Jazz Recommendations – 2013 Releases

Tiny Reviews edition!

Featured album:  Iiro Rantala My History In Jazz

Plus:  Francesco Cataldo Spaces, Le Cube Frelon Rouge, Timucin Sahin Inherence, Jason Marsalis A World of Mallets, and Brad Goode Chicago Red.

*****

Iiro Rantala – My History In Jazz

The title on this recording isn’t coincidental.  Iiro Rantala is expressing his own personal relationship with Jazz, and like any other relationship in life, it involves elements that don’t necessarily fall under the Jazz umbrella.  That’s why classical compositions by Bach and pop standards like “September Song” are presented along with original pieces and renditions of songs like “Caravan.”

Rantala’s sound doesn’t sacrifice its typical austere grace as it switches up the source material, but there’s a noticeable shift in the overall sound from track to track, duly reflecting the disparate influences on his history in jazz.  Rantala’s takes on Bach’s “Goldberg Variation” possess a distant warmth, whereas the group’s rendition of “Caravan” echoes the original’s boisterousness.  “Eronel” has a friendly piano trio hop and bounce that would fit right into the jazz scene of the sixties, whereas the casual propulsion and lovely melodic drift of “Smoothie” is an outstanding example of how jazz musicians of the new century are putting their stamp on the artform.

Violinist Baldych guests on four of the tracks.  It’s nice to see him getting put to use since signing with the ACT Music label.  He’s a hell of a talent, and fits in just fine with the established pros that comprise the core trio.

Your album personnel:  Iiro Rantala (piano), Lars Danielsson (bass, cello), Morten Lund (drums), and guest:  Adam Baldych (violin).

Released on the ACT Music label.

Available at eMusic.  Available at Amazon: CD | MP3

Other Albums of Note:

Francesco Cataldo – Spaces

An album with an ethereal presence.  Francesco Cataldo brings a variety of guitars to the table, not to mention a line-up of modern jazz all-stars.  Peaceful music that stays that way, even during those times when the tempo picks up.  Much respect for Binney, who has a distinctive big sound, but finds a way to really fit in well with the predominant serenity of this recording.

Your album personnel:  Francesco Cataldo (guitars), Scott Colley (bass), David Binney (sax), Clarence Penn (drums), Erik Friedlander (cello), and Salvatore Bonafede (piano).

Released on the Alfa Music label.  Available at eMusic.

Le Cube – Frelon Rouge

Saxophonist Alban Darche‘s trio plays quirky music that sometimes slides into soothing melodic intervals.  Music that uses odd meters to stir up a playful bounce, but when they kick back with a casual swagger, like on the nifty “Cafe du Change,” they shine brightest.  Probably a good choice if you’re just getting into Jazz, and are into rock bands like Morphine.  Very likable.

Your album personnel:  Alban Darche (tenor, alto & soprano saxes), Sebastien Boisseau (bass), and Christophe Lavergne (drums).

Released on the Yolk Records label.  Available at eMusic.

Timucin Sahin – Inherence

Guitarist Timucin Sahin leads a hyperactive quintet date.  Lots of voices speaking at once and over one another.  Even those times when the tempo decreases, there persists a sense of moving fast.  Jazz as car chase movie scene.  The fingerprints of Alessi’s trumpet stylings are all over this album.

Your album personnel:  Timucin Sahin (guitars), Tyshawn Sorey (drums), Christopher Tordini (bass), Ralph Alessi (trumpet), and John O’Gallagher (alto sax).

Released on the Between The Lines Records label.  Available at eMusic.

Jason Marsalis – A World of Mallets

On this nifty recording, in addition to vibes, Jason Marsalis employs a variety of percussion instruments and generates an expanse of sound that ranges from foot-tappingly snappy to exquisitely melodic.  Nothing straight-ahead about this recording, though intriguingly, it interacts with the listener much in that way.  Thus, an album that’s both engaging and highly listenable.  Don’t be surprised if I have more to say about this album before year-end.

Your album personnel:  Jason Marsalis (vibraphone, marimba, glockenspiel, tubular bells, xylophone), Will Goble (bass), David Potter (drums), and Austin Johnson (piano).

Released on the Basin Street Records label.  Available at eMusic.

