Piano romanticism and electronics?

There might be a new level for romanticism to be discerned, also in avant-garde music, or is it a sense of melancholy? The notes flow sparingly and almost minimal, with the electronics in contrast reinforcing or disrupting the feeling, sometimes accentuating the feeling of loneliness and sadness and despair. Whatever the semantics, this is music about emotions. 

Delphine Dora & Bruno Duplant - Inner Fields (Wild Silence, 2014) ****

Three years ago, the trio of Delphine Dora, Paulo Chagas and Bruno Duplant released the beautiful "Onion Petals As Candle Light", a fragile, accessible and open-minded album, and now the French pianist continues in the same direction in the company of Bruno Duplant, now not on bass, but on electronics and ambient sounds. Her light touch on the piano merges beautifully with the ambient sounds of playing children creating the paradoxical feeling of something very real elevated to an entirely different level of sensitivity, full of quiet acceptance and melancholy, and then on top of this, Duplant's electronics add a level of dissonant contrast, sufficiently to counterbalance the sweet sentiments, yet also without being too disruptive or unsettling.

Both artists use sound sparingly, with minimal tones creating a well-paced and beautiful atmosphere.


Joana Gama & Luis Fernandes - Quest (Shhpuma, 2014) ****½

The opening track, aptly titled 'Dream', could give the listener the impression that he or she is in for a long and meditative album of gentle romantic piano music, but then gradually the landscape changes, first with "From Mist To Nothing' creating a strange electronic minimal soundscape, punctuated by sparse piano notes, then with "Interlude", a short track full of distant vibrating shadows of a player piano.

The distant, and almost deep vision into a century old nightmare, continues on "Let Bygones Be Bygones", an eery piece that might well be used as an alternative to the soundtrack of the bar scene of the movie The Shining. "Night Drive" starts full of quiet romantic expectations, but then it evolves into a psychedelic ride of repetitive electronics, drone and carefully positioned piano chords, going into deeper darkness with 'Quest", when you've left all genres and dive into an electronic maelstrom, only to re-emerge in a strange universe of "Sparks & Crackles", on which chime-like piano sounds collide with weird electronics.

Before it ends, the journey goes over the first meditative then eery "This Frozen Sea", on which the fluid piano notes have been hardened and coldened into layers of nightmarish terror, and "Twisted Movements" surprises you again with its quirky nature, its shifting atmospheres and unexpected finale.

Clearly, this is beyond jazz, beyond rock or classical music, yet merging all of it into something new. Despite this variety, the album has an incredible coherence, and takes the listener to unexpected places.


Joana Sá & Luís José Martins - Almost A Song (Shhpuma, 2013) ****½

The album starts very quietly with Joana Sá's piano opening sonic space by creating a repetitive phrase that remains open-ended like a great invitation for Martins to join first with muted arpeggios on his nylon string guitar, and despite the calm build-up, the emphasis shifts constantly, moving the sounds to the distance, then with some punctuated chords reaffirming their presence like the flux of a river, to become even completely quiet in the second part of the long first track, only for the odd-metered theme to re-emerge with increasing percussive power and even electronic drama. A strange opening song, drawing the listener from romanticism to sentiments of utter desolation. "Cantiga de Amor", you bet.

The intensity increases with the high speed second track, one that is somewhat reminiscent of Egberto Gismonti's music, with powerplay on guitar and piano, inventive, virtuoso and disconcerting because of the dissonance and the drama and the madness. "Rock em Setembro": no prisoners taken. Then the central piece "Cantiga, partindo-se" brings you in a totally different world, with chimelike piano playing creating an eery atmosphere, ominous and dark, even if the playing itself remains light of touch but then the sound becomes multilayered in symphonic mayhem, making the duo sound like an orchestra for a phenomenal finale.

"Die Wahnsinnige Forelle" (the crazy trout), brings us very extended piano sounds clashing and merging with fast-paced guitar arpeggios, into strange chime, bells and other spielerei. breaking down in maddening dissonance and distant whistling.

