Nate Wooley, Christian Weber, Paul Lytton – Six Feet Under (NoBusiness, 2012) ****

By Daniel Sorrells

“Playing in a trio is very tricky for me, honestly.” In a 2009 interview for Bagetellen, trumpeter Nate Wooley describes struggling with the trio dynamic, often feeling as though someone must end up the “wild card,” running the risk of jutting awkwardly into the musical conversation. But he also goes on to describe trios in which he’s forged singular connections, groups that have settled into unspoken modes of operation that elevate all the musicians involved.

Six Feet Under, released as a very limited LP by NoBusiness Records, was recorded a few months after that interview. Opener “Pushing Up Daisies” starts quite immediately with Wooley’s quiet, bubbling lines and the gentle scraping of bassist Christian Weber. It soon establishes the dynamic that prevails throughout the record: an almost symbiotic pairing of Wooley and Weber, supplemented subtly by Paul Lytton’s clattery percussion. Often, the bass and trumpet meld into textured drones that may as well be a single sound, with Wooley’s long, scratchy tones dissolving into the arco bass. Weber is a particularly attentive improviser: he listens closely to Wooley’s phrasings and changes in timbre, often matching or highlighting them with a speed and clarity that reminds me of the great sax-player John Butcher.

The black theme running through the song titles is fitting. The atmosphere is occult and abstract, especially in the quieter moments. “Moribund” drags itself along, beginning almost out of earshot—you find yourself holding your breath, trying to pick up on Lytton’s faint rattles and thumps. Close listening suddenly feels like eavesdropping. The patches of alien noise that erupt in “La Grande Morte” sound like attempts to conjure something dark and Lovecraftian. At times, it’s not at all clear who’s doing what, only that they must have some secret understanding of the terrain they’re investigating. Even at its loudest, there’s a measured quality to the music, an intuitive sense of direction that’s shared by all.

Final track “Check Out Time (The End)” closes with Wooley and Lytton sputtering out static, like a radio transmission that’s being lost. It funnels down into a sole, reedy note held on the trumpet, then expires with a click. It’s a perfect ending, and once again affirms that—despite his reservations—Wooley’s not only survived a trio encounter, he’s absolutely nailed it.

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Andrew Lamb - Rhapsody In Black (No Business, 2012) ****½

By Stef   


It sounds as if Andrew Lamb read my review of his previous album "The Hues Of Destiny" which was nice enough, but never really meant to make a statement. And he does on this fantastic record. He plays saxophone, flute, clarinet and conch shell, Tom Abbs plays bass, tuba and didjeridoo, and with Michael Wimberly and Guillermo E. Brown playing drums and percussion.

On "Rhapsody In Black", Lamb make a perfect mix between indigenous African music, post-bop and free jazz, and as its title suggests, an ode to black music in its entirety. The album starts with "Initiation", a hypnotic and slow piece with lots of open textures, yet with the same tension as on Jarrett's "Survivors' Suite", with percussion and bass leading the yearning dance of the sax.

The title track is again rhythm section driven, with Lamb's tenor soaring in a more uptempo way, with Abbs blowing dark toned voices out of his tuba, and even if the music looses a little bit of momentum halfway, the free improvisation moves over some military sounds to a beautiful repetitive phrase, supported by Abbs' arco playing, and the transition works perfectly.

I am usually not a fan of flute music, but Lamb's intro is quite compelling on the long  "To Love In The Rain (Portrait Of A Virtuous Woman), including some Middle-Eastern tone flexions, over a great rhythmic base, and  the conch shell sound adds a remarkable mystic depth to the piece.

The album ends with "Song Of The Miracle Lives", starting with expansive sax playing in the best free tradition, both lament and invocation, a fragile solo full of emotion and spirituality, with bowed cymbal sounds in the background offering great effects of space, and as the bass and the drums start adding pulse, so does the sax, with a repetitive rhythmic phrase, first bluesy, then playing for the stars and the universe, accompanied by enthusiastic shouts and rhythmic mayhem, yet it remains within boundaries, respectful, contained, subdued, never violent or antagonistic, but creative and fresh and sweeping.

If you really want to hear soul and spirituality and human warmth, you should listen to this album. This band masters the magic of music. An album to listen to many many times.

