Well, I’m gonna keep this intro short and forgo my normal stand-up routine bit, too.  Everything is settled in the new digs, old music discovery routines are re-established, and the recommendations are practically writing themselves after a long absence.  There’s a huge backlog of music to get to in the next few months, and while playing catch-up is tricky business, there’s too much good music to do otherwise.

We’ve got a nice ten-pack of recommendations for you today, so dust off your ears, flip the on switch and get to listening.

Let’s begin…

*** Album of the Week ***

The Watershed – Inhale/Exhale (Self-Produced)

A seriously intriguing album from the quartet of multi-reedist Christophe Panzani, guitarist Pierre Perchaud, drummer Karl Jannuska and Tony Paeleman on anything with keys.  Songs alternate between sharp acerbity and dreamy tranquility.  Guitarist Perchaud has been highlighted on this site a number of his times for his ability to conjure up the latter quality, so it’s nice to see him really light a fire under a song and etch it with burn marks.  The one track that deviates from the one-to-one track ratio of edgy to peaceful is the title track, which hits both states within the front and back covers of the song.  “Bright Sun” is all kinds of catchy, and shows how simple tunefulness can cut a wide path between opposing perspectives.  A very cool album and a very easy pick as Album of the Week.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp – eMusic – Amazon

*****

*** Also Featured This Week ***

Gavin Templeton – Ballast (Orenda Records)

It’s really not enough to say that alto saxophonist Gavin Templeton paints the melody in broad brush strokes, because there are plenty of times on his latest that he tosses the brush aside and just begins pouring straight from the bucket.  Even the rare ballad like “Tether” displays an appealing looseness of form that instills a vagueness as to whether the heart in question is in love, broken irreparably or just plain bleeding out.  But mostly what you’re gonna get on this one is wildly expressive tunes that can barely contain themselves as they tell their story.  Joining the alto saxophonist are pianist Joshua White, bassist Richard Giddens and drummer Gene Coye.

Artist site | Buy:  Bandcamp – Amazon

*****

Christopher Zuar Orchestra – Musings (Sunnyside Records)

Big fat beautiful harmonies are the big draw on this big band session, but it’s the way composer Christopher Zuar gets them to dance on the head of a pin that marks it as something special.  He isn’t always successful; there are some missteps (so to speak), but even those moments that radiate less grace than their counterparts have plenty to offer by way of excitement.  The orchestra is loaded with all-star talent… names like Brian Landrus, Alan Ferber, Pete McCann, Matt Holman, Jason Rigby, Lucas Pino (among many others)… who’ve earned repeated mentions on this site.  This is the kind of album that confidently leaps off a cliff on the first note and immediately sets to flying.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp – eMusic – Amazon

*****

John Raymond – Real Feels (Shifting Paradigm)

This trio set from the flugelhorn of John Raymond, guitarist Gilad Hekselman and drummer Colin Stranahan generates some strong undercurrents of electricity and tension, and harnesses it with admirable restraint.  There is something deliciously elusive about the banter maintained by the trio, and it’s the way their three instruments sometimes speak in unison but, more often than not, weave together conversational asides, murmurs and shouts, stream of conscious phrasings and definitive thesis statements in a massively jumbled yet strangely coherent presence.  Of note, “I’ll Fly Away” has an old-school Frisellian influence to it, simultaneously contemplative and chipper and the smoky rendition of “Scarborough Fair” gets seriously evocative.  Really can’t call this a “horn album” or a “guitar album,” etc… all three musicians are given the space to speak far and wide on this solid recording.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Amazon

*****

Lucien Dubuis, Barry Guy, Alfred Vogel – Heavy Metal Rabbit (Boomslang)

All kinds of personality to this trio session of bass clarinetist Lucien Dubuis, bassist Barry Guy and drummer Alfred Vogel.  Their conversational habits are rarely straight-forward, but all three musicians have immersed themselves in their individualistic craft of dialog, and it’s why their loopy melodies and unpredictable rhythmic outbursts are relatively easy to connect with.  That said, there’s nothing normal about this music, and so when you walk in the front door of track number one and think, what did I just get myself into, don’t distress, it’ll all start making sense pretty quickly.

No artist site | Listen | Buy:  eMusic – CDBaby – Amazon

*****

Will Bernard – Out & About (Posi-Tone Records)

What’s especially nice about the new one from guitarist Will Bernard is how his clipped melodic phrases attain such a fluid motion when riding atop the grooves and jams on this nifty post-bop quintet session.  Some tracks have an almost airy presence as they build a rhythmic trail that perpetually doubles back on itself to build intensity skyward.  Other tracks just get right into the thick of it and take that groove out for a cool stroll.  Then there’s other tracks that slip into some old-school blues swing, deftly walking the dividing line between a casual ease and brisk motion.  And that line-up of saxophonist John Ellis, bassist Ben Allison, organist Brian Charette and drummer Allison Miller… that’s not a band, that’s a fantasy sports team where Bernard held the first four picks in the draft.

