Goran Kajfeš Subtropic Archestra - The Reason Why Vol. 2 (2014)

 Goran Kajfeš Subtropic Archestra - The Reason Why Vol. 2 (Headspin, 2014)

Personnel:

Goran Kajfeš: Trumpet, Cornet, Percussion, Synthesizer

Per "Ruskträsk" Johansson: Baritone, Alto and Sopranino Saxophone, Clarinet, Flutes

Jonas Kullhammar: Tenor and Soprillo Saxophone, Clarinet, Flute

Jesper Nordenström: Organ, Upright Piano, Synthesizer, Omnichord

Andreas Söderström: Acoustic, Electric and Lapsteel Guitar

Reine Fiske: Electric Guitar, Mellotron

Robert Östlund: Electric Guitar, Sytnthesizer

Johan Berthling: Electric and Acoustic Bass

Johan Holmegard: Drums, Percussion

José Gonzáles: Voice

Tracklisting:
01 - Dokuz Seki/Esmerim
02 - Adimiz Miskindir Bizim

03 - New Track
04 - A Lua Girou
05 - Tamzara
06 - Yet Again

It is impossible to guess where Sweden's most innovative musicians will take us when he releases the new album, but one can always be sure to have a fantastic musical adventure. Here he begins with a few covers of Turkish psychfunk from the early 70s, and it he finds a groove that beats most of what he has done before. Reine Fiske electric guitar flippers away somewhere where no electric guitar found since 1972, and Goran Kajfeš self shines when he says Ulf Adåkers mission channeling Miles most exquisite funky tones in entirely new ways. Like the mixture arkestern spoiled us with volume one, we then both Armenian folk music and Brazilian influences, in a subtly beautiful interpretation of Milton Nascimentoz "A Lua Girou". Goran Kajfeš Subtropic Arkestra excel themselves, and it is thus mixed beautifully and ridiculously captivating both jazznovisen as connoisseur in the audience must cheer. [Nöjesguiden]

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Highly recommended! This tune is already nominated to swedish Grammy! One of the best album in 2014!

And you can find "The Reason Why Vol. 1" right here!

The Auanders - Live In Pisa (2013)

The Auanders - Live In Pisa (Auand, 2013)

Personnel:

Francesco Lento: trumpet

Gaetano Partipilo: alto sax, flute

Francesco Bearzatti: tenor sax, clarinet

Francesco Bigoni: tenor sax, clarinet

Beppe Scardino: baritone sax, bass clarinet

Federico Pierantoni: trombone

Francesco Diodati: guitar

Francesco Ponticelli: double bass, electric bass

Ermanno Baron: drums

Tracklisting:

01 - Loop Bed

02 - Congo

03 - A Quarries Lamp

04 - Trumpet Garden / Erba

05 - Circle

06 - Joy Plant

07 - Leica Lenses

08 - Virus

09 - Hit

This is a co-production with the Jazzit label as well as a part Auand all-star unit. The members who are leaders of their own include: Partipilo, Bigoni, Scardino and Bearzatti, five of the members have contributed songs to this long (73+ minute) effort. Considering that this is a nine-piece ensemble with four sax players, this is more of a focused group effort with well written pieces. The opening song, “Loop Bed” is a lovely, laid back song, a righteous beginning. “Congo” features layers of Latin-sounding percussion with impressive horn arrangements and some great solos from the bari sax (Scardino), trumpet (Lento) and trombone (Pierantoni). Writing for a nine-piece unit is no easy matter as each piece provides different structures, harmonies and challenges. There are a handful of freer sections amongst the more written pieces, which seem to fit the overall story which holds this together. There a couple of more mellow pieces which feature some exquisite arrangements and elegant solos as well. [DMG Newsletter]

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Gilbert Holmström New Quintet - Tiden Är Kort (2013)

Gilbert Holmström New Quintet - Tiden Är Kort (Moserobie, 2013)

Personnel:
Gilbert Holmström: tenor saxophone
Jonas Kullhammar: stritch, tenor, baritone & bass saxophone
Magnus Broo: trumpet
Torbjörn Zetterberg: double bass
Jonas Holgersson: drums

Tracklisting:
01 - 1976
02 - Osaka
03 - Desert Walk
04 - Libero
05 - Stars Fading Blue
06 - Dog Fight
07 - Indian Chant
08 - Tiden Är Kort

Holmström, now 77 years old, is part of the Nordic jazz legacy in its various incarnations. A Charlie Parker concert at Gothenburg's Concert Hall in 1950 left a lasting impression on him and convinced him to choose a musical career over dentistry. Gilbert Holmström led his own quintet in the sixties inspired by the American free jazz of Ornette Coleman, Albert Ayler and Archie Shepp, and in the seventies his quintet— now called Mount Everest—alternated between fusion and expressive, acoustic jazz, later spiced with Latin elements. Since the mid- eighties his musical activities focused around the Jazzgalleriet in Gothenburg, his hometown, where exhibitions and concerts were organized.