Brad Goode – Chicago Red

Trumpeter Brad Goode definitely has his own singular voice on his instrument, and it’s been neat hearing him develop it over time.  He never seems to stop searching for the right equation to fully blossom.  On this recording, he mixes some modern nu-jazz with some traditional music forms, and then rounds out his sextet with a guitarist who doubles on sitar and fills another seat with rik & darbouka.  The album is a bit uneven, though tracks like “St. Louis Blues” and “Chicago Red” serve as evidence of Goode’s talent for making experimentalism sound very cool, and why his music should be heard and followed.

Your album personnel:  Brad Goode (trumpet), Bill Kopper (guitar, sitar), Jeff Jenkins (piano, keyboards), Bijoux Barbosa (electric bass), Paa Kow (drums) and Rony Barrak (darbouka, rik).

Released on the Origin Arts label.  Available at eMusic.

*****

The Iiro Rantala review is original to Bird is the Worm, but portions of the other reviews were originally used in my Jazz Picks weekly article for eMusic, so here’s some language protecting their rights to that reprinted material as the one to hire me to write about new jazz arrivals to their site…

“New Arrivals Jazz Picks,“ and “New Arrivals Jazz Picks“ reprints courtesy of eMusic.com, Inc.
© 2013  eMusic.com, Inc.

As always, my sincere thanks to eMusic for the gig.  Cheers.

The Norwegian trio In the Country are back with their fourth studio release, and it serves as something of an encapsulation of everything that has come before.

On their 2005 debut, This Was the Pace Of My Heartbeat, they created quiet tunes for quiet times, and offered melodies with indistinct form and a smokey presence.  Their second studio album, the 2006 release Losing Stones, Collecting Bones brought a lightness to the modern Nordic piano trio sound, a pop music sensibility that gave serious music a fun attitude and the occasional catchy hook.  Tracks like “Kung Fu Boys” illustrated that the trio could craft a tight song if they wanted to, and that their tendency of dispersing the melody on other tracks was one of creative decision-making.  Their 2009 release Whiteout built on their propensity to create oblique melodies and sustain a veneer of serenity, but with the added dimension of generating intensity through rhythmic repetition.  A track like “Doves Dance” begins with a quiet demeanor, but soon enough speaks loud and clear, whereas “Ursa Major” leaves the gate already at a gallop.

But their newest, Sunset Sunrise, has them making a return of sorts to the sound of their debut album This Was the Pace Of My Heartbeat… though as with any sort of creative development, the qualities picked up along the way inform the present vision, and thus the quiet disposition of their debut has been imbued with a weightiness previously lacking, and a tendency to abandon serenity and build up a head of steam.

Your album personnel:  Morten Qvenild (hyper grand piano, electronics), Roger Arntzen (double bass, electronics), and Pal Hausken (drums, percussion, vibraphone, electronics).

The album opens with “Birch Song,” an elegant tune that glides slowly along, like skaters across a frozen pond.  Piano kicks up frozen notes, bass adds an element of fluid motion, and drums tap along a path and do more listening than talking.  And just when the song has cemented in place the idea that it’s shown all it has to show, it flies off the edge of a cliff into something far more ominous.  Dark tones, electronic crackles and crashes, and a moodiness that won’t quit.

This leads into the second track “Derrick,” which has a deceptive patience, giving the sense of slowly expressing itself in the midst of a pulsing tempo.  And this, too, is immediately discarded for third track “Stanley Park,” which begins with somber introspection, but then slowly builds intensity through repetition and rhythm.  It gives the impression that it’ll last until the final note, but instead, it subsides, and is replaced with something more soulful.  Drums establish a groove, which bass develops into a swagger, while piano stays cool and blue.  It’s one of the more surprising turns of hat on this album, and it acts as a moment of revelation of what this album has to offer and what it reflects.

Because at most times during the first third of Sunset Sunrise, the album seemed to lack direction and cohesion.  The trio seemed to be turning their back on ideas and moving on too quickly to the next before the last was completed.  But like any decent character development in a story, sometimes not all facts and elements are fleshed out in the beginning… sometimes, as the story is told, the details that fall in between the established facts reveal themselves as the plot develops.  That’s what the trio has put in play here.

The glimpse of an idea in the opening track is further embellished in fourth track “Silverspring,” as a moody piano-led piece that sparks with life directly in the face of an austere tone transitions deftly into the hopping exuberance of “Steelpants,” with theremin-like electronics whipping across the surface of the rhythm.

