Jun 13 2016
This Is Jazz Today: Henri Texier, Brenden Varty, Succi Saiu Papetti, Wout Gooris and Mira Norr.
*** This Is Jazz Today ***
Henri Texier – Dakota Mab (Intuition)
Henri Texier – Sky Dancers (Label Bleu)
You really gotta be impressed with how bassist Texier works up pieces that possess a curious personality yet exude such a friendliness that it’s impossible not to embrace the music. The side-by-side recommendations are two recent releases, one studio and one live.
Dakota Mab is a smart live performance at Theater Gutersloh with multi-reedist Sebastien Texier, baritone 
saxophonist Francois Corneloup and drummer Louis Moutin. Even when it stokes a raging fire, the conversational quality of this performance is the guiding force of the performance. Actually, I could say the same thing about the studio album Sky Dancers, which adds guitarist Nguyên Lê and pianist Armel Dupas. The lyricism put in play, both live and in studio, is really something to marvel at.
No artist site | Listen | Buy: Amazon – eMusic
*****
Brenden Varty – Cloudstream (Self-Produced)
Nice EP from saxophonist and flautist Brenden Varty. Just three tracks, but each has their own personality, thus giving the album the impression of greater expanse than its run time might otherwise indicate. The opening track has him with a quartet of pianist Claire Lee, bassist Patrick Nabuurs and drummer Julian Di Vito, plus a string quartet. It’s a straight-ahead tune, and it provides the strings a chance to exert their influence without letting it become the song’s reason for living. The third track has Varty switching over to flute, though it’s pianist Claire Lee’s accompaniment that’s most notable. But, to my mind, it’s the EP’s second track, a rendition of the John Zorn composition “Gnostic Hymn” that steals the show and earned this album a mention in today’s column. Joey Martel guests on electric guitar for this excellent take on the gorgeous tune from Zorn’s Transmigration of the Magus. A fun surprise to encounter that, and, really, why aren’t more musicians digging into Zorn’s mystical works? So many thick, beautiful melodies to dig into. Anyways, check this album out.
No artist site | Listen | Buy: Bandcamp
*****
Mira Nørr. – Min Juvenile (Self-Produced)
Very likable bit of Scandinavian jazz pop from the quintet of vocalist Linda Bergström, saxophonist Karolina Almgren, pianist Ruben Stolp, double bassist Lisa Wulff and drummer Stefan Schneider. Melodies are diffuse, and the quintet exploits this quality by laying down a quiet ambiance that keeps its composure even when they allow the intensity to surge upward and crest. That kind of abiding peacefulness goes a long way to making this the kind of album where you hit the play button again immediately after hearing the album’s final note.
Artist site | Listen | Buy: Bandcamp
*****
Succi Saiu Papetti – Three Branches (El Gallo Rojo Records)
When the trio of bass clarinetist Achille Succi, electric guitarist Francesco Saiu and double bassist Giacomo Papetti settle into a track and patiently draw the melody out, things get captivating and fast. And while I do appreciate that they try to mix things up with some dissonance at faster speeds, they seem to lose some of the essential qualities that unite them in a tranquil environment. Also, bass clarinet-guitar-bass is an unusual combo for a trio set, and they do manage to exploit some of the possibilities in some interesting ways. There were times this music had me thinking back on an excellent trio set comprised of the same instruments, The Ninth Planet, by the Jesse van Ruller Chambertones Trio (an album that earned a slot of this site’s Best of 2012 list). Three Branches has some uneven moments, but it’s outweighed by all those that take flight to the skies and soar.
Artist site | Listen | Buy: Bandcamp
*****
Wout Gooris – Voor Jef (Self-Produced)
Seriously contemplative work from keyboardist Gooris. These are tunes that will leave the air undisturbed first thing in the morning, before dawn breaks, and when the whole world is still asleep. Some acoustic guitar, some piano, some keyboards, some electronics, some accordion (or something that sounds like an accordion)… and maybe this is a Gooris solo project and he’s manipulating all these sounds and mixing them in together or maybe he’s just not listing out the album personnel. This is a beautiful little album, and I wanted to give it a mention.
Artist site | Listen | Buy: Bandcamp
*****
Have a great time digging through the list!
And remember, it’s simple: You like what you like.
Cheers.
***
Let’s just get right to it. “Jeannine’s Joy,” the first track on Shoebox View, has a vague World Jazz sound not too far removed from the trailblazing Oregon ensemble. It has some electronic harmonics and new age-y frills that, unfortunately, take the bite out of a promising line of melodic development. And “It’s Not Safe” wades even deeper into the insubstantial with a halfhearted groove. It’s meant to be upbeat and happy, but it comes off as the anthem for party animals who need to take the night off and just chill on the sofa, dude.
