Mar 23 2015
Recommended: Mario Pavone – “Blue Dialect”
Mario Pavone has a new album out. The veteran bassist can always be relied upon to present challenging music that directly engages the listener, refusing to allow the ear to fall into a state of passive listening. Blue Dialect keeps that reputation intact. Adopting a classic piano trio formation, Pavone is joined by drummer Tyshawn Sorey and pianist Matt Mitchell.
There is a Monk-like tunefulness to much of this music, with a melody that bounces crisply along the surface of unconventional and aggressive rhythms. Hints of a hurried swing cut between percussive attacks that skitter right along with a rapid-fire pulse or those where each of the trio members express the tempo through their own point of view before coalescing near a song’s conclusion.
There aren’t any sit-back-and-bliss moments on this recording. Tempos keep to a brisk pace and melodies are to the point. The compositions provide a nice framework for dialog, and improvisations don’t stray too far from the pack.
A solid recording from an artist whose catalog you should spend some time exploring.
Your album personnel: Mario Pavone (double bass), Tyshawn Sorey (drums) and Matt Mitchell (piano).
Released on Clean Feed Records.
Jazz from Connecticut.
Mar 24 2015
Recommended: Jean-Marie Machado Danzas – “Lagrima Latina”
An album that I’m very taken with lately is Lagrima Latina, the new one from pianist & composer Jean-Marie Machado. Seeking to highlight the musics of the Mediterranean as well as those that influenced him during his childhood, his compositions are situated firmly in folk music with jazz as just one element of the entire mix. Three vocalists, Sardinian, Portuguese and French, each add their language to the proceedings, which is backed by the Danzas orchestra.
Machado offers up an abundance of liveliness with this recording, finding ways to develop a big sound by focusing on the tiny details. The swift transitions between regional influences, and the flow of these changes from track to track leads to a series of thrilling moments. Possessing a riveting lyricism, the music jumps with enthusiasm and purrs with the sweetest melodic passages.
It’s an album whose beauty develops from its rich personality. Go scoop this one up.
Your album personnel: Jean Jacques Machado (piano), Simonetta Soro, Claudia Solal, Sofia Ribeiro (voices), Antonio Placer (poetic libretto), Didier Ithurssary (accordion), Jean-Charles Richard (soprano & baritone saxes), Joce Mienniel (flute), François Thuillier (tuba), Cécile Grenier (viola), Claus Stötter (flugelhorn, trumpet) and Stracho Temelkovski (percussion, mandolin).
The album is Self-Produced.
Jazz from the Paris scene.
More listening
Available at: eMusic | Amazon
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By davesumner • Jazz Recommendations, Jazz Recommendations - 2015 Releases • 0