I just discovered a wonderful ensemble last night, and I’m gonna write a review about it as I stream their beautiful beautiful beautiful music on their Soundcloud page.  If the second half of the album is as outstanding as the first half, I will likely gush about Threads Orchestra‘s album Threads for the entirety of this review.

So, prepare yourself.  This is unfiltered.

Your album personnel:  Adam Robinson (viola), Julian Gregory (violin), Chris Montague (guitar), Kit Downes (piano), Rus Pearson (bass), Kristoffer Wright (drums), and Semay Wu (cello).

The opening track “Attached” probably has some significance to the composer, but for me, it was symbolic in that from the moment the lush waves of strings washed over the intermittent pounding of drums, followed immediately by the prowling piano notes and drowsy guitar effects, I was hooked on this album.  Stuck to it.  Attached.  The song builds nice and slow, more nu-classical with rock moodiness than actual jazz, though the piano section certainly could argue against that statement.  It’s an enchanting opening song, supremely beautiful, but a little fearful in that way expansive beauty can be.

Second track “Gene Wilder” doesn’t exactly dial it back on the addictiveness.  With the happy patter of plucked strings accompanied by poppish piano trills, it’s the audio version of sugary cereal on a bright and snowy winter morning… a sense of the magical in a world of small but special treats.  Then strings start to raise their voice, backed by electric guitar picking and gentle but rapid drumming.  And then it sort’ve turns into a bit of a tango and the tempo and volume rises, receding briefly to the starting point before building right back up to the grand finale.

So far, two songs, two sounds.  Third track “Titus Salt” adds yet another disparate element to this album.

Two feet in the Americana Jazz perfected by Bill Frisell, “Titus Salt” has strings blissfully swaying between searching guitar notes.  Piano breaks through the clearing for an uplifting solo that somehow raises the prettiness factor.  But really, it’s the trio of viola, violin, and cello that shines brightest on this tune.  Good grief, this is a beautiful tune.

See?  I warned you how I’d be.  It’s love, I just know it.

Let’s talk about one more tune, then call it a day.

The sixth track “Oliver Reed,” begins with some avant-garde strings that would make the duo of Mary Halvorson & Jessica Pavone proud.  They seamlessly transition to a tango sound, which really doesn’t seem like it should work except that I just heard it happen (and so can you embedded just above).  As a composition, it’s a whirlwind with an excellent sense of timing.  Strings whip about while piano hops in place, and everything sound like it gonna scatter everywhere, but instead finds a dance partner and saves the chaos for another day.

Just outstanding.

The album is Self-Produced.  It was released in 2011.  Music from the UK.

Stream the entire album on their bandcamp page, where you can also purchase the album.

Download a free album track at AllAboutJazz, courtesy of the artists.

NOTE:  I will be writing a proper album review of Threads, to appear either on Bird is the Worm or AllAboutJazz. (EDITOR’S NOTE: The review appears on Bird is the Worm, and is searchable via the “Musicians” drop-down menu on the right-hand side of this screen).

NOTE:  Also, I believe there is a 2012 release forthcoming.

*The first of a series of one-draft stream-of-conscious “reviews” of new-to-me albums and/or artists.  See the Series Intro post for more information about the First Impression Series.

Featuring Tiny Reviews of:  Bridges Trio Mans, Josh Arcoleo Beginnings, Artvark Saxophone Quartet Sly Meets Callas, and Dieter Ilg, Rainer Bohm, Patrice Heral Otello Live at Schloss Elmau.

Let’s begin…

Bridges Trio – Mans

A trio of guitar, bass, and drums that, for this album, makes it a quartet with the addition of an extra guitar player. Thrilling stuff. They totally have the Bill Frisell ECM sound going, though some of the looping and effects recall Frisell’s period with Nonesuch albums like Ghost Town and The Willies. Now, granted, I’m a huge Frisell fan, so any musician who adopts that sound, I’m gonna be enamored with, but that said, this is beautiful music.

Your album personnel:  Guillem Callejon (guitar), David Soler (guitar), Dimas Corbera (contrabass), and Alfons Bertran (drums).

Released on the Quadrant Records label.

Available on eMusic.

Josh Arcoleo – Beginnings

Strong debut album from tenor saxophonist Josh Arcoleo.  Rounding out his quartet with piano, drums, and bass, he presents a confident set of tunes. Compositions deliciously balance fire of sax with bright elegance of piano, while drums and bass fill all the spaces in between, resulting in rich album with plenty of depth.  Arcoleo has lots of punch on tenor, but thankfully doesn’t turn this into a blowing session.  Ivo Neame, on piano, really shines, creates an environment for Arcoleo to thrive in.  Hard to believe this a debut album.

Your album personnel:  Josh Arcoleo (tenor sax), Ivo Neame (piano), Callum Gourlay (bass), and James Maddren (drums).

Released on the Edition Records label.

Jazz from the UK.

Available at eMusic.

Artvark Saxophone Quartet – Sly Meets Callas

A nifty pairing of the avant-garde Artvark Saxophone Quartet and classical soprano Claron McFadden for an intriguing mix of compositions ranging from traditional jazz, skewed blues, and chamber music.  A very nice reminder that just because something gets categorized as avant-garde, doesn’t mean it can’t be catchy as hell.

Your album personnel:  Bart Wirtz, Rolf Delfos (alto saxes), Mete Erker (tenor sax), and Peter Broekhuizen (baritone sax).

Released on the Zennez Records label.

Available on eMusic.

Dieter Ilg, Rainer Bohm, Patrice Heral – Otello Live at Schloss Elmau

Bassist Dieter Ilg, pianist Rainer Bohm, and drummer Patrice Heral interpret the works of Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi.  More jazz than classical, with the livelier moments leaning more toward the former and the quieter interludes toward the latter.  On the ACT label, which has a habit of releasing albums that are deceptively straight-ahead, like looking at Jazz through opaque glass.  Two feet in the European jazz sound.  Has the word ‘live’ in the title, but that sure fooled me- fantastic sound.

Available on eMusic.

That’s it for today’s article, and the first of two parts of the Tiny Reviews from this batch of new arrivals.

Here’s some language to protect eMusic’s rights as the one to hire me originally to scour through the jazz new arrivals and write about the ones I like:

“New Arrivals Jazz Picks“, courtesy of eMusic.com, Inc.
© 2012  eMusic.com, Inc.

My thanks to emusic for the freelance writing gig, the opportunity to use it in this blog, and the editorial freedom to help spread the word about cool new jazz being recorded today.