Monthly Archives: May 2012

May 26 2012

Brick & Mortar: The Vortex Jazz Club

Brick & Mortar, a new Bird is the Worm series, which focuses on the music shops and venues that bring life to our music worlds.

*****

Admittedly, the Vortex article wasn’t going to be my initial post in the Brick & Mortar series, but after Patrick Jarenwattananon of NPR’s A Blog Supreme recently wrote an article about the Vortex, summing it up quite nicely (you can find that article HERE), I decided to make an abbreviated version of my Vortex article and push it to the top of my schedule.  I thought that the “second half” of my article, which consists of recordings created at the Vortex, might be a nice addendum to his own piece.

But let’s first talk briefly about The Vortex Jazz Club.

It’s located in Dalston, in the north-east section of London.  It’s actually a non-profit organization, and run by volunteers.  By utilizing teams of volunteers, it appears they are able to keep costs down, ticket prices low, and are able to direct income into the pockets of the artists and club maintenance.  It is currently celebrating its twenty-fifth year of existence.  Their premises is located inside the Dalton Culture House.

In addition to regular shows, they also hold workshops.  For instance, the Big & Small workshop presents an opportunity to “get your dusty instrument back out of its case,” and be strategically matched with friends and strangers alike, of all skill sets and levels, with a focus on the creative process in a group setting.

Looking over the schedule, it would appear that jazz isn’t the only show on the card.  If it’s something out of the ordinary, it appears that the Vortex will give it a slot on the calendar… a healthy approach that’s gonna reap benefits not just for the listening populace, but also the musicians who make the Vortex a home.

They also have additional services like equipment rental, an in-house restaurant, and special events at off-site locations.

Here’s a video from the Vortex site, which tells more about them (approx. 5 minutes duration)…

*****

 

And now, to the “second half” of my original article idea… The music.  Here’s some music recorded at the Vortex, and a little bit about each of them.  Plenty of links in each Tiny Review to learn more.

Let’s begin…

 

Charybdis Vortex Foundation Big Band – Charybdis Vortex Foundation Big Band

Outstanding big band album that is thrilling to hear whether it’s soaring at great heights or swiftly coursing just inches from the ground.  Some wonderful soloing that grows organically out of the composition, just makes everything sound and feel alright.  Tunes like “Awakenings” perfect for a lazy weekend afternoon just sitting around and reading, and a tune like “New Day” perfect for starting the weekend out with a bang.  All the qualities one could hope for in a big band album.  Very nice.

Your album personnel:  Annie Whitehead (trombone & director), Gail Brand (trombone), Issie Barratt (baritone sax), Diane McLoughlin (alto & soprano saxes), Barbara Snow (trumpet & flugelhorn), Deirdre Cartwright (electric guitar), Andrea Vicari (piano & keyboards), Alison Rayner (double bass & electric guitar), Josephina Cupido (drums & percussion), and Carol Grimes (vocals).

You can stream the album on the label’s bandcamp page.

Released in 2004 on the Babel Label.

 

Julian Joseph – Live at the Vortex in London

Julian Joseph should have more recognition in the jazz community than he does.  Seriously talented, just as comfortable working with classical composition as he is as with a modern jazz tune or setting an R&B groove, Joseph has an impressively disparate set of albums to his name.  On this recording, a solo piano recording at the Vortex.  Not the first album I would recommend to scoop up (that honor still goes to the excellent The Language of Truth), but it’s tough to go wrong with any Joseph session.

Your album personnel: Julian Joseph (piano).

Released in 2011 on the ASC Records label.

 

Corey Mwamba, Dave Kane, and Joshua Blackmore – In the Vortex

Recorded live at the Vortex jazz club.  A trio date with vibraphonist Corey Mwamba, bassist Dave Kane, and drummer Joshua Blackmore.  Trumpeter Alex Bonney guests.  On this recording, two feet firmly in the jazz avant-garde sound, but not a quality that encompasses the trio in its totality… the trio is primarily focuses on group improvisation, the quality of the conversation, rather than the language its spoken in.  But on In the Vortex, expect ominous vibes, lurking bass, and the bone rattle of drums.

