James Falzone: The Renga Ensemble - The Room Is (Allos Documents, 2015) ****½

By Paul Acquaro

Working with an impressive cross-section of (mainly) Chicago based woodwind players, clarinetist and composer James Falzone's The Room Is is a complex and lovely work. The group, The Renga Ensemble, is comprised of Ken Vandermark on Bb clarinet, bass clarinet, baritone saxophone, Keefe Jackson on tenor saxophone, bass clarinet, contra Bb bass clarinet, Jason Stein on bass clarinet, Ben Goldberg on Bb clarinet, contra Eb alto clarinet, Ned Rothenberg on Bb clarinet, alto saxophone and Falzone on Bb and Eb clarinets. Together, they interpret these sophisticated charts rather stunningly.

Track one, 'Prelude' is a legato piece, brief and classical in structure, it is foreshadowing of the rich tonal palette of the group. Track two, 'Not Seeing' takes a syncopated riff and spreads it across all of the players, then as the tune progresses, the different sounding woodwinds swim in and out of harmony as bluesy smears are layered atop complex counter melodies. The clarinet on track three, 'The First Renga (Ben)', begins with frenetic melody. As the other instruments enter, the melody grows stronger against the pulsating background and lithely continues to the close of the mid-tempo track. Track four, 'The Fourth Renga (Ken)' is fraught with tension, employing trills and a touch of extended technique. The rich tones of the low reeds help push the song forward.

The idea behind The Renga Ensemble was to create a setting for a seamless interaction between all the players. Falzone named the group 'Renga' after a centuries-old form of collaborative Japanese poetry, where two or three poets blend their words into a single meditative work. And he cites, in the liner notes, a haiku by American poet Anita Virgil as an inspiration:

not seeing
the room is white
until that red apple

The Room Is is a gorgeous album, and it is music that requires repeated listening.

Last Exit – Iron Path (ESP, 2015) ****

By Martin Schray

Iron Path is Last Exit’s only studio album and not only is it very different from their other (live) masterpieces like their debut Last Exit (Enemy, 1986) or Köln (ITM, 1990) but it is also completely different from almost all the other music at that time, which is why the listeners were confused. For rock aficionados there was too much free improv in it, for free jazz lovers there was too much prog rock. And even more than 25 years after the first release Iron Path is a mind-blowing, but strange album.

Last Exit has often been called a free jazz super group (with Sonny Sharrock on guitar, Peter Brötzmann on saxophones, Bill Laswell on bass and Ronald Shannon Jackson, on drums), yet this is not really correct. As a live act the band created a weird style mix of Sharrock’s harsh slide guitar rides, Laswell’s driving rock pulse, Jackson’s jungle grooves and Brötzmann just being the free jazz colossus we all love, which makes the music hard to categorize. If you had to pigeonhole it you might rather call it free rock. The sheer sonic brutality of their live shows only lurks below the surface on Iron Path, the slide guitar rides have been replaced by crude rock sounds á la King Crimson and Laswell’s bass is much more into industrial music and space funk/dub (listen to “The Fire Drum,” e.g.). Just Brötzmann seems to be defiant and unwilling to change, but his contributions are less prominent than on the live albums. Iron Path rather focuses on compositions, on real pieces, on dense and subtle preconceived textures. The chance to work with overdubs (as in “Sandpaper” with its multiple guitar tracks) offered new fields of tonal possibilities for the band. On the one hand this led to some weaker results like the cold reverb on the drums, which sound as if they were recorded in another room. On the other hand the band knocks out absolute highlights like “Prayer”, the first track, which presents a majestic, vertiginous, crystal clear Sharrock riff, while Jackson and Laswell drive Brötzmann in front of them, or “Eye for an Eye”, in which Brötzmann’s bass saxophone sets the tone for a satanic service – with the congregation consisting of die hard disciples like Sunn O))), Earth, Otomo Yoshihide and John Zorn.

