Jan 25 2016
The music of Thomas Maintz: “Present” and “Duets in June”
I’m gonna focus on two recent recordings by Danish guitarist Thomas Maintz, because aside from both being solid albums, they’re a nice illustration of how a musician can thrive in both straight-ahead and off-road forms of jazz while keeping true to their own personal sound. It also shows how the slightest shifts and exploitation of nuance can bring about some profoundly different results.
Let’s begin…
Thomas Maintz, Scott Colley and Johnathan Blake – Present
“Life in the Key of C” opens Present with some standard fare. Maintz’s guitar methodically runs through lines of bright notes emitting a distant warmth, and drummer Jonathan Blake keeps to a calm chatter and gets his cymbals to sound like the comforting crash of gentle waves on the shore while bassist Scott Colley serves as the driving force, lyrically, with an undercurrent that resonates with no little strength. It’s much the same on subsequent track “Miller Watermark,” and at this point, it’s safe to say that this is going to be a pleasant straight-ahead guitar session, with tasteful compositions, pleasant solos and a sense of unison among the trio that is as enjoyable to chart the course of as it is to chase after the wandering soloists.
But then there’s a track like “East Village Waltz.” It doesn’t turn its back on the prevailing sound, nor does it flee from the notion of a straight-ahead jazz recording, but it undergoes a slight transformation to an expression that leans increasingly toward a folk or pop influence, and that small change results in a huge burst of texture, of colors changing like the leaves from Summer to a brand new Autumn season. And when the subsequent tracks return to a more familiar sound, they sound all the richer with the understanding of what they could be, could become, and what might happen again with the sounding of the next note.
“New York Butterfly” gets the pulse rate up, spurred on by a series of nifty flurries from drummer Blake. The rendition of Bill Evans’ “Very Early” keeps to an inside-voice, a murmur that carries far on the slightest breeze. And the album’s other cover song, “If I Should Lose You,” will make you regret that Maintz didn’t use his acoustic baritone guitar on the entire session. And, again, it’s yet another small shift that creates a big sonic reaction… while still keeping things in the sphere of a solid straight-ahead recording.
Your album personnel: Thomas Maintz (electric & acoustic baritone guitars), Scott Colley (bass) and Johnathan Blake (drums).
Released in 2014 on Gateway Music.
Listen to more of the album on the artist’s Soundcloud page.
Available at: Amazon
Thomas Maintz & Aaron Parks – Duets in June
And much in the same way that the song “East Village Waltz” had a transformative effect on Present while remaining wholly in the flow of the album, the 2015 collaboration between Maintz and pianist Aaron Parks illustrates how differently things might’ve sounded had that approach been applied throughout. Duets in June share four of the same compositions as Present, including the aforementioned “East Village Waltz,” and though the changes between the two recording are relatively small in the grand scheme of things, the albums radiate two entirely different facets of the same central beauty. Where Present stuck to more familiar roads running through capital-J Jazz, Duets in June takes the scenic paths that circumnavigate Jazz center and the avenues and alleys that bypass the main thoroughfares.
The album’s high point are the three improvisational tracks (“Prelude,” “Interlude” and “Crystals”) interspersed throughout the recording. The first of those three open the album up with a powerful statement that melodicism was held in high regard during the creation of the recording, and that the obliteration of form and structure was a small price to pay to see that the melodic intent achieved its ultimate goals. “Prelude” is the soothing colors of a gorgeous sunrise combined with the queer uneasiness of the ever-changing scenery and the reminder that a new day promises new challenges and new changes of its own. That kind of emotional duality is emblematic of the entire recording, and the approach of fragmentary beauty over structural foundation are constant through each of the improvisational tracks.
A shared composition like “Nude in Red Armchair” immediately distinguishes between the two albums. Parks provides the song a greater presence with easy-going yet pronounced turns of phrase on piano, and Maintz’s use of acoustic baritone guitar opens the composition up to possibilities that extend far past the horizon line established by the same song on Present. And “Riddles Dressed in White” takes a circuitous path to the melody and a starkly contemplative tone in comparison to the up-tempo burner of Present. The two versions of “Secret Hallway” are the closest between the two recordings, but where the Present trio goes with calm brushstrokes, Maintz and Parks go about painting the song with a pointillism technique and a wild streak of happenstance relative positioning.
The album ends with the solemn “Please Hum (A Hymn),” a piece that offers up the faintest drone, the loveliest melody rolled out slowly with patience and care, and a comforting sense that all is right with the world, contrasting so nicely with the intriguing, vague unease of the opening track.
Just a gorgeous album that also comes armed with a sharp intelligence. It’s also an album that received some year-end consideration for this site’s Best of 2015 list. Go scoop it up.
Your album personnel: Thomas Maintz (guitar, soundbox) and Aaron Parks (piano, melodica).
Released in 2015 on Gateway Music.
Available at: Amazon
And here’s a cool video that incorporates the Duets in June track “Crystals/Improvisation 3″…
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This is one of those unclassifiable recordings that come at your from all kinds of directions and each one of them is about as cool as it gets. The first volume of the two-part Psychedelic Mountain release from 
I’m happy to be able to recommend K on top, the sophomore release from oudist 
Also, be sure to check out Vretos’s debut album Mergin’, which you can read more about on this site (
Today’s column features albums just hitting the new release bins. Well, mostly. The next few columns will still get peppered with some cool stuff that came out after my cut-off for the Best Of list (Nov. 1st), but I’m probably the only one who will notice or even care. And in presence of this self-awareness, it has got to have you wondering why I even brought it up in the first place. That’s a pretty good question.