You can stream the album on their bandcamp page.

Released in 2010, this album was Self-Produced.

 

Foxes Fox – Live at the Vortex

A super-group of free jazz musicians, but the first name that has to be mentioned here is that of tenor sax man Evan Parker, who has had a monthly gig at the Vortex for the last 15 years.  On his own site, Parker calls the Vortex his “haven from the demands of the road,” and adds, “The Vortex is, for me, a place to play “free jazz”.  I cannot imagine life without it.”  Well, on this album, recorded live at the Vortex, expect more free jazz and fierce improvisation.  The actual performance occurred about five years ago, but is just now released in 2012.

Your album personnel:  Evan Parker (tenor sax), Steve Beresford (piano), John Edwards (double bass), Louis Moholo-Moholo (percussion), and guest:  Kenny Wheeler (trumpet, flugelhorn).

Here’s a link to where you can stream some of Parker’s music on his label site.

Released on the PSI Records label, of which Parker is the founder.

 

Julian Siegel Trio – Live at the Vortex

Multi-reedist Julian Siegel has been a part of some decent recordings the last handful of years.  Aside from his working quartet, he also guests on other recordings, as well as some occasional work with the trio from this recording date.  With jazz vets Greg Cohen (who’s recorded with John Zorn & Ornette Coleman) and Joey Baron (notably, worked with Bill Frisell), this live performance at the Vortex sums as decent live jazz.  Siegel has a compelling sound, and he’s matched with two excellent musicians.  He just collaborated on the album Twinkle Twinkle with Dialogues Trio (reviewed on BitW HERE), which will deserve some Best of 2012 recognition at year end.

Your album personnel:  Julian Siegel (tenor sax, clarinet, bass clarinet), Greg Cohen (double-bass), and Joey Baron (drums).

Released in 2008 on the Basho Records label.

 

Fofoulah – Live EP

An ensemble that features members of the Outhouse Ruhabi ensemble, Fofoulah blends African music and jazz into music so full of happy as to extinguish every dark cloud in the sky.

Your album personnel: Biram Seck (vocals, guitar,) Phil Stevenson (guitar), Tom Challenger (tenor sax), Johnny Brierley (bass), Kaw Secka (sabar), Dave Smith (drums).

You can stream the album on their bandcamp page.

Released in 2011 on the Loop Collective label.

 

Catatumbo – Catatumbo

An album dead center of the avant-improv scene.  Both as a working trio and in various side projects, all three artists that comprise Catatumbo are tour-de-forces of the avant-garde and hyper-improv scenes.  Expect music that sounds more like forces of nature than actual tunes, and volatile shifts between introspection and explosion to keep everyone on their toes.  And if this music floats your boat, follow the links just below to the individual artist site; these are three names that, like breadcrumbs, will lead you to more great avant-garde music.

Your album personnel:  Olie Brice (double-bass), Javier Carmona (drums, percussion), and Ingrid Laubrock (tenor & soprano sax).

To be released on the Babel Label in June 2012.

 

Various Artists – Good Move! Music presents Thunderclap! featuring Phronesis

The Good Move! Music organization is a non-profit that looks to improve the lives of children through music, especially via improvisation and composition.  A series of workshops were held in July 2011 to do just that, with the culmination being a performance held at the Vortex, in which the students of the Bridge Academy and the Park View Academy collaborated with top-notch jazz outfit Phronesis.  Here’s a track from that performance:

Here’s a link to the Good Move! Music site that’ll give more information about the event, including videos and other tracks from the performance.

And here’s a link to a page on the organization site if you want to find ways you might help them achieve their goals.

 

Alex Bonney – A Tribute To Albert Ayler

This is a live performance of Alex Bonney‘s Albert Ayler tribute album (which can be downloaded for free on Bonney’s bandcamp page, courtesy of the artist).  It’s got all the avant-spiritual jazz one would expect from Ayler compositions.  Rousing choruses that deconstruct in ways that seem jumbled and confused, until a distillation of the blues is revealed as what all is left.  Very fun to listen to.

Your album personnel: Alex Bonney (trumpet), Paul Dunmall, Robin Fincker (saxes), Johnny Brierley, Dave Kane (basses), Dylan Bates (violin), and Mark Sanders (drums).