Last Exit have been the blueprint for bands like The Thing, for all the music working at the interface of jazz and experimental rock, for all those who try to bring together Big Black, Motörhead and Albert Ayler. In his book “Stairway to Hell – The Best 500 Heavy Metal Albums” Chuck Eddy ranked it #268 saying that “Sonny's making wild electronic noise as if he's vacuuming up fur left over from the last Ice Age. The album ends with the drummer repeatedly booting you in the teeth with steel-tipped construction-worker shoes. This is “jazz”, by the way”. No matter what you might call it, but it’s still worth checking it out.

Daunik Lazro/Guillame Belhomme - Vieux Carré/Sales Rectangles (Lenka Lente, 2015) *****

By Eyal Hareuveni

A most beautiful and concise meditation by French baritone sax player Daunik Lazro and writer-musician-label owner Guillaume Belhomme on the formative roots of jazz and its influential heroes. On this 3" disc, 10 minutes long, recorded in the Jazz festival of Rouen, France, in 2011, Lazro reflects on some of the seminal compositions from legendary sax player Joe McPhee.

McPhee is a personal hero of Lazro and Belhomme. Lazro collaborated and recorded with McPhee, as a duo (Élan, Impulse, In Situ, 1991) and in expanded formats (the self-titled with Evan Parker, Vand'Oeuvre, 1996 and Next To You with Raymond Boni and Claude Tchamitchian, Emouvance, 2005).

Here he interprets the theme of McPhee's composition, "Vieux Carré", which refers to the French Quarter of New Orleans. The original composition was recorded by McPhee on his Graphics album in 1977 (HatHut) and later covered by Lazro in his solo baritone sax album, Some Other Zongs (Ayler, 2011). McPhee dedicated it to Steve Lacy's abstraction of New Orleans reed pioneer Sidney Bechet. Lazro add a short interpretation of the theme of "Everything Happens for a Reason," from McPhee's album with the same title (Roratorio, 2005). Lazro realization is contemplative, touching and highly melodic, rich and warm in its sound and makes full use of the resonating space. The work of a true master.

This release comes in a small book featuring Belhomme's own fragmented reflections (all in French) on the art of McPhee and Lazro.

Mats Gustafsson – Lap Dance (iDEAL, 2014) ****

By Martin Schray

Lap Dance is a 7’inch consisting of two short solo performances recorded at Brooklyn Bar in Stockholm on 12/14/2011. The story behind it goes like this: Gustafsson was actually supposed to play a full concert but allegedly the people didn’t care much (according to the internet it was an audience of five plus some people at the bar), someone even spilled a full glass of beer over his merchandising stuff. In the back you can hear the bar people talking very loudly. At last, Gustafsson ended up at the head of the table of the interested listeners and played for them. Luckily, one of them recorded the stuff because “Lap Dance” and “Table Solos” are great pieces, they work as an almost ideal introduction to Gustafsson’s solo work. Although there are his usual outbursts the two tracks are very accessible, he soars in a very playful and light-hearted way.

Lap Dance is available on transparent vinyl only and limited to 200 copies.

Listen to “Table Solos” here:

Rich Halley 4 – Creating Structure (Pine Eagle, 2015) ****

By Troy Dostert

Still a relatively unsung commodity based in Portland, the Rich Halley 4 have been creating adventurous yet groove-oriented recordings for several years—in fact, this is their fifth in five years on the Pine Eagle label, following up on last year’s excellent Wisdom of Rocks. And while it’s tempting to say that it’s “more of the same,” these guys have been in the sweet spot of freebop-based improvisation for long enough that sticking with what works is a pretty strong strategy.