Moserbie—Kullhammar's label—reissued in 2011 the classic album of Holmström quintet from 1965, Utan Misstankar (Without Suspicion), still considered one of the best Swedish jazz albums of all times. Recording Tiden Är Kort (Time is short) with a new quintet is a natural conclusion of the successful reissue. Holmstrom wrote all the compositions except the title piece, taken from the old Christian song.

Holmstrom is backed by Kullhammar and Kullhammar Quartet rhythm section—double bassist Torbjorn Zetterberg and drummer Jonas Holgersson plus the brilliant trumpeter Magnus Broo, a member of the Swedish- Norwegian quintet Atomic. This quintet enjoys supporting the articulate and commanding solos of Holmström, gently repeating and expanding his musical ideas almost like a choir, all locked in light swinging pulse. The emotional ballads "Osaka" and "Stars fading blue" highlight Holmstrom's soft and velvety tenor voice while "Desert Walk" and "Indian chant" emphasizes the tight and supportive interplay with Kullhammar and Broo, all three soaring above the hypnotic, propulsive rhythms laid by Zetterberg and Holgersson. The smoking, be-bop "Dog fight" offers Holmström opportunity to trade fast, muscular solos with Kullhammar and Broo. This heartfelt tribute to a great musical figure is concluded with a soulful ballad that injects a soft swinging pulse to an ancient hymn. [Allaboutjazz]

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Torbjörn Zetterberg - Och Den Stora Frågan (2014)

Torbjörn Zetterberg - Och Den Stora Frågan (Moserobie, 2014)

Personnel:
Torbjörn Zetterberg: double bass, percussion
Susana Santos Silva: trumpet, flugelhorn, percussion;
Mats Äleklint: trombone, percussion;
Jonas Kullhammar: tenor & baritone saxophones, clarinet, flute, percussion;
Alberto Pinton: baritone saxophone, clarinet, flute, piccolo flute, percussion;
Jon Fält: drums, percussion

Tracklisting:
01 - En Bra Start På Dagen
02 - Världen Är Sig Aldrig Lik
03 - Mästare av Vad

04 - Ingen Tid Till Ingenting
05 - DO-DODO-DO-DO-DO
06 - Hyllning Till Ovissheten
07 - 1+1=1
08 - Visa Från Mitten av Universum

Swedish double bassist Torbjorn Zetterberg did not record as a bandleader for more than seven years. Zetterberg, a member of the Jonas Kullhammar Quartet and a prominent figure in Nordic jazz since the late nineties, experienced an existential crisis at the peak of his busy, successful career. He felt bored and unsatisfied, so in 2010 he decided to leave city life and moved to a Buddhist temple without his instrument. He stayed at the temple for a year and still spends half of his time there.

Och Den Stora Fragan ("And the Big Question" in Swedish) is a welcome return. Zetterberg employs musicians who played with him before, most of them on his last album as a bandleader, Skildrar Kvinnans Kamp (Moserobie, 2008). He adds Portuguese trumpeter Susana Santos Silva, who collaborated with him on a set of impressive improvised dialogues, Almost Tomorrow (Clean Feed, 2013) and drummer Jon Falt, a member of pianist Bobo Stenson's trio.

Zetterberg states that he now feels more and more that he actually lives his dream, as he should have since the beginning of his career. Indeed Och Den Stora Fragan is charged with joyful urgency, shiny optimism and confident flowing energy, despite the doubts and uncertainties that accompany any creative, artistic process. His tight arrangements with the swift shifts in rhythm and colors bring to mind the great bands of Charles Mingus. All these qualities are immediately summarized in the opening, 30-second piece "En Bra Start Pa Dagen."

Other pieces highlight Zetterberg as a resourceful and thoughtful composer, with a gift for sketching an evocative, even exotic story, as on "Varlden Ar Sig Aldrig Lik" and "Visa Fran Mitten av Universum." The powerful reed section—Santos, trombonist Mats Aleklint and sax players Kullhammar and Alberto Pinton—produce myriad colors. Zetterberg uses the same strong, opinionated musicians to question basic composition on the open-form piece,"Mastare av Vad."

"Ingen Tid Till Ingenting" is a concise, muscular and fast post-bop piece that stresses the ensemble as a tight, massive unit. "DO-DODO- DO-DO-DO" and "1+1=1" continue in the same vein featuring brilliant, passionate solos. The clarinets of Kullhammar and Pinton add a fragile, gentle colors to the lyrical,"Hyllning Till Ovissheten," that also features a beautiful solo by Zetterberg.

