Jul 31 2012
Lars Danielsson – “Liberetto”
Bassist Lars Danielsson tightened things up a bit. Quite a bit, actually.
Previous Danielsson releases played things looser when it came to form. It’s not so much that the musicians colored outside the lines, it’s that they blurred the definition of the lines to the point where it was difficult to tell when they were outside versus in. For instance, 2006’s Melange Bleu was a set of ethereal tunes that seemed without beginning and end. And Danielsson’s 2009 release Tarantella had compositions not quite as heavy on the atmospherics, but the structure of the songs themselves seemed a secondary consideration.
This kind of approach to music can have all kinds of crazily attractive possibilities (in the instance of these Danielsson albums, a sense of dreams escaped from the Sandman, and hiding as songs), but the downside often is that the lack of form and structure makes for poorly retained memories of the music, and that the ethereal substance loses some of the visceral impact with the passing of time.
On Liberetto, the lines are thick, and all that color they hold within, it makes for songs bursting from the seams with personality.
Your album personnel: Lars Danielsson (bass, cello, Wurlitzer piano on one track), Tigran Hamasyan (piano, vocals on one track), John Parricelli (guitar), Arve Henriksen (trumpet), and Magnus Öström (drums, percussion).
It would be difficult not to begin this review with mention of the change in personnel from Danielsson’s last albums for this one, especially the addition of former E.S.T. drummer Magnus Ostrom. It seems more than a coincidence that the cohesive song structure and expert use of dramatic ebb and flow of tension that was such an essential part of the E.S.T. equation is not employed on this Danielsson album.
The most positive change in approach for this album is reflected in the melodies.
There are tunes like “Hymnen,” album opener “Yerevan”, and album closer “Blå Ängar,” which come closest to past Danielsson efforts, with Henriksen’s trumpet setting a lullaby tone, then standing aside for Danielsson to lead the way to dreamland. But even these stay on the reservation, never straying too far from the melody or the abiding reach for cohesion.
But many of the album’s tunes are typified by tracks like “Orange Market” and “Driven to Daylight” and title track “Liberetto”… tight melodies, folk music textures, and bursts of tension that bring the song to a boil.
“Svensk Lat” is a song split in two. It begins as Folk, with Danielsson’s cello slicing wide arcs of hazy sound while Tigran diffuses piano phrases like architecture upon the song’s facade. But then at the half-way mark, the song shifts dramatically into ferocity and drive more emblematic of Ostrom’s E.S.T. style of music. That the before and after pictures are so unlike presents no obstacle, because even here, the melodies of each half tie out even if their delivery is so dramatically different. The intriguing aspect about this tune is that the two primary characteristics of this album (folk and E.S.T.-catchy) are displayed, the former in the first half, the latter in the second, and yet even separated out like this, the song works, seamless in its transition between the two parts. And the starkness of their differences makes their compatibility as cohabitants of every other tune that much more impressive.
It’s a beautiful album, one that is finely textured, while also such an easily embraceable recording. At the time of this review (late July), I’ve got it slotted in the Top Ten of my Best of 2012 (thus far) list. It deserves to be there.
Released on the ACT Music label.
Aug 3 2012
Tiny Reviews: Aruan Ortiz, Joel Remmel Trio, Mary Halvorson, Jure Pukl, & Ehud Ettun
Tiny Reviews, featuring Aruan Ortiz Quartet Orbiting, Joel Remmel Trio Lumekristall, Mary Halvorson Quintet Bending Bridges, Jure Pukl Abstract Society, and Ehud Ettun Heading North.
*****
Aruan Ortiz Quartet – Orbiting
Since making the move from Cuba to NYC, this classically trained violinist-pianist has been grabbing ears with his compositional skills, as well as his sound. Making a statement over the last few months with Afro-Cuban music (for instance, Mark Weinstein’s El Cumbanchero, reviewed HERE), Aruan Ortiz comes back this time with a modern jazz piece. It’s an album of constant motion, simultaneous soloing, and swarming rhythms. It’s an excellent album of how Modern Jazz is able to put its stamp on the developmental timestream of the Jazz genre, yet not sacrifice its ties to the past as it carves out its own identity. Thoughtful music with an edge to it.
