James Davis

Feb 4 2019

The Round-up: It seemed like ages ago. Maybe it was.

 

Here is some very good new music

 

Restroy – Restroy (1980 Records/Milk Factory Productions)

Pretty sure I’ve never used the phrase hauntingly tuneful before to describe an album, but that’s what you got with the self-titled debut from Restroy.  The ominous tones and ethereal presence combined with striking melodic inspirations gives the sensation of a band that is channeling the spirits of forgotten pop songs.  A solid line-up of bassist Christopher Dammann, trumpeter James Davis, cellist Kevin Davis, keyboardist Paul Giallorenzo, pianist Mabel Kwan and drummer Avreeayl Ra bring about a communion of organic and electronic sounds that comes off as an uneasy alliance… a quality that kicks up the undercurrent of tension a few notches.  Music from Chicago.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp

 

Soon – Something Out Of Nothing (Caligola Records)

This is one of those recordings you just sink into like the most comfortable sofa at the end of a long week.  The melodies on this trio session are an open door, but the depth of the recording is felt in the waves of harmonics that wash over everything.  With this lovely piano trio recording in hand, pianist Roberto Soggetti, bassist Giulio Corini and drummer Emanuele Maniscalco are here to make everything right in your world.  Music from Brescia, Italy.

No artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp – Amazon

 

Mauro Gargano Mo’Avast Band – Born in the Sky (iOSA)

The casual lyricism on Born in the Sky can lull you into a place where it’s easy to forget just how powerfully these melodies are gonna get delivered.  And Mauro Gargano‘s quartet does lean into these melodies, returning to them frequently between some wonderful soloing.  And while those solos will keep the attention locked in place, the album is at its strongest when the entire quartet gets involved, meshing into and criss-crossing the trajectories of their counterparts.  Music from Paris, France.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp – Amazon

 

Alvaro Severino – Ngen-Kürüf (Discos Pendiente)

That Alvaro Severino takes a sonic road trip across South America’s folk musics is plenty absorbing all on its own, but it’s his airy, free-flowing delivery on acoustic guitar that represents this recording at its most captivating.  The Chilean guitarist’s quartet (with trumpet, double bass and drums) keep up an amicable chatter throughout the session, and a tone that could give a beam of sunlight a run for its money.  Music from Essen, Germany.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp – Amazon

 

Evil Genius – Experiments on Human Subjects (Orenda Records)

The enthusiasm of Evil Genius is pretty damn infectious.  The music is too volatile to contain, too fast to keep pace with, and so damn fun.  The trio of guitarist Max Kutner, tubist Stefan Kac and drummer Mike Lockwood get a whiff of a melody and take off after it, never looking back.  Those brief, rare moments when they enter a fugue state of harmony are captivating as hell.  Punchy attitude, party atmosphere.  Music from Los Angeles, CA.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp – Amazon

 

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Jan 3 2019

Best of 2018 #47: James Davis Quintet – “Disappearing Roads”

 

As this site illustrates day after day, there is no end to the wonderful studio recordings from the modern scene.  That said, an essential element of jazz is improvisation, and how that expresses itself in a live setting.  Sometimes we’re fortunate that someone is there to hit a record button.  Such is the case with this excellent live session from trumpeter James Davis and his quintet’s performance at the Chicago venue, The Whistler.  With pianist Rob Clearfield, guitarist Dave Miller, double bassist Matt Ulery, and drummer Quin Kirchner, the quintet embodies all the reasons why we should be sure to balance out our digital/CD listening routines with the simple act of buying a ticket to hear some of this magic occur in a live setting.  This album is everything that’s great about the modern jazz scene.

Released as part of the Whistler Chicago music series.

Music from Chicago, IL.

I wrote about this album for The Bandcamp Daily.

Available at:  Bandcamp

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Feb 1 2012

Recapping the Best of 2011: AJ Kluth’s Aldric – “Anvils and Broken Bells”

 

If, like me, most of your friends are into post-rock, with its sweeping melodies, ambient and/or drone tendencies, and the compositional habit of end points rarely looking like the territory the starting gun went off in, well, you might want to clue them in on AJ Kluth’s Aldric.  Because in many ways, with Anvils and Broken Bells, they’ve fused the post-rock of today with the 80s NYC downtown jazz scene skronk & sizzle of Zorn’s Naked City, so you’ll be giving your friends a dose of Jazz that’s masked in some food their audio palate is more attuned with.  See?  Everyone wins.

The first two album tracks are sonic typhoons; guitar strikes and horn battering rams, electronic squalls, torrent of drums, and sax whipping wildly about.  The third track “Pauls on Pauls” begins much the same, but suddenly the storm breaks and the tune is one of lazy rolling waves and clear skies.  That calm is only temporary, as the tempo rises and the waves swell, leading to a conclusion of heading right back into the storm.

“Saskatoon” is probably my favorite tune on the album.  It opens with a little bit of serenity, squiggly electronics and pings and beeps.  Then guitar comes in nice and slow, making short but poignant statements, accentuated by drums ponderously marching ahead.  Horn and sax enter with slow building notes, letting them hang in the air while bass echoes off the walls with the effects like contrails across a cloudy sky and melodica the sunlight filtering through the rifts in between.  And as if to prove that Aldric is more than sound and fury, “Trio Trois” continues the peaceful refrain, picking up the tempo and volume only at the end and only by use of a very catchy refrain.

From there, the album shows another face.  Mixing the swirling dissonance of the first third and the peaceful repetition of the second, the last third of the album brings together those elements into a fiery set of grooves which one could either mosh pit or foot tap to.  Ultimately, it’s a satisfying bit of transformation that brings cohesion to an album that may have given first and second impressions of stealing off in a direction and not looking back.

I first heard Anvils and Broken Bells about six months ago (approx. July 2011), and it has really grown on me.  I keep finding more and better things to appreciate about it, and enthusiastically include it as one of my top recommended albums of 2011.

Y’know, speaking of when I first heard the album… When I went to create the link to the page on AllAboutJazz where you can download a free album track, I saw my original editor’s comment on it.  Apparently even back then, this ensemble’s sound invoked in my head a nautical theme.  Here’s what I wrote…

“So, Paul Motion, Kenny Wheeler, Joe Lovano, and Bill Frisell get lost at sea on a boat. It begins to storm and the wind picks up. The steering is shot, the boat spins out of control, and they decide to spend their last moments alive playing out. That’s kinda what this song is like. Pretty cool.”

It would appear my opinion hasn’t so much changed as expanded.  And I still think this album is very cool.

Your album personnel:  AJ Kluth (tenor sax, melodica, effects), James Davis (trumpet, effects), Toby Summerfield (electric guitar, many buttons & knobs), Dan Thatcher (electric bass) and Quin Kirchner (drums & cymbals).

Released on the Origin/OA2 label.

Listen to more of the album at the artist’s Soundcloud page.

Music from Chicago.

Available at:  Amazon

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