Brilliant, profound and inspiring. [Allaboutjazz]

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Anna Webber - Simple (2014)

Anna Webber - Simple (Skirl, 2014)

Personnel:
Anna Webber - saxophone/flute

Matt Mitchell - piano
John Hollenbeck - drums

Tracklisting:
01 - Carnophobia

02 - Emoticon

03 - 1994

04 - Simplify, Simplify

05 - Washington

06 - I Don't Want To Be Happy

07 - Zig Zag

08 - Invisible Propulsion

09 - For Eric

Simple (Skirl 2014), New York based composer/saxophonist Anna Webber's follow up to her 2013 release "Percussive Mechanics (Pirouet 2013) finds her exploring the expressive capabilities of a trio setting. While the compositional sensibilities introduced in her first album remain, her affinity for polyrhythms being a good example, the new texture provides her the ability to play with more freedom and subtle intricacy alongside her tight arrangements. Of course, her phenomenal bandmates contribute a lot in this respect.

Joining Webber on this outing are pianist Matt Mitchell, known as an in-demand sideman who has played with such luminaries as Dave Douglas and Dan Weiss, and renowned drummer John Hollenbeck, her teacher from her time at the Jazz Institut Berlin. Both collaborators are excellent musicians in their own right and their duo playing is a joy to listen to in itself. Add Webber's inimitable inventiveness and sense of melody and time to the mix and the result is something uniquely special.

The music for the album was written on Bowen Island in British Columbia, where Webber enjoyed the opportunity to isolate herself from the busy bustle of her home in Brooklyn and allow the music to develop organically. The peaceful seclusion is evident in many of the tracks, "Washington" being a beautiful instance of what such opportunities can lead to. The beautiful colors and textures were inspired by the far off mountains of Washington state; anyone familiar with the pacific northwest can hear the picturesque landscape being evoked. Likewise "1994" suggests a calm solitude with its subdued tempo and energy and its, at times, intense use of space. The alternation of dense and open voicings in the piano accompaniment suggest the beautiful struggle of removing oneself from contemporary life, as does Webber's sometimes lyrical, sometimes dissonant melodies.

Conversely, Webber's distinctively percussive and rhythmic compositional and playing style are very much evident throughout the album. A highlight among these compositions is "I Don't Want To Be Happy." With a driving, complex rhythm at the outset leading into a much freer section with wonderful interplay, this song is less obviously connected to the quietude of an island in the pacific ocean. Yet the reality of living with oneself, and only oneself, is not always as charming as a quaint island overlooking a beautiful ocean view. "Simplify, Simplify" is far from simple; the incessant rhythm suggests the ever present struggle of being honest with oneself in such a situation. Aside from these philosophical considerations, these songs groove and have compelling melodies, rhythms and forms.

Fans of avant-garde jazz, small group interplay and unique and driving compositions will all find something to love on this record. The group featured on the album will be performing at ShapeShifter Lab in Brooklyn, NY on Thursday, September 25. [Allaboutjazz]

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Bruno Vansina Orchestra - Morning Forest aka Nose Up Bottom Down (2014)

Bruno Vansina Orchestra - Morning Forest aka Nose Up Bottom Down (Rat Records, 2014)

Personnel:

Bruno Vansina - alto saxophone
Christian Mendozza - piano
Bert Cools - guitar
Stefan Lievestro - bass
Teun Verbruggen - drums

(on tracks 1,2,4,5,7):

Malik Mezzadri - flute
John Ruocco - clarinet & tenor saxophone
Kristien Cueppens - oboe
Kensuka Taira - bassoon
Bart Indevuyst - french horn
Steven Dellanoy - tenor saxophone
Wietse Meys - tenor saxophone & clarinet
Carlo Nardozza - trumpet
Jeroen Van Malderen - trumpet & flugelhorn
Frederik Heirman - trombone
Tom Verschoren - trombone, bass trombone & euphonium
Kobe Proesmans - percussion (2, 4, 5)

Tracklisting:

1. Dark Night (10:31)
2. Fiesta Festivo (12:31)
3. Morning Forest aka Nose Up Bottom Down (5:21)
4. Ploink (11:31)
5. Groove Along (13:09)
6. Symphony Of The Fried Bananas (8:45)
7. Bike Insprivation (11:11)

Belgian saxophonist Bruno Vansina crooned and shouted his way through the Zappa-esque art rock-jazz of 2009's Nirvana Bonus and the Demons of Shame but, in sharp contrast, his Bruno Vansina Quartet (plus guest vibraphonist Steve Nelson) released the sparkling, beautifully expressive creative jazz album Stratocluster in 2012. The often stunning 2014 Rat Records album "Morning Forest aka Nose Up Bottom Down" -- credited to the Vansina Orchestra -- falls squarely on the saxophonist's creative jazz side, but on a comparatively massive scale. Here, the Vansina Quartet has expanded into a five-piece -- with leader/composer Vansina on alto, drummer Teun Verbruggen, pianist Christian Mendozza, guitarist Bert Cools, and bassist Stefan Lievestro -- augmented by an 11-piece grouping of horns and reeds arranged by Dree Peremans (and with percussionist Kobe Proesmans added on three tracks). With composition titles including "Ploink" and "Symphony of the Fried Bananas," one might expect the Vansina Orchestra to plow some of the same sometimes oddball Zappa-influenced turf as Vansina's Demons of Shame outfit or Peter Vermeersch's Flat Earth Society big band, to which the saxophonist has contributed for years. But Vansina clearly had something else in mind for his own large ensemble. Instead, Morning Forest takes inspiration from the likes of Gil Evans and Charles Mingus, sweeping the listener along through the multi-layered arrangements and deep color palette of five spacious full-orchestra compositions in the ten- to 13-minute range.