Artist site | Buy:  Amazon

*****

Allison Au Quartet – Forest Grove (Self-Produced)

Likable quartet session from alto saxophonist Allison Au, bassist Jon Maharaj, drummer Fabio Ragnelli and Todd Pentney on all things keys.  This is straight-ahead jazz here, though it’s a little from this and a little from that.  When the straight-ahead form of expression is in the modern camp, the compositions reflect some nice artistry… but when the influence is the straight-ahead of the past, well, there’s nothing wrong with those tracks, but they don’t nearly stand out like their modern counterparts.  Tracks like “Tides” and “Deluge” are where you’re gonna want to focus your attention.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp – CDBaby – Amazon

*****

Nolatet – Dogs (Royal Potato Family)

Tuneful set from vibraphonist Mike Dillon, pianist Brian Haas, bassist James Singleton and drummer Johnny Vidacovich.  The rhythmic element is what’s gonna grab your ear, but it’s how they go about embedding melodic threads in that foundation that kicks this album up a notch or three.  Another welcome characteristic of this recording is that, though built on the back of percussion, the quartet doesn’t rely just with a focus on the fireworks displays.  Instead, they adopt an unassuming delivery on many tracks… one that feels more like gently falling rain than getting smacked in the face with a thunderstorm.  It serves the album well, and it’s why this lively music could be your soundtrack for a get-up-and-go day or one spent kicking back in relaxation.

Artist site | Buy:  eMusic – Amazon

*****

Avataar – Petal (Self-Produced)

Real easy to warm up to this tuneful recording from the ensemble led by saxophonist Sundar Viswanathan.  It’s a nice mix of modern jazz, ambient fusion and Indian musics.  The end result is a kind of vague World Jazz a la world jazz trailblazers Oregon… but much like the Oregon ensemble, Avaatar bursts with all kinds of personality, some of it quite magnetic.  The rhythmic approach develops a nice chatter, but keeps to a casual demeanor, which is why so much of this music has a peaceful ring.  The up-tempo “Monsoon” gets closer to a pop music sound than is advisable, but even that questionable tune stays within the boundaries of album cohesion.  Felicity Williams’ wordless vocals are applied with a nice touch and definitely add a welcome textural layer to an album that’s got plenty to offer.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp – Amazon – CDBaby

*****

Turn – Waiting For Fred (Double Moon Records)

This trio of pianist Jonathan Hofmeister, bassist Florian Herzog and drummer Jan F. Brill is at its most interesting when they toy with tempo and shape the sense of time.  It’s the kind of thing that keeps the ear on its toes, and where the characteristic of unpredictability reveals itself as a valuable commodity on an album that doesn’t actually try to do too much.  That said, when the trio settle into a melody, things get all shades of pretty, with the side benefit of a welcome change of pace.

Artist site | Buy:  Amazon

*****

Have a great time digging through the list!

And remember, it’s simple:  You like what you like.

Cheers.

***

The mix of dreamy ambiance and incisive melodicism is a winning formula on Hymns for Hearts #1, the debut of bassist Anders Ammitzbøll.  The cheerful smile and focused bounce of “Song for You” possesses the same laid back feel as the hazy “Paola,” a song that drifts in many directions at once.  The double-guitar system of Viktor Sandström and Stian Swesson most often coalesces into a pattern that mimics the subtle disturbances and graceful unity of ripples expanding outward from a tiny patch of ocean, but sometimes they join together and raise up and sing, as they do on “Seven,” or when they join drummer Rasmus Iversen in a shout-to-the-sky moment at the pinnacle of “Paranoid.”  But mostly it’s peace that reigns supreme on this charming session.

The album ends much how it began.  “I’m Coming Home” twitters with life and speaks with a friendly, conversational tone, but always present is that undercurrent of serenity and the sense that a state of tranquility is just a few notes away.

Your album personnel:  Anders Ammitzbøll (bass), Viktor Sandström (guitar), Stian Swesson (guitar) and Rasmus Iversen (drums).

Released on Gateway Music.

Listen to more album tracks on the artist’s Soundcloud page.

Jazz from the Copenhagen, Denmark scene.

Available at:  Amazon

There is something positively addictive about the Hanami quartet’s concoction of modern jazz improvisation, avant-garde edge and pop music sensibilities.  Formed originally in the spirit of raising funds to aid Japanese tsunami victims, they enjoyed their project enough to eventually put together a studio recording.  That album, the self-titled Hanami Quartet, provided a series of modern jazz takes on Japanese songs.  And though its main point of contact is gonna be a cerebral one, the music is no less engaging… a potent mix of sonic fluency and cinematic ambiance.  And even when a song grows increasingly volatile, there’s always a comforting lullaby nature to it.  Their newest, the 2016 release The Only Way To Float Free, swings the other way on that spectrum, giving more weight to feel over thought, and letting the volatility boil over so that the lullaby is more sensed than sung.

