The Rempis Percussion Quartet - Hunter-Gatherers (482 Music, 2007) ***½

Dave Rempis has long been - and still is - the second reed-player next to Ken Vandermark in the Vandermark 5, together with Tim Daisy on drums. Both musicians are joined on this double CD by Frank Rosaly, also on drums, and Anton Hatwich on bass, for a great live performance. Despite the strong rhythm section, the music on this album is very light, free-flowing jazz, showcasing of course the powerful skills of Rempis on sax. And it's good for him to get out of Vandermark's shadow. Rempis' style is lyrical and melodic, and the long pieces offer him the possibility for lots of expansion on the themes and stylistic variations, from real free blowing to more traditional bop, over softer more subdued moments. The second track "The Bus And The Canyon" is a variation on Jimmy Giuffre's "The Train And The River". The greatest joy of the album is the clear pleasure that musicians and audience seem to find in this high quality improvizations that keep focusing on producing great music without any pretence.

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Marilyn Mazur & Jan Garbarek - Elixir (ECM, 2008) ****½

Danish master percussionist Marilyn Mazur and Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek join forces for this beautiful album. Mazur has been the percussionist on many Garbarek albums, but here it's clear that she holds the reins. Many of the 21 tracks are percussion only, with interesting rhythms, lots of attention to sound and even more to balanced compositional precision. Mazur's approach is almost zen-like, offering clear and accurate touches, with every percussive hit of one of her many drums, cymbals, bells, ... asking for individual attention. This minimalistic approach is of course perfectly suited for Garbarek's clear and spacy playing. Some pieces are entirely spiritual in nature, such as "Mountain Breath", on which Garbarek plays flute and Mazur's handling of her cymbals gives an electronic-sounding effect, yet most of the tracks are more tribal, folkloric, drawing upon some deep feelings of belonging, in sync with the flow of nature, not in a detached way, but with soul. I used to be a fan of Garbarek - decades ago - then I lost interest in him because his ice-cold, often rhythm-less playing no longer touched me, but here, I think Marilyn Mazur managed to give him back his soul - listen to "Totem Dance" as an example of this. And that she manages to do this with the limitations of percussion instruments only, is a major feat in itself. And that she manages to create captivating music with percussion only, is even more impressive. Highly recommended.

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Rob Reddy - The Book Of The Storm (Reddy Music, 2007) **½

Last year Rob Reddy's "A Hundred Jumping Devils" brought him a little away from the fixed compositional patterns of his previous releases, but unfortunately with "The Book Of The Storm", he falls back into them, with recognizable structures, phrases and tempo, creating a dragging, funereal feel which starts irritating after a while. The major change compared to earlier albums is the orchestral performance, which is not really big band, but more cinematic, full of melodramatic effects. This is music made to impress, contained in itself, suffocating at times, arrogant at others. Some of the themes and melodies sound almost as if they have been copied from his "However Humble" or "Post-War Euphoria", with references to Ellington and the blues, only the arrangements are a little more complex due to the size of the band. And it's not easy to use a big band to play avant-garde jazz. Graham Collier has done some work on this level, but here too often with the same major flaw : too much orchestration without a deep sense of swing or soul, comes across as pompous. Only on the last track "Amongst The Ruins" does some real tension arise, but that's hardly enough to make this a worthwhile record.

Rob Reddy, composer and conductor
Oscar Noriega, clarinet and bass clarinet
Steve Elson, flute and soprano saxophone
Cochemea Gastelum, alto saxophone
Tim Otto, soprano and tenor saxophones
Lisa Parrott, soprano and baritone saxophones
John Carlson, trumpet
Bob Scarpulla, trumpet
Mark Taylor, French horn
Lis Rubbard, French horn
Curtis Hasselbring, trombone
Charles Burnham, violin
Sarah Bernstein, violin
Marlene Rice, viola
Mary Wooten, cello
Dom Richards, double bass
Brandon Ross, acoustic and electric guitars
Jon Margulies, electric guitar
Pheeroan akLaff, drums
Guillermo E. Brown, drums

Listen to samples
Spacious Skies/Faithless Bells
God Damn
Fool's March
Among The Ruins

You can buy or download from CDBaby.

