16.01.2025 | Reviews of the week

Reviews of the month

Taking Turns by Jakob Bro with Lee Konitz, Bill Frisell, Jason Moran, Thomas Morgan and Andrew Cyrille is hailed by reviewers in the UK and Germany

 

Played by world-class personnel including Bill Frisell and the late, great alto saxophonist Lee Konitz, this 2014 set is full of subtle, spontaneous ideas […] Bro’s reputation grew when he succeeded Bill Frisell in drum master Paul Motian’s band in 2006, the connection that first introduced him to Konitz, who can instantly invent fresh lines to any composition put in front of him. Bro credits this ability with his own understanding of how to lead an improviser’s band that plays composed music with looseness and flow. Here, alongside Bro and Konitz, is a subtle supergroup comprising sound-painting guitarist Frisell, pianist Jason Moran, double-bassist Thomas Morgan, and former Cecil Taylor drummer Andrew Cyrille. […] For its superb lineup, understated themes, and spontaneously ensemble-engendered ideas, ‘Taking Turns’ is a little masterpiece.

John Fordham, The Guardian

 

Though it crosses many genres – originating in Jim Hall’s jazz, and encompassing country, folk and blues – the style is individual and refreshing. The resulting album has many delights. The standout for me is the haunting, melancholic ‘Pearl River’, named after a budget store in New York’s Chinatown. ‘Milford Sound’ is affecting, while the concluding ‘Mar Del Plata’ has an Argentine inflection. A wonderful tribute to one of the greatest saxophonists of modern jazz.

Andy Hamilton, Jazz Journal

 

Was ist nicht alles über diese Session erzählt worden. Ist ja klar, dass das Interesse riesig ist, wenn sich fünf so hochkarätige Jazzer zusammentun. Dass die Aufnahmen der Gitarristen Jakob Bro und Bill Frisell, dem Saxofonisten Lee Konitz, dem Pianisten Jason Moran, dem Bassisten Thomas Morgan und dem Schlagzeuger Andrew Cyrille bislang aber nicht zu hören waren, machte die Fachwelt umso neugieriger. Jetzt – gut zehn Jahre, nachdem diese Aufnahmen in den Avatar Studios in New York entstanden, – werden sie nun endlich unter dem Titel ‘Taking Turns’ veröffentlicht. Und das Ergebnis ist schlicht umwerfend. […] Anstatt der üblichen Praxis, dass Musiker sich gegenseitig übertrumpfen, indem sie laut, schnell oder technisch beeindruckend spielen, zeichnet sich diese Gruppe durch eine auffällige Zurückhaltung aus. Die Musiker begnügen sich damit, so wenig wie nötig zu spielen, wobei sie sich auf das Gefühl und die Atmosphäre konzentrieren, statt auf technische Brillanz. Und dennoch – oder vielleicht gerade deshalb – treten sie auch als Einzelspieler in Erscheinung. Frisells unverkennbarer Gitarrenton prägt dieses Album ebenso wie Morans Pianopinselstriche, Konitz klarginge Melodien, Morgans unterstützende Tieftöne oder Cyrills vogelfreie Schlagzeugakzentuierungen. Das organische Spiel macht eine Unterscheidung der Einzelbeiträge aber obsolet. […] Diese Herangehensweise schafft eine bemerkenswerte, fast traumartige Atmosphäre, die eine friedvolle Ruhe und körperlich spürbare Tiefgründigkeit transportiert. So kann nur spielen, wer Atmosphäre, Tempo und der Grad des freien Spiels ändern sich von Stück zu Stück. ‘Haiti’ ist bluesiger, das Titelstück reine Meditation. Und ganz am Ende steht mit ‘Mar Del Plata’ ein genresprengendes Stück musikalischer Allgemeingültigkeit, das allein dazu in der Lage ist, die Welt ein bißchen besser zu machen. Die Interaktion der fünf in diesem nur oberflächlich (und im besten Wortsinne) naiven Stück ist nichts anders als ergreifend. Es ist der perfekte Abschluss eines perfekten Albums.

