunset Jazz Club - Girona, Spain

Till Brönner / Dieter Ilg - Nightfall (OKEH RECORDS 2018)

Some musical constellations are so obvious that the question arises why they hadn’t become reality long ago. And when they finally do see the light of day, they appear so familiar to us as if we’d known them for ages. One of these constellations is the duo formed by the trumpeter Till Brönner and the bass player Dieter Ilg. They are, in the full sense, soul-mates, no matter how threadbare the term might sound. They often seek to do the very same thing on their antithetical instruments, even if they express it in quite different ways. As a result, they fit each other to a tee. This osmosis is now plain to hear on their joint début album, Nightfall.

The choice of pieces is sufficient proof that the musicians did not want to pin themselves down to a fixed classification or pigeonhole. If jazz was ever an expression of individual liberty, then this independence is manifest here, devoid of myths, in their approach to the material and their spontaneous treatment of it. Anything can be done if you only want to do it, and Brönner and Ilg certainly do. Songs by Leonard Cohen, the Beatles and Britney Spears, pieces by Jerome Kern, Johnny Green and Ornette Coleman, compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach and Melchior Vulpius, even a few creations of their own: the range of intentions and influences on display is almost unparalleled. In each song the two men find inventive new angles and perspectives. There aren’t any solos in the classical jazz sense. As in any good conversation that unfolds naturally, the lines of argument fall now on one side, now on the other. The flow of thoughts is completely free. It’s pressed here into a narrow riverbed only to expand a moment later into a broad delta. 

Nightfall is many things at once. It’s a début album and, at the same time, the fruit of a long and intensive collaboration between two great storytellers. It’s at once a consummation, a stocktaking and a promise for the future. It’s a resolute dismissal of entrenched prejudices and a passionate affirmation of the freedom and miracle of jazz. The organic blend of willful abandon and understatement celebrated on this album is anything but run-of-the-mill. Not least of all, the album is a refreshing counterfoil in the age of perfectionism. It projects the cathartic discovery that no matter how much one has achieved in life, it’s always worth starting from scratch, over and over again. And if proof is needed, here it is!

Horseshoes & Hand Grenades - The Ode (February 16, 2018)

Acclaimed bluegrass/Americana quintet HORSESHOES & HAND GRENADES is set to release their new album The Ode February 16 via Tape Time Records. The Odewill be the debut offering from the new label, which was founded by their friends in the Infamous Stringdusters. The two like-minded bands return to the road together this Wednesday (2/7) in Louisville, KY (full itinerary below). The album's second single, "Steer True," is out now; the album's title track was released in September.

The Ode is quintessential HORSESHOES & HAND GRENADES music from the Wisconsin group: David C. Lynch (harmonica, accordion, spoons, vocals), Collin Mettelka (fiddle, mandolin, vocals), Russell Pedersen (banjo, fiddle, vocals), Adam Greuel (guitar, dobro, vocals) and Samual Odin (bass). Equal parts good-time bluegrass and country lament, the record-their fourth full-length--captures the band at their studio best. After seven years, three albums, innumerable sold out shows, and countless beers, bluegrass mavericks HORSESHOES & HAND GRENADES appropriately consider themselves a "family" on a wild, wonderful, and often whacky roller coaster. The bond between the five gentlemen fuels their creativity and chemistry on stage and in the studio.

Produced by Trampled By Turtles frontman Dave Simonett, the album-recorded at Pachyderm Studio in Minnesota, where Nirvana recorded In Utero--marks a point of growth for HORSESHOES & HAND GRENADES.

The band's Adam Gruel says, "We've got the bluegrass burner type tunes we're known for on there, but we're experimenting with other elements. Little pieces of everybody are encapsulated in this record. For the first time, we were really conscious of allowing our respective musical curiosities into the fold. Sam drops in a jazz and classical feel. Dave brings that Zydeco, Cajun, and old school blues vibe. Collin turns up with this kinda pop folk energy, and Russell gives us the old-timey banjo feel.

For me, I'm trying to play out my singer-songwriter curiosities. There are five songwriters in the band, and we've gotten better at harnessing our individual creativity and bringing it to the collective."

