Jazz Recommendations

This is one of those albums that’s exuding all kinds of cheerfulness, so that no matter what it gets into, the music is gonna be plenty likeable.  United switches between old-school blues strolls and modern jazz harmonic binges, and those transitions, whether seamless or jarring, is a big part of the fun.  For three of the album’s five tracks, this happens within the duration of each song.  It’s particularly fascinating how it plays out on “In a Bus,” which mashes up conflicting expressions out of the Red Garland and Esbjorn Svensson schools of music, yet binds them up by their shared melodic bonds, solemn and serene when not pouring dramatically from the mouth of the bottle.  But then there’s also the old vs. new of subsequent tracks “Over the Rainbow” and a Kendrick Lamar cover of “These Walls.”  Parked bumper to bumper, and yet the trio finds a way to keep a sense of cohesion throughout.

The trio is led by pianist Konrad Bogen, a young musician from Germany who seems to have his hands in a number of different projects.  This is a promising sign of things to come.  Also, worth noting that he’s got this EP on his Bandcamp page set to Name Your Price, which should provide some extra incentive to check this music out.

Just really easy to like this one.

Your album personnel:  Konrad Bogen (piano), Mischa Frey (bass) and Samir Böhringer (drums).

The album is Self-Produced.

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

Jazz from the Konstanz, Germany scene.

Available at:  Bandcamp

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