Sebastian Meißner, Sounds and Books

Belgian and German reactions to the live album The Old Country by Keith Jarrett with Gary Peacock and Paul Motian

 

Keith Jarrett est à son meilleur, lyrique, tantôt classique tantôt déchainé, improvisateur magnifique, créateur de climats et d’atmosphères, magistralement soutenu par le contrebasse musclée de Peacock et le drumming délicat de Motian.

Jean-Claude Vantroyen, Le Soir

 

An diesem Abend vor über 30 Jahren scheint Keith Jarrett besondere Lust gehabt zu haben, seinem melodischen Erfindungsreichtum freien Lauf zu lassen […] Die Nähe zum Publikum scheint die Pianolegende anzuspornen und so legen sich Jarrett, Motian und Bassist Gary Peacock bei acht Standards richtig ins Zeug, von unbeschwert dahinperlenden Up-Tempo-Swingern bis zu Balladen voll emotionaler Tiefe. Klar ist das Mehr vom Immergleichen, aber halt vor allem Mehr vom immer gleich Guten.

Reinhold Unger, Münchner Merkur

 

US and German media on Ashes To Gold by the Avishai Cohen Quartet

 

Cohen is a leading figure in the Israeli contingent that has become so important to jazz in the last 20 years. He is a deeply soulful, searching, technically brilliant, idiosyncratically lyrical trumpet player. He often makes concept albums. It feels wrong to call ‘Ashes To Gold’ a concept album. It is more like a spiritual diary from a time of lethal crisis. […] ‘Ashes To Gold’ sounds free and impulsive because of all the wild breakouts and sudden hard turns. The suite is a complex emotional journey. Mori’s arco bass and Avishai’s piano embody the  mourning. Cohn’s trumpet cries render the rage and the anguish. Cohen said that he did not imagine this music as ‘only dark.’ He also sought hope. On Part III, over stately bass and solemn piano, Cohen, on trumpet, traces a heartbreaking melody. One of the paradoxes of art is that pain, portrayed truthfully, can be beautiful. Beauty, inherently, contains hope. ‘Ashes To Gold’ is Avishai Cohen’s most important work to date.

Thomas Conrad, Stereophile

 

Avishai Cohen’s ‘Ashes to Gold’ is a collection of sensitive, carefully crafted tone poems – tone poems which, even though created during a time of war, encompass heroic and soaring passages of great beauty. There is no anger – only melancholy, no regret – only resignation. This, and pastoral note clusters that rise and swoop like an eagle above a distant mountain peak. […] On the album, Cohen (trumpet, flugelhorn, flute) is joined by Barak Mori (bass), Ziv Ravitz (drums), and Yonathan Avishai (piano). In addition to Cohen’s opus, the quartet ‘covers’ Ravel’s ‘Adagio Assai,’ a fascinating choice, and a piece by Cohen’s daughter, Amalia – ‘The Seventh.’ […] Whether Cohen is on flute or horn, his playing has a lovely pure forthright tone, even when creating almost bugle-like phrases (as in the middle of ‘Part I’). Cohen demonstrates his chops on many of the compositions – his ability to use his horn to slide up and down assertively or to howl without pinching the tone is remarkable. […] On piano, Avishai’s agile touch and expressive lines can change with sudden ferocity, but more often his phrases add subtle pastels of feeling to the scores. […] Perhaps today the world needs albums like ‘Ashes To Gold’ to reorient and redirect its efforts toward peaceful resolution. If so, this is certainly a welcome addition. Perhaps it is a reflection of what might be or could be – and sadly – not what is.

Don Phipps, Free Jazz Blog

 

‘Ashes To Gold’ guckt hin – packt, schüttelt und macht seltsam ruhig. Es ist auf unheimliche Weise tröstlich. Grandiose Musik, die zwischen Klage und nacktem reinen Ton nichts auslässt. Am Ende dann ‘The Seventh’ – berührend zärtliche Interpretation einer Melodie, die Cohens Tochter geschrieben hat.