A beautiful new recording from cellist Friedlander, who is joined by percussionist Satoshi Takeishi and pianist Shoko Nagai (who also adds some electronics & accordion to the mix) for this session. Friedlander has shown an ability to wreak all kinds of dissonant chaos with his cello, especially on a number of John Zorn Tzadik albums, but the last handful of recordings on his own SkipStone label have revealed an intoxicatingly peaceful side to his vision. The current one seamlessly fuses together expressions of jazz, folk and chamber, creating an ambiguity of influence that really draws the ear in. Pretty easy to fall for this one.
Unapologetically cheerful and light, this trio set from pianist Danny Green, bassist Justin Grinnell and drummer Julien Cantelm offers up a pop music style of jazz that beams a wide smile that means it. Intriguingly, planted smack dab in the center of the recording are three pieces that bring in a string quartet. The shift in sound is very much plumb with what preceded it, but the emotional impact provided is one that balances nicely with the lighthearted warmth of the trio tunes that surround them. It’s the kind of thing that makes a recording a little less ordinary, as well as a motivation to keep giving the album a spin.
An appealing hard bop sound from bassist Goble, finding that right mix of buoyant activity and melodic warmth. His quartet goes out of their way to prove that the inclusion of the word “blues” in the title is anything but misleading. The up-tempo tunes are plenty fun, but it’s when the quartet slows things down and really lets the melody patiently draw its breath is when the album really burns strong with emotion. That quartet, by the way, is rounded out by pianist Louis Heriveaux, drummer Dave Potter and tenor saxophonist Gregory Tardy, who really shines bright on this session.
Maybe it’s just me or maybe it’s the music itself, but I’m inclined to say that this is a recording that isn’t likely to make a good first impression. This punk-jazz session gets right in your face from the opening notes, and it really never dials it in as far as respecting your personal space. But damn does this music become more friendly and agreeable with each passing track. Before long, any discomfort from its abruptness falls away and it’s easy to enjoy this recording for the fun music it is. And that’s just within the span of one listen. Each subsequent listen and the music had me feeling like we were old buddies. I mention all this by way of saying, hey, go and give this one the benefit of the doubt… don’t go shutting the door in its face before it really gets a chance to properly say hello. It’s a quintet of keyboardist Dave Morecroft, saxophonist Tim Ower, trombonist Raphael Clarkson, bassist Arthur O’Hara and drummer Happy Pope. Fun, enthusiastic music that just can’t help but excitedly bounce off all the walls in the room.
A film noir soundtrack that takes the form of the saxophone quartet of David Petts, Caroline Kraabel, Andrian Northover and Sue Lynch, adding John Edwards on double bass and Mark Sanders on all kinds of percussion, and then goes about rolling out an extended exhalation of rhythmic curiosities and melodic deconstruction. A strange beauty to this one, riveting in its own peculiar way, and quite unlike anything else I can remember. It’s one of those albums where the music is especially unpredictable, but makes sense when viewed through the rear view mirror.
On their newest recording, the
Jun 19 2016
Recommended: Angeli Burke Guerrini Magnusson Murray Tamborrino – “Sardinian Liturgy”
Tracks like “Stabat Mater” have a heavy influence of Canto a tenore, and these are the tracks that set the backdrop for the album’s evolution and vibrant imagery. For instance, “Northern Light” transitions from only that folk music influence into one more representative of the modern jazz scene… but never turning its back on its Sardinian folk roots. And it’s those kind of tracks that represent the music at its strongest. A unique voice is at play here, and the range of facets displayed by the sextet throughout is as fascinating as it is impressive.
The brief duration of “Anton” is just enough to time to weave intertwining lines of saxophone melodies. So, too, with the short piece “Industrial Rain,” and the way organic sounds of the past intersect with the electric sounds of the present. And a track like “Absinthe” shows how the Sardinian influence can mesh effortlessly into a modern style of guitar jazz reminiscent of Bill Frisell. The album is comprised of twenty-one separate tracks, but many don’t exceed two minutes… some as short as 30 seconds. But these are not interludes, they are simply quick glimpses of different facets of a singular vision.
When a normal six-stringer didn’t suit his needs for this project, guitarist Paolo Angeli built a custom guitar that has eighteen strings and all kinds of gadgets like hammers, pedals, motors and pickups. It’s an element that adds rich texture to this highly imaginative recording.
This is easily one of the best things I’ve heard in 2016.
Your album personnel: Paolo Angeli (prepared Sardinian guitar, gadgets), Robert Burke (tenor & soprano saxes, bass clarinet), Mirko Guerrini (tenor, soprano & baritone saxes), Jordan Murray (trombone), Stephen Magnusson (electric guitar) and Stefano Tamborrino (drums).
Released on Jazzhead Records.
Listen to more album tracks on the label’s Bandcamp page.
Available at: Bandcamp | eMusic | Amazon
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By davesumner • Jazz Recommendations, Jazz Recommendations - 2016 releases • 0