Your album personnel: Aruan Ortiz (piano), Eric McPherson (drums), Rashaan Carter (bass), and David Gilmore (guitar).
Released on the Fresh Sound New Talent label. Jazz from NYC.
Available on eMusic.
Joel Remmel Trio – Lumekristall
The Joel Remmel Trio are very much a part of the Norwegian jazz sound. Music that lends to plenty of introspection. Melodies that drift and rhythms that scatter like dust. Bass player likes to get plenty of arco action in, which adds some pleasing tension to many of the tunes. Album closes with the solitary vocal track, a trend which I’m kind of fond of, and works fine here, too.
Your album personnel: Joel-Rasmus Remmel (piano), Heikko-Joseph Remmel (double bass), and Aleksandra Kremenetski (drums & percussion).
Released on Paw Marks Music label (no website). Jazz from the Tallinn, Estonia scene.
Available at eMusic.
Mary Halvorson Quintet – Bending Bridges
Guitarist Mary Halvorson doesn’t put out conventional albums. Often, they’re placed in the jazz genre because of her and her bandmates’ ties to other jazz albums, but most of Halvorson’s music defies categorization anyway. On this recording, her second with the quintet, she adopts (for much of it) a pleasant front porch ease. Not to say that this is lazy Sunday music, but it’s much less aggressive than past recordings, and it makes for a strong effort. The sudden shifts of tempo within the span of a tune can be pretty damn exhilarating, especially when Finlayson’s sax calls out over the top while Halvorson shapes the song with warped curvy notes.
Your album personnel: Mary Halvorson (guitar), Jonathan Finlayson (trumpet), Jon Irabagon (alto sax), John Hébert (bass), and Ches Smith (drums).
Released on the Firehouse 12 Records label. Jazz from NYC.
Available at eMusic.
Jure Pukl – Abstract Society
This is one where modern jazz composition overlaps what may have once been viewed as avant-garde. Soprano & tenor sax man Jure Pukl leads a stellar quartet featuring Vijay Iyer on piano, Joe Sanders on bass, and Damon Reid on drums. Yes, there’s some clash and dissonance on this recording, but there’s elements of swing, and more noticeably, roots the trace back to the blues. The occasional interludes of serenity are a refreshing wash. Nothing boring about this album, it engages on many levels.
Released on Storyville Records. Jazz from the Velenje, Slovenia scene.
Available at eMusic.
Ehud Ettun – Heading North
Bassist Ehud Ettun shows some real promise on his debut album, best illustrated by some of the quieter tunes, like the title-track, which seems to withhold new notes as a way of building anticipation (and it works). At times, the music comes off as a bit overproduced on the contemporary side. For instance, the track “Night Portrait” is reminiscent of some of the rock-new age fusion that Andy Summers & Robert Fripp were putting out in the 80s, though it’s worth mentioning that those are still very fun albums to spin. Overall, the high moments on this album make it worth the purchase, and if you live somewhere that gets lots of rain, maybe even more so.
Your album personnel: Ehud Ettun (bass), Tal Gur (saxophones), Haruka Yabuno (piano), Nathan Blankett (drums), and Hagai Perets (guitar).
The album is Self-Produced. Jazz from the Boston, MA scene.
Available at eMusic.
*****
Portions of some of these reviews were originally used in my Jazz Picks weekly article for eMusic, so here’s some language protecting their rights as the one to hire me to write about new jazz arrivals to their site…
“New Arrivals Jazz Picks“ and “New Arrivals Jazz Picks“ and “New Arrivals Jazz Picks“, reprints courtesy of eMusic.com, Inc.
© 2012 eMusic.com, Inc.
As always, my sincere thanks to eMusic for the gig. Cheers.
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By davesumner • Jazz Recommendations, Jazz Recommendations - 2012 Releases • 0