1. The Ode

2. Next Riverbend

3. Steer True

4. Stay Awhile

5. AD/BC

6. Home Again

7. Foggy Halo

8. American Drea

9. River Time

10. Millenial Girl

11. Eat The Cake

Subtle Degrees - A Dance That Empties (NEW AMSTERDAM RECORDS February 23, 2018)

A Dance That Empties is Travis Laplante's latest album-length composition, written for Subtle Degrees, a new two-musician ensemble consisting of Laplante (tenor saxophone) and Gerald Cleaver (drums). The duo's uncategorizable sound evokes everything from contemporary classical music, avant garde jazz, minimalism, technical metal, and sacred world music. Laplante is also the founder/composer of saxophone quartet Battle Trance and the ensemble Little Women. 

A Dance That Empties is an extremely demanding composition that pushes the players to the limit both technically and physically, while the raw, vulnerable instrumentation makes for an intimately emotional experience for both performers and listeners. 

A Dance That Empties is the culmination of a very long musical relationship. In 2001, when he was only 18 years old, Laplante played a concert at New York’s Knitting Factory, then a pre-eminent mecca for adventurous music of all kinds. Cleaver was in the audience, and came up to Laplante afterwards, handed him his phone number and said they should play together sometime. They soon did, “and I felt a very intimate and spiritual connection with Gerald that feels more alive than ever today,” Laplante says. “I’ve learned a tremendous amount from Gerald and have long considered him one of my favorite living improvisers.” 

The two have performed together various times over the ensuing 17 years, but Laplante never felt he was quite ready to record with Cleaver. “It got to the point where I took a multiple-year break from playing with him because I felt like I didn’t have enough to bring to the table,” says Laplante. “I needed to practice so I could have more to give to our musical relationship.” Then, in the fall of 2016, Laplante received a commission to compose a piece to be performed at Roulette in Brooklyn the following spring. “I knew that this was the perfect opportunity to return to this relationship with Gerald.” And so Laplante began composing an epic-scale work work with Cleaver’s rhythmic virtuosity in mind. 

Inspired by the longer durational forms of spiritual ceremonies, A Dance That Empties is a continuous journey that unfolds over 43 minutes, with musical motifs that foreshadow, recur, and evolve. The piece refines sonic territory that Laplante has pioneered in his celebrated saxophone quartet Battle Trance, as well as his solo saxophone work, utilizing long passages of circular breathing and other extended techniques to create specific and yet ineffable emotional and sonic resonances. A Dance That Empties, as the title implies, adds the distinctly new element of complex rhythmic pulses precisely and expressively executed by Cleaver, that compel listeners to lose themselves in the hypnotically repetitive yet subtly shifting grooves. 

With A Dance That Empties, Laplante and Cleaver throw themselves into unknown territory, delving further into the devotional intensity that has long distinguished both their work.

1. A Dance That Empties I

2. A Dance That Empties II

3. A Dance That Empties III

Composed by Travis Laplante 

Drum arrangements by Gerald Cleaver 

Travis Laplante - tenor saxophone

Gerald Cleaver - drums

John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble - All Can Work (NEW AMSTERDAM RECORDS 2018)

Drummer/composer John Hollenbeck and his 20-piece Large Ensemble will release their third album, All Can Work, January 26 on New Amsterdam Records. The album follows the band’s Grammy-nominated releases A Blessing (2005) and eternal interlude (2009), and pays tribute to the Large Ensemble’s late trumpet player Laurie Frink, a key force in the group and the jazz community. The album title is from an email exchange between Frink and Hollenbeck; the phrase epitomizes the flexible, optimistic resolve that is needed by everyone involved to create a record such as this one. 

After Laurie Frink’s passing, Hollenbeck read all of her emails and compiled them in chronological order, finding poetry and inspiration in her words. Acclaimed vocalist Theo Bleckmann brings Frink’s words to life in the lyrics of the title track “All Can Work." The composition of the piece is based on one of Frink's teaching exercises.

Hollenbeck explains:

“I really sweated this piece because I wanted it to showcase Laurie’s ever-present humor, her dedication to ‘the music,’ and most importantly our love for her. 