Opener "Dark Night" begins sparsely, the leader's alto reinforcing a mysterious mood over pulses and washes from the quintet before high reeds and then forceful horns open the composition to the modal explorations of clarinetist John Ruocco, the supporting ensemble building around him in a balance of beauty, tension, and drama. The pace remains measured and even ritualistic, but the piece's ultimate brightening suggests darkness giving way to a lovely sunrise. In sharp contrast, "Fiesta Festivo" and "Ploink" -- the former arranged by Vansina and Peremans and the latter by Vansina alone -- kick up the tempo with highly infectious grooves. "Fiesta Festivo" has a strong Afro-Latin flavor with numerous rhythmic shifts, ensemble permutations, and solo showcases, the track's ebullience highlighted by the freewheeling flute and exuberant vocalizing of Malik Mezzadri, while the stuttering syncopations and sharply jabbing horns of "Ploink" push into animated circularity before building to an ultra-tight finale highlighted by Verbruggen's rolling drumwork. The horns and reeds provide comparatively subtle coloration to "Groove Along" as Vansina and then Mezzadri explore the interstices formed by a slow and irregularly accented pulse, while "Bike Insprivation" brings the album to a rousing conclusion. Along the album's multifaceted journey, outliers come in two tracks from the unaccompanied quintet: the slow tango-esque title track falls within the small-combo Stratocluster aesthetic, while "Symphony of the Fried Bananas" tumbles between angular composed lines and noisy, skronky improv (with wild, effects-laden axework from Cools). The latter comes as a particular surprise, but it's as excitingly immediate as Morning Forest's full-orchestra tracks are gorgeous, atmospheric, and vibrant.
[Allmusic.com]

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Black Motor ‎– Never Out Of Fashion - Live In Amsterdam (2010)

Black Motor ‎– Never Out Of Fashion - Live In Amsterdam (Kauriala Society, 2010)

Personnel:

Sami Sippola - tenor saxophone

Ville Rauhala - double bass

Simo Laihonen - drums

Tracklisting:
A1 - Nekala High
A2 - Korpi-Kainuun Marssi / Vaarat Vastukset
B1 - Aamen
B2 - Club El Toro
B3 - Hard Man Anthem

Recorded live December 10, 2008 in OT301 Amsterdam, Holland.
Limited edition of 310 handmade, numbered copies.

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Black Motor - Jumehniemi (2012)

Black Motor - Jumehniemi (Sagittarius-A-Star, 2012)

Personnel:

Sami Sippola - tenor saxophone

Ville Rauhala - double bass

Simo Laihonen - drums

Tracklisting:
01 - Water

02 - No Spell Nor Prayer
03 - Jumehniemi
04 - Kolme Neittä Niemessä

The Black Motor on Sagittarius (after their 1st qbico release) ! probably one of best & more respected free music outfit in Europe right now, for sure they rules in Finland and especially in their own town, Tampere where they even have i think a bi-monthly night called Black Motor Klubi at legendary Club Telakka... it's for sure one of the tightest group i know of, having the chance to play a lot together and this is clearly manifest when you hear their unfocused playing... their most mature work to date ?! the fierceful album's title composition occupy all side A and it's a wild affair, while the three pieces which make up the B-side are a different deal: meditative and joyfull in the moods.

Black Motor is Sami Sippola on tenor and baritone sax, Ville Rauhala on bass, and Simo Laihonen on drums. Jumehniemi was recorded in January 2011 in Jumehniemi, Finland. "The Black Motor on Sagittarius A Star, following their 1st release on sister label Qbico! Probably one of the best & more respected free music outfits in Europe right now, for sure they rule in Finland and especially in their own town, Tampere, where they even have a bi-monthly night called Black Motor Klubi at legendary Club Telakka. It's for sure one of the tightest groups I know, having the chance to play a lot together and this is clearly manifest when you hear their unfocused playing. Their most mature work to date?! The fierce album's title composition occupies side A and it's a wild affair, while the three pieces which make up the B side are a different deal: meditative and joyfull in the moods. [INFINITE LIMITS]

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Jerry Granelli & Jamie Saft - Nowness (2014)

Jerry Granelli & Jamie Saft - Nowness (Veal Records, 2014)

Personnel:
Jamie Saft: keys

Jerry Granelli: drums

Tracklisting:
1 - First Thought Best Thought
2 - Loves Fool
3 - Tail Of The Tiger
4 - Shasta Road
5 - How To Know No
6 - International Affairs
7 - Fortune Tellers   
8 - A Heart Lost And Discovered

"You can't hear a piece of music in advance. When you listen to music, you are hearing the present music at that time. You also can't undo the past, the music that you've heard already. You can't do that; you hear the music of the moment. Now is a vast thing. Past and future can't exist without now."- Chogyam Trungpa

"NOWNESS" is the latest full length from Jerry Granelli & Jamie Saft. 100% Green Forestry Certified Eco Wallet with deluxe art and poetry by Jerry Granelli, texts from Chogyam Trungpa, and calligraphies courtesy the Nalanda Translation Committee.