This is the full performance, about 45 minutes.  Recorded on 2/17/10 at the Vortex.  The songs performed are:  Spirits Rejoice, A Change Has Come, Our Prayer, Ghosts, Holy Family, Truth is Marching In.

Bonney is a name that you’ll see in the liner notes of several of the albums above (and on other various UK jazz albums), as he has plenty of experience working behind the mic as engineer & producer, as he does in front of the mic on trumpet.

 

Braindead Collective – Smoke & Mirrors

An experimental music ensemble that mixes in electronics, drone, jazz, and various effects.  Creates a sound not unlike some of the directions Cuong Vu has explored.  Trippy drifting interludes, the distant moan of trombone, drums and piano playing leapfrog with rhythms, and electronics that are sometimes a warm fuzz, sometimes a buzz saw.  Neat stuff.  This recording is made up of a collection of live dates, some which were performed at the Vortex.  The song embedded below is one of them.

Your album personnel:  Christopher Alcock (trombone & loops), Zac Gvirtzman (piano), Max Hallett (drums), Dominic Lash (double bass), Sebastian Reynolds (synth), and Jean de Talhouët (guitar).

You can stream the entire album on their bandcamp page.

The album was released in 2011 and is Self-Produced.

 

*****

If you think I overlooked something vital, please let me know and I’ll be happy to update the article.

If you’d like to find a way to help support the Vortex, here’s a link to a page on their site with more information.

By • Artist Overviews • 2 • Tags: ,

May 23 2012

Know Your Sideman: Gavin Barras

Know Your Sideman, a new Bird is the Worm series that focuses on musicians who consistently appear in the fine print of excellent albums.

*****

Bassist Gavin Barras has been making a name for himself on the UK jazz scene, but unless you live there you might not have heard of him.

After studying both classical and jazz during his time at the University of Manchester, Barras now records and performs with many of the top jazz artists in the UK scene, as well as working on his own projects.  He is currently a member of the European Union Quartet, Dan Whieldon Trio, Jadid Ensemble, Sarah Ellen Hughes Band, 6Pac Jazz Sextet, Nat Birchall Band, Matthew Halsall Band, Unfurl and Steve Plews Trio.

And if you’re a fan of modern jazz, there’s a good chance that he’s represented in your music library.

Let’s talk about some of the notable recordings of which he’s been a part of…

 

Nat Birchall – Guiding Spirit

Barras has appeared on two of tenor saxophonist Nat Birchall‘s three albums.  You can’t go wrong with a Birchall album.  The music is, in part, a celebration of the spiritual jazz of the sixties.  If anyone is channeling John Coltrane’s sound in a modern jazz setting, it’s Birchall.  He’s got a ferocious tone that doesn’t sound threatening.  Barras fuses his bass into Birchall’s sound by combining notes that imbue the tracks with a sense of mystery and contemplation.  His brief solo during the transition half-way through the tune “Going to the Mountain” is a wonderful example of what I’m talking about.

Released on the Gondwana Records label, Guiding Spirit was one of the best albums of 2010.  Barras also peformed on Birchall’s 2009 release Akhenaten, another great album, and arguably one of the best releases that year.

 

Matthew Halsall – Colour Yes

Trumpeter Matthew Halsall is one of best signs of the future of jazz, and part of a new generation of musicians.  With an approach very much in line with Miles Davis’s modal sound (or said differently, the Miles Davis that sounds like he’s playing with a cool swing in a smoky late night jazz club), Halsall bridges the gap between the old school jazz of the fifties with (one of) the new school’s compositional style.  Halsall gives his tunes a palpable melancholia, and Barras uses his bass as the cheerful counterweight to keep things bright eyes and chipper, even when it seems like dark clouds gather up above.  Barras helps bring the swing to the thing.

Released on the Gondwana Records label, Colour Yes was one of the top albums of 2009.  Barras also performed on Halsall’s 2011 On the Go and 2008 release Sending My Love.  All three Halsall albums are exemplary.

