Jul 20 2015
This Is Jazz Today: Wayne Horvitz, Laszlo Gardony, RighteousGIRLS and more!
And here’s Part II of this week’s recommendations. A couple things worth noting: One, both co-Albums of the Week were released by Songlines Recordings. It’s a label that has put out some excellent music, but they especially seem to be on a roll lately. Also, guitarist Tony Wilson has notched Album of the Week two weeks in a row- this week as part of the Waxwing trio and last week with his 6tet recording A Day’s Life. That’s a hell of an accomplishment.
Today’s batch of recommendations seems either to be a traditional jazz fastball right over the heart of the plate or inventive music that might not even be playing the sport of Jazz. All of it is seriously good stuff.
Let’s begin.
*** Album of the Week ***
Wayne Horvitz – Some Places Are Forever Afternoon
The thing about pianist & composer Wayne Horvitz is that even though he has his hands in any number of creatively diverse projects, his particular sound is remarkably singular and distinguishable. It’s as good a reason as any to explain the admirable synthesis that occurs when he brings his Gravitas Quartet and Sweeter Than The Day ensembles together on his newest album. Cornetist Ron Miles, bassoonist Sara Schoenbeck, cellist Peggy Lee, guitarist Tim Young, bassist Keith Lowe and drummer Eric Eagle join the piano & keyboards & electronics of Horvitz for a masterpiece of Horvitz’s unique expression of cinematic jazz-chamber-folk… highly lyrical, deeply melodic music that inspires imagery of full-moon nights over dark alleys, warm beams of sunlight cast through the gaping holes of abandoned industrial complexes, and a curious tranquility that radiates a reverential tone and an ambiance tailored for paradise.
We’re about a month away from a series of Wayne Horvitz columns. Get a head start and pick up this album right now.
Released on Songlines Recordings.
Visit the artist site. Read more at the artist’s project blog.
Download a free album track at the Songlines site.
More listening | Buy: Bandcamp – eMusic – Amazon
*****
*** Also Featured This Week ***
Laszlo Gardony – Life In Real Time (Sunnyside)
A real vibrancy to the new one from pianist Gardony, who adds three saxophonists to round out a sextet on this live performance. The heart of hard bop throughout, with a huge warmth, a big sound, and plenty of bluesy grooves and soulful reveries. I’m pretty well addicted to this recording, and it’ll definitely put a smile on the faces of old-school fans who feel disconnected from the modern jazz scene.
Artist site | Listen | Buy: eMusic – Bandcamp – Amazon
*****
Judith & Dave O’Higgins – The Abstract Truth Big Band (Self-Produced)
Really enjoyable set from Dave & Judith O’Higgins’ big band, putting a nice touch on Jorg Achim Keller’s arrangements of the great Oliver Nelson recording Blues & the Abstract Truth. Music that sounds like it comes from the era of its source material and full of the life of today. Reminded of just how evocative the song “Stolen Moments” is as an opening track, and just how strong it resonates for the length of a recording.
Artist site | Listen | Buy: eMusic – Amazon
*****
Satoko Fujii Tobira – Yamiyo Ni Karasu (Libra)
After hearing the massive sounds emanating from pianist Fujii’s latest, it’s difficult to believe that her Tobira consists of just four musicians. Fujii, bassist Todd Nicholson, drummer/percussionist Takashi Itani and trumpeter Natsuki Tamura create music as a force of will, possessing a nature that is fickle and inclined to change without warning. From the dissonance, some wonderful moments of quiet, alluring harmony.
Artist site
*****
RighteousGIRLS – Gathering Blue (New Focus Recordings)
Strangely compelling debut from pianist Erika Doh and flautist Gina Izzo. They capture the spirit of the late-60s, when jazz was entering an out period, and compositional seeds and improvisational waves were less inclined to produce form than they were presence. Trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire is both a guest musician on the recording and a contributor of a composition, along with Vijay Iyer, Pascal Le Boeuf, Christian Carey and others.
Artist site | Listen | Buy: eMusic – Amazon
*****
Jacques Lesure – Camaraderie (WJ3 Records)
Likable straight-ahead set from guitarist Lesure. Plenty of blues and swing generating anything from a fiery heat to an intimate warmth. A line-up of pro’s pros with vibraphonist Warren Wolf, pianist Eric Reed, bassist Nat Reeves and drummer Willie Jones III.
Artist site | Listen | Buy: eMusic – Amazon
*****
Jeff Kowalkowski – (Trio) (New Atlantis)
There’s nothing straight-forward about this avant-garde trio set from pianist Kowalkowski, bassist Harrison Bankhead and drummer Avreeayl Ra, and yet patterns emerge that create not only a sense of expectation but are also positively mesmerizing. That said, the music’s stop-and-go motion, its clashes and collisions, and its sudden scene changes are far more likely to keep the ear riveted than send the mind drifting deep into thought. Powerful, driving music that doesn’t try to bully the listener into submission.
*****
Smart Metal Hornets & Dix – Archduke Shuffle (ATS Records)
Plenty of thick grooves to carry whimsical melodies along in their embrace on this quartet session consisting of one drummer and three musicians working a small armory of brass and woodwind instruments. Fat sounds that allow pauses and respites to breathe and gain strength without weakening the flow of the cadence. Fun music and more than a little catchy.
*****
Have a great time digging through the list!