Her sudden death stunned the NYC music community - but the legacy she left behind as the trumpet guru/therapist/doctor to countless brass and woodwind players lives on, continuing to support and enhance the community she served. No matter where I am in the world, I can talk to a trumpet player who had studied with or knows her exercises.”

All Can Work represents The John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble’s accumulation of years rehearsing, recording and performing together since its founding in 1998 — the definitive evolution of an exceptional ensemble that has developed a relationship akin to family (some members of which Hollenbeck has been playing with since high school and college). The album also pays tribute to artists who have influenced Hollenbeck most throughout the years: Bob Brookmeyer, Kenny Wheeler, Billy Strayhorn, John Taylor, William Shakespeare, and Piet Mondrian.

The album opens with “lud” — an alluring, hypnotic blend of triumphant horns and angular keys. After the title track comes “Elf”, inspired by composer Billy Strayhorn’s piece of the same name that was retitled and repurposed by Duke Ellington as “Isfahan” for the Far East Suite. Hollenbeck’s version is a near-inverse of the original, featuring soprano saxophonist Tony Malaby playing in an impressively high register. Pulsing horns open on “Heyoke”, Hollenbeck’s tribute to composer/trumpeter and flugelhorn player Kenny Wheeler and jazz pianist John Taylor, featuring Hollenbeck’s arrangements of Wheeler’s original. “This kiss” follows, capturing the spirit of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” by creating a mood of sweet romance in the present with a foreboding dissonance that foreshadows the future.

“From trees” shows Hollenbeck exploring Piet Mondrian’s study of trees in his early works, in particular his unfinished painting "Broadway Boogie-Woogie.” Hollenbeck fittingly incorporates a boogie-woogie feel into the piece while trying to evoke the evolution of the lines of a tree in Mondrian’s earlier paintings to the bold straight black lines in his last. “Long Swing Dream” embodies the first and (so far) only time a piece came to Hollenbeck in an actual dream. Horns pass around a continuous bass line, while Theo Bleckmann voices musings from Cary Grant about Grant's transformative experiences with LSD (the acronym of the song title) deepen the dream-like effect. The album finishes with “The Model” — Hollenbeck’s spirited arrangement of the Kraftwerk original.

All Can Work was recorded by James Farber at Avatar Studios in NYC in June 2017 with assistance from Nate Odden. It was mixed by Brian Montgomery, and mastered by Brent Lambert at Kitchen Mastering. It was produced by John Hollenbeck.

This project was supported in part by the Doris Duke Performing Artists Awards and fiscally sponsored by Arete Living Arts Foundation with funding provided by The Aaron Copland Fund for Music.

Additional large ensemble releases by John Hollenbeck include: Joys and Desires (Jazz Big Band Graz, 2005), Shut Up and Dance (Orchestre National de Jazz, 2010, Grammy-nominated), Songs I Like A Lot (Frankfurt Radio Big Band, 2013, Grammy-nominated) and Songs We Like A Lot (Frankfurt Radio Big Band, 2015).

1. lud

2. All Can Work

3. Elf

4. Heyoke

5. this kiss

6. from trees

7. Long Swing Dream

8. The Model

9. All Can Work (Excerpt)

Ben Kono soprano/alto/tenor sax, flute

Jeremy Viner clarinet, tenor sax

Tony Malaby tenor/soprano sax on 3, 6

Dan Willis tenor sax, clarinet

Anna Webber flute, tenor sax on 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8

Bohdan Hilash clarinet, bass clarinet, bass sax, tubax

Mark Patterson trombone

Mike Christianson trombone

Jacob Garchik trombone, euphonium on 8

Alan Ferber trombone on 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Jeff Nelson trombone on 1, 7, 8

Tony Kadleck trumpet, flugelhorn

Jon Owens trumpet, flugelhorn

Dave Ballou trumpet, flugelhorn

Matt Holman trumpet, flugelhorn

Chris Tordini acoustic, electric bass

Matt Mitchell piano, organ, keyboard

Patricia Brennan vibraphone, marimba, glockenspiel

John Hollenbeck drums, composition

Theo Bleckmann voice

JC Sanford conductor