 

European Union Quartet – The Dark Peak

European Union Quartet - "The Dark Peak"

Barras is a founding member of the European Union Quartet.  I originally wrote about this album, “Much like having a planned day off to lounge around but too much energy to do anything other but go out and play in the rain, the European Union Quartet’s The Dark Peak gives the impression of an album full of purposefully introspective tunes foiled by the ensemble’s abounding happiness on recording day.”  Well, that was about six months ago, and I’m still listening to this album, and I stand by that original assessment.  Plenty of life to this music, even as it could be considered rainy day jazz.  Moments that verge on free jazz, others that have a pleasant sway, the quartet’s members give each other room to roam, to find their voice within a particular composition.  It’s a duality that makes it easy to daydream to the music as it is to bounce the head to, depending on your disposition at any one time.

Released in 2011 on the O.A.P. Records label.  The album was one of my original Jazz Picks, back when I first starting contributing to the eMusic new arrivals article.  I’m in the process of writing a standard album review of Dark Peak, which I’ll publish, well, I’m not sure exactly, but soon.  I’ll update this post with a link when I do.

 

And, in a nice development…

Barras will finally be releasing an album with his own name in the large print.  The Gavin Barras Quintet will be releasing Day of Reckoning in May 2012.  Rounding out the quintet is Ed Jones (tenor sax), Steve Plews (piano), Corey Mwamba (vibes), and Dave Walsh (drums).  It’ll be released on the ASC Records label.  I have an album review forthcoming, but in summary, this recording has many of the rhythmic and melodic attributes of a modern jazz composition (a la tendency to rock instead of swing and melodies that venture off in exciting directions without looking back), yet there is a strong hint of classic late-sixties Blue Note albums, which often had a center-of-gravity forged in swing, even as they moved out to edges of free-jazz performance.  Here’s an album track, titled “Billy Harper”…

The album has been getting played pretty frequently on my stereo since it first arrived.  In fact, it’s kinda been one of those albums that gets me backlogged on all the other reviews I should be writing, which is kinda frustrating for me, but typically is a pretty good indication that an album rates high on the quality index.

*****

In the lead-up to the album release, I had a few questions for him:

Bird Is The Worm:  Was the experience of recording an album any different as the bandleader than it was, say, as a sideman on a Birchall or Halsall album, or as part of an equal collaborator on EU4?  Was there something about it you really enjoyed?  Something that made you want to pull your hair out?

Gavin Barras:  It was really simple. No messing around in the studio – a lot of first takes. I was organized regarding getting charts to people before the session. Then on the session I made decisions on soloists etc. and I had the final say.
All the musicians I booked for the date knew the vibe and what I was going for. It was the best experience. And everyone played great!!!!

BITW:  What kind of projects would you like to be working on in the near future?  Down the road?

GB:  I’m playing today with a really great oud player from Palestine.  I would like to work with him and others to create some music directly inspired by Ahmed Abdul-Malik.  [Malik] played bass for Thelonious Monk, but also played oud.  He released a few albums mixing jazz and Arabic elements.  Check out the record East Meets West.

BITW:  Regarding your local jazz scene… What aspect of it do you most enjoy?  What about it symbolizes its identity

GB:  The local Jazz scene revolves around a couple of venues. It is a friendly atmosphere with everyone doing there own thing- an aspect I really enjoy.  The standard isn’t world class- it isn’t New York!  There are some very good players though and lots of diversity.  There are fewer people playing standards which is okay, although I think its really important to have a good standard rep. together- to know tunes.  The scene is small, everyone knows everyone else; that’s cool.

BITW:  Do you have a favorite local venue you enjoy performing at?  A favorite road venue?  Do you have a favorite local venue you love seeing jazz performed at?

GB:  Matt and Phreds jazz club in Manchester has been going for 13 years and has at various times been a really happening place, so that would be a favorite, I suppose. Ronnie Scott’s in London is obviously a favorite venue away from Manchester in the UK – great sound/audience etc.  I’m only playing there a couple of times a year.  In Manchester the RNCM (Royal Northern College of Music) is great for seeing touring bands.  Over the years I’ve seen some great gigs there – Brad Mehldau Trio, Branford Marsalis Quartet, Joe Lovano, etc.

