Jun 10 2013
Nicolas Moreaux – “Fall Somewhere”
There was a review series I began back in Bird is the Worm‘s infancy stage titled Know Your Sideman. It was to highlight artists who have participated on a series of solid recordings without ever really putting one out with their own name in large print as session leader. It was a nice idea, but for a variety of reasons, that review series never quite took off. That said, there’s no doubt that bassist Nicolas Moreaux would have merited a column for his work.
His 2013 release Fall Somewhere is just outstanding. It’s not his first album. His 2009 release Beatnick hit my radar, but never enough to completely draw me in. But in the interval, Moreaux has been showing up on a number of excellent recordings as a bassist. Most recently, albums by Pierre Perchaud, Olivier Boge, Sophie Alour, and a current project with saxophonist Jeremy Udden which will, hopefully, result in a proper recording.
Fall Somewhere, however, is a huge step up. It has some of the richest melodies to hit my ears lately, and while they make statements that are exquisitely memorable, their wealth is derived in how they’re developed over the course of songs rather than from their immediate impact (which is substantial). A double-disc that includes a strong line-up of ongoing collaborators and new partners, Moreaux brings together the musicians’ varied sounds into a singular potent concoction, resulting in an album I’ve found positively addictive.
Your album personnel: Nicolas Moreaux (bass), Bill McHenry (
Most tracks possess a dreamy presence, and drift languidly from first note to last, rarely breaking their spell, even those times when the pulse rate rises. The album opens with “Far,” a tune that skips right along at a nice clip, yet never sounds hurried. Saxophone delivers a delicate intonation and an evocative punch. Guitar creates little eddies of notes, sending out ripples that blend in with the ensemble sound. And on a track like “Summer Fishing,” where guitar flexes its muscle and sax turns up the heat, these are only interludes that fall between softly drifting moments of lilting melody and friendly rhythmic chatter.
Tracks move in a circular pattern, returning to spot from whence they launched themselves out into the expanse of a song. The melody is their signpost, the rhythm an engine.
“Baroc” is one of the more consistently upbeat tunes. Saxophones hang their hat on the melody. Drums beat out the shape of a smile. There are a couple interludes where everyone stands up and shouts, but for the most part, it’s an amicable, though boisterous, exchange of notes. “The Incall” turns up the heat, lets sax set fire to notes. “Each Other’s Light” plays with tempo, building up to sections that allow saxes to flail about ecstatically before falling back into the stream of the song.
“Oak” brings a nifty texture to the album. Acoustic guitar works the rhythmic side of things, but the steel strings can’t help but add a deliciously rustic quality to the gentle saxophone expressions, each enhancing the impact of the other via their related but contrasting voices. Deeper into the song, piano moves in with some lines that, for all intents and purposes, are disassociated from what the rest of the ensemble are doing, and yet, just as a surfer and a wave are entirely different entities, in motion they are one, presenting a fluid unison that all comes together when viewed as a single expression.
The title-track “Fall Somewhere” and “Cool Water” represent the opposite poles of this recording. The former is a diffuse tune that challenges the concept of structure, whereas the latter brings in a guest vocalist for an infusion of pop music. Even in their differentiation, neither sound out of place or dispel the album’s cohesion… in fact, they bring a greater clarity to the rest of the album by framing each song by what it is and what it is not.
It’s been tough putting this album down. Too damn early in the year to be thinking about Best of 2013 lists, and yet here I am bringing up the subject. This album compels me to do it. It’s just that good.
Released on the Fresh Sound New Talent label.
Jazz from the Paris, France scene.
Jun 11 2013
Sean Nowell – “The Kung-Fu Masters”
Some albums are just plain fun. They can be analyzed and contextualized and extrapolated, but when they’re boiled down to their barest, essential element, all that really matters is that it’s joyful music sure to paste a grin on the face of anyone who hears it.
Saxophonist Sean Nowell is offering up just such an album with The Kung-Fu Masters… a modern jazz recording that channels the funk and soul and jazz of the sixties, delivering up an indefatigable exuberance and memorable, catchy tunes.
Thick grooves and unpretentious melodies mark this solid recording.
Your album personnel: Sean Nowell (tenor sax, effects), Brad Mason (trumpet, effects), Mike Dease (trombone), Art Hirahara (Rhodes, clavier, synths), Adam Klipple (organ, synths), Evan Marien (electric bass), and Marko Djordjevic (drums, pads).
The album opens with a version of Jimi Hendrix’s “Crosstown Traffic,” immediately setting the tone of celebration in motion. Nobody pulls a punch here, but the fight is all in good fun and there isn’t a note delivered in anger.
“In the Shikshteesh” typifies many album tracks… uplifting brass and woodwind sections that often intertwine in thrilling fashion and a deep groove that digs in nice and slow, belied by a tempo that induces dance, not repose.
“The Outside World” maintains the prevailing swagger, but kicks the electronic effects up a notch, giving a nostalgic space-age vibe to the party-time atmosphere. Nowell tosses out handfuls of electronic effects throughout this album, like confetti into the air, but avoids the trap of letting it become cliche or banal by keeping it leashed in the role of accompaniment to a textured rhythmic palette and a melodic approach that owes as much to its textural ambiguities as its infectious nature.
A track like “Prosperity” provides a good indication that Nowell is down with the concept of Joy as a mutable construct. Warm harmonies bolster a spry melody, and a song that does nothing to detract from the album’s sunny disposition, yet all the same, provides it with a solemn thoughtfulness.
“Can-Do Man” brings a touch a cabaret to the festivities, with drawled notes, rhythmic bombast, and a cool blue stroll.
An enjoyable aspect of this recording is watching the dance play out between bassist Marien and the various array of electronic effects loosed upon this recording. The contrast and compatibility between the deep voiced bounce of bass and the high-pitched sizzle and blip of electronic effects makes for an ebb and flow action tough not to fall for.
On keys and organ, Klipple and Hirahara participate in some wild aeronautics, but on a track like “Prosperity,” display a talent at maintaining a fluid motion and imbuing the music with a grace more akin to a soaring flight pattern than a darting one.
On drums, Djordjevic brings a skittish behavior to “Uncrumplable,” setting a tone that gets the electronic blips of effects to fall in line, and then getting Dease’s trombone to mimic the delivery with notes delivered with brevity and speed. In truth, Djordjevic is probably manipulating more of this album than he’s letting on. Ultimately it’s Nowell who plays the role of Oz, but there’s a certain power attached to the man who holds the strings that pull the curtain aside, and there are moments throughout this album that hint at Djordjevic assuming that role.
The main line of sax, trumpet, and trombone of Nowell, Mason, and Dease each find time to kick back and solo over the top of a wild tapestry of sound, but it’s the way they weave about one another, creating intricate displays of musicianship without forgetting to harmonize, that provides the real treat of the collaboration.
Plenty here to like, and plenty here to smile about. Pretty much from the opening statement, I knew I’d have fun listening to this album, and it did not fail to deliver on that promise. And now, months after first hearing it, it continues to deliver on that promise.
Released on the Posi-Tone Records label.
Jazz from NYC.
Available at eMusic. Available at Amazon: CD | MP3
*****
As far as the album title and cover image, the following quote is taken from Sean Nowell’s site…
Figured maybe some of you would be curious. That should probably answer most of the general questions. Some nifty videos on Nowell’s site will give you a better sense of how it all shakes out in a live setting. He also has a site dedicated to the Kung-Fu Masters project, which can be found at this LINK.
Cheers.
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By davesumner • Jazz Recommendations, Jazz Recommendations - 2013 Releases • 2