Recap: Best of 2011

Paul Lieberman did not choose the title for this album indifferently.  Ibeji is the Yoruba word for ‘twins’.  As Lieberman notes on his album, Brazilian music and American Jazz are also twins, their origins traced back to Africa but raised in different locations.  On Ibeji, Lieberman explores this relationship by utilizing two ensembles:  A Brazilian ensemble which tackles American Jazz compositions and an American Jazz ensemble which tackles Brazilian compositions.  And from these two juxtaposed reference points, Ibeji displays, quite brilliantly, the commonalities of these music heritages.  Two ensembles, two sets of compositions, two sources of music, and it results in a single cohesive album that flows wondrously from first note to last.

Your album personnel:  Paul Lieberman (alto & tenor sax, alto flute, percussion), Joel Marten (piano); American Unit of Tim Horner (drums) and Rufus Reid (bass); Brazilian unit of Jaimoe (drums), Nilson Matta (bass), Eugene Friesen (cello), Duduka da Donseca (drums), and Zaida Lieberman (vocals of “Voa Livre”).

The first track “Azul No Verde E Amarelo” is a bossa tune that cleverly uses the Miles Davis tune “Blue In Green.” as a springboard.  It reminds me of Don Pullen’s work on Blue Note with the African-Brazilian Connection (serious jazz fans will know what I’m talking about; casual or non-jazz fans should check it out).  The tempo keeps a pace to tap the foot to and moves at a decent clip, yet the tune contains a joyfulness that implies a languid serenity, giving the impression of sitting in the passenger seat of a fast car on a lazy day; one gets the sense of slowly drinking in the landscape while sitting still, even though the car is speeding along at 50mph.

That type of contradiction, a clash between what the foot says is happening and what the heart feels is happening, is a delicious element for an album to possess.  Another desired element is high musicianship displayed with emotion, laid bare.  Take, for instance, Lieberman’s take on the Bill Evans tune “My Bells”…

Lieberman takes the heart of the song and gives it his voice in a succinct one minute of beauty.  Dubbing several of his flute parts over one another, he weaves together an unaccompanied* simple yet poignant statement.  (*Album credits a cello on this track; if it’s there, it’s both subtle and seamless in the course of the tune).

Let’s talk about one of the Brazilian tunes performed by the American Jazz unit…

Lieberman takes the Jobim composition “Inutil Paisagem” and molds it into a swinging jazz tune.  Without sacrificing the roots of the original composition, Lieberman nonetheless builds an entirely different sounding tree up from those roots, one that buzzes with energy and bounces along at a decent clip.

“Voa Livre” is about as pretty a tune as you’ll run into…

Opening with Lieberman’s flute, as ephemeral and warm as sunlight, and soaring cello lines with the backing of gentle splashes of cymbals and brief piano bursts, the tune is grounded in peacefulness, which remains even as Lieberman switches to sax and the tempo and intensity increase.  When Lieberman returns to the melody as presented in the opening statement, it washes over the intensity without drowning it, giving the impression of a bird soaring contentedly over rough winds.

Ibeji is a hell of an accomplishment, and it easily ranks in the Top Five of my favorite albums of 2011.

It’s a Self-Produced album.  He appears to call the Boston area his jazz scene.

Download a free album track from AllAboutJazz, courtesy of the artist.

Available at Amazon: CD | MP3

Featuring Tiny Reviews of Jeff Gauthier, Emilio Marinelli Trio, Mark Weinstein, and Matthew Halsall.

Jeff Gauthier – Open Source

Jeff Gauthier ain’t your typical violinist.  His albums aren’t your typical jazz recordings.  When it comes to jazz violin and composition, he’s quite singular.  His 2011 release Open Source does nothing to dispel that reputation.

Your album personnel:  Jeff Gauthier (violin, electric violin, effects), John Fumo (trumpet, effects), Nels Cline (electric & classical guitar, effects) David Witham (piano, keyboards, effects), Joel Hamilton (bass), and Alex Cline (drums, percussion).

Gauthier’s compositions are full of sharp curves and crooked angles, roads paved with dissonance and electronic effects, artists driving their instruments while filled with road rage, tires screeching and the occasional sideswipe and clash of bumpers.

And then there’s moments of respite, when long graceful violin notes glide over elegant piano lines, rolling hill of bass, and floating trumpet calls, drums chattering happily of calm days and quiet nights.

Open Source really spoke to me more than past Gauthier albums, and it was the dispersal of peacefulness amongst the chaos, its precise placement, that pulled me right into the recording.  Gauthier has a strong discography under his belt, and I’m thrilled that he found a way to top it.

Released on the Cryptogramophone label, which Gauthier helped found.  Jazz from the L.A. scene.