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John Stevens - Fast Colour: Antwerp 1988 (1988, 2004)

John Stevens - Fast Colour: Antwerp 1988 (Loose Torque, 1988, 2004)

Personnel:
John Stevens: drums/leader
Harry Beckett: trumpet
Evan Parker: tenor saxophone
Dudu Pukwana: alto/soprano saxophones
Nick Stephens: double bass

Annie Whitehead: trombone/vocals

Pinise Saul: vocals

Tracklisting:
01 - Now Time

02 - Way It Goes

03 - John Dyani’s Gone

04 - Mbizo

05 - Way It Goes/Now Time

Great stuff came out, on an August evening in 1988, by this septet including Pinise Saul (voice), Dudu Pukwana (alto and soprano saxes), Evan Parker (tenor sax), Harry Beckett (trumpet), Annie Whitehead (trombone, voice), Nick Stephens (double bass) and John Stevens (drums). Subtitled “Suite for Johnny Mbizo Dyani”, this concert is a mixture of invocations, African rhythms and chants and, in general, musical artistry of the finest class that leaves pretty dumbstruck for its intense spirituality. Great cohesion is to be found between Stevens and Stephens, truly the septet’s heart in their incessant four-legged run through the core of a primary instinct which animates the whole album. Parker and Pukwana foster a slender feeling of liberation via ceaseless reciprocities and invasions of forbidden territories, which they visit with nonchalant studiousness corroborated by a high degree of passion. Beckett’s trumpet is featured in a stubborn solo in “Johnny Dyani’s gone”, but he also performs beautifully as a team mate in literate decodings of certain aspects of free jazz. The lyrics are sung with ardent animosity by Whitehead and Saul, who inject their interventions with determination and fortitude in a square-shouldered effort to pay homage not only to their late friend, but seemingly to a whole current of artists whose fate was sealed before they could even have a chance to show their greatness to wider audiences. Thanks to this archival material, Loose Torque is affirming itself as one of the labels most enthusiastically interested in keeping an important slice of English jazz’s pie still preserved and palatable. [Touching Extremes Archives]

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Alan Silva & Celestrial Communication Orchestra - Desert Mirage (1982)

Alan Silva & Celestrial Communication Orchestra - Desert Mirage (IACP, 1982)

Personnel:

Alan Silva: conductor
Pierre Faure: flute
Carl Schlosser: flute, piccolo
Aldridge Hansberry: flute ,alto flute
Karo: alto clarinet
Denis Colin: bass clarinet
Jean Querlier: oboe, cor anglais
Bruno Girard: violin
Pascal Morrow: violin
Didier Petit: cello
Itaru Oki: trumpet, bugle
Jeff Beer: trumpet
Serge Adam: trumpet
Bernard Vitet: trumpet
Michael Zwerin: tuba
Doménico Criseo: tuba
Francois Cotinau: tenor saxophone
Georges Gaumont: tenor saxophone
Arthur Doyle: tenor saxophone
Philippe Sellam: alto saxophone
Sébastien Franck: alto saxophone
Henri Grinberg: soprano saxophone
Antoine Mizrah: electric bass
Rosine Feferman: bass
Francis Gorge: guitar
Francois Leymarie: electric bass
Jacques Marugg: vibraphone, marimba
Adrien Bitan: vibraphone
Ron Pittner: drums
Bernard Drouillet: drums
Gilles Premel: percussion

Tracklisting:
LP 1
01 - Desert Mirage (20:06)
02 - A D N (08:20)
03 - After Coda (09:40)

LP 2
01 - February The Third (1St Part) (14:41)
02 - February The Third (2Nd Part) (09:29)
03 - Procession (10:57)

Recorded on June 25,26 & 27, 1982 at Aquarium Studio, Paris.

Rare double LP by Alan Silva and the Celestial Communication Orchestra entitled "Desert Mirage" - released in the early 80s on the French IACP label. The band includes Arthur Doyle, Itaru Oki, Bernard Vitet, Francis Gorge, Ron Pittner, and more. Great spiritual jazz or free jazz! Gatefold cover is in EX condition with just some tape at spine. These sprawling vistas - like flying and/or floating over vast sky- and landscapes. Immersed but somehow not attached. On this LP the music has sometimes a dreamlike quality (see/hear "Desert Mirage") and au contraire to his LPs on BYG the music here has a more "structured" sound. Not that I would dislike "unstructured" sounds from Alan Silva or per se...

The Silva - as ever.