The album ends with "Sarabande", a quiet piece with sparse notes coloring a vast expanse of silence, sometimes meditatively, sometimes more agitated, yet always intense.

This album was on my "to review" list for 2013, and it was one of the many albums that I regretted not having reviewed earlier (trust me, there are more albums in that case). Don't miss it.


So in sum, yes romantic at times, maybe, meditative, certainly, but the main thing that the three albums share are their strong coherence, the inventiveness of the playing, and especially the strong character of the music. Nothing is cheap here. Their is vision and a powerful use of all musical genres these artists have under their belt, only to make so much richer and rewarding music.

Enjoy!

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Diego Barber with Craig Taborn - Tales (Sunnyside, 2014) ****

By Troy Dostert

Although Craig Taborn is a name most readers of this blog are quite familiar with, Diego Barber is likely more of an unknown—at least, he was to this reviewer before sitting down with this intriguing duo record.  Barber is a very accomplished classical guitarist, but he’s recorded a couple of classically-influenced jazz records on Sunnyside prior to this one, so he’s been exploring ways of bringing improvisation into his playing for some time now.  Since Taborn is himself rather adept at straddling genres, and at times has a distinctly classical sensibility to his playing, this pairing makes a lot of sense.  And for the most part, it’s a very satisfying and successful encounter.

One thing that is immediately apparent: Barber has some fantastic chops as a guitarist.  He brings a virtuosity that is channeled with great discipline.  He’s capable of jaw-dropping runs and complex passages which sound like there have to be two guitarists playing them—but his compositions are also very melodic in nature, with subtly beautiful phrases galore, especially on the 27-minute opener, “Kilian’s Mountains.”  And as we’ve come to expect from Taborn as well, his sympathetic skill at playing alongside his counterparts, rather than overshadowing them, is always evident.  (Taborn of course does have some really impressive moments here, however; see for instance the brilliant improvisation he offers on the second track, “Cipres.”)

I have just a few quibbles.  Although the recording quality is generally very good, it would have been nice to have better instrument separation.  Since Taborn does a fair amount of playing in the middle register, his overlapping parts with Barber (and there are a lot of these, particularly on “Kilian’s Mountains”) tended to blur the instruments together.  I eventually got used to this, but it took some effort.  And while this is certainly a duo record in most respects (with Taborn collaborating closely with Barber on his compositions), there are some rather lengthy solo stretches where only one of the two is playing.  The most interesting moments on the record are definitely the ones in which Taborn and Barber are listening to and responding to each other.  Along these lines, the mutual interplay on “Cipres” is really one of the highlights of the disc.  (Not that I can complain too much about this, though, as some of those solo moments are pretty stunning—take Taborn’s gorgeous performance on the first half of “Im Park,” for instance, the record’s last track.)  And while this is more of a personal preference, at times I found the classical orientation of Barber’s playing a bit staid and uninvolving; while his performances are consistently exceptional, there were moments when I wanted him to cut it loose a bit more—to bring a bit more fire to the proceedings, basically.  The collaborative improvisational power of “Cipres” is a terrific but somewhat isolated moment on the record.

Slight reservations aside, this remains an excellent collaboration between two superb musicians who will hopefully work together again in the future.   

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Fred Hersch and Julian Lage - Free Flying (Palmetto Records, 2013) ****

By Paul Acquaro

One of my favorite Bill Frisell albums is a duo recording he did with pianist Fred Hersch called Songs We Know from way back in 1998. Lyrical and spare, it breathed a life into tunes like 'It May as Well be Spring' that I found captivating. Well, fast forward a decade and a half and Hersch has released another excellent piano-guitar duo recording with the mindbogglingly young and accomplished guitarist Julian Lage. 

I recently caught Lage playing with Gary Burton and trading solos with Larry Coryell. Before that, I heard him with Nels Cline in a duo setting. Each time Lage's playing was a little different - I'd even venture to say his work with Burton's new quartet showed a more adventurous side of his playing then his work with Cline, at the time. Here with Hersch, on this live recording, he is both supportive and fiery, finding the exact moments to shadow the piano and then emerge with ideas both lyrical and rhythmic.