There is nothing particularly graceful about this round of music, and that’s a big part of its charm.  The action on their cadence is a lurching one, almost clumsy, the personification of a veteran drunk’s cliffhanger balance as he winds his way home along a familiar path.  That motion is a special kind of hypnotic, of keeping the attention riveted to where the next beat lands.  A lot of this has a lot to do with how bass clarinetist Jason Stein and alto saxophonist Mai Sugimoto weave around one another, never really connecting, like dance partners perpetually giving their counterpart the cold shoulder.  That winding motion added to the steady as a forest stream rhythm unit of guitarist Andrew Trim and drummer Charles Rumback is where the addiction factors in.  Because as fun as it is to trace the reeds duo patterns, it’s guitar and drums that sweep the music along.

As with anything, generalities only carry so far.  “Donmail” is a get-up-and-shout series of solos, and the motion is more of a standard shoot-for-the-sky variety.  Sometimes “Kita Nagano Motorcycle Club” is a celebration of streamlined speed and sometimes it’s the messy cloud of dust kicked up in its wake.

With many tracks, such as “Kanzemizu,” the quartet’s primary choice is one of sharp cuts or rough blows, and the lyricism hides behind this action like a deer peeking out from within the brush.  But then Hanami tosses out a track like “Hanaikada,” and then the quartet’s tools of the trade switch between soft poetry and hard prose.  Ultimately, the story is always right there out front… it’s just a question of whether it’s told with tempo or shown with the hazy imagery of melody.

The quartet uses the album’s finale to offer up a bit of a throwback to their debut, while keeping close to the voice of their present tense.  A rendition of composer Rentarō Taki’s “Kojo No Tsuki” brings the melody out front, lets it breathe deep, even as the quartet batters it with the waves of a choppy cadence, unending.

In the brief duration of two recordings, this group has really developed a personable sound with all kinds of distinguishing marks.  It’ll be interesting to see how it continues to develop.

Your album personnel:  Mai Sugimoto (alto sax, clarinet), Andrew Trim (guitar), Jason Stein (bass clarinet) and Charles Rumback (drums).

Released on Ears & Eyes Records.

Listen to more album tracks on the artist’s Bandcamp page.

Jazz from the Chicago scene.

Available at:  Bandcamp | Amazon | eMusic

This is one of those albums where the motion just sweeps you up and takes you along for the ride right from the first notes.  “Determined Soul” is all about the bursting rhythmic fireworks, but the way it perpetually whistles the melody under its breath accentuates the percussion with an easy-going dance.  “Baby Aya,” the same.  Guitarist Lionel Loueke is the linchpin of that approach, matching the rhythmic complexity with sweet, succinct statements of melody.  Tying the two deliveries into one bundle is Jason Lindner, who compels his piano and keyboards to frame the forward motion with melodic lines that converge and dissect Loueke’s linear path, while also capturing a small bit of the essence of the rhythmic focus shaped by percussionist Gilmar Gomes.

Loueke and Angélique Kidjo add some welcome vocal contributions that shift between playful accentuation and deep harmonic comfort.  Bassist Omer Avital switches over to oud on “Big in Yemen,” adding more depth and more dynamics to the rich texture of the recording.  Remarkably, even with all that gets put into play on this session, the tunes are supremely catchy.

But this is nothing new for drummer Daniel Freedman.  His 2012 release Bamako By Bus was compelling for similar reasons, and though the forms of expression and sources of influence have changed for his 2016 release Imagine That, expect to get swept up by Freedman’s immaculate touch at delivering complex music with a lightheated delivery, and a knack for coalescing many moving parts into one fluid motion.

They add a nice infusion of harmonic intensity with a cover of Radiohead’s “Codex,” which, following up on a similar approach to the climax of “Big in Yemen,” makes for a nice emotional transition, too.  The cool blues of “Love Takes Time” keeps the dance action going, but slows it down to an appealing sway and slide.  Likewise, on “Mindaho” and “Eastern Elegy,” the quintet takes their foot off the gas pedal, though with the former, they change their mind midstream and floor it, whereas on the latter, the quintet is content to just peacefully coast along.  The album ends much in the way it began, though punctuated with a heavier step and the rapid pulse of “The Sisters Dance.”

It’s ridiculous how damn good Freedman’s last two recordings are.  Go scoop ’em up.

Your album personnel:  Daniel Freedman (drums), Lionel Loueke (guitar, vocals), Jason Lindner (piano, keyboards), Omer Avital (bass, oud), Gilmar Gomes (percussion) and guest: Angélique Kidjo (vocals).

Released on Anzic Records.

Listen to more of the album on Anzic’s Bandcamp page.

Jazz from NYC.

Available at:  Bandcamp | Amazon

And be sure to check out Freedman’s previous album, Bamako By Bus, which, naturally, you can read all about here on this site.

Read more -> (LINK).