BITW:  Do you have any other creative outlets or does jazz take it all out of you?

GB:  It’s not creative but I’m really into fitness- going to the gym etc.  Jazz is my life, though.

BITW:  The jazz album you’re currently addicted to?  The non-jazz album you’re currently addicted to?

GB:  John Coltrane The Stardust Sessions.  The Beatles The White Album.

BITW:  Anything else to add?
GB:  As a bassist I’m really busy playing lots of different styles of music (not just Jazz), and I travel quite a bit all over Europe playing and meeting others from different countries.  It’s a really great position to be in.  I’m not sure I will do many ‘solo’ albums- certainly not one a year or anything.  I just wanted to document a period in time and playing right now and hope that others enjoy it!!

*****

Day of Reckoning by the Gavin Barras Quintet will be released June 11, 2012 on ASC Records.

By • Artist Overviews • 0

May 22 2012

The Mina Agossi “Red Eyes” album review: A story of Albert Ayler, office cubicles & the timelessness of music.

 

Mina Agossi is a French vocalist who sticks to jazz, but is sufficiently adventurous to travel to other genres for her material and sound.  She has a new album out.  It’s called Red Eyes.  I’d like to review it right now, but first I’ve got to talk about Albert Ayler and office tower cubicles.  If you have a problem with that, you can blame Agossi.  She instigated the whole thing, with the help of Bobby Few.

So, about ten years ago, I’m living in Chicago, working as an accountant for some nameless worldwide corporation in some nameless office tower in the shadow of the Sears Tower.  It was one of those jobs that seemed like a good idea at the time, but after a year in the same drab cubicle doing the same drab work, I was thinking exit strategy.  In the meantime, I began listening to Albert Ayler.  Impulse was re-issuing a bunch of his albums, remastered and newly packaged.  It seemed like a good time to delve into his music.  Besides, I had enough familiarity with his music to know what I was getting into.  I wanted some ferocity, I wanted some noise, and I wanted some of that old blues new soul swing that all the ferocity and noise crested upon.  At a time when my life felt despairingly dull with no change in sight, a music jolt like Ayler sized up as a decent inoculation.

I scooped up several albums.  The Complete Village Vanguard recording was originally my favorite, most likely because I found it the most accessible, so my ear was more receptive to what it was hearing.  But over time, I starting getting all kind of electricity off New Grass.  Another recording that floated my boat was Music Is the Healing Force of the Universe.  Looking back on it, I can’t point to any specific reason why that album grew to be my favorite.  That’s just how music is sometimes; inexplicable connections through notes, provocative reactions in space.

And as most jazz enthusiasts are wont to do, I indulged that quirky habit of looking into the discographies of any album sidemen that were unfamiliar to me.  Well, Music Is the Healing Force of the Universe was my introduction to pianist Bobby Few.  I liked his sound.  I liked the album.  I wanted to learn more about him, hear more of his music.  And upon discovering that obtaining more information and music of Few’s, both, was going to be difficult, well, of course, that only strengthened my resolve to keep searching.  I can’t say I was particularly successful.  I was able to track down a bit more, some online scraps, but not much.  Sometimes these things don’t shake out.  I decided, at the time, to shelve my search for a later date.

And that brings us to Mina Agossi‘s Red Eyes.  There is an album song called “Let It Rain.”  It is a delightful tune, and what convinced me to write something up.  It also struck me as familiar.  It wasn’t until I checked the liner notes that I discovered it was a Bobby Few composition.  Did I initially recognize it as his?  Not sure.  Too many years and too much music ago to be certain of anything.  But it did start me looking for his music again.  Found some cool videos, found a decent fan site, MP3s are increasingly prevalent… better results than ten years ago.  It was also a nice reminder of how much better life is now than back then.  Music as time machine, all over again.  Most of all, though, it was a reminder of the timelessness of music, of its limitless ability to inspire and delight.  As I explore the present music of Agossi, so I also explore the past music of Few and Ayler, all over again.

Now, about that album.

Your album personnel:  Mina Agossi (vocals), Stéphane Guery, Phil Reptil (guitars), Sue Richardson (trumpet), Eric Jacot (bass guitar), Ichiro Onoe (drums), and guest: Archie Shepp (tenor sax, piano, & vocals).