Udo Feist, Zeitzeichen

The duo album Our Time by Trygve Seim and Frode Haltli is acclaimed in UK and German media

 

At times Seim and Haltli sound almost like two players of one instrument. Saxophone and accordion are both reed instruments driven by air, and Seim’s and Haltli’s phrases often seem to breathe together. Also, the saxophones’ pitches fit within the upper and lower limits of the accordion, and the feeling of oneness is further abetted by Seim’s soft and breathy delivery, and how the accordion spreads across the stereo panorama with the saxophone somewhere in the middle. […] The album was recorded in the Himmelfahrtskirche (‘Church of the Ascension’) in Munich, a church with a magnificent organ with 35 registers (2377 pipes) that was built in 1994. The church has often been used to record small and mid-sized ensembles, due to its favourable acoustics and quiet location. But there’s a poetic beauty about this conversational set of duets being played in the shadow of a pipe organ, an instrument that (like the saxophones and accordion) produces sound by blowing air through pipes and over reeds.

Julian Maynard-Smith, UK Jazz News

 

Seims Saxofon klingt in den Improvisationen oft weich und exotisch, manchmal ruppig und halbrecherisch balancierend, zuweilen geradezu ätherisch, aber immer ist es letztlich der Parameter des Melodischen, auf den er sich verlässt. Haltlis Akkordeon breitet ein Klangspektrum aus, dem man zuweilen erstaunt lauscht, weil man so etwas bis dato nie mit einem Akkordeon in Verbindung gebracht hat. Über allem wölbt sich ein radikal unkommerzieller, weiter Himmel von Folklore, der ukrainische, fernöstliche oder arabische Elemente bruchlos mit nordischen verbindet und unter dem raffinierte komponierte Passagen zu Spielanlässen oder Übergangsphänomenen fragmentiert werden, in denen sich zweifach komplexe Improvisationen entfalten.

Hans-Jürgen Linke, Frankfurter Rundschau

The album To the Rising Moon by Stephan Micus thrills US reviewers

 

‘To the Rising Moon’ is an auditory pilgrimage, where the theme of each selection functions as a waypoint in a larger spiritual journey. Micus’ ability to imbue ancient instruments with new meaning reaffirms his role as a custodian of global musical heritage and a visionary explorer of sound. This album invites listeners to pause, reflect, and find solace in its luminous serenity.

Ferell Aubre, The Jazz Word

 

Stephan Micus takes you on a tour of Byzantium, playing all of the instruments of the Mediterranea including tableharp, zither, sattar, dilruba and other folk instruments bowed and strummed. There is an Aegean feel on pieces such as ‘To The Rising Sun’ and ‘In Your Eyes’ with the strings sounding like variations of a bouzouki. There are also violin-like musings on ‘Dream Within A Dream’ and ‘The Flame’ with the each song giving the feel of a Greek village. Timeless.

George W. Harris, Jazz Weekly

The new recording of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Concertos by Alexander Lonquich with the Münchener Kammerorchester is discussed in a UK music magazine

 

This is an interesting and thought-provoking set. Naturally in Beethoven’s day it was customary in concerto performances for the soloist and concertmaster to share responsibility for leading the ensemble. Our ears of course are accustomed to another paradigm, that of a soloist involved exclusively with his or her instrument and a conductor overseeing the orchestra. Moreover, the performances discussed here use modern instruments. With the considerations in mind, some of Lonquich’s ideas will strike as apt and particularly in the spirit of Beethoven, while others may seem eccentric and far afield. Ultimately, one finds a modicum of received wisdom here, alongside a great deal of fresh and stimulating thought.