The record is aptly titled, as each of the sixteen tracks displays a variety of ways in which a song’s logic can emerge during the exploration of an unplanned, uncharted path. Bassist Clyde Reed and drummer Carson Halley are pivotal, as their ability to follow and lock in behind the horns offers structure, yes—but not so much structure that tenorist Halley and trombonist Michael Vlatkovich are restricted in their ability to seek out new options within each song. One can tell that Carson Halley has indeed been influenced by both the rock and jazz traditions, as his eagerness to bring a driving beat to a lot of the songs really enhances the group’s dynamic power. And Vlatkovich and Halley have a great rapport as well, alternately interweaving spontaneously-conceived lines and shadowing each other’s moves as they see fit. This definitely sounds like a band that has worked closely together for years, as their fluidity and intuition are evident on each cut. It’s also worth noting that these guys know when to enter and exit, without overstaying their welcome: with no track extending beyond seven minutes, and most a good deal shorter than that, there’s no pointless meandering. The overall effect on the listener is to want a bit more, which is a fine thing when the music is this good.

Highlights include the record’s opener, “Analog Counterpoint,” a bouncy, spirited piece featuring just Halley with the rhythm section; “Riding the Trade Winds,” where you can hear Halley channeling a bit of Newk’s “St. Thomas” with an infectious calypso-esque rhythm; “Metal Buzz,” offering a terrific unaccompanied dialogue between Halley and Vlatkovich; and “The Shove,” a propulsive burner with especially effective punchy drumwork from Carson Halley. But truthfully, there are engaging moments throughout the disc, as each track provides a distinctive and well-executed statement. Definitely a record worth getting!

Here’s a video of the quartet playing recently in New York City:

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Rudresh Mahanthappa - Bird Calls (ACT, 2015) ****½

By Antonio Poscic

Material dedicated to a jazz legend and the absence of master guitarist David Fiuczynski cast a shadow of doubt on whether New York-based saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa would be able to replicate the goodness that was his previous album Gamak. While he’s undeniably a great player and an eclectic songwriter, the artistic success of his records quite often depended on the quality of his cohorts. Plus, the prospect of yet another homage album just didn’t sound too inviting.

Superfluous and anachronistic hybrids of standards in newish arrangements, that’s what most “tribute” albums, especially in mainstream jazz, end up being. Not this time. Bird Calls is really good. While still clearly a love letter to Charlie Parker, his spirit embedded in many phrases, melodies, rhythms, and even in Mahanthappa’s energetic play style, the music is recognizably contemporary and the songs presented on the album are all originals which never dwell in the territory of the uninspired or lazy. Take “On the DL,” for example, a tune that demonstrates how Mahanthappa borrows just enough from Parker’s classic “Donna Lee” to jump-start an avalanche of aggressive, free-wheeling, and wild jazz that is sprinkled with explosive, lively solos, and fueled by a progressive, pulsing piano. The main tracks here all go down the route of deconstructing and analysing Parker’s music through the prism of modern jazz and Mahanthappa’s specific sensibilities and influences, with just a hint of humour and whimsy on the side. Other than the aforementioned “Donna Lee”, standouts are “Parker’s Mood”, which acts as a sort of bridge between Charlie Parker and Albert Ayler, and the extraordinary “Gopuram” with its typically Mahanthappian melodic and rhythmic spices imported from Indian ragga. Aside from these tracks and the likes of “Maybe Later” and “Sure Why Not?,” which come closest to the idioms of bop and traditional jazz in general, the record is held together by six miniatures. “Bird Calls #1-#5” and “Man, Thanks for Coming” serve as prologue, intermezzos, and epilogue, but also provide shorter pauses in the otherwise relentless flow, giving the musicians a chance for freer solo explorations and showcasing the band’s lyricism.

Speaking of the band, it features both well-known and fresh faces this time around. Alongside Mahanthappa, it’s young Adam O’Farrill’s trumpet and Rudy Royston’s drums that carry the album. Both these players leave an impression of knowing exactly what Mahanthappa requires and wants from them. On the other hand, we have Matt Mitchell on piano and François Moutin on bass who, while undeniably skilled, are never quite in the spotlight and remain rather subdued instead. Still, it’s Mahanthappa’s playing that steals the show. He’s a vigorous, tireless saxophonist with a swirly, effervescent, and extremely dynamic approach that results in a constant feeling that his saxophone might suddenly explode and detour towards Peter Brötzmann’s punk aesthetics. That jump never happens and he remains in equilibrium on the border of control, sounding mesmerizingly exciting and scintillating. It’s his playing that gives the music a recognizable and, frankly, hellishly fun tint.