And “The Fluke, a Whale’s Tail” simply drifts along at the slowest pace, settling into a simple beauty that doesn’t need to hurry to shine.  But then, as established earlier in the album, the trio begins to build up from a serene place, becoming less quiet, less content to simply drift, eventually hitting its stride for the homestretch and ending with a bang.  This pattern is repeated on the title-track, before ending the album with a return to serenity, with the pretty “December Song.”

The current recording serving as something of a summation of all that’s come before, it’ll be interesting to see which direction the trio decides next to follow.

Released on the ACT Music label.

Jazz from the Oslo, Norway scene.

Available at eMusic.  Available at Amazon: CD | MP3

On their new release, Swedish ensemble Klabbes Bank breaks a bit from past form.  Whereas previous recordings were tiny melodic bundles of heartbreak and sunshine, on Protect the Forest, the songs manifest with a sweeping grandeur and rhythmic intensity that take root with a heavy utilization of electronics and effects.  This isn’t something that was necessarily frowned upon previously, but the use is more pronounced and widespread, and it’s the closest, by far, that the band has strayed to a Jazz-electronica fusion.

Your album personnel:  Joel Wästberg (alto sax), Thomas Backman (alto sax, clarinets), Magnus Wiklund (trombone), Klas-Henrik Hörngren (keyboards), Jacob Öhrvall (bass), and Martin Öhman (drums, electronics).

The album opens with the title-track, an expanse of wide open plains of percussion.  A diffuse melody that’s perceived more than heard.  Trombone punches out its general shape atop an immense wave of drums, bass, and effects.  Alto saxophone squeals out a response from deep within the rhythmic embrace.

“Listen to Kirppu” has a bounce and blip pattern, with electronic burns set against the the saxophone’s spritely dance steps and quick trombone jabs.  It permanently etches into place the new direction this ensemble is taking.  And “Snalla” further solidifies this fact.  It breaks into the kind of melodic ingenuity that Klabbes Bank is so good at… simple, yet powerful statements.  But on the new album, brass & woodwind lyricism is bolstered by a thumping drum and electronic pulse.

“My Name is Sten” is a jaunty tune, with bass clarinet and piano twirling around with sax taking a spin at the opposite end.  Percussion bridges the gap.  Unfortunately for this tune, it’s accompanied by an electronic beep not unlike an early morning alarm clock, and its repetition throughout the song detracts from nifty melodic and rhythmic development that elevates the song up to a more boisterous level.  It drowns the alarm clock out, but it’s unfortunate it had to come to that.

“Dalarna” gets the album back on track.  A moody piece with a cinematic flair.  A persistent snare creates the backdrop for a blanket of harmony between saxes, trombone, and keys.  This is more like the Klabbes Bank of old, and it’s no surprise that this is one of the album’s stronger tracks.  The harmonic development is a surging tide, building up gradually like a flood clearing the shoreline.  Saxes blend into one another, and it’s only when they shift within the collective sound can any one instrument get picked out.  Just beautiful.

“Karleken” is the best sign of promise for what might come next for this ensemble.  It opens with bright electronic notes.  Percussive blips and scratches accompany a strong melody.  And then the song suddenly breaks into a thumping bass line, more electronic effects, and a tightly wound sax solo that runs through a series of aeronautic somersaults.  The blend of organic instrument and electronic manipulation is a perfect fit.

“Berlin” is a lot like the old Klabbes Bank.  It’s Klabbes Bank at their strongest.  A resonant bass clarinet inches its way through a lullaby of a tune.  Keys are the occasional flash of moonlight.  And though more upbeat, “Bli har” echoes music of the past, too, with woodwinds curling tight patterns about one another, collectively weaving a melody that sounds simple because of the hard work that went into creating it.

“Scott & Melody” gets back to an upbeat demeanor.  With a strong drumming presence and sax flitting along, the entire group breaks into a euphoric shout.  When the song breaks down, it does it with more frenetic playing, volume up, and a burst of electric keys piercing the rhythmic veil.

“2005” ends the album with a gurgle and blip of electronics, musing sax and piano atop, a gentle drone up higher, a sense of things coming to a close.  Soft and slow.  And then suddenly, it leaps up and ends with a bang… yet still has the identity with which it all began.