Superb!

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Volume - Tungt Vand (Ninth World, 2011) ****

By Paul

The double horn section of Volume is raw and slightly abrasive, in the best way possible. The saxophone and bass clarinet of Mikolaj Trzaska and trombone of Johannes Bauer titillate as they intertwine and traumatized as they battle it out with drummer Peter Ole Jorgensen and electric bassist Peter Friis Nielsen on the tracks of the live 'Tungt Vand'.

The quartet specializes in its namesake but in much more too, taking the adventurous listener on some excellent musical twists and turns. As challenging as the sound can get at times, it seems to retains a core melodic sensibility. In some way, I am reminded of the Scorch Trio in how the group approaches collective improvisation.

Space and time shape the sounds into songs. A good example is 'Megasus', a challenging tune that captures the essence of the group's approach. Starting with the distorted sounds of voices filtered through their mouthpieces, soon follows myriad scrapes, bleets and blasts. Percussive hits punctuate the atmosphere and sustained tones from the sax stretch through the sonic fog. The cacophony builds in intensity and soon the song become a dense frenetic soundscape. Snippets of melodic phrases form and dissipate quickly, often triggering other events. Over the course of eight minutes, it builds to a delightful crescendo of sound and fury, worth every moment of attention.

Overall, 'Tungt Vand' is an engaging listen, its rawness and intertwining melodies can be captivating. Made on a tour date in Poland in 2009, the recording sounds excellent, picking up the extended techniques and grandiose crescendos in living, breathing detail.


     

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Mary Halvorson Quintet - Bending Bridges (Firehouse 12, 2012) *****

By Paul

Guitarist Mary Halvorson has appeared in several recent posts on this blog and much has been written about the fresh and exciting perspective she is bringing to the guitar, however, most of the recordings documented here are projects outside her explicit leadership. While all are excellent recordings, this latest one, 'Bending Bridges' recorded with her quintet, is an exciting documentation of her evolving style and group's playing.

I had a preview peak at the charts for some of the songs when I arrived a little too late at The Stone last fall and ended up sitting behind the musicians and had a clear view of their music stands. Dense thickets of notation, like rorschach test from my vantage point, spread out across endlessly accordioning pages. I was as mystified by the charts as much as I was by the brilliant playing.

  

It's quite satisfying to hear the music that was captured for this album. The guitar is at the center of 'Bending Bridges' and its sounds and shapes are reflected in the compositions. It is an exciting set of songs that pack a lot of changes, textures, styles and space into their fairly complex arrangements and where careful consideration and space is thoughtfully given to all the musicians.

From the opening moments, there is gravitas to "Sinks When She Rounds The Bend (No. 22)". The guitar holds unusually voiced chords while the double horn line up of trumpeter Jonathan Finlayson and Saxophonist Irabagon play a slow moving melody, creating an effect like chords moving in counterpoint. Halvorson then uses single note lines, with some unexpected intervals, to bridge between quick melodies from the horns. Bassist John Hebert has an extensive solo and his interactions with drummer Ches Smith's ambient textures makes for quite a happy earful. 

     

The next tune, 'Hemorrhaging Smiles (No. 25)', is a fascinating track. From the somewhat jaunty rhythm, to the excellent solos from the horns, to the plaintive melody riding over the guitar solo, the song evolves into a distortion laden rocking affair and down in the muck free jazz exploration. The seamless blend between the free playing and composed sections seems to showcase the versatility of group and Halvorson's confident compositional skills.

Another song, 'The Periphery Of Scandal (No. 23)', has Halvorson leading off with an uptempo and sinewy melody. Recorded with the core trio of guitar, bass and drums (the quintet plays on just over half of the tunes) it becomes obvious that foundation created by the three allows the full quintet to be the 'icing on the cake'. It's great to hear Smith's tumbling solo and the connection that the trio has, and when Halvorson hits the distortion, the effects are devastatingly sublime.    