When looking at Bird Calls as a whole, it becomes clear that Mahanthappa has succeeded in creating an album that is nominally dedicated to and inspired by Charlie Parker and yet feels quite his own. That alone would be something worth writing home about. Wholeheartedly recommended!

Jon Lundbom & Big Five Chord – Jeremiah (Hot Cup, 2015) ****

By Chris Haines

The music on Jeremiah is not so much of a Big Five Chord as much as a big seven. As well as the core quintet line-up of Jon Irabagon (Soprano Sax), Bryan Murray (Tenor/Alto Saxes), Moppa Elliott (Bass), Dan Monaghan (Drums) and Jon Lundbom (Guitar), they are joined by Justin Wood (Alto Sax) & Sam Kulik (Trombone). Even though the ensemble has expanded again, they have lost none of their classic Big Five Chord sound with full-on textures taking turns against more stripped back accompaniments, and fast free-bop tempos being usurped by laid back lounge vibes. We find that Lundbom’s guitar playing is as free and languid as ever, the sound of which is totally unique to himself.

The opening track “The Bottle” is half a march and a jog, full of energy in it’s brisk, but not overtly fast, pace containing some great playing from the whole ensemble, which Lundbom uses as a foil to launch a typical free and wandering guitar solo before giving way to some rasping sax playing. In fact, Lundbom gives way quite a lot on this album, allowing the horns to come to the front a lot more and not just collectively but also as soloists. Personally, I would have liked to have heard more of his guitar work up front on the album, but from a compositional point of view Lundbom has taken a very unselfish stance to the situation and has put the music first. “Lick Skillet” starts with what sounds like the drone of an aeroplane, but is in fact an extended technique on the trombone creating an interest that wasn’t expected, before a dancing flute picks up the vibe with some funky melodic playing. Two of the tracks are arrangements of Wiccan prayer songs, the idea first being introduced on Liverevil. The album closes with a live track “Screamer” with the guitar up front and rolling with it’s stream of consciousness playing, for the large part, pitted against the start-stop rhythmic accompaniment of bass and drums.

The musicianship on this album is excellent and the band are really together as you would expect. There are seven tracks on Jeremiah and not one of them is a filler, but every one of them is a grower!

Je Suis - Ça Va? & Ça va pas du tout! (Umlaut, 2014)

Je Suis! - Ça Va? (Umlaut, 2014) ****½
Je Suis! - Ça va pas du tout! (Umlaut, 2014) *****

By Eyal Hareuveni

The Swedish sextet Je Suis!'s output so far is quite scarce in comparison to the brilliance and resourcefulness of its musicians. The sextet has released its debut album Mistluren in 2011 on the pan-European musicians collective label, Umlaut, and reconvened in 2013 to record new material, that later yielded two live albums, released on the same label.

Je Suis! is led by trumpeter Niklas Barnö, known from the free-improvised French-Swedish trio Snus, the Swedish modern jazz group Se&Hör, Mats Gustafsson’s Fire! Orchestra, as well as being a new addition to Paal Nilssen-Love Large Unit. The other musicians of Je Suis! are involved in different projects of the Umlaut label and all have busy, independent careers. Prolific trombonist Mats Äleklint has become a key player in almost every Scandinavian free jazz outfit, including the Fire! Orchestra and the Large Unit; double bass player Joel Grip is one of the founders of the Umlaut label and plays in the Fire! Orchestra and with Barnö in the Snus trio and records as a solo artist; Alexander Zethson plays in Martin Küchen’s Angels 9 and leads his own quartet; sax player Marcelo Gabard Pazos leads his own trio and drummer Magnus Vikberg collaborates with Küchen in other projects.