Available on Amazon: CD | MP3

Emilio Marinelli Trio – Clouds Digger

I have a difficult time exactly putting my finger on what I love about the Emilio Marinelli Trio‘s Clouds Digger.  Ultimately, I’ve decided to chalk it up to the observation that, here, here is a simple yet expressive piano trio jazz album that has all the joyous charm and exuberance that I celebrate about jazz every day.  Tunes that invoke happiness even when it’s a sad song, inventiveness with the way Emilio tackles the songs of others and makes it his own with his own personal style of view, and experimentation with prepared piano stringing and strong improvisation.

Your album personnel: Emilio Marinelli (piano), Amin Zarrinchang (bass), and Matteo Fraboni (drums).

Whether it’s his clever take on covers of the Police’s “Message in a Bottle” or Lenny Kravitz’s “Are You Gonna Go My Way?” or his flirtation with Pharoah Sanders epic-like adventures in world jazz or introspective jaunts as only a piano trio can take, Marinelli has an exuberant voice that’s tough not to like.

Released on the Dodicilune label.  Jazz from the Fano, Italy scene, in the “Regione Marche.”

Download a free album track from AllAboutJazz, courtesy of the artist.

Available on Amazon: MP3

Mark Weinstein – El Cumbanchero

Giving a modern jazz flute twist to the traditional Cuban form of Charanga, jazz vet Mark Weinstein gifts us an album that is full of warm bouncing tunes and, also, one of the albums of the year.

Your album personnel:  Mark Weinstein (flute), Aruan Ortiz (piano & arrangements), Yunior Terry (bass), Mauricio Herrera (timbales), Yusnier Snchez Bustamante (conga), Francisco Salazar (violin), Everhard Parades (violin), Samuel Marchn (viola), and Brian Sanders (cello).

The element of string quartet on this album is absolutely delightful.  It gives a lush texture to the slower pieces and an mesmerizing frenzy to the up-tempo tracks.  Weinstein, a former jazz trombonist who discovered his love for flute in his early thirties and has dedicated himself to the instrument since then, displays an incisive sharpness in tone which implies force and volume without having to actually deliver it.  It results in the illusion of casual intensity, much like how a boxer can exude the sensation of danger while leaning nonchalantly against a wall, and it gives El Cumbanchero a strength that exudes from its heart rather than its fists.  Said better, Mark’s confident touch on flute precludes him from any unnecessary showy display.  The music is proof of his virtuosity, and he lets the music shine through the compositions.

Speaking of those compositions… Aruan Ortiz handles the arrangements.  Ortiz is described in jazz circles as something of a wunderkind.  His contribution to this album does nothing to negate that reputation.

If you’re looking for a foothold in the Latin Jazz subgenre, this would be a great choice.

Released on the Jazzheads label.  Jazz from the Glen Ridge, NJ scene.

Download a free album track from AllAboutJazz, courtesy of the artist.

Stream music from the album on Mark’s myspace page.

Available on Amazon: CD | MP3

Matthew Halsall – On the Go

Trumpeter Matthew Halsall burst onto the (recording) scene a couple years ago and has proven himself incapable so far of putting out anything less than a great album.  2011’s On the Go keeps his impressive streak alive.

Fully embracing Miles Davis’s modal jazz style (focusing more on scales and their intervals than on chord progressions for soloing), Halsall has a throwback sound of the cool smoky jazz clubs of the bop era, but his voicing of it sounds fresh and current.

Your album personnel: Matthew Halsall (trumpet), Nat Birchall (tenor sax), Adam Fairhall (piano), Gavin Barras (bass), and Gaz Hughes (drums).  Rachael Gladwin guests on harp on the fourth track.

Halsall has an easy stroll on trumpet, laid back and confident.  Arrangements are nicely organized; everyone gets their say.  With his arrangements, Halsall builds a sense of anticipation from section to section, dividing the listener’s attention between what is happening now and what’s next to come.  Frequent collaborator Birchall has a symbiotic music relationship with Halsall, and their pairing is one that I never tire of.  Fairhall on piano doesn’t get enough recognition for his work on Halsall recordings; if we follow the analogy of Halsall playing the Miles Davis role and Birchall as Coltrane, then Fairhall’s style of building drama through slight variances in repetition would make him McCoy Tyner.  I hesitate to reference old school artists when describing current musicians, but they really make it hard not to.  Regardless, these are wonderfully fresh voices making their own mark on the scene.

Released on the Gondwana Records label.  Jazz from the Manchester, UK scene.

Available on Amazon: CD | MP3

With his label Tzadik, John Zorn has built a small but miraculous empire of quality recordings, both under his own name and albums under the direction of other artists.  This is one of his.  Zorn is big into themes, built around the concepts or writings that inspired them.  At the Gates of Paradise falls under his Mystical album series.  It’s these albums that have brought me the most joy.