I could go on and on, but it's suffice to say that this is a highly creative and compelling set of songs that begs for repeat and close listens. For me, each time I hear it, a new layer of sound peels away and presents itself. I may be going out on a limb here but there is a kinship to Tomas Fujiwara & the Hook Up's 'The Air is Different' released last week and even the recording from Aych released a few months ago. Not just because Finlayson is a member of the Hook Up and Halvorson is a member of both, but rather in something found in the approach and spirit of the work. Perhaps it's just the proximity of their releases, but the blend of freedom and composition and the bricolage of seemingly opposed styles being melded with growing sophistication seems to be part of a journey to something new and exciting.  

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Alexander Hawkins - All There, Ever Out (Babel Label, 2012) *****

Reviewed by Joe

More original music from the UK, and a very nice one too! The young generation of UK jazzers keep on producing refreshing new music that respects the previous generation and yet builds on newer concepts. Along with the Polish scene (a little more dark in concept) the UK seems to be capable of turning out music which is truly 'genre bending' and at the same time be also accessible. When I talk about 'these' groups I think of the new generations involved with the Loop Collective, F-Ire, the LIMA and several others on the UK scene. The music that is being produced seems to be happily embraced by the younger generation of jazz lovers, meaning that the contemporary music and free-improvisation scene stays healthy and vibrant.   

Alexander Hawkins' new offering, the second I think, with his ensemble consisting of Orphy Robinson (vibes/marimba), Otto Fischer (guitar), Hannah Marshall (cello), Dominic Lash (bass), and Javier Carmona (drums) is one of these wonderful such groups. A group that produces a music that is looking for new ways to play old forms, but that in no way compromises itself (not unlike that of Taylor Ho Bynum). To a certain extent it kind of reminds me of modern day Andrew Hill way of thinking and composing. The compositions are wonderful pieces full of melody with interesting rhythmic twists and turns. Solos glide in and out of the music so naturally, giving the listener a view into the music which needs no concentration. You'll find yourself magically transported into the piece as if on a magic carpet ride. Tatum Totem III (Tk 2) rattles away like a train out of control, but who cares it's such fun to listen to. Ologbo (Double Trio) (Tk 1) is a wonderful guitar piano melody that is so awkward it has to be heard and at the same time it has a naive beauty which is perfectly balanced. The use of Orphy Robinson's marimba work is a master-stroke in this context, giving the music a wonderful combination of rhythm and melody, his solo features throughout are a highlight every time. But then again so is everyone. Cellist Hannah Marshall plays some excellent lines and solos on this record. One such moment is a fantastic duet between Dominic Lash and Ms Marshall on (Tk3) 'Owl (Friendly)/A Star Explodes 10,000 Years Ago, Seen By Chinese Astronomers' ... great title, wonderful duet! In fact it's difficult to decide what to write about on this album as there's so much to look at (I mean listen to). Ahab (Tk5) is like Beefheart meets Dolphy meets Hill meets Monk, quite a combination I suggest (?), and which also gives plenty of room to Hawkins himself to stretch out over a fine bucking bronco rhythm section.

Throughout the record there is a excellent balance of improvised music, composition and even humour (I suppose) as the melodies are what could be called 'playful', all are played with energy and precision. The final track 'So Very, Know' is a stark contrast to the rest of the album with an eerie Hammond organ that finally makes way for the atmospheric guitar of Otto Fischer who gently places chords giving the piece some still movement. In fact it's not unlike standing on a beach at night looking out into the darkness at the sea wondering 'I wonder what's out there'?     

This could be one of the albums of 2012, miss it at your peril. Or if Stef was writing this ....... Highly Recommended!

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RED Trio + Nate Wooley - Stem (Clean Feed, 2012) *****

By Stef  


Their first record was a strong musical statement, their "Empire" album with John Butcher confirmed their musical vision and that exceptional power is equalled by this new album with Nate Wooley on trumpet. RED Trio are Rodrigo Pinheiro on piano, Hernâni Faustino on bass and Gabriel Ferrandini on drums.

No doubt the RED Trio is among the most fascinating piano trios of the moment. Without relinquishing the real jazz ingredients of harmony, repeated patterns and rhythm, they push this over the limit of convention into a far more expressive and sometimes terrifying sonic universe. They are not afraid to dive off musical cliffs, then requiring all the energy and teamwork to fly with grace, moving forward coherently, using sonic clusters and high outbursts of violence to change course if needed, or stop moving at all, hoping that somehow they will land safely, and they do, they do.