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Amir ElSaffar - Two Rivers (Pi Recordings, 2007) ****½

Lots of world jazz tends to do some work on the surface, superficially blending atmospheres and styles, but luckily once in while a musician manages to delve deep into the music itself, identifying the essence of several musical languages and forms, and truly bringing them together to create a new voice. This album definitely belongs to the second category. Amir ElSaffar, a US-based trumpeter, but born and raised in Iraq, creates his own style, based on the Arabic maqam style, with traditional instrumentation and vocals, but adding the expressive power of jazz instruments and the nervous enthusiasm of jazz itself, with both genres running together or transitioning smoothly into each other to create a coherent whole. This is probably the most successful blend of the genres, next to Rabih Abou-Khalil, that I've come across. As I said earlier, few genres apart from jazz are sufficiently open to integrate other influences without creating musical conflicts. The band consists of Amir ElSaffar on santoor, vocals, trumpet; Rudresh Mahanthappa on alto saxophone; Zafer Tawil on violin, oud, dumbek; Tareq Abboushi on buzuk, frame drum; Carlo DeRosa on bass, and Nasheet Waits on drums. With those musicians, you can go a long way, but El Saffar's trumpet playing is also excellent. He manages to replicate the long deep yearning and plaintive phrases that are so typical for Arabic singing into his trumpet-playing, including the microtonals and rhythmic complexities. To his credit, he often sticks very close to the traditional form, singing beautifully and full of deep-felt emotions, but these parts shift easily into intense interplay with the rest of the band, with long unisono lines, moving into improvizations which are either jazz or middle-eastern, yet perfectly comfortable with one another. Mahanthappa's sax-playing also fits perfectly with this music, as he is also a master in working on the tonal shades of his instrument. Great music, great band. Not to be missed!

The CD can be downloaded from iTunes.

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Solo Sax

Piano (and guitar?) aside, I think that most solo jazz albums were made by sax-players, with solo recordings already dating back to the early years of jazz recording in the thirties and fourties. Like with solo trumpet CDs, the whole range is covered from enjoyable albums, over show-off exercises to avant-garde sound explorations (Rosenberg, Zorn). Some are solo but dubbed (Surman) or the musician plays several instruments (McPhee). In 2007 no less than 9 solo sax albums were released (and I'm sure I missed some). The great thing about solo recordings is the uncompromising exposure by the musician, showing his music in all its individual power and vulnerability. I am a great fan of Joe McPhee, and his albums are certainly worth looking for, but so are Lacy, Braxton and Evan Parker. Of the younger generation, John Butcher is probably the real heir of these famous solo saxophonists, and his latest "Geometry Of A Sentiment" is an adventurous gem.

2007 releases

Joe McPhee - Soprano
Anthony Braxton - Solo Willisau
John Butcher - Geometry Of A Sentiment
Sam Newsome - Monk Abstractions
Steve Coleman - Invisible Paths: First Scattering
Sonny Simmons - Ecstatic Nostalgia
Laura Toxvaerd - N° 1
Urs Leimgruber - Solo 13 Pieces For Saxophone
Christine Sehnaoui - Solo

List of sax solo albums (non-exhaustive, no ranking)

Sonny Rollins - The Solo Album
Lee Konitz - Lone-Lee
Lee Konitz - Solo
Marion Brown - Solo Saxophone
Joe McPhee - Tenor
Joe McPhee - As Serious As Your Life (not only sax)
Joe McPhee - Everything Happens for a Reason
Steve Lacy - Solo: Live At Unity Temple
Steve Lacy - Actuality
Steve Lacy - Hooky
Steve Lacy - Weal & Woe
Steve Lacy - Remains
Steve Lacy - Solo at Egg Farm
Steve Lacy - Clinkers
Steve Lacy - Materioso Monk's Mood
Steve Lacy - 10 of Dukes + six originals
Steve Lacy - 5 x Monk 5 x Lacy
Steve Lacy - Solo : Live At Théâtre Du Chêne Noir
Anthony Braxton - For Alto
Anthony Braxton - Saxophone Improvisations Series F.
Anthony Braxton - Alto Saxophone Improvisations 1979
Anthony Braxton - Compositions 113
Anthony Braxton - 19 (Solo) Compositions
Anthony Braxton - Wesleyan (12 Alto solos)
Anthony Braxton - Solo (NYC)
Anthony Braxton - Solo (Köln) 1978
Anthony Braxton - Solo (Milano) Vol. 1 & 2
Anthony Braxton - Solo (Pisa)
Anthony Braxton - Live At Moers Festival
Evan Parker - Saxophone Solos
Evan Parker - Monoceros
Evan Parker - Chicago Solo
Evan Parker - Time Lapse
Evan Parker - The snake decides
Peter Brötzmann - No Nothing
Peter Brötzmann-14 Love Poems
Peter Brötzmann - Solo - Wolke In Hose
Ken Vandermark - Furniture Music
John Surman - Road to St. Ives (with electronics)
Urs Leimgruber-Goletter
Mats Gustafsson-Improposistions
David Liebman - Colors
David Liebman - The Tree
David Murray - Solo Live
Roscoe Mitchell- Solo
Roscoe Mitchell- Sound Songs
Roscoe Mitchell - Solo Saxophone Concerts
Kaoru Abe - Solo. 1972.1.21
Kaoru Abe - Solo. 1972.7.13
Kaoru Abe - Solo. 1972.4.11
Kaoru Abe - Solo - Live At Gaia Vol. 1-9
John Butcher-Fixations (14)
John Butcher - Thirteen Friendly Numbers
John Butcher - London And Cologne
John Butcher - Invisible Ear (with synth)
Gianni Gebbia - Arcana Major/ Sonic Tarots Sessions
Gianni Gebbia - H Portraits
Gianni Gebbia - Body Limits
Paul Dunmall - Solo (Soprano Saxophone)
Paul Flaherty - Whirl of Nothingness
Daunik Lazro - ZongBook
Vinny Golia - Solo
Larry Stabbins - Monadic C
Sam Rivers - Portrait
Lol Coxhill - The Dunois Solos
Lol Coxhill - Solo
Lol Coxhill - Out To Launch (except 1 track)
Trevor Watts - World Sonic
Joe Giardullo - No Work Today (Nine for Steve Lacy)
Frank Gratkowski - Artikulationen
Frank Gratkowski - Artikulationen 2
Phillip Greenlief - Stalking Andrei
Jack Wright - Places To Go
Jack Wright - Up For Grabs
Scott Rosenberg - V
Stephane Rives - Fibres
Bhob Rainey - The Withered Grasses
Assif Tsahar - Ayn Le-Any
Kang Tae Hwan - Seven Breaths
Carlo Actis Dato - The Moonwalkers
Ned Rothenberg - The Crux: Selected Solo Wind Works 1989-1992
Ned Rothenberg - Solo Works : The Lumina Recordings (not entirely solo)
Rudi Mahall - Solo (bass clarinet)
John Zorn - A Classic Guide to Strategy
Sweet Sue Terry - Pink Slimy Worm
Masahiko Okura - Solo
Masayoshi Urabe - Solo
Paul Termos - Solo 84-85
Christine Sehnaoui - Solo