Patrick Rucker, Gramophone

US and UK reactions to Arild Andersen’s first solo-recording Landloper

 

This is a fine solo outing by veteran ECM label bassist  Andersen, recorded live in front of a very well-behaved, attentive audience at Oslo’s Victoria National Jazz Scene. Andersen uses  electronic loops generated live to fill out the sound of his instrument, captured gorgeously  with all its depth and resonance intact. It’s a short but sweet recital, full of growling low notes and clever interpretations.

Andrew Everard, Hifi News

 

‘Landloper’ is, perhaps surprisingly, his first ever solo album for the label, and as ever with the Norwegian bassist, it is characteristically broad in its musical scope and creative range. The album was recorded in 2020, primarily at Oslo’s Victoria Nasjonal Jazzscene, and the choice of repertoire reflects well Andersen’s musical journey. Alongside original compositions, new light is cast upon some free jazz classics, traditional folk music, and plenty more besides. Throughout the whole album, Andersen’s masterful playing is at the forefront, as melodic and lyrical as we have come to expect from this brilliant and ever-youthful musician. There’s a wonderful atmosphere to the recording, heightened by his real-time creation of electronic loops that bring an added dimension to solo playing as well as fresh opportunities for improvisational interaction. […] ‘Landloper’ delivers in so many ways. Skill, intelligence, knowledge, wisdom and emotion all combine, with Anderson’s solo outing hitting the sweet spot. A mesmerising album of discovery from the legendary bassist.

Mike Gates, UK Vibe

The duo recording Unfolding by Louis Sclavis and Benjamin Moussay is reviewed in a German daily paper

 

Für Sclavis und Moussay ist das Duo eine Gelegenheit, sich mit einem großen melodischen Fundus und fragilen, mehrdeutigen harmonischen Grundlagen zu befassen. Stets bewegen sich Klarinette und Klavier voller Empathie miteinander durch das lyrische Gelände, überraschen sich und gehen gemeinsame Wagnisse ein, reduzieren sich auch mal aufs Allernötigste und sprödes, raufaseriges Linienwerk, lassen sich viel Raum, belauern sich und eilen einander nie davon. Sie praktizieren eine, wie Sclavis es formuliert, ‘große Komplizenschaft’ und ‘nahtlose Synchronität’, und nie erzeugen sie den Eindruck von wohlfeilem Konsens oder gar Vorhersehbarkeit. Nur feine Erinnerungen, ferne Anklänge gibt es immer wieder: an Olivier Messiaen, an Jimmy Giuffre, Ornette Coleman, Claude Debussy.

Hans-Jürgen Linke, Frankfurter Rundschau

The album Samares by the Colin Vallon Trio is acclaimed in the UK and the US

 

The tunes across this recording evolve beautifully from one moment to the next. All three musicians are clearly so well attuned to one another’s playing that a sense of ‘oneness’ permeates through the entire album. Vallon’s music on ‘Samares’ is highly original, and noticeably different to many other piano-led trios I’ve heard. It feels introspective, yet extremely open and expressive in the same breath. From the absolute brilliance of the Mehldau-esque ‘Mars’, to the heartbreakingly gorgeous ‘Lou’, connecting my thoughts somewhere between Thom Yorke and EST. From the smouldering fire akin to the Eno/Bowie soundscapes of ‘Timo’, to the dark romanticism of ‘Ronce’, and the free-flowing lyrical beauty on ‘Samares’ the title track. Tune after tune enlightens, bringing a fresh awareness to my senses, as if smelling the petals of a flower for the first time, seeing a rare bird in flight, or touching snowflakes as they fall from the sky. Inspirational, illuminating music from Colin Vallon.

Mike Gates, UK Vibe (Five-out-of-five stars)

 

Soft pastels of sound are created by pianist Colin Vallon’s trio with bassist Patrice Mouret and drummer Julian Sartorius on this album of nine originals. The mood is delicate and gentle throughout, with Sartorious’ burshes hovering on the delicate drops of ‘Racine’ or around the graceful ‘Souche’. Vallon is understated throughout, elegant on ‘Mars’ harplike on ‘Lou’ and subtle in his pizzicato’d pickings with Moujret on ‘Timo’, while gives a tender intro to ‘Etincelle’.