The recording features several of the pianist's original songs, often featuring Ken Vandermark like dedications in their titles to musician's whose style they channel. 'Down Home (for Bill Frisell) builds off American Folk and blues like idioms while 'Free Flying (for Egberto Gismonti)' mixes a fine blend of South American inspired rythmns with some ebulliently cascading melodies. Throughout, Hersh's phrasing and note choices are fantastic. They close the album with a joyful interpretation of 'Monk's Dream'.

The duo skirts the edges of classical and jazz with remarkable fluidity. Thier interaction makes for a genuinely enjoyable listen. While not exactly 'free-jazz', Free Flying is one too good to pass over!

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Weekend Round Up: Bobrytskyy, Old Time Musketry, Ambrosio et al.

By Paul Acquaro

Stanislav Bobrytskyy & Mikhail Paramzin - Draft Communication (self released, 2012) ****

Keyboardist Stanislav Bobrytskyy, whom we first covered back in Spring, is back, and this time with guitarist Mikhail Paramzin. Like last time, the duo format seems to fit Bobrytskyy well, his playing is intimate and he is a supportive listener unafraid to state his own musical opinions. It is not without some self awareness that the album is entitled Draft Communication.

Listening to the track 'Kitchen Talk', you hear the two electric instruments engaged in a dark dialog, the guitar sticks to single note lines and some light extended techniques, while the keyboard weaves sinuously around the somewhat amorphous foundations. 'Beyond C. E. Shannon's Tablecloth' presents a much different sound. Still steeped in deep listening, the two converse in a more tunefully lush manner, the guitar tone still sharp but providing more tonal clusters to contrast with the keyboards.

Check it out, like his previous recording, he has it at Bandcamp page for listening and free download. 

Old Time Musketry - Different Times (SteepleChase/LookOut, 2012) ***½

Different Times is a well thought out album. It contains a nice mix of old-time jazz and folksy themes, while the tight group interplay provides a thoroughly modern jazz sound. Songs like 'Star Insignia' and 'Hope for Something More' begin with reserved melodies and build slowly with stately tension. The ensemble's playing is strong, compositions are often catchy, and the album has a sort of overall laid back vibe -- that is until 'Undewater Volcano' comes along, a rhythmically throbbing post-hard-bop-modern-jazz-like composition with the just the right touch of the shimmering electric piano.

The group is drummer Max Goldman, pianist, accordionist and composer JP Schlegelmilch, Bassist Phil Rowman and sax and clarinetist Adam Schneit, all currently located in the bustling borough of Brooklyn.

Check out 'Underwater Volcano' live.

Dave Ambrosio / Jacob Garchik / Jacob Sacks / Vinnie Sperrazza - 40Twenty (Yeah Yeah Records, 2012) ****

While we're on to modern jazz, this is a new group well worth talking about. Comprised of trombonist Jacob Garchik, keyboardist Jacob Sacks, bassist David Ambrosio, and drummer Vinnie Sperazza, 40Twenty is a nice document, a studio effort after a several week residency at Ibeam in Brooklyn last January. The resulting album is a fine mix of modern jazz mixed with a subtle reverence of the past and an irresistible energy moving it forward.

The blending is readily apparent in the opening notes of the kick off tune 'Jan 20'. The irregular rhythm is neatly offset by the trombone's jaunty melody, which itself is an instrument that can sound simultaneously nostalgic and avant-garde. And throughout, the playing is engaging and melodic. While sticking with the more established roles of the rhythm section, harmonic development and song structure, the group employs thoroughly updated techniques and musical devices to make this a real joy to hear, like Garchik's solo and the groups interplay on 'Soon Enough' and the abstract-isms on 'One Five'. Beautiful album.

© stef

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Ran Blake and David Fabris – Vilnius Noir (NoBusiness, 2012) ***½

By Troy Dostert

Ran Blake has had an abundantly prolific career as a quirky, idiosyncratic, and cerebral pianist who offers performances that are consistently thoughtful and refined, yet with occasional twists of suspense or wry humor that just manage to prevent the listener from getting too comfortable.  He’s made some terrific recordings over several decades of work; more recently, his solo outing from 2006 (All That Is Tied) was a real gem of a disc, and it showcased Blake’s undeniable originality and still-vibrant creativity at the ripe old age of 70.