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Sound & Fury - Pulsacion (2013)

Sound & Fury - Pulsacion (Ektro, 2013)

Personnel:
Jorma Tapio: alto saxophone, bass clarinet, flute
Pepa Päivinen: soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, flute
Tane Kannisto: tenor saxophone, flute
Matti Riikonen: trumpet
Julius Heikkilä: guitar
Jimi Sumén: guitar
Sampo Lassila: bass
Ilmari Heikinheimo: drums
Composed By – Edward Vesala

Tracklisting:
01 - Lamgonella Lomboo
02 - I Tell You a Story
03 - Siamese Twins
04 - Pulsacion
05 - Nattuggla
06 - Punk
07 - Shadows

For a little more than a decade before his untimely death in 1999, legendary Finnish drummer Edward Vesala led a group called Sound & Fury, which released several albums on ECM records. Largely outside of international view, the band has continued on after his death, and now returns as invigorated as ever with Pulsacion, what appears to be their first album since Nordic Gallery in 1995. Still, Pulsacion remains somewhat of a hidden gem—Ektro Records, the label run by prolific Circle bassist Jussi Lehtisalo, is known more for metal and experimental rock releases than avant-garde ensemble jazz.

Sound & Fury still contains five members from the group’s heyday—hornsmen Jorma Tapio, Pepa Päivinen, Jouni Kannisto, Matti Riikonen and guitarist Jimi Sumén—all of whom have been present since 1989’s Ode to the Death of Jazz. Added to this core is an all new rhythm section and an additional guitar. Tellingly, it takes two percussionists to fill the void left by Vesala, both of whom do an admirable job infusing these tunes with the bursting passion Vesala seemed to bring to everything he did. With Pulsacion, the band turns to previously unreleased compositions, here expertly arranged by Vesala’s wife, Iro Haarla.

Opener “Lamgonella Lomboo” gives an idea of the bright, expansive sound of the group, which immediately calls to mind both the open spaces of Nan Madol and the more forceful, adventurous albums of the late 80s and early 90s. It all sounds like standard Vesala fare—complex arrangements of ghostly melodies that swirl over a seething swarm of drums—until halfway through, when the guitar is suddenly thrust to the forefront. Long, reverb-soaked lines cut across the rest of the band, almost perpendicular to those used to sketch out the song’s framework. It calls to mind Sumén’s angular work on “Somnamblues” from Invisible Storm, but also feels like a daring step forward.

“I Tell You A Story” has some utterly gorgeous sax tones, the whole thing a shimmering, laid-back tropical cruise that feels so familiar. I’m still trying to fully place it—sometimes jaunty, Very Very Circus-era Henry Threadgill comes to mind.

Later on, the title track takes a turn toward the intense. It teeters on an unsteady rhythmic base, with complex, jabbing horn motifs that build to the disorienting, shrieking cacophony of your life flashing before your eyes. But if “Pulsacion” represents the confusion of dying, “Nattuggla” is like finally ascending to that higher place: a dream of flutes and ringing guitar arpeggios that’s settled around a beautiful bass-driven centerpiece.

If there’s anything here that’s less than convincing, it’s portions of the brief “Punk”, which veer a little too close Zorn-style big band parody. The track has an energy that can’t be faulted, however, and it rushes into closing track “Shadows”, a much more satisfying piece that meanders through a loosely-knit counterpoint of horns and guitar noise.

It’s heartening to see Vesala’s long-time bandmates keeping his music alive. I’d like to think Pulsacion wouldn’t sound any different if it still was Vesala behind the kit. It’s certainly a welcome addition to Vesala’s canon, and an impressive accomplishment for a group that still lives and breathes these compositions.

A great late-year surprise.[Free Jazz Blog]

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Chris Speed - Really Ok (2014)

Chris Speed - Really Ok (Skirl Records, 2014)