George W. Harris, Jazz Weekly

The album Relations by Thomas Strønen impresses US and UK reviewers

 

Between 2018 and 2022, Norwegian drummer Thomas Strønen invited four accomplished musicians to contribute to his latest album, ‘Relations’. Each responded to pre-recorded drum tracks with complete creative freedom. Pianist Craig Taborn and saxophonist Chris Potter recorded their parts from New York, vocalist and kantele player Sinikka Langeland from Oslo, and Barcelona-born multi-instrumentalist Jorge Rossy, playing piano exclusively, from Basel. The resulting work comprises two solo percussion tracks and ten duets that, while not adhering to conventional jazz formats, explore unique sonic landscapes. […] Relations eschews conservatism, offering unexpected surprises and intimate dialogues between Strønen’s broad rhythmic vocabulary and his collaborators’ distinctive voices. Although sounding off-beat at times, this work reflects the spirit of innate improvisers, unafraid to present something refreshingly different.

Filipe Freitas, Jazz Trail

 

What with the marvel of John Surman’s guitar and vibes speckled Words Unspoken and this work of his own it’s been an especially good year to be a fan of Norwegian drummer-composer Thomas Strønen in terms of long distilled output and glimpses of the latest work from a remarkable musical mind. Long on the radar of some British jazz fans because of his association with another Englishman the great saxophonist Iain Ballamy in the band Food, Strønen follows a unique path. […] Strung together over four years it’s an album of duets and besides Langeland whose contributions are at the heart of the album hugely contrastive contributions from Craig Taborn, Chris Potter and Jorge Rossy (on piano) shape shift amiably. In Taborn’s case it’s very much a highly abstract vision that hovers on a genre-less cloud. The American pianist has a habit of finding the exact impossibly cool and unexpected chordal poetitude to drift away to. Fellow countryman of Taborn’s Potter finds an idiom that is more mystical than usual emerging from a sort of miasma on ‘Ephemeral’ and where Strønen changes in reaction to rattle off a chattering, hypnotic motion. […] ‘Relations’ is an interesting album. It makes me feel real gone as if hit by a bow and arrow and draws so many strands together acting like a cleansing and reset of elements. ‘Arc for Drums’ has a grandeur to it achieved quite organically.

Stephen Graham, Marlbank

UK reviewers hail the vinyl-reissue of Marilyn Crispell’s album Amaryllis within the Luminessence-series

 

ECM Luminessence series has brought forth a succession of delights in throughout 2024, and here is another in what must be one of the most empathetic, creative and important piano trios. Following on from the remarkable Nothing ever was, anyway. Music of Annette Peacock recorded four years earlier, it was a no brainer to get the trio back in the studio to find out what they would do with an altogether different set of compositions. The results are no less startling and satisfying as the trio set to work on material that is a little more familiar both to the listener and the trio. If the empathy and interaction between the three musicians was intensely felt, the music on Amaryllis is a little less taut and more relaxed. This is not to imply that the creativity is diminished in anyway, if anything it may even be heightened by the members of the trio bringing their own compositions to the session. An intensely beautiful record which is at times hypnotic leaving the listener transfixed in the moment as the music unfurls. From the outset the mood is contemplative, yet always revealing a sunny side and optimism in the playing. It is quite surprising how much can be said when actually playing very little, and the use of silence and space intensifies the drama within the compositions and subsequent improvisations. […] Impeccable music, beautifully played, this is a totally absorbing set from one of the finest trios of their time.

Nick Lea, Jazz Views

 

With its richly melancholic collection of improvisations and compositions by each member of the trio, ‘Amaryllis’ is suffused with a romanticism that smoulders with the beauty of life. Yet another wonderful reissue in the ongoing ECM Luminessence series of LPs.

Mike Gates, UK Vibe