And it’s that last point that will likely be the most intriguing quality to fans of Klabbes Bank… that they are taking this bold new direction, and yet the character and presence with which so many of their fans first latched onto their music is still there, evident in the New Sound.  It’s the kind of change that makes following an artist’s career such an exciting endeavor.  That’s what’s in play here, too.

Released on Hoob Records.

Jazz from Gothenburg, Sweden.

The album doesn’t appear to be available at most U.S.-based outlets, including Amazon, iTunes, and eMusic.  It’s available at Amazon UK.  It may also be available to non-U.S. eMusic members.  If any of this changes, I’ll update this post with the additional retail links.  You can also order directly from the label, Hoob Records.

*****

Later this week, I’ll be posting reviews of, at least, the prior two Klabbes Bank albums, possibly all three of their prior recordings.

This is music with an old soul and eyes to the future.  Transcendence, the stunning debut album by drummer Jaimeo Brown, brings in a daring mix of jazz, spirituals, electronics & effects, East-Indian music, and the most important element, the blues.  It’s why this album ultimately culminates in a successful concoction of disparate ingredients.  The ever-present Blues are always there to offer a stabilizing hand as the tumult of influences swirl about, providing a perspective from which to absorb the varied musics calmly, unabashedly, and in the fullness of its expansive vision.

Your album personnel: Jaimeo Brown (drums), JD Allen (tenor sax), Chris Sholar (guitar, electronics), and guests: Geri Allen (piano), Dartanyan Brown (bass), Marcia Miget (flute), Kelvin Sholar (keyboards), Andrew Shantz (harmonium), Gee’s Bend Quilters, Marisha Brown, Selah Brown, Falu (vocals).

This is a trio at its core.  With Brown’s drums, the tenor sax of JD Allen, and the guitar and electronics of Chris Sholar, the trio adds guests when needed, and enmeshes their live interplay with the recorded voices and sounds of music of the past, transporting the voices of Gee’s Bend Quilters from the previous century into an environment that fully embraces the technological advances of the present and its associated music approaches.

And, thus, you have “Mean World,” where the soulful voice of a spiritual comes together with a tumultuous display of ferocity via sax, drums, and effects, and the quavering presence of “Somebody’s Knocking,” with a soaring East-Indian chant, a guitar like the sea, a sax like rocking waves, and the crash of cymbals battering the shore… which leads right into “Patience”… a lumbering bass line, a spry sax, the rustle of percussion, and a guitar that begins as a murmur and ends as an electrical live wire.

The guitar ferocity continues on “You Can’t Hide,” but again, it’s the blues that dominate, with soulful vocals belted out in collaboration with JD Allen’s equally expressive, equally soulful saxophone accompaniment.  As they do throughout the album, Brown’s drums illustrate the music’s willingness to fight for life, to grab it and not let go.  More evidence of this is on “Accra,” a torrential drum solo enhanced by some subtle electronics from Sholar.

Sholar’s deft hand at instilling the music with ambiance and soundscapes can’t be overlooked.  The ethereal presence of “Be Free” carries the individual instruments on its back, elevates it up to something lofty, a heavenly expression that goes beyond “song.”  This type of contribution to the production of a music piece is the water that fills in the seams and makes a perfect whole of what might otherwise seem fragmented and incomplete.

Also not to be overlooked is the fluid lyricism provided by JD Allen on sax.  Whether displaying the combustible side of his instrument, like on “Baby Miesh” or the instrument’s comforting nature, like on “I Said,” Allen shapes his notes in a way that allows emotions to fully manifest without ever getting swept away by them.  Like any good storyteller worth lending an ear to, Allen spends more time showing imagery than just talking about it.

“Power of God” is another lovely spiritual, though even this is eclipsed by the even lovelier playing of pianist Geri Allen, who first provides an undercurrent of evocative accompaniment, and then, when everything else drops away and it’s just Allen’s piano, a remarkable expansion of the hauntingly beautiful presence set by the Gee’s Bend Singers… voices from the past, composed of the eternal creative substance with which to improvise to in the present day.

And that is what defines the entirety of this exceptional recording.  It’s not an easy thing to bring together past and present, while simultaneously maintaining a forward-thinking attitude.  But on this thoroughly entertaining, supremely engaging album, Brown has done just that.  It’s a remarkable accomplishment.

Released on the Motema label.

Jazz from NYC.

Available at eMusic.  Available at Amazon: CD | MP3