On this recording Blake is teamed up with David “Knife” Fabris, with whom Blake has worked previously on a couple of discs on the Hatology label (Silver Noir; Something to Live For).  Significantly, the two musicians only play together on half of the tracks; and on one of those (“Driftwood”), Fabris and Blake each take half the tune, making the song essentially two solos placed back-to-back rather than a joint endeavor.  This is unfortunate, since Blake and Fabris clearly have a strong rapport, developing moments of interesting synergy on cuts like the opening “Vilna/Turning Point,” which offers some mysterious musings from both players in a very noir-ish vein, in keeping with the central theme of the disc.  The same can be said of their brief treatment of “Mood Indigo” to close the record, where Blake and Fabris offer a delicately counterbalanced study of the Ellington classic.  But with this interplay a factor on only half of the cuts on the record, the other tracks stand or fall as solo efforts from each artist.

And when it comes to the solo tracks, here Blake gets the better of Fabris by a considerable margin.  Blake is his usual self here, offering consistently interesting and every-so-slightly off-kilter renderings of everything from a melancholy traditional Jewish folk tune (“Shlof mayn kind”) to the jaunty and slightly more upbeat “In pursuit” to a very Blake-worthy interpretation of Stevie Wonder’s “My Cherie Amour.”  Even though Blake has offered more dynamic range and stylistic variation on other discs, and his playing here tends to be somewhat more restrained and less adventurous overall, there’s still a consistency to the quality of his playing that repays repeated listens.  Unfortunately, the same can’t always be said for Fabris, who’s not Blake’s equal when it comes to being able to hold his own as a solo performer.  His sound has a very bluesy, expansive, and open feel to it, which is rather compelling in itself.  But on the tracks he’s given here Fabris doesn’t always develop his ideas fully, offering brief patterns and phrases that don’t really go anywhere.  While he establishes an intriguing groove on “Driftwood,” his solo doesn’t do enough to sustain interest; the overall effect is of a pleasant, yet ultimately unsatisfying exploration of the tune that gradually tapers off, at which point Blake comes in with one of his patented chordal exclamations, paving the way for him to close out the tune with more authority than Fabris is able to muster during his portion of the track.

There are moments on this disc with real promise and potential, to be sure; but the recording’s fragmented quality results in its having a bit of an identity crisis.  As a full duo disc, it might have been much stronger on the whole.


You can buy the album from instantjazz.com

© stef

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Culture Of Un - Moonish (Bocian, 2012) ****

By Stef    

Reality is sometimes to be found in the cracks of what we perceive, in the fissures in walls, through holes in fences, through torn curtains, through broken shutters, yet even then there is hardly anything to grasp, to connect or frame. The picture is incomplete, evasive, unknownable but because of this quality, is it creates attention, it attracts, it forces you to look closer, to come closer, to look differently, to actively search for other means of coming to grips with what is already gone, what disappears before your eyes.

It is in this space that the music of David Brown on guitar and Chris Abrahams (The Necks) on piano comes to live. What they bring has a kind of natural feeling of familiarity:  you hear guitar and piano, you sense some pulse, some repetition even, but never long enough to comprehend it, to predict it, to anticipate it. This constant and soft-spoken renewal of simple sounds has an effect of fresh surprise.

Yet there is a story somehow, some unity that keeps it all together, some drama even, as in "The Saw Had A Job To Do That Summer" in which some electrical instrument breaks through the sound, after which the music falls like percussive shards into nothingness, and gets built up again, note by note. With the beautiful "Watery For Two Days", the album ends in repetitive yet changing flowing piano phrases, with muted guitar sounds offering cross-currents and other obstructions, sometimes moving along, often going against the grain.

Clever and beautiful music.