Based on the writings of poet William Blake and ancient Gnostic writings from the Nag Hammad, Zorn has constructed a series of compositions that are hypnotic and dream-like, possessing a serenity found in the sweetest of romances.

Your album personnel:  John Medeski (piano & organ), Kenny Wollesen (vibes), Trevor Dunn (bass) and Joey Baron (drums).

Wollesen, who has appeared on all of the albums in this series, has a knack on vibes of simultaneously creating moments of hopefulness and unease.  Medeski complements him wonderfully on piano, giving buoyancy to the hope and a sharp edge to the unease.  Joey Baron, a vet from the old Bill Frisell days, is a wonderful surprise here, with his expressive sound on drums spurring the tunes on and his immaculate brushwork a gentle wash of emotion.  I’ve always liked Dunn’s work on bass; he gets a sound from it that’s kind of mysterious, effecting the same reaction from me that Sam Jones would as part of Clifford Jordan’s quartet.

The album starts out with the lively “The Eternals,” a composition that has the quartet sounding like autumn leaves caught in a gust wind and turning in a tight circle that dispels any calculations of where it begins and where it ends.  “Song of Innocence” is a softly lilting tune, with Wollesen and Medeski trading turns being the waves that gently rock the boat to and fro.  With “A Dream of Nine Nights”, the pace picks back up, with Medeski constructing piano lines atop one another with a Lego-block-like repetition, building tension that Baron provides the explanation point for over and over with the hazy crash of cymbals.  Wollesen layers his own lines of repetition beneath Medeski’s, sowing tension into the soil.

If the album up to this point has been a series of eyes-of-the-storm, then fourth track “Light Forms” signals that the torrents are near.  Bass and drums thunder as piano and vibes run angular lines like lightning strikes randomly touching ground.  The rain begins to fall with “The Aeons”, a steady but forceful gale of piano rhythms and cymbal patterns, vibes and bass like hail on windows and gutters.  “Liber XV” is the quiet hesitant moments after the storm ends, when everything is still and listening for any sign that the storm will return.

The album ends much as it began, with an up-tempo tune forming tight circles of notes blowing in gusts of wind, followed by languid moments of cool breeze.

If this album floats your boat, I also highly recommend similar Zorn albums Alhambra Love Songs, Goddess, and In Search of the Miraculous, all which feature similar sounds and similar personnel, and all which remain among my favorites and never gather dust on my shelf.

Released on the Tzadik label, which is a treasure trove of excellent music.  Please explore.

Here’s a link to his myspace page, which I don’t typically like to refer to, but he’s got a bunch of music to stream and some decent information and links to other resources.

Available at Amazon: CD | MP3

Recapping the Best of 2011, featuring:  David Braid, Iro Haarla Quintet, Naked Truth, Paul Fox Collective, and Julian Lage.

David Braid – Verge

While many are talking about pianist Craig Taborn’s solo album, it’s worth noting that another excellent solo piano album was released in 2011.  Under-the-radar pianist David Braid doesn’t (yet) have the name recognition going in his favor, or the backing of the ECM label (which carries a substantial reach and prestige), but his album Verge is no less deserving of recognition as one of the top albums of 2011, and his name should be getting mentioned in conversations about Jazz’s top pianists.  Let’s try to balance the scales here a bit.

Braid seems to have a knack for recording flawless jazz albums full of exuberance and musicality.  Two live releases, Zhen and Vivid, display Braid in sextet blowing sessions that embody everything that’s great about a straight-ahead jazz recording:  thrilling improvisation, expert musicianship, and fun fun fun compositions.  He also recorded Spirit Dance, where he’s joined by Canadian Brass for a set of Braid’s jazz-inspired compositions for piano and brass quintet.

And now he’s offered us Verge, a solo piano recording full of quiet moments that never threaten to elicit drowsiness, dramatic moments that never devolve into cheesiness, and some prepared-piano effects that never come off as gimmicky.  It’s a wonderful effort deserving of more attention.

The album is self-produced, fifty minutes of solo piano. Jazz from the Toronto, Canada scene.

A free album track is available at AllAboutJazz, courtesy of the artist.

Available at Amazon: MP3

Iro Haarla – Vespers

Iro Haarla‘s music is just too damn beautiful.  The Finnish pianist-harpist follows up on her excellent 2006 release Northbound with Vespers, a series of atmospheric, blissed out tunes that have the sonic effect of making all your worries go away.  A tone is set with the opening notes that this is a recording that will reach thrilling heights, but it’ll be a slow unhurried build to get there.  It’s a rough challenge she’s put to herself and her ensemble, but Iro proves up to it on an album that’s dripping with talent.

Your album personnel:  Iro Haarla (piano, harp), Mathias Eick (trumpet), Trygve Seim (saxophones), Ulf Krokfors (double-bass), and Jon Christensen (drums).