Then add Nate Wooley, the iconoclast of the trumpet, the artist whose instrument can sound as if he'd ripped it open from mouthpiece to horn before he started playing, the musician who knows how to turn sound into effect with the listener. The approach is exacerbated. The match is perfect.

Whether on the great intro piece "Flapping Flight", or on the slow and mysterious second part of "Ellipse", or the fully voiced anti-rhythmic madness of "Weight Slice", or the barely audible of "Tides",  ... the match is perfect, the vision is coherent, the common tone spectacular, the outcome grandiose.

This is jazz at its very best. The opening track alone is worth the purchase. Listen how blues and bop and even romanticism are part of the language, but get distorted, intensified, turned into new levels of expressivity, in which the anguish and distress of today's life are evocated, at the same level as sweetness and beauty, of a nature that is more difficult to capture, less sentimental, but deeper, more meaningful.

Highly recommended!


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DO YOU LIKE TO WRITE ABOUT JAZZ?

Are you passionate about avant-garde and free jazz and free music and free improv and any new way of making notes and sounds collide into new listening experiences?

Do you like to write about it, to capture this listening experience in a few precise words and convey them to readers?

Do you like spending time on this without any other reward than free music some time in advance of anyone else and endless recognition by fellow passionate music fans?

Do you have open ears, an open mind and a sharp pen?

Let us know and you can join the team. No obligations, no deadlines, no editorial pressures, just love for music and quality writing.

We are looking for several reviewers so that we can be back with daily reviews.

For interest or questions, send us an email.

Thanks

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Guitars on the Sunnyside - Joel Harrison & Scott DuBois

By Paul

Scott DuBois' 'Landscape Scripture' and Joel Harrison's 'Search' were recently released on Sunnyside Records and both showcase their respective leader's guitar playing and compositional skills, however in two very different settings. While it seems that Harrison's compositions are highly detailed charts with a good deal of freedom given to the players, DuBois' seems to let the players define the shape of song. In both cases, there are references to folk, classical and a little bit of rock wrapped in a free/modern jazz approach.


Scott DuBois - Landscape Scripture (Sunnyside, 2012) ****   

'Spring Haystacks', the opening tune, gets off to a slow and probing start. DuBois' clean-toned reverb-tinged electric guitar delivers a fragmented melody over shadings from Gebhard Ullmann's bass clarinet, while the percussion and bass provide subtle momentum -- subtle at first that is. The song builds at its own pace, then maybe about a minute and a half to the end, all the pieces snap together for the payoff. Ullmann sputters and spits along with DuBois' spare melodic knots. Underneath it all, there is a deep interlocking groove, supported by strong rhythm from Thomas Morgan's bass and Kresten Osgood's drums.

'Prairie Suite' follows, starting out with just the drum and bass about at the same tempo where the last song left off. This time, while DuBois delivers a ephemeral melody, Ullmann comes in strongly on the tenor sax. Tension drives the song and momentum is built in the friction created by the rhythm section's restraint, especially when DuBois comes in with his knotty solo. I almost feel like there are echoes of Abercrombie, DeJohnette and Holland's Gateway at points. The groups interactions are exciting and driving, building up to Ullman's high energy solo, where he employs all sorts of technique to color and energize his crackling lines.

Later songs offer more pastoral and folk like leads, while others delve into free-er territory. Overall, 'Landscape Scripture' packs a lot of energy at opportune times and a good deal of economy overall. It develops slowly with intentional tension and when the energy picks up, it's riveting.


Joel Harrison 7 - Search (Sunnyside, 2012) ****

Like on 'Landscape Scripture', the songs on 'Search' are brought to life by the momentum and restraint in the writing and playing. Harrison's compositions and arrangement of all the voices in his septet shows great care and precision. Yet, there is also a certain looseness. For example, this is on display as the space that pianist Gary Versace exploits to great effect on the opening 'Grass Valley and Beyond'. The pianist builds an internal energy that passes onto the next soloist, Donny McCaslin, and subsequently his emotive tone and lines interact fantastically with the rhythm section.