To my mind, a vocalist should strive to achieve (at least) one of three goals:  (1) Highlight the element of the voice that presents it as any other instrument, thus accentuating the vocals as sound over meaning, (2) So inspire the listener as to make them daydream about singing the words themselves, and (3) Create a connection so personal as to make the listener believe the vocalist is singing directly to them.

It’s in this third category that Agossi shines brightly.  Agossi sets the tone with her voice, gives the songs a relaxed feel, casual in such a way that the intimacy of the session is palpable.  Meanwhile, the various guitars glitter like stars, bass and drums twitter like crickets outside the window, and trumpet is a blanket of soft moonlight.  Even contrasts in tension serve primarily to enhance the session’s warmth.

The album opens with the easy stroll of “Eyes Without A Face,” followed by the Agossi original “The Crying Girl,” a lesson in heartbreak.  Despite the emotional swing between the two songs, it’s a distance bridged by Agossi’s even hand, smoothing the edges of the seams, and making the transition seem completely natural.

Jazz legend Archie Shepp guests on a few tracks, with some mixed success.  In the past, his deep gravelly voice, those few times he offered it, could imbue a song with a blues that could be hopeful or wistful, depending on who was doing the listening.  On “The Stars Are In Your Eyes,” his voice sounds brittle and frail.  But when he speaks up on tenor sax, it’s with a voice with plenty of soul and punch, and a nice counterbalance to Agossi’s vocal swerves and quick shifts in speed.

“Sleep Babe Blues” is a nice example of Agossi’s ability to smoulder words out of the air, like contrails to the jet engine heat of guitar.  Guitars appear to be her ideal pairing, bringing out the best in her voice and rhythmic attack.  Guitarists Guery and Reptil are well-matched counterparts.

Shepp steps back in on tenor for a cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Red House.”  Agossi has established a pattern of diving into the Hendrix songbook, and it’s a pattern she should continue to develop.  As just mentioned, guitar brings out the best in her voice, and that seems to go for both interplay of the moment, but also in how guitar fits into the stream of the composition.  Once Shepp starts to blow, with Agossi adding vocal accompaniment, the sun comes out and the song shines.  On bass, Eric Jacot rings bright and clear, his notes beating with the heart of the original.

And then Agossi begins her rendition of Bobby Few’s “Let It Rain,” and Agossi’s voice is velvet soft, even when she extends out.  This song is so wondrously open to interpretation, but at its best, it is both happy and melancholy, a lesson on the importance of maintaining a sense of humor when skies are grey, that having the blues need not preclude one from feeling hope and joy.  Agossi’s rendition of this song would give some indication she recognizes this.  It also illustrates the overall success of the album.

Released on the Naive label.

Jazz from France.

Available at Amazon: CD | MP3

Also, here’s a decent fan site created for Bobby Few.

And here’s a video of Few performing “Let It Rain” live…

Bobby Few (piano), Rasul Siddik (trumpet), Harry Swift (bass), and Benjamin Sanz (drums).  Fabienne Audeoud & Renaud Bezy (graphic art) in Paris (Cite Internationale des Arts).

By • Jazz Recommendations, Jazz Recommendations - 2012 Releases • 0

May 21 2012

Daniel Ogren – “Laponia”

 

It seems like the last few years have seen an increase in jazz albums that venture deep into folk territory.  Sometimes it manifests as the American Bluegrass of the Midwest plains and Appalachian mountains, but also has been derived from various geographical Old Folk music strains.  And sometimes, it’s just a generalized lazy back porch guitar sense of the word Folk.  Standout examples (to name just a few) that come to mind are Julian Lage‘s Gladwell, Jeremy Udden‘s Plainville, Simone Guiducci‘s That’s All Folks, and Motian Sickness‘s For the Love of Sarah.  You can now add guitarist Daniel Ogren‘s Laponia to the list of outstanding jazz folk albums.