Personnel:
Chris Speed: tenor saxophone

Chris Tordini: bass

Dave King: drums

Tracklisting:
01 - Really OK

02 - All of Me

03 - Takedown

04 - Nimble Demons

05 - Argento

06 - End of the Day

07 - Delaware

08 - Round Trip

09 - Tamborino

10 - 26-2

Saxophonist/clarinetist Chris Speed's two decades descent into New York City's underground jazz realm has proven a multi-pronged mission. Not only has myriad groups he's either led or assumed membership in been vital in levitating the local scene but the multireedist has also helped document the innovators roiling the landscape via his Skirl Records imprint. Speed had a banner year in 2013: a collaboration with intrepid electro-acoustic trio Lama (Lamaçal, Clean Feed); another set of intertwining wizardry from Endangered Blood (Work Your Magic, Skirl); rock/jazz hybrid of Jim Black's AlasNoAxis (Antiheroes, Winter & Winter) and post-jazz sprawl of The Claudia Quintet (September, Cuneiform). Now, in these early days of 2014, it turns out Speed has wasted nary a minute in both further highlighting his craft and imprint, equipped with not just a single release, but a pair of disparate recordings. Speed's modus operandi has long been underscored by his effortless penchant for mellifluous phraseology mated to tasteful improvisational moxie and on Really OK, he runs that gamut - and then some. Leading a trio of bassist Chris Tordini (Tyshawn Sorey; Greg Osby) and drummer Dave King (The Bad Plus), the results are decidedly striking in their spirited, full-toned and deep resonance. Speed's immaculate rapport with his oft collaborator King has already been rooted on efforts by the drummer's Trucking Company ensemble and in duo settings (a particular raucous set last year at Barbès comes to mind) and Really OK - comprised of seven original Speed compositions, a standard (All of Me), plus tunes by John Coltrane (26-2) and Ornette Coleman (Round Trip) - illustrates that vernacular between the veteran twosome and the neophyte Tordini. The requisite term often attached to Speed's aesthetic has been described as warm but in assuming the leader role and ignited by Tordini and King s rambunctious oomph and the bass-drums clinic they dish out, the tenor saxophonist is anything but. Excluding the subtle rendition of All of Me , the trio boasts intense rhythmic fire on cuts such as the Tordini-King-dominated Nimble Demons , soul-searching epic Delaware and breathless energy music of Argento. [The New York City Jazz Record]

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Joshua Abrams - Represencing (2012)

Joshua Abrams - Represencing (Eremite Records, 2012)

Personnel:
Joshua Abrams: guimbri, organ, ms20, harps, bells, harmonium, mpc
Lisa Alvarado: gong & harmonium (4, 7, 8)
Mikel Avery: drums (4, 5)
David Boykin: tenor saxophone (4, 6)
Emmett Kelly: electric & acoustic guitars (4, 7)
Nicole Mitchell: flutes (6)
Jeff Parker: electric guitar (8)
Tomeka Reid: cello (5)
Jason Stein: bass clarinet (6)
Chad Taylor: gong & drums (1, 2)
Michael Zerang: tambourine (8)

Tracklisting:
1. San Anto
2. Represencing
3. Moon Hunger
4. Sound Talisman
5. Sungazer
6. The Ba
7. Enter Mountain Amulet
8. Cloud Walking
9. Hidden Track

Chicago jazz/improvised music bassist Joshua Abrams brings out the guimbri, a three-stringed North African ceremonial lute, when playing with his Natural Information Society. Live, the instrument’s hypnotic groove provides the supple, willowy base from which the other instrumentalists leap. On his new album, Represencing, Abrams assembles some of the city’s best improvisers to work over the guimbri, but that droning beauty always lies at the core.

While plenty of modern musicians denounce the use of iPods and other on-the-go listening, the necessity of sitting at a record player and focusing for ritual trance music is kind of undeniable  – not to mention that this is a vinyl-only release. That immediacy and communal relationship is one that carries over from the recording process itself, as Abrams invited the improvisers into his home studio.

Dropping the needle onto the first side of the LP initiates the upward spiral, Chad Taylor’s gong and hand drums interlocking with Abrams’ guimbri, bubbling springs of David Boykin’s tenor saxophone purling outwards. The night falls as the first half closes on “Moon Hunger”, Boykin’s lightly breathed flourishes, the drama of rippling organ and Abrams’ lithe, repeating tone-clusters falling away into the night.

The second half of the disc re-starts the process, gongs and harmonium drone bringing the listener back into the meditative state. The sun rises again as well, Tomeka Reid’s cello curling around and flitting in eclipsing glory. It all closes with the entrancing “Cloud Walking”, with Michael Zerang somehow making even the tambourine an interesting addition to a track.

The core, though, remains the guimbri, Abrams’ playing on songs like “Enter Mountain Amulet” hitching, stuttering, and flowing at all the right moments to get you swaying like a mystic. Represencing is the kind of album that effaces the reality that you know exists outside of it, returning you to a time and place in which this sort of ritual trance focuses life. [Consequense of Sound]

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Brom - Nebula (2014)

 

Brom - Nebula (Fancy Music, 2014)

Personnel:

Anton Ponomarev: alto sax
Dmitry Lapshin: bass guitar
Oksana Grigorieva: drums

Tracklisting:
1. Nebula (00:51)
2. Rags (09:41)
3. Sugar Lion (04:22)   
4. Skid (05:28)
5. Bedsheet (05:46)   
6. Torch (06:13)
7. I Often Say "Thank You" (05:24)
8. Liquid Cold (04:54)

БРОМ / [Br]om plays its own mixture of genres, combining avant-jazz with punk. It is strong and structured music, they call it "no jazz" or "jazz punk". "Brom is still staying as Eye Nebula not fitting to any genre attributes" (с) Dmitry Ukhov.

Guys play with lots of different bands, prefer playing with noise bands also, garage and avant-garde bands. They really made lots of live collaborations and the first time I saw them it was a ground breaking show with Moscow stoner-doom idols The Moon Mistress. Brom shows are electric or acoustic line up, no matter how they bring you some structure feeling that you want to keep in mind, and this is a bad idea if you try to check the next band in the evening after catching that structure. Bon apetite, bro. This is second official album and the last one with electric line up, now guys play only in acoustics: Konstantin Sukhan (trumpet), Anton Ponomarev (baritone sax) and Dmitry Lapshin (double bass). Listen to their new line up here on "Concert for Friends" live album: http://brom.bandcamp.com/album/concert-for-friends . The album with this new line up is already recorded and ready to be released in the nearest time this year!