And remember, it’s simple: You like what you like.
Cheers.
***
And be sure to check out Part I of this week’s column
(LINK)
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Jan 20 2016
Recommended: Scott Jeppesen – “Wonders” and “El Guapo”
Scott Jeppesen – Wonders
The opening salvo is purely modern post-bop, though the warmth it develops has a classic 1960s hard bop quality to it that’s simple to embrace. The melody isn’t complicated or fussy, nor does it serve as a thesis statement in support of the album theme. It grabs the attention and holds it tight. There’s an abundance of cheerfulness, but also more than a hint of introspection. It’s carried along by a rhythm section that scoots ahead with a friendly chatter that’s no less arresting than the melody. And nothing about any of it really speaks to the majesty of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. But when the quintet sighs out the drop-dead lovely melody of “The Marble Tomb” and follows it up with solos that possess the flickering beauty of a city skyline at night, this, too, doesn’t elicit the imagery of the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. It certainly doesn’t matter. Not when the music is this good. I like a nifty theme or concept album as much as the next listener, but mostly I want well-crafted melodies, a rhythm section that knows how to set them to motion, and I want it gift-wrapped in some harmonic action that fits perfectly to the shape of the song. On Wonders, Jeppesen does this to a tee, and that’s where to find the source of awe and inspiration on this winning album.
The contrast between the pulsing tempo of “Colossus (of Rhodes)” and the gentle cooing of its melody is a positively magnetic song intro, and that Jeppesen then flips the script and lights a fire under the melody and has the rhythm section take a turn at being the patient one just makes the tune even more arresting. Keyboard effects give a space-y vibe to “Last Man Standing (Great Pyramid Of Giza)” and the walking bassline of “Big Daddy (Statue Of Zeus At Olympia)” adds something familiar to something new, but mostly this is just more of the good stuff provided by the opening track. Something new, however, can be found in the alluring “A Guiding Light (Lighthouse Of Alexandria),” with its curiously loping tempo and slow exhalation of melody.
The concluding chapters of the album are best exemplified by “Hubris,” a song that is emblematic of the album’s ambiguous emotional textures and its penchant for enchanting melodies talked up by rhythms that know how to carry a conversation.
There’s never enough space to fit all the top albums of a particular year on a year-end Best Of list. Wonders is yet another example of an exceptional recording that probably didn’t get as much attention as it deserved.
Your album personnel: Scott Jeppesen (tenor sax, melodica), Larry Koonse (guitar), Josh Nelson (piano, keyboards), Dave Robaire (bass), Don Schnelle (drums) and guest: Bob Sheppard (tenor sax).
This Self-Produced album was released in 2015 on Jeppesen’s Creative Bottle Music label.
On his site, Jeppesen gives a pretty decent rundown of his insights and thoughts about the Wonders project on a wonder-by-wonder basis. Definitely worth checking out (LINK). Plus, he’s got additional music embedded throughout. This is an example of where the concept of liner notes can flourish in the internet age.
Jazz from the L.A. scene.
Available at: CDBaby | Amazon
Scott Jeppesen – El Guapo
The arrival of “Great Odin’s Raven” pretty much cements this album’s roots as belonging to those of modern post-bop, and its wide smile of a melody and boisterous solos as engaging as a raconteur’s best anecdotal material is a conspicuous amount of evidence that Jeppesen and crew really know how to put together a solid modern jazz post-bop recording. Jeppesen’s way with the tunes, how his lyricism possesses both weight and substance while threading the needle between blues-make-me-happy and no-hurt-like-the-blues is a quality that should never be overlooked or under-admired. It’s not easy ground to tread, and it’s not often done with such an absorbing tunefulness. The egregiously under-the-radar UK pianist and composer Julian Joseph would be a bird of a feather in this regard, but it’s not something often encountered on a recording that sticks to jazz’s standard avenues and thoroughfares. The upbeat “I Tend To Agree” hits this sweet spot, too, though more subtly as it trades some of the nuance for an extra dose of heat. A similarly successful trade-off is made on “Maybe Later,” though in this instance, the net gain is a contemplative tone and a gathering of shadows to mute the album’s sunny disposition.
It’s the kind of thing that lets a musician get away with inserting some iffy mainstream groove action into the middle of “Overlapping Conversations.” As a stand-alone track, it’s easily dismissed. But in the flow of the album’s songs, on an album where the nuance exploited within the expanse of a melody’s emotional spectrum is focused squarely on the divide between joy and pain, light and dark, this approach to the music eclipses the measure of its cohesiveness to the entirety of the album. Besides, when Jeppesen digs right back into the heart of this recording with “Hidden,” the sense of logic returns full circle to the first, and ultimately, last impression.
Released back in 2013, this solid recording definitely deserves another turn in the spotlight.
Your album personnel: Scott Jeppesen (saxophones, bass clarinet), Larry Koonse (guitars), Josh Nelson (piano, keyboards), Dave Robaire (bass), Don Schnelle (drums) and guest: John Daversa (trumpet, flugelhorn).
This Self-Produced album was released in 2013 on Jeppesen’s Creative Bottle Music label.
Check out more about the album at the artist site.
Jazz from the L.A. scene.
Available at: CDBaby | Amazon
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By davesumner • Jazz Recommendations, Jazz Recommendations - 2013 Releases, Jazz Recommendations - 2015 Releases, The Two-Fer Review series • 0