Harrison's compositions provide a strong framework for the soloists to really dig into and all of the songs are interesting and complex creations. The quarter hour 'A Magnificent Death' puts the violinist Christian Howes and cellist Dana Leong to good use. The song deftly runs through several moods and feels, from the classically infused beginning to the uptempo middle section, to the swelling climaxes and the eerie spoken word section. Bassist Stephen Crump's presence is felt throughout and he locks tightly with drummer Dan Weiss in complex rhythms that take on a life of their own.

Leong's cello, which is featured prominently on a reworking of the Allman's 'Whipping Post', is vibrant and aggressive . An arrangement of 20th century composer Olivier Messiaen's 'Oh Sacrum Convivium' is an interesting recasting of the classical work. Harrison, for the most part, lets his musicians have the spotlight, taking some choice solos but mostly playing to serve the compositions.

Both of these recordings are well worth seeking out and available via eMusic, iTunes, and just maybe at your local record store (if you still have one … support them, we need them!)



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Joe McPhee & Ingebrigt Håker-Flaten - Brooklyn DNA (Clean Feed, 2012) ***½

By Stef 


Two years ago, Joe McPhee and Ingebrigt Håker-Flaten released "Blue Chicago Blues". Like the previous album, everything is likeable and high enjoyable, yet nothing is exceptional either, in the line of what you can expect. 

The DNA refers to the jazz genes or sound molecules in Brooklyn's past with the titles of the songs referring to the musicians Sonny Rollins and Dewey Redman who lived there, or jazz clubs like Putnam Central and the Blue Coronet. Both musicians use these genes to reconstruct/improvise highly modern new jazz, with McPhee on sax and pocket trumpet.

On a more personal note, some of my DNA is now also living in Brooklyn in the shape of my son. And on another personal note, the song title "Enoragt Maeckt Haght" is described as Brooklyn's motto coming from the Dutch. It is actually "Eendraght Maeckt Maght", and it indeed means "unity makes strength" in the old spelling and it is the motto of my home country Belgium, a country that is anything but united.

To come back to the music: it's free form, rhythmic, bluesy at times, fun or melancholy, with lots of references to the jazz tradition, and played by two musicians who move alike, often in perfect sync in terms of pacing and coloring, despite the fact that everything is improvised.

Enjoy!


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Tomas Fujiwara & The Hook Up - The Air is Different (482Music,2012) ****½

By Paul

The most striking aspect of Tomas Fujiwara & The Hook Up's 'The Air is Different' is perhaps its fullness. While it is essentially the same quintet that appears on 2010's Actionspeak (Trevor Dunn replaces Danton Boller on bass this time around), the compositions and group interplay seems to be more fully realized on this sophomore outing.  

The dual horns of trumpeter Jonathan Finlayson and saxophonist Brian Settles gives the group a lot of musical possibilities as the lead lines often twist and turn around each other, sometimes competing for the same space, other times interacting respectfully or doubling up. Guitarist Mary Halvorson lends some of her signature pitch bends and unique harmonic support, and provides some excellent leads as well, like on the aggressive 'Double Lake, Defined' and the slightly-off-but-still-stately melody of 'Lineage'. Dunn veers expertly between holding down effective grooves and adding touches of color, he compliments Fujiwara's playing terrifically.   

The combination of Fujiwara's compositions and musical approach really gives all the players the space and support they need to construct engaging solos. The slowly unfolding 'For Ours' features Settles working in an almost straight ahead jazz mode, with his solo punctuated by the occasional trumpet and guitar hit. Halvorson, utilizing a natural tone, sans-effects or hitting acute tonal clusters, delivers an attractively lyrical solo. 'Cosmopolitan (Rediscovery)' begins tantalizingly with oblique snippets of sound and sonic bursts that build deliciously only to be deftly organized into a delicate melody. Another highlight is the subdued restraint of 'Smoke Breathing Lights', where the group plays with tension and restraint, delivering subdued passages until almost the eight minute mark when band leader pushes the tempo and Finlayson bursts out with a vigorous statement. Throughout, Fujiwara provides a pulse and creates the textures that pulls all the parts together.

'The Air is Different' is an excellent recording from Fujiwara and The Hook Up. The group has developed a strong collective sound and the solos congeal well, blending the spirit and feel of free playing with strong compositions that play to the strengths of the groups confident, organic and melodic sound.   

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