The two new albums correspond with each other. The LP Ça va pas du tout! (It is not going at all!) was recorded live at the Umeå Jazz Festival on October 26, 2013. Its title answers the question of the disc Ça va? (What is going on?) that was recorded two days later in Stockholm’s Fasching jazz club. Both albums feature new repertoire, most of it composed by Barnö. His well-crafted and arranged compositions emphasize the unique group dynamics of Je Suis!, a group whose whole aesthetic is larger than the sum of its individual musicians. He is well-versed with the myriad incarnations of modern and free jazz on both sides of the Atlantic but his perspective is not nostalgic nor academic. He focuses on the uplifting emotional, even spiritual, power of live music.

The two performances progress in the same manner, with minor variations in the piece's mood, tough the one in Fasching sounds more energetic. Both albums begin with the ironic-titled “Bebopaluba”. Its theme is articulated patiently as a meditative chant by the front line of the three reed players, slowly enriched by the rhythm section but does not attempt to replicate any be-bop licks, even when it gains full force. On both versions it feature expressive, fiery solos of Äleklint and Barnö. Now it is already clear that Je Suis! draws its inspiration from the American free jazz of the sixties, but channels this legacy into its own musicians personal languages, keeping the driving-swinging pulse but structuring its immediate, raw interplay in a much more improvised and open manner. The following, “Ända In I Kaklet”, highlights the powerful, rhythmic interplay of the sextet through fast, concise solos of Grip, Zethson, Pazos and Vikberg. The third piece, “Onödig Stress”, offers another beautiful theme that is sketched loosely by Je Suis! until it blossoms in cathartic power. Both performances conclude with the playful, ballad-like “Se Och Hör”, beginning with a piano solo of Zethson, continuing with his duo with Barnö and another duo of Pazos and Vikberg, before the whole sextet recites the moving, poetic theme in a majestic manner.

The performance in the Fasching club feature two more compositions, played before “Se Och Hör”. Barnö’s chaotic “Idioti? Tackarrr!” that alternates between fast reed fanfares and muscular, rhythmic group interplay, with another fascinating solo of Äleklint. It is followed by Zethson’s Åt alla håll på samma gång” that begins as a slow, touching ballad but transforms into a joyful, swinging peace.

Despite the albums titles, the music goes very well with this excellent band. Strongly recommended.

Kris Davis’s Infrasound – Save Your Breath (Clean Feed, 2015) ****½

By Troy Dostert

In what is becoming a formidable series of recordings, Kris Davis continues to demonstrate her strengths not only as a pianist but as a composer.  She did this to great effect on last year’s Waiting for You to Grow, an outstanding trio record with John Hébert and Tom Rainey - and once again with this disc, her newest release.  Indeed, this one is even more impressive, as Davis has expanded her compositional vision with one of the more unusual groupings of instruments I can recall hearing.  Here she’s working with an octet, which includes (in addition to Davis) a rhythm section of Jim Black (drums), Gary Versace (organ and accordion), and Nate Radley (guitar), and perhaps most surprisingly, four bass clarinets, played by Ben Goldberg, Oscar Noriega, Andrew Bishop and Joachim Badenhorst.

What is clear from the outset is that this is a record built around atmosphere and mood rather than instrumental virtuosity.  Which is not to say that any of these players are slouches—far from it—but that Davis has much bigger things in mind than a blowing session.  Each of these six tracks has a distinctive feel and sense of purpose, and while there’s ample room for the musicians to pursue a few twists and turns along the way, it’s abundantly evident that Davis has intentionally constructed these pieces in order to forge a collective sound for each one, although in dramatically different ways from track to track.

The album’s opener, “Union Forever,” develops an infectious series of patterns played principally by the clarinets, with Black, Radley and Versace keeping the rhythms shifting unpredictably, finally moving into a more straightforward 4/4 segment for the second half of the tune in which Versace really lets loose.  Several of the tracks make especially good use of Black’s rock-inflected drumming style, which often works to establish a groove and ratchet up the intensity level of the group.

