Jan 20 2015
Recommended: Aaron Goldberg – “The Now”
For what amounts to a straight-ahead modern piano trio recording, The Now doesn’t exactly come packaged in a neat bundle. But considering that the inspiration for the newest from pianist Aaron Goldberg is a respect and appreciation for the transitory nature of improvisational creativity and the need to exist in the present moment to best express it, this relative lack of cohesion may not only be intentional, but also necessary. With his longtime trio of bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Eric Harland at his side, Goldberg carves out a set of tunes that share some common bonds, but stand alone, each to themselves.
Album-opener “Trocando em Miudos” is absolutely resonant. It expresses itself patiently and peacefully and emanates a powerful warmth from within. It’s one of three Brazilian compositions on the album, and Goldberg gives each its own voice.
The simmering “Triste Bahia da Guanabara” and the introspective “Wind in the Night” show that the sublime can take many forms. “E-Land” gets back to the resonance of the opener, but kicks up the tempo a bit. This, along with slow boil of Toninho Horta’s “Francisca,” are emblematic of they way Goldberg keeps switching things up to make what might have been common stand completely apart.
The upbeat “Yoyo” is all about the sunny attitude. Goldberg’s renditions of Charlie Parker’s “Perhaps” and Konitz/Marsh’s “Background Music” honor the originals with chipper tempos and a melodic playfulness, while also drawing emphasis to the individual motions of each that speak to the heart of the matter. The exciting “One’s a Crowd” keeps the pulse rate up and finds a way to express both structural composure and improvisational effusiveness.
The album ends with the somber “One Life.” Guest Kurt Rosenwinkel brings that same potent mix of melancholy and combustion that lent so much personality to his involvement with the Brian Blade Fellowship. It’s an evocative way to end an album that doesn’t limit the ways it chooses to express itself.
Your album personnel: Aaron Goldberg (piano), Reuben Rogers (bass), Eric Harland (drums) and guest: Kurt Rosenwinkel (guitar).
Released on Sunnyside Records.
Jazz from NYC.
Available at: Bandcamp | Amazon CD/MP3 | eMusic
Jan 21 2015
Recommended: Anna Webber – “Percussive Mechanics: Refraction”
“Five (Action)” is a brooding tune with a heavy step, but the lumbering tempo is belied by the darting motion of the wind instruments. The mix of motions is where this ensemble excels.
Atop a strong current of rolling tempos, “Tacos Wyoming” is all about the melodic shapeshifting. Though shape and form change from moment to moment, the melody’s presence is felt always.
“Climbing On Mirrors” builds from an amicable chatter to an intense wail, whereas “Theodore” shifts between expressions of varying dissonance, as if the tempo were run through a hyperactive blender.
It’s interesting how the ensemble is able to develop a rather beguiling motion on “The All Pro 3 Speed,” even though, for all intents and purposes, it’s a tune meant to kick up all kinds of turbulence. There’s an interlude when it adopts a distant peace, and, of course, it enters, eventually, into a strong melodic passage, but this is one of the songs where the dissonance rules the day.
The album ends with the roiling tempo of “Friction – Vif (Reflection),” a tune that builds from a drone up to a roar before blossoming into a pulsing cadence and a melodic theme that enjoys the cyclical pattern of chasing its own tail in increasingly snugger confines.
There should be a law that this ensemble has to record something new every year. First Percussive Mechanics and, now, Refraction illustrate just how creatively rewarding such a legal action would be.
Your album personnel: Anna Webber (flute, alto flute, tenor sax), James Wylie (clarinet, alto sax), Julius Heise (vibraphone, marimba), Elias Stemeseder (piano), Igor Spallati (bass), Max Andrzejewski (drums, marimba) and Martin Kruemmling (drums).
Released on Pirouet Records.
Jazz from the Brooklyn scene.
Available at: eMusic | Amazon CD
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By davesumner • Jazz Recommendations, Jazz Recommendations - 2014 Releases • 0