Dec 4 2012
Tiny Reviews: Max Johnson, Partyka Brass, Irene Scardia, Florian Pellissier, & Pow Wow
Tiny Reviews, featuring: Max Johnson Quartet, Partyka Brass The Day After Christmas, Irene Scardia Risveglia, Florian Pellissier Quintet Le Diable et Son, Pow Wow Wop n’ Wow
*****
Max Johnson – Quartet
Debut album from bassist Max Johnson as session leader, though not new to the scene at all. Plenty of dissonance, spastic rhythms, bending and twisting of notes, and the occasional interludes of lullaby warmth. Though free jazz can often be sort of prickly when it comes to first date hugs, Quartet is nuanced in a way that makes it embraceable on the initial listen. I think it gets too often accepted that a free jazz album won’t be accessible music, but Johnson proves that wrong here, and he does a nice job of reminding us of the bass’s possibilities without letting the album become a classroom exercise. Also, fine taste in collaborators.
Your album personnel: Max Johnson (bass), Mark Whitecage (alto sax, clarinet), Steve Swell (trombone), and Tyshawn Sorey (drums).
Released on the NotTwo Records label.
Jazz from NYC.
Available at eMusic.
Partyka Brass – The Day After Christmas
Known by some of you as the group that recorded a holiday album with Carla Bley, Ed Partyka‘s septet returns with another holiday themed album. Day After, however, doesn’t result in traditional holiday tunes (aside from album closer “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town”). It’s a set of sometimes haunting, sometimes sublime tunes that accentuate the delicacy of the instruments, rather than their inherent boisterousness.
Your album personnel: Ed Partyka (bass trombone, tuba), Adrian Mears (trombone), Johannes Lauer (trombone), Christine Chapman (French horn), Axel Schlosser (trumpet), Bill Forman (trumpet), and Tobias Weidinger (trumpet).
Released on the Mons Records label.
Available at eMusic.
Irene Scardia – Risveglia
Peaceful piano album, trio format with soprano sax and bass. Piano is definitely the spotlight instrument, with sax and bass adding support. Bass is more often bowed than not, which adds a delicious tension to songs, and the sax parts are flighty and light, and bring a sublime beauty to the album. Very nice recording.
Your album personnel: Irene Scardia (piano), Emanuele Coluccia (sax), and Luca Alemanno (bass).
Released on the Workin’ label. Jazz from the Lecce, Italy scene.
Available at eMusic.
Florian Pellissier Quintet – Le Diable et Son
Easy-going hard bop date from the Florian Pellissier Quintet. Some modern jazz flourishes, but its obvious that their hearts pine for the jazz of the sixties, especially music like the Herbie Hancock Blue Notes. Should appeal to new- and old-schoolers alike.
Your album personnel: Florian Pellissier (piano), Yoann Loustalot (trumpet), Christophe Panzani (sax), David Georgelet (drums), and Yoni Zelnik (bass).
The album is Self-Produced. Jazz from the Paris scene.
Available at eMusic.
Pow Wow – Wop n’ Wow
Swedish outfit that plays moody avant-garde. More of a melodic focus than a rhythmic one. This is still pretty accessible, and if you like the introspective Nordic jazz sound, this album is just a ramped up and deconstructed version of it. The group has been around since 1975. Quality musicianship. Probably the kind of album that gets better with repeat listens.
Your album personnel: Björn Almgren (sax), Ingemar Landén (drums), Kjell Thorbjörnson (double bass), and Jonny Wartel (tenor sax).
Released on the Footprint Records label. Jazz from the Gothenburg, Sweden scene.
Available at eMusic.
*****
Portions of the reviews were originally used in my Jazz Picks weekly article for eMusic, so here’s some language protecting their rights to that reprinted material as the one to hire me to write about new jazz arrivals to their site…
“New Arrivals Jazz Picks“ and “New Arrivals Jazz Picks,“ reprints courtesy of eMusic.com, Inc.
© 2012 eMusic.com, Inc.
As always, my sincere thanks to eMusic for the gig. Cheers.
There’s an addicting oddball lyricism at play here. Melodies are warped into indescribable shapes and rhythms communicate in a language not yet codified for human translation. If I were to say this was the West Coast sister ensemble of NYC’s Kamikaze Ground Crew, that might get close to preparing you for Lisa Mezzacappa‘s particular concoction of insanity. The theme of avantNOIR are old-school hard-boiled detective novels, and considering the depth of mystery each tune presents, it’s fair to say the inspiration bled into the body of the music. Very fun and terribly intriguing.
There’s some serious enchantment going on with this magical set from the trio Kokotob. Marimba, piano and clarinet cast off all kinds of vivid imagery, all of it riveting. The lovely repetition of “Korokoro” is the ambient textures reminiscent of Reich or Eno. “Etude in eb” works the same territory, but trades out tranquility for enthusiasm. And while “Feldmännchen” is reminiscent of pale moonlight on a starless night, “Bikkuri” embodies those monsters that haunt the darkness outside the reach of the moon’s glow. And then there’s the sublime beauty of “Origami im Görlitzer Park” and how delicate tones radiate great melodic strength. I’m really taken with this recording.
Drum and drone is what you get from the debut of the MIR 8 ensemble. At its most tranquil, there’s always an undercurrent of tension, and at its most volatile, there’s always a hint of serenity hanging in the air. This quartet goes heavy on the electronics and effects to bolster trombone and percussion, and somehow they get it all to snap neatly into place. This one grabbed my attention from the first notes, and after a handful of times through, it hasn’t let go.
Carlos Bica & Azul are the sun and the moon. They can take a melody and spin the pure light of serenity from its notes and, with the same ease, the trio can take that same melody and make it burn like flames. Either way, it’s a thing of beauty, and the only difference is the level of intensity and tone. The session of new material celebrates twenty years as a working trio. It’s not empty flattery when I say I hope they celebrate many more anniversaries to come.
What I find most enjoyable about this session from the quartet Mind Games is how the frantic motion of each track defines the melody’s ultimate shape and form. There are times the music hints at an old-school blues and other times it’s a new-school contraption where bop is never one of the scheduled lessons. But in each instance, it’s the slashing, twittering or skittering motion that determines how the song is most likely to be interpreted. It’s something that gives the sense of a singular personality capable of donning any number of different faces. That’s the kind of thing that’ll keep the ear interested and on guard at all times.
Oct 18 2017
Recommended: Max Johnson – “In the West”
Your album personnel: Max Johnson (bass), Kris Davis (piano), Susan Alcorn (pedal steel guitar) and Mike Pride (drums).
Released on Clean Feed Records.
Music from Brooklyn.
Available at: Bandcamp | Amazon
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By davesumner • Jazz Recommendations, Jazz Recommendations - 2017 releases • 0