All these guys make strong statements in the Euro-jazz scene, mostly on the ECM label.  Mathias Eick has been written up on Bird is the Worm for his 2011 release Skala.  If you’re looking for trails of breadcrumbs to discover new jazz, the personnel on this album are a great place to start.

But back to Vespers.  These tunes shimmer with an epic beauty, like music filling the air around stained glass churches, out over snow peaked mountaintops.  Eick and Seim trade long plaintive notes, reaching upward.  Haarla’s piano buoys them up higher and her harp gives them wings.  Christensen, who mans the drums on many classic ECM albums, shines here just as bright with his patented restrained touch to percussion comparable to how a soft lullaby can knock a child out cold, and bassist Krokfors keeps things close to the ground with his earthy tone.  A beautiful album.

Released on the ECM label.

Available on Amazon: CD | MP3

Naked Truth – Shizaru

Cuong Vu is on a roll these days.  In addition to his excellent Leap of Faith, he joins the Naked Truth quartet for a sizzling set of avant-garde tunes.  Vu’s trumpet is a singular voice, unlike anyone else on the scene, and I love hearing it juxtaposed against a variety of players, and in this instance, a variety of distinct and unconventional sounds.  Walls of electronic effects, free jazz growling over rock flourishes, fiery singular notes peaking through waves of dissonance, resulting in an album that engages engages and engages.

Your album personnel:  Cuong Vu (trumpet, electronics), Lorenzo Feliciati (guitar, electric guitar, keyboards, electric bass), Roy Powell (piano, Rhodes, various keyboards), and Pat Mastelotto (drums and percussion).

Quirky keyboard riffs over squiggly electronics, guitar pluck and static, poly-rhythmic battering rams, and Vu’s shuffle and wail trumpet.  It’s a collective effort; not a lot of soloing, and everyone pulls their weight to build the tension from beginning to end.  This stuff is way out on the fringes of jazz, but that’s insignificant in the face of this fascinating music.  When I find music this engaging, that gets in my face and challenges me to try to weed my way through it, mundane topics like genre classification get shuffled to the bottom of the stack.

Released on the Rare Noise Records label, who have a very eclectic stable of musicians, and who offer all types of freebies and streaming opportunities.  Well worth exploring their site.

A free album track is available at AllAboutJazz, courtesy of the artists and label.

Available at Amazon: CD | MP3

Paul Fox Collective – Submerging & Emerging

An enchanting set of modern jazz tunes.  Very much with one foot in the indie rock tent, with its swirling melodies and rhythmic approach, but I’ve always been a big tent guy when it comes to jazz, so as long as one foot is on jazz territory, I’m all for inclusion.  Besides, the sound on this album is becoming more and more commonplace in jazz circles (most notably on Brian Blade’s Season of Changes, which this album compares to favorably), and so it’s becoming an increasingly fuzzy measurement on where Jazz’s “center” is.

Your album personnel:  Paul Fox (drums, compositions), Robert Kesternich (piano, Rhodes), Markus Ehrlich (tenor/soprano sax), Maurice Kuehn (bass), Zacharias Zschenderlein (guitar), and Stephanie Neigel (vocals)

Moody sound, but with a fighting spirit.  Ehrlich’s sax, with its somber expressive tone, carries the day, but Kesternich on piano strikes some emotionally potent moments throughout.  I’m not typically a fan of jazz vocals, but Neigel’s contributions on a few of the songs are quite enchanting and the album would’ve suffered without her.  This album came out of nowhere for me, and months after I first heard it, I still relish the times when I see it’s up next in my stereo queue.  This is one of those albums that can slip by unnoticed if you’re not careful.

Released on the Jazz ‘n Arts label.  Jazz from the Luxembourg scene.

Stream most of the album on Fox’s myspace page.

Download a free album track from AllAboutJazz, courtesy of the artist.

Available at Amazon: MP3

Julian Lage – Gladwell

Guitarist Julian Lage wanted to create a concept album around the fictional town of Gladwell.  After hearing the album, I know where I want to take my next vacation.  Mixing back porch languor with front porch intrigue, Lage has constructed an abstract vision of this musical town from the soil up to the sky.

Your album personnel:  Julian Lage (guitars), Aristides Rivas (cello), Tupac Mantilla (percussion), Jorge Roeder (bass), and Dan Blake (sax).

Lage is his own man on this album, his sound unique on a unique album. If I had to compare to anything, it would be the folk-jazz of Jeremy Udden or perhaps the quasi-bluegrass of Leo Kottke.

Dreamy guitar lines with an undercurrent of cello and hazy sax, choppy percussion the barking of neighborhood dogs on a lazy Sunday afternoon while the bass is the lawn mower off in the distance.  Just a fantastic album that delivers the expansiveness of a city skyline and the solitude of a rooftop view of it.

Released on the Emarcy Records label.  Jazz from the Boston scene.

Available on Amazon: CD | MP3