All forms of music possess certain essential ingredients for the music and inherent risks for the musician, each specific to its own genre.  For Folk, it’s one of Simple Man Genuineness, of common wisdom earned through common hardships.  And the notes of the song have to be like the dirt… a sense of their age, the power to tell a tale if one only puts their ear to the ground and listens.  Lacking that, the music is likely to sound pretentious and the artists to be viewed as duplicitous.  The best way to get there is fearless honesty, unabashed openness… here is what I know and how I learned it and what it means to me.  It’s not so much a heart-on-the-sleeve thing as it is an unlocked door and a welcome mat that means it.  The best folk music is something that the listener never has to buy into.

Thankfully, Ogren seems to get this.  There is a sincerity to this music that eclipses its simplicity, a priceless quality that is important to any type of music, irrelevant of genre.  But since Laponia falls more into folk territory than jazz, the importance of that sincerity is elevated.

Let’s talk about that music…

Ogren mixes in the earthy guitar and percussion of folk music with soaring piano and bass clarinet of jazz, and lavishes it with alluring flourishes of keyboards and electronics.  The sound is emblematic of the mountain range and massive skies of Northern Sweden that were Ogren’s home and inspiration for the album.

The staccato march of acoustic guitar and drums gets juxtaposed against the lullaby flight of bass and piano, with bass clarinet the seam that binds those opposing elements into one sound.  Opening track “Vandringssång” sets the tone of earth and air, mountain and sky, that bleeds through the entire album.

There are moments when the eerie clavioline sings like night creatures, unseen, in the forest.  Majestic interludes, like thick rays of moonlight breaking through dark cloudy skies, accentuate the beauty of other tracks.

Even tracks that announce a greater jazz presence aren’t afraid to drift away to seek out a new resting place.  “The Cowbell” has a hop and stagger pattern that opens with a jazz bounce which eventually transitions into downward spirals of increasing tempo, notes trailing behind, scattered in all directions.

And where some tracks serenely drift out of sight, with others, like the thrilling piano sojourn “Bjorkar,” there is a palpable sense of “lifting off” as the tune gains volume and intensity.  “Njulla,” which follows right on its heels, further imbues the album with an exhilarating sense of flight.

It’s a nice group effort (as all solid albums have to be, really), but I’d like to point out the outstanding contribution of Nils Berg, who gives the album a haunting beauty.  Berg’s name is going to be getting mentioned here quite a bit over the next few months as I give the rundown on several albums on which he collaborates.

Ogren shows plenty of promise as a recording jazz artist, and Laponia is an album you can trust.

Your album personnel: Daniel Ogren (guitar, church organ, clavioline), Nils Berg (bass clarinet), Gunnar Åkerhielm (piano), Andreas Henningsson (bass), and Christopher Cantillo (drums).

Released on the Hoob Records label.

Jazz from the Stockholm scene.

Visit the artist’s site.

Available at:  Amazon

 

By • Jazz Recommendations, Jazz Recommendations - 2011 Releases, Recap: Best of 2011 • 0 • Tags: , , ,

May 19 2012

Notes From The Holler: Show Review of the Jeb Bishop-Tim Daisy Duo

My review of the Jeb Bishop – Tim Daisy Duo show in Lexington (5/18/12) has been pubbed on Notes From The Holler.  After the lead-in paragraph, you can follow the link to the article.

*****

There is nothing quite like going out on a Friday night for some live music. It’s energizing. It’s illuminating. It gives a glimpse of how wondrously beautiful and big life can be. No better way to start the weekend.

And when the performance is as solid as the Jeb Bishop – Tim Daisy Duo‘s performance at Mecca Dance Studio on 5/18/12, that’s the kind of momentum that carries through the entire weekend.

Various members of Chicago’s jazz avant-garde and experimental music set have been traveling down to Lexington for the better part of ten years, often with the coordination of Lexington resident Ross Compton getting the ducks into row. It’s a tradition that Daisy commented on being a part for most of that time span, making annual trips to Lexington, sometimes more.

Bishop and Daisy performed two extended pieces. The first…(you can read the rest of the article, HERE, at Notes From The Holler).

Summary:  Great show.  Be sure to see them if they’re anywhere near your town.

By • Announcement - Music, Jazz in Kentucky • 0 • Tags:

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