But although the record definitely delivers some hard-hitting punches, it’s often the more subtle moments that are most effective, particularly because here Davis gets to explore the rich sonority and textures this unusual blend of instruments makes available.  The beginning of “Jumping Over Your Shadow,” for example, the record’s second cut, has some really interesting interplay between the bass clarinets, creating a sense of dark mystery to pull the listener in, only to gradually evolve into a more aggressive, confrontational mood once Black starts to interject on the drum kit and Versace joins in with some effective piercing jabs.  And the most interesting cut of all is probably the record’s title track, an almost 15-minute exploration of sound and mood in which Versace employs his understated, atmospheric organ work.  It evokes the album’s cover photo perfectly, as the sense of discovery and hint of danger accompanying a deep-sea dive is exactly what the track provides.  And when Radley, Davis and the others gradually enter the picture, expanding the sense of wonder and the unexpected, the result is captivating.

Davis has summarized her view of this group as a “living, breathing wild animal,” and given the musicians’ willingness to work cohesively to create a single group identity and to regularly go in unexpected directions, that’s an apt analogy.  This record will no doubt continue to build Davis’s growing reputation as one of the most exciting composers working in today’s music, and the group as a whole is certainly deserving of the accolades that should come its way.    

Available from Instantjazz.

Jack DeJohnette - Made in Chicago (ECM, 2015) *****

By Paul Acquaro

Following a week of retrospective reviews of exemplary AACM recordings, it seemed a fitting coda to talk about this great new album from drummer Jack DeJohnette and otherwise Chicago related musicians, saxophonists Henry Threadgill and Roscoe Mitchell, pianist Muhal Richard Abrams and cellist Larry Gray.

For the most part, the members of this group has been a part of all the new approaches to jazz since the mid-1960s and one way to see this recording is as a reaffirmation of their gifts as composers, players and musical visionaries. Another way is to see it as a celebration of Jack DeJohnette reconnecting with his friends with whom he played, aged 19, in Abrams' Experimental Band in Chicago.

In the mid-1960s, DeJohnette moved to New York City, while most of his collaborators here - Threadgill, Mitchell, and Abrams - went on to the AACM. Adding cello and bass here is Larry Gray who has been an influential member of the Chicago scene. Brought together by DeJohnette to perform at a show at Millennium Park in August 2013, the resulting album, captured live, sounds pristine and vibrant. The excitement and energy of the concert is caught, as is their precision and exceptional musicianship.

The recording starts with the Mitchell composition 'Chant', which starts quietly and builds into a cyclical tune with a repetitive chant of horns, punctuated by the piano. Then, a solo by Abrams the favor is returned by the saxophones who deliver snippets of the 'chant'. Halfway through, a piercing woodwind delivers a reedy solo that veers inside and out of the lines. Parrying with the drums, tension mounts as the others drop out. It's a highly effective track and an indicator of the quality of music to follow.

Another early highlight is Abrams' 'Jack 5', composed as a tribute to the drummer who brought the group together. The track burns slowly, with DeJohnette's impressionistic percussion providing the backbone where he plays with the time, masterfully stretching out sections. Gray's bass builds the tension that underscores the more delicate melodic snippets that come and go. The Threadgill penned 'Leave Don't Go Away' comes to life with a slightly sinister vibe. It is a thick mix of drum and bass with feature some fascinating flute work - in fact there is a late 1960's fusion vibe to the intro groove. Abrams' piano is present almost throughout and his playing is delightfully angular. The woodwind solo towards the end has some sharp edges.

Through the tracks there is a great deal of energy and surprise that is executed with a masterful touch. A collective improvisation called 'Ten Minutes' closes the recording. It begins with a repetitive pattern from the piano, quickly joined by the two saxophones, circular and buzzing with energy, the song rumbles along for a joyful six minutes.

Made in Chicago is a beautifully recorded album and helps celebrate the continuing vitality of the AACM 50 years after its founding by showcasing some of its founding members.