More in the modern classical genre
Claude DeLangle - The Solitary Saxophone
Susan Fancher - Ponder Nothing

Watch a Ned Rothenberg video from Youtube, demonstrating his fabulous circular breathing technique (+ musicality + emotions = staggering!).

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Chris Gestrin - After The City Has Gone: Quiet (Songlines, 2007) *****

What a wonderful album! Canadian pianist Chris Gestrin invites fellow Canadians over for some intimate free pieces, with extreme emotional depth and musical explorations, all quiet, tentatively, on tip-toe, ... The ambiguity of the title "After The City Has Gone: Quiet" is also reflected in the music. Is this music for deep pain after the irrevocable destruction of a city, funereal music in remembrance of and respect for the dead, or is it all night music, to be played softly so as not to disturb those sleeping? It's hard to tell, but the music could reflect both feelings of loss and quiet. And the improvization takes many forms : solo, duo, trio with the following musicians : Joseph Pepe Danza on shakuhachi, percussion, hang and ney; Ron Samworth on guitar; Miles Black on piano; Peggy Lee on cello; Jon Bentley on saxophones; Bernie Arai on drums; Gordon Grdina on guitar and dobro; Bill Clark and JP Carter on trumpets; Jeremy Berkman on trombone, Jesse Zubot on violin; Dylan van der Schyff on drums. Although the overall mood and musical approach is very similar on all tracks, generating a strong sense of unity, the always changing line-up leads to some surprising angles of approach, not only borrowing from various musical heritages, ranging from straight-ahead jazz over blues and middle-eastern music to more zen-like meditational pieces, but also using the various instruments and the musicians' skills to explore timbre, texture, harmonic changes. For most tracks no pre-conceived patterns or melody seem to have been prepared, yet the interplay and the guest musicians' ability to step into Gestrin's approach and dig into it, is astonishing. The overall effect is positively unique : minimalistic and rich, sweet-sounding free improv. Highly recommended.

Listen and download from eMusic.

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Peter Evans Quartet - ! (Firehouse 12, 2007) ****

Peter Evans is without a doubt a technically very gifted trumpeter, who now released his first album with a band, consisting of Brandon Seabrook on guitar, Tom Blancarte on bass and Kevin Shea on drums. Evan's own definition offers a good description of the music : "a combination of influences that are near and dear to the all the members of the group (the great recorded Jazz of the 50’s and 60’s, abrasive noise music, wild and kinetic free improvisation) to give the listener something searing, intense, and honest." He has played in all kinds of settings : from baroque classical music to the extreme avant-garde of his solo album "More is More", with in between the more boppish "Mostly Other People Do The Killing", or the avant free "Carnival Skin". His first quartet CD can again be positioned in between the two latter CDs (can you still follow?), or with other words : an avant free indirect rendition of standard material. In that respect the four musicians are uncompromising : they do what they do as they see fit, interacting strongly and rapidly, creating intense yet precize new musical forms, often angular, offering suprising and interesting vistas, sometimes broad cinematic pictures. Yet the music is not as hermetically closed as some of his other projects. If there is one downside to the album - and that's a sentiment I often have with more avant-garde music where new musical forms get all the attention - it's the fact that the emotional component is at times a little bit neglected, with the exception of the piece called "Frank Sinatra" and the last track, which are truly excellent.