Definitely an album that owns its volatile nature. A quartet of drummer Carlstedt, saxophonist Brian Settles, guitarist Tim Motzer and bassist Eric Wheeler, they unleash a firestorm with little provocation or warning. That alone is worth the price of admission, but it’s when they slow things down and almost drawl the melody out slowly that the album’s winning side reveals itself. And the thing of it is, when they do let up off the gas pedal, you can tell that their talents with a melody aren’t just a symptom of heavy voltage at high speeds. Jazz, rock, blues… it’s all there in the mix, and all of it is pretty damn thrilling on this nifty recording. Each listen, this album keeps getting better.
A really absorbing duo collaboration between pianist Strandberg and percussionist Voegler. Most of these tunes are relatively unassuming, which is a nice quality to possess considering just how lively and nuanced the conversations between the two musicians play out. Some tracks are as easy-going as an afternoon stroll by the lakeshore, but more still behave like chatterboxes, with plenty to say and any number of ways to say it. They add some found sounds into the mix now and then, each time with taste and wisdom. A nice example of this would be the strangely heartbreaking “Children.” Easy to like.
Okay, this is pretty cool. Cleverhorse is a quintet of of Robbie Melville on guitar & banjo, Gideon Brazil on tenor sax, Luke Hodgson on bass & guitar, Duke Mcdonald on drums & percussion and Monty Mackenzie on alto sax. They commingle a number of different genres, mostly centered around the pop category, into a sound not quite so easy to categorize and strangely tuneful, almost alluring, really. The short interludes they sprinkle throughout the recording have plenty of personality on their own, but in the flow of the album from first note to last, they really shine brightly. It’s the harmonic approaches that define this recording, and how they provide some lift and bounce to the melodic and rhythmic elements. Neat stuff. Probably more appropriate to call this modern instrumental than capital-J Jazz, but, y’know, whatever.
Kind of a boozy presence to this odd recording from the quartet of trumpeter Omenås, vibraphonist Rob Waring, double bassist Mats Eilertsen and drummer Erik Nylander. They all add contributions on percussion, and perhaps that’s why even the gaps of silence come off sounding punctuated and sudden. Melodies are dissected, flipped around, turned inside out and rearranged before they see the light of day, and the rhythmic elements seem constructed from their unused parts. It’s a quiet sort of dissonance to this one, and it’s why a peacefully contemplative track like “Klanghymne en” resonates so vividly.
All kinds of personality to this compilation of live performances from the Rusconi trio and guitarist Fred Frith over the course of two years. The dramatic shifts between contemplative reveries and fiery conflagrations qualifies as the album’s winning characteristic, though a close second is the way the quartet sometimes lands on a catchy pop music plot of turf. The bonus track with Norma Winstone sitting in for a rendition of “Here Comes the Flood” is absolutely stunning, especially in the context of her sublime touch in comparison with the intensity that preceded it. Cool music, cool album.
A curious recording, but easily embraceable. The trio of Enrique Ruiz on piano and synths, Luis Torregrosa on drums, and Rafael Ramos Sania on double bass clearly takes to the qualities of good pop music, but at the same time seem more than a little preoccupied with developing ambiance, even at the expense of the structure that pop music calls for. The result is an intriguing mix of tunes, where some proceed conventionally and lead out with a clear melody and then there are those tracks that gradually develop atmospheric tension and only then do they let the strands of melodic themes fully emerge. Sometimes just seriously catchy, other times a fully immersive experience.
This project is not unlike some of drummer de Waal’s other recent projects that featured Elith “Nulle” Nykjær. This expanded Danish outfit bathes in warm light and sweet melodies and is about the closest you’ll ever get to a fireplace comfort without using wood and a match. On this newest project, however, de Waal infuses intervals of electronics and drone amongst the old-school sounds of Sidney Bechet and Bessie Smith. It’s a wonderful mix of old and new, and each compelling in their own way. Some familiar names to this column featured on the album, including Peter Rosendal, Jacob Anderskov and Gustaf Ljunggren. A wonderful recording. The embedded audio below provides an example of each of this album’s past & present sounds.
A beautiful recording by bassist Renaud Garcia-Fons and pianist David Dorantes. Plenty focus on a Mediterranean influence, and the infusion of Flamenco is a refreshing surprise from a piano-double bass duo collaboration. Strong lyricism evident right from the first notes. A sense of drama is built through the melodies, though it’s the understated rhythmic component that resonates with greater strength during these moments. Some arresting passages throughout this recording. Grabbed my ear right from the start.
Jan 26 2016
These are videos that I like: Thomas Maintz & Edward Hopper’s “Gas, 1940”
You can check out Maintz’s Youtube page here (LINK).
And this seems like a neat site to learn more about Edward Hopper (LINK).
And if you haven’t yet already, be sure to check out my recommendation of two recent Thomas Maintz recordings (LINK).
Now, about that video…
Your video personnel: Thomas Maintz (steel string baritone guitar).
Cheers.
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By davesumner • These are videos that I like • 0