Jazz Recommendations – 2016 releases

Recorded at a 2014 performance at London’s Pizza Express Jazz Club, this live set, led by trumpeter Jason Palmer and pianist Cédric Hanriot, has plenty of post-bop fire while still finding time to swing.  In fact, it’s the way this quintet morphs between two prevalent states of straight-ahead jazz that becomes the primary source of intrigue.  The consequence of this persistent state of change is that the music sometimes sinks into an alluring moodiness, creating an environment where melodies exist forever framed in moonlight, sometimes cool, sometimes bold.  And an equally compelling result of these slight transformations is the implicit looseness of form that lets the sense of structure dangle precariously until those striking moments where a sudden burst of sharp melodicism causes the song to attain its ultimate shape.  For the most part, City of Poets consists of up-tempo tunes, and the electricity of the live setting is palpable even on the recorded medium.  It’s because of this highly charged atmosphere that the more thoughtful, patient passages resonate with considerably greater strength.

There’s some thematic tie-ins to the music theory of Olivier Messiaen’s 7 Modes of Limited Transportation as well as to the Hyperion Cantos fiction novels of Dan Simmons.  For some, this will add further intrigue to the experience of this project.  However, a listener who exists in a vacuum of this information will experience no less enjoyment from this solid recording.  You really can’t go wrong with this one.

Your album personnel:  Cédric Hanriot (piano), Jason Palmer (trumpet), Donny McCaslin (tenor sax), Michael Janisch (double & electric basses) and Clarence Penn (drums).

Released on Whirlwind Recordings.

Check out more of this music on the artist’s Soundcloud page.

Available at:  Amazon | eMusic

Lots of tiny surprises on this new release by the Diab Quintet.  The rhythms are much like you’d expect from an album that has the word ‘tango’ in it’s title.  The cadences shuffle and swing and shoot forward with a remarkable grace to match its speed.  What the quintet does with the melodies, however, is what sets this album apart.  The way that the melody is introduced on the title-track with a slow, thick pour is an attention grabber, but it’s how they modulate the melodic expressions as a way of altering the perception of the cadence’s pace that sparks the magic.  Another example is how the tuneful melody of “Oeil de Lynx” eventually overtakes the tempo and becomes the song’s driving force.

Additionally, the subtle blends of non-tango influences add all kinds of soft colors and light textures to the affair.  “Valse 9″ and “Maple Leaves” have a strong folk influence and “Down the Rock” kicks up some pop music dramatics.  Led by Jonathan De Neck and his diatonic accordion, the prevailing sound has a welcoming presence, even during those moments during Seagull Tango when the intensity begins to surge.

Enjoyable from first note to last.

Your album personnel:  Jonathan De Neck (diatonic accordion), Esinam Dogbatse (flute, percussion), Sébastien Taminiau (violin, double bass), Corentin Dellicour (cello) and Rui Salgado (double bass, guitar).

Released on Home Records (.be).

Listen to more album tracks at the label’s Bandcamp page.

Music from the Brussels, Belgium scene.

Available at:  Bandcamp | Amazon

There should be a law that compels every vibraphonist on the jazz scene to record one album per year with a guitarist.  Of the pool of possible combinations, the marriage of those two instruments is one of the happier pairings there is, and this holds true whether the form of expression is one that stretches out to the fringes of jazz or if the music plants itself dead center in jazz territory.  The newest from vibraphonist Behn Gillece falls in the latter category, and his Dare to Be match-up with guitarist Nate Radley is yet further evidence that a law is not an unreasonable demand.

The up-tempo “Signals” moves at a frenetic pace, with drummer Jason Tiemann and bassist Ugonna Okegwo providing all the rocket fuel they can get their hands on, but nothing about that stops Gillece from a patient lyricism to accompany Radley’s speedy guitar lines.  And when trumpeter Bruce Harris charges down the center of “Drought’s End,” Radley and Gillece exhibit their combo’s dexterity by circling around and meeting at the other side of the solo.

But the album’s best personality shows on the less conventional tracks.  A rendition of Bobby Hutcherson’s “Same Shame” has an alluring melodicism to go with a nervous tempo, and both vibes and guitar take advantage of the resulting conflict of emotional tones.  Opening track “Camera Eyes” opens dreamily, and very much suits the tranquil sighs from both vibes and guitar.  The chipper “Live It” pushes all-in on the sunshine with a catchy melody and a tuneful attitude.

Aside from the slow blues of “Amethyst” and a cover of Johnny Mandel’s “A Time for Love,” this is an album consisting primarily of burners.  And considering how up-tempo tunes bring out the best from vibes and guitar in their (potential) dual role as melodic voice and rhythmic support, it’s not an unwise strategic decision to adopt.  Similarly, scooping this nifty recording up also falls under the category of “wise decisions.”

Your album personnel:  Behn Gillece (vibraphone), Nate Radley (guitar), Ugonna Okegwo (bass), Jason Tiemann (drums) and Bruce Harris (trumpet).

Released on Posi-Tone Records.

Jazz from NYC.

Available at:  Amazon

The winning quality of Clockwork is how Victor Gould isolates the indelible lyricism of soloists within a very thick, yet nuanced large ensemble sound.  And in reality, that “large ensemble” basically amounts to a core sextet within an album of shifting formations, and that they’re able to approximate the huge sound of an armed-and-ready big band also speaks to quality of the compositions as well as the fit of these particular musicians within the framework established by Gould.  The pianist and composer adds strings and additional percussion to an all-star line-up of horn, saxophones and rhythm unit, and the spectrum of tones generated is one that’s fluid and highly nuanced.  It’s a big reason why the overall sound of the album doesn’t dramatically change from moment to moment, yet it perpetually seems to be undergoing a transformation as each song develops from first note to last.

It’s why the galloping charge of title-track “Clockwork” can transition to the sunny walk in the park of “Room,” which, in turn, shifts into the gentle sway of “Chaancé” and it all comes off like one extended image.  And it’s also why it can pick right back up anywhere along that spectrum and start all over again.  And it does.

The wind instrument front-line of trumpeter Jeremy Pelt and saxophonists Godwin Louis and Myron Walden keep locked into their flight pattern even when they suddenly break off on individual melodic tangents.  The charge of the all-pro rhythm section of bassist Ben Williams and drummer E.J. Strickland gets some extra voltage out of the contributions of percussionist Pedrito Martinez.  With a Brazilian and straight-ahead recordings under her own name and her work with harpist Brandee Younger under her belt, Anne Drummond continues to display her versatility on flute in an increasingly diverse range of projects.  And the string trio of violinist Yoojin Park, violist Heejin Chang and cellist Veronica Parrales add some essential harmonic texture on their guest spots while keeping nicely within the fold of the album’s overall vision.  And all of that success is pretty damn impressive when taken into account that this is Victor Gould’s debut recording.

And ten albums from now, if he’s still pulling this off, it will be no less impressive.  And that also would mean that there’s a whole lot more great music coming from his direction.  Start here.

Your album personnel:  Victor Gould (piano), Jeremy Pelt (trumpet), Godwin Louis (alto sax), Myron Walden (tenor sax), Ben Williams (bass), E.J. Strickland (drums) and guests:  Anne Drummond (flute), Pedrito Martinez (percussion), Yoojin Park (violin), Heejin Chang (viola) and Veronica Parrales (cello).

Released on the Fresh Sound New Talent label.

Jazz from NYC.

Available at:  Amazon | eMusic