Listen or buy from Firehouse 12 or eMusic.

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György Szabados & Miklós Mákó - A Szépség Szive (Fonó Records, 2004) ****½

On the look-out for new things, I borrowed this album from my media library yesterday, unable to understand anything on the cover or liner notes because everything is in Hungarian. I now know the title means "Heart Of Beauty", and that's what this record has to offer indeed. György Szabados plays piano and Miklós Mákó trumpet. The music is refined, sophisticated and adventurous, melancholy at times, abstract at others. Both musicians don't take the route for easy success or cheap moody effects. They venture together into a musical area that links modern jazz with modern classical music, opening up carefully composed pieces with improvizational adventure, sometimes into areas of atonality, while remainging relatively accessible at the same time. Great musicianship and a strong musical statement.

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Rockingchair (Chief Inspector, 2007) ***½

Rockingchair is the first CD by the band with the same name, the initiative of Airelle Besson (trumpet, flugelhorn, violin) and Sylvain Rifflet (sax, clarinet, keyboards), here assisted by Pierre Durand on guitar, Eric Jacot on bass and Nicholas Larmignat on drums. The music is in the same vein as Chris Speed, Jim Black and Cuong Vu, mixing jazz, rock and folk or world music elements into a very modern brew, with an appealing sense of beauty and lyricism, often due to the long unisono lines between the two horns, supported by rock-like beat of the rhythm section. Because of their creativity they manage to avoid a too mellow approach. Indeed, at times the band creates fireworks, with heavy guitar-playing and drums, while trumpet and clarinet soar high above the noise. There isn't too much soloing in the jazz sense, the overall sound and musical mood gets preference here over the individual expression of the musicians, which doesn't mean they don't have the capabilities. On the third track, Besson leads the tune, demonstrating her skills on trumpet in a wonderful ballad, accompanied by electric guitar and bass. This melancholy mood is professionally destroyed by its successor "Fly Away" (listen to sample below), starting with electronics and guitar noise, evolving into an uptempo piece with lots of variation, and again great trumpet and sax work by the two leaders. "Désert", offers more middle-eastern influences, both rhythmically and melodically, with Besson playing the violin, and subtle acoustic guitar work by Pierre Durand. The compositions are very often very dramatic in their structure and tone, cinematic at moments, intimate at others. Excellent album, with creative ideas, solid musicianship, accessible, balanced, yet with its own distinct voice.

Listen to
Forget It
Fly Away

You can download the entire album from their website.

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Steve Lehman - Manifold (Clean Feed, 2007) ****

Saxophonist Steve Lehman is pretty productive, releasing two excellent albums in a few months time, one live album with a quartet and a studio album with a quintet.

Steve Lehman - Manifold (Clean Feed, 2007) ****


The quartet record brings a live performance given in the Salão Brazil club in Coimbra, Portugal, with John Hebert on bass, Jonathan Finlayson on trumpet, Nasheet Waits on drums and Lehman himself on alto. Lehman's love for complex rhythms and curious compositions comes even better to the fore here than on his previous albums. The first track is all rhythmic excitement with a great trumpet-drums intro, and the short second track also has an kind of start-stop feel to it, hectic and calm at the same time, using counterpoint as a key ingredient in this and all other compositions. My favorite track is Dusk, the long third piece, and probably because it is more down-tempo, or because the musicians get more possibilities to improvize. And that's the real quality of this album, it's more free than the studio album, it offers more openness, enabling the musicians to demonstrate their musicianship. It's as a consequence more emotional, and less cerebral than the studio album, and it therefore gets my preference. The only downside is the background chatter of the not always so attentive audience at times, but that's a minor comment.

Steve Lehman - On Meaning (Pi Recordings, 2007) ***

The studio album goes even further in its intricacy. And while the total time is limited, the short, complex, dense tracks are at times breath-taking, requiring lots of concentration from the musicians to tackle the many challenging parts. The unusual rhythms often made me think of Rudresh Mahanthappa and Vijay Iyer's work. The latter is of course his band-mate in Fieldwork, together with drummer Tyshawn Sorey. Sorey also participates here, together with Jonathan Finlayson on trumpet, Chris Dingman on vibraphone and Drew Gress on bass. Now, I know this record has been praised by many reviewers, including the New York Times. My concern with the music is that its complexity is stifling, with the melodic elaboration and pure musicality suffering from too much organisation, too many little aspects of twists and turns, too angular. It is a technical feat, for sure, but at the expense of the music at times. The fluidity and emotional directness of the live album are insufficiently present here.

You can listen and download Manifold from eMusic.com.

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