© stef

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Joe Morris & Agustí Fernández - Ambrosia (Riti Records, 2011) ****

By Paul Acquaro

This guitar and piano duo album from Joe Morris and Agustí Fernández is an outing by like minded improvisors, happily extending the definition of melody and the physical limitations of their respective instruments. Between rich acoustic tones they scratch and pluck in unintended places, creating rhythm and melody in adventurous ways.

The series of improvisations begin with "Ambrosia 1", which finds Fernández delivering fleeting phrases on the keys while Morris, reacting, provides counter argument via his fretboard. The two build in intensity, playing melodies and rhythms that interact but are each quite complete on their own. At times one may drop out, leaving the lone voice to pursue its own path, but soon they reunite to further explore the boundaries of the song.

As "Ambrosia 2" demonstrates, the first song was a showcase of possibilities, not a template. This time around, Fernández is fully exploiting the inside of the piano, developing a hypnotic percussive motif while Morris plucks, scratches, and mutes his lightening quick runs to create an alternately percussive accompaniment. "Ambrosia 3" exploits the full range of the keyboard, Fernández laying out deep rhythmic figures while Morris parries with precise flights across the freeboard.

"Ambrosia 4" is essentially the sound one may hear in their soul as they descend towards hell. Working on the guts of the piano Fernández creates dark passages that sloughs the skin and lets Morris pick the bones. There are moments when one may feel they just may make it out alive, a softening, a lighter spot perhaps, but soon the terror begins again ... and this on acoustic instruments! It's quite a fantastic ride. The last two improvs do not disappoint either, both employing their own interesting devices.

Mixing conventional and extended techniques, melodies and harmonies, this duo creates a shifting landscape of sound. From swirling clouds that are dark and grainy, to ones that are fragmentary and fleeting, these improvisors uses all of their respective instruments to elicit texture and song.

© Paul Acquaro 

     

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Matthew Shipp & Mark O'Leary - Labyrinth (FMR, 2009) ****½

Without making too many concessions to their own personal styles, pianist Matthew Shipp and electric guitarist Mark O'Leary find each other quite well on this duo release of fully improvised pieces. Both musicians have a very broad scope, ranging from more rock-influenced fusion, over traditional jazz, over free to avant-garde and back again. What they demonstrate here is just music. Hard to classify. They interact with notes, often touching upon subgenres, but without falling into known patterns, just driven forward by the thoughts inspired by the other. Some moments are close to romanticism, others close to fusion, or modern jazz, or modern classical, but just little hints, like doors opened yet not entered, weaving interesting musical textures, often rapid and nervous, which seems to be O'Leary's normal musical state, and one which works well with Shipp's dense percussive style, sometimes slow and precise, shying away from clear melody, yet lyrical all the way. Even if the first piece is very abstract, with the two musicians trying to find common ground, on the second piece, "Secret Miracle", they start echoing each other, slowing down the tempo, and coming up with solutions that sound pre-meditated, but because they are not, the music keeps this kind of floating openness that is hard to grasp or to describe. The unity is enhanced by the two musicians sticking to their lead instruments in their prime use, Shipp playing acoustic throughout, once in a while directly plucking his strings, O'Leary playing his electric guitar, mostly very soft and low-toned, with lots of sustain, and extreme clarity of tone, except on one track, "The House Of Asterion", on which the sound is more distorted, speedy delivery becoming essential, and when Shipp creates a magnificent and dramatic repetitive phrase, O'Leary joins whole-heartedly, drops the theme for some dark improv only to come back to the theme later, changing and exchanging ideas and moods without losing focus. Another highlight of the album are "Mosaic", a slow and eery piece, that evolves quite interestingly, also in tone, despite its coherence.

The album is dedicated to and inspired by Argentinian author Jorge Luis Borges, whose approach to literature was quite unique, light and playful on the surface, unintelligible and profound in its underlying meaning, deliberately disorienting readers by leading them into the contradictions of rationality and reality itself, full of surreal images, dreamlike and nightmarish. Both musicians do an excellent job at capturing some of these characteristics. Borges was interested in mirrors, in doppelgänger, symmetries and asymmetries, and Shipp and O'Leary reflect this quite well, soloing together - it's hard to say who is leading who and who plays background for the other, speaking with one voice, only doing different things. Some tracks, such as "Coptic Night", sound composed, just for its almost telepathic interplay. Very ambitious, very original, very succesful.