Brom on FB: https://facebook.com/brom.band Nebula also released on Fancy Music Records [FANCY035] with alternative cover art. "Brom" undoubtedly is perfectly co-ordinated, every musician feels each other. All this allow musicians to develop such an unusual style to which no one goes and appeals in Russia. The style built on a clear riff structure with floating melodic line with sound strokes (sometimes separated, sometimes even unrelated) drifting apart or forming distinct structural composition. Alexey Kruglov.

Recorded March 2012 Moscow.
Engeneered by Ilia Eskevitch.
Mixed and mastered by Nikita Onisenko.
Cover design by Dmitry Lapshin.

Brom - it is my best friends! It is unique russian jazz band! Don't miss it!!!

You can download it for free from here: http://brom.bandcamp.com/album/nebula

Lark - Lark (2013)

Lark - Lark (Skirl, 2013)

Personnel:
Ralph Alessi: trumpet
Ingrid Laubrock: tenor saxophone
Kris Davis: piano
Tom Rainey: drums

Tracklisting:
1. Thieves In A Pod (11:54)
2. Nit-Splitting (18:54)
3. Hypnotic Jerk (7:03)
4. Nobody's Human (10:03)
5. DDP 9963 (For Mat Maneri) (7:44)
6. Defensive Indifference (5:23)

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Ingrid Laubrock
Ingrid, originally from Germany now a resident in Brooklyn via th UK, performed and recorded with: Anthony Braxton, Dave Douglas, Kenny Wheeler, Tim Berne, Mark Helias, Michael Formanek, Mary Halvorson, Tyshawn Sorey, Evan Parker, Steve Beresford, John Edwards, Veryan Weston, Luc Ex, Django Bates' Human Chain, Evan Parker, The Continuum Ensemble and others.As part of the F-ire Collective, she won the BBC Jazz Award for Innovation in 2004,was nominated for the BBC Jazz Award for 'Rising Star' in 2005 and won a Fellowship in Jazz Composition by the Arts Foundation in 2006. She won the 2009 SWR German Radio Jazz Prize the and was one of the final nominees for the 2009 Westfalen Jazz Preis.

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Ralph Alessi
Jazz Times magazine says Alessi has "drop-dead trumpet chops" and calls his music "as clean and airy and sophisticated and disciplined as post-modern progressive jazz gets." Ralph Alessi was born in San Francisco,CA, the son of classical trumpeter Joe Alessi and opera singer Maria Leone. But after taking degrees in jazz trumpet and bass-he studied under the legendary Charlie Haden at CalArts-he lit out for New York, where he swiftly became an ubiquitous presence on the downtown scene. He's been a frequent collaborator with such notable musicians as Steve Coleman, Jason Moran, Don Byron, Ravi Coltrane, Fred Hersch, Uri Caine and Dafnis Prieto. Alessi has recorded nine albums of original compositions which draw on everything from post-bop to neo classical music. In 2013, Ralph will release "Baida", a quartet CD on ECM records and "Only Many", a duo recording with pianist Fred Hersch on CAMJazz. As an educator, Ralph is the director of the School for Improvisational Music as well as an adjunct professor at New York University and New England Conservatory.

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Tom Rainey
Tom Rainey was born in Pasadena, California in 1957. Since moving to New York in 1979 he has performed and or recorded with the following artists:John Abercrombie, Mose Allison, Julian Arguelles, Ray Anderson, Tim Berne, Jane Ira Bloom, Nels Cline, Ted Curson, Mark Ducret, Mark Feldman, Michael Formanek, Drew Gress, Mark Helias, Fred Hersch, Andy Laster, Ingrid Laubrock, Joe Lovano, Tony Malaby, Albert Mangelsdorff, Carmen McRae, Mike Nock, Simon Nabatov, New and Used, Anita O'Day, Andrea Parkins, Herb Robertson, Angelica Sanchez, Louis Sclavis, Brad Shepik, Tom Varner, Ken Werner, Denny Zeitlin

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Kris Davis
Pianist-composer Kris Davis has blossomed as one of the singular talents on the New York jazz scene, a deeply thoughtful, resolutely individual artist who offers "uncommon creative adventure," according to JazzTimes. The Vancouver-born, Brooklyn-residing Davis was dubbed one of the music's top up-and-comers in a 2012 New York Times article titled "New Pilots at the Keyboard," with the newspaper saying: "Over the past couple years in New York, one method for deciding where to hear jazz on a given night has been to track down the pianist Kris Davis." Reviewing one of the series of striking albums Davis has released over the past half-decade, the Chicago Sun-Times lauded the "sense of kaleidoscopic possibilities" in her playing and compositions. [Squidco]

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