May 9 2018
Escape Argot has got a process, and it starts with just a tiny bit of violence
So, what Escape Argot does is stomp through the glassware shop knocking everything off the shelves, and then, after the damage is done, the trio picks up the shards and rebuilds them as beautiful constructs of melody. This pattern fully emerges on the title-track for Still Writing Letters. The trio of multi-reedist Christoph Grab, pianist Florian Favre and drummer Christoph Steiner launches itself in all directions and throws their weight behind it. It’s almost a little startling how suddenly they’re able to shift into the most delicate phrasings, making the transition seem as natural as thunder to lightning, pressure into peace. Opening track “Die Besseren Ratgeber” hints at this pattern, but only in retrospect. First impression is simply that the trio has decided not to restrict itself to a thin range of tones. It’s only later that they reveal the magic as occurring not in the tonal range but with the shape of the transformations. It’s an impression that makes itself permanent in the way the punchy behavior of “Ueberbauen Mit Herr Mess” melts into a comforting pulse before gearing up to a glittering melodicism that achieves an intensity greater than the tune’s aggressive opening.
Not to be overlooked, however, is that many of those melody constructs are often quite catchy, too. “An Sich” lays the blues on thick and “The Ability to Adapt” takes its approach to subtlety seriously, but even here can be discovered moments of change sufficiently powerful to elicit a smile or an appreciative shake of the head.
Your album personnel: Christoph Grab (reeds), Florian Favre (piano, moog) and Christoph Steiner (drums).
Released on Traumton Records.
Listen to more of the album on the artist’s Bandcamp page.
Music from Zürich, Switzerland
The presence of the accordion is such that it almost dictates a direction toward folk music. The instrument’s voice is practically an assertion of intent. But that’s not how the enchanting 2017 release from 
Marco Santilli released two albums in 2017, and both deserved a slot in this year’s Best of 2017. The clarinetist’s concoction of chamber, jazz and folk accentuates the dramtic beauty of a simple melody, and patiently illustrates how a universe of possibilities exist within the nuance of each. The engaging La Stüa saw Santilli’s CheRoba ensemble joined by il Fiato delle Alpi for a performance recorded live at Musikinsel, Rheinau in Switzerland. It came heavy with the chamber influence, but also with the intensity, and so the album was a potent mix of introspection and liveliness. With L’occhio della betulla, Santilli took his CheRoba ensemble of 12-string guitarist Lorenzo Frizzera, pianist Ivan Tibolla and percussionist Fulvio Maras into the recording studio, with many of the same compositions as La Stüa, but with a completely different result. These are tranquil pieces. They bubble with life and resonate with daydream imagery, and there’s a certain majesty to how this music fills up a room. The balance between jazz, folk and chamber is more evenly distributed, and the transitions between states of primacy are as effortless and smooth as the changing of tides. And while it exhibits many of the same complexities as its 2017 counterpart, L’occhio della betulla simmers with a brooding passion that hints at a power that could obliterate mountains. This is the most beautiful thing to see the light of day in 2017.
Jan 18 2020
Best of 2019 #70: Christoph Irniger Pilgrim – “Crosswinds”
Your album personnel: Christoph Irniger (tenor sax), Stefan Aeby (piano), Dave Gisler (guitar), Raffaele Bossard (double bass), and Michael Stulz (drums).
Released on Intakt Records.
Music from Zürich, Switzerland.
I wrote about this album for The Bandcamp Daily.
Listen | Read more | Available at: Bandcamp – Amazon
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By davesumner • Recap: Best of 2019 • 0 • Tags: Best Jazz of 2019, Christoph Irniger, Intakt Records, Zurich (Switzerland)