Listen to Coptic Night


Buy from Instantjazz.
© stef

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Marc Ducret & Benoît Delbecq - Bleu Sur Scène (Sans Bruit, 2008) ****

French guitarist Marc Ducret is best known for his collaborations with Tim Berne, but he already has close to a dozen own releases. French pianist Benoît Delbecq has played with numerous musicians, including Evan Parker, François Houle, with the French Kartet, recently with Poolplayers, and he has of course also released several own CDs. I think Ducret and Delbecq played only once together on a record and that is on Ducret's "Qui Parle". This duo recording is a live performance from 2006 and it is excellent. Delbecq's prepared piano creates unusual sounds and timbres, creating a slow eery environment on "Asiatiques", the first track. On the second track Ducret's guitar is more prominent and both musicians create an odd-metered composition, halting and moving forward, unison and in counterpoint, moving away from each other and coming back again. As usual, Ducret's guitar sounds unusual. Yet despite the unusalness of both musicians, and despite the adventurousness of the often eery compositions and improvisations, this music sounds gentle, familiar and close, intimate even. The lyricism is absolute, and this without the need for an obvious melody, they can relinquish known sounds without needing to create chaotic dissonance. On some tracks, such as "Un Peu D'Histoire", the music is built around shifting rhythmic patterns, and hardness of playing, which can move a single piece from dramatic to more intimate moments. But the duo is at its best when Delbecq uses his extended piano techniques to the full, as on "Le Même Jour", creating outlandish sounds with his left hand, while playing a tune with the right hand, echoed by long notes from Ducret, giving the music a depth which is quite unexpected from a duo setting. Ducret's playing has the same intensity, moving from gentle playing over high-toned sounds or the musical equivalent of shards of glass. Interesting and very creative music.

And the album is the second release on - again - a new French label, Sans Bruit. Let's hope they bring us more music of the same quality in the future.

Listen and download from Sans Bruit, for a democratic 6 euro.

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Ketil Björnstad & Terje Rypdal - Live In Leipzig (ECM, 2008) ****

Two Norwegians with long-standing reference on the ECM label play a live album, recorded in Leipzig, Germany. Björnstad on piano, Rypdal on guitar. Two musicians that are not alike at all in style, yet very close in mood. Björnstad is classically trained, and plays in a rich romantic, impressionistic style. Rypdal comes from a rock background, and has hence a much more direct approach, not hindred by a broad guitar technique. But technique is one thing, playing music and making music is something else, and both are absolute masters at that, Rypdal even more than Björnstad, I think. But in essence, both are romantics, and it's not surprising that they meet in a jazz environment. Despite their difference in approach and style, they meet each other in perfect harmony of mood and musical vision. Rypdal's typical distorted high-toned full chamber full reverb guitar sound clashes with the piano's unadultered sound, but only initially. Once you get used to the combination, it works. It is clear that Björnstad has the lead, setting out the themes of the songs, with Rypdal reacting in counterpoint, or giving harmonic depth to the melody, or expanding it in wild improvisations. "The Sea II" demonstrates the full range of what these musicians can offer : emotional power, sentimental and musical explorations without becoming cheap, playing music that is as much Debussy as it is Pink Floyd or jazz. On the last-but-one track Rypdal takes the lead from Björnstad, creating a dark multilayered guitar synth environment full of echo and feedback, as a lead-in to the grand finale, which is jubilant, joyful and as expansive as you might hope for. I once was a fervent fan of Rypdal (especially for his "Odissey" (vinyl version) or his trio with Miroslav Vitous and Jack DeJohnette, both on ECM and highly recommended), but lost interest once he became too mellow and déjà-vu. But this one is great. Melodic, intimate and expansive, and the audacious confrontation between the soft and subtle piano with the sustained wailing guitar works well, works very well.

Listen and download from iTunes.

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