Reviews of the week

The upcoming album After The Last Sky by Anouar Brahem with Anja Lechner, Django Bates and Dave Holland is greeted with enthusiasm by media in the UK and the USA

Tunisian oud star and composer Anouar Brahem is rejoined by old associates Dave Holland (bass) and Django Bates (piano) with eclectic cello luminary Anja Lechner on the all-original ‘After the Last Sky’ (ECM). Lechner’s rapturous long tones and Holland’s darting counterpoint against Brahem’s nimble urgency and Bates’s attentive piano figures create a restlessly beautiful soundscape – deeply affected, as Brahem stresses, by the disaster of Gaza.

John Fordham, The Guardian

Acclaimed cellist Anja Lechner completes the sound for the first time with Brahem in a setting on this latest and makes all the difference recorded at Lugano’s Auditorio Stelio Molo RSI in May last year. Braham’s plangent modalities in his compositional compass are remarkable and Bates’ rapport with his stately melodies, the Arabic scales they inhabit and the dark tonalities of the mood, makes all the difference. […] As we all, surely, remain moved by the dreadful suffering of the innocent civilians of war in the middle east these past few years listening here is an act of humane solidarity on one level and on another the latest and maybe even greatest work yet by the master Brahem.

Stephen Graham, Marlbank

His latest work, ‘After the Last Sky’, takes its title from the words of Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish and is deeply inspired by the harrowing experiences of the Palestinian people in Gaza. Rather than guiding listeners toward a specific message, Brahem seeks to evoke raw emotion, a goal he achieves with the support of three distinguished European musicians. While bassist Dave Holland is a familiar collaborator, pianist Django Bates returns after ‘Blue Maqams’, but the novelty here is cellist Anja Lechner, who infuses the music with extra poignancy and depth. […] It’s easy to find delight in Brahem’s poignant narratives and sounds. His unique musical perspective triggers thoughtful responses from his peers, who help the music brim with soul.

Filipe Freitas, Jazz Trail

On has latest ‘After The Last Sky’ Anouar Brahem takes yet another direction. Returning from the ‘Blue Maqams’ sessions are pianist Django Bates and bassist Dave Holland, both of whom perform with Brahem in a highly sympathetic manner. New to the ensemble is the German cellist Anja Lechner, whose presence adds a distinct European classical vibe to the proceedings. The album as a whole has a somber feel, due to the influence of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war as these works were being composed and recorded.  […] There are many uplifting performances and moments, though. A duet between Brahem and Holland, ‘The Eternal Olive Tree’ is a celebration of survival and resilience, and also of the musical bond between these two players. And ‘Dancing Under The Meteorite’ involves the entire quartet, the cello and oud romping in unison through the main melody, then cello, oud and piano, with Brahem inserting a long and sparkling improv section that’s among my favorites across his many albums. Likewise he plays another lengthy improvisation on the bittersweet ‘The Sweet Oranges Of Jaffa,’ as does Lechner, whose training is classical but who has long experience in improvised music. The album’s closing piece finds Bates and Lechner taking on ‘Vague,’ one of Anouar Brahem’s most beloved melodies. […] The impeccable recording and production by Manfred Eicher at ECM’s beautiful recoding space in Lugano, Switzerland, certainly add to its aura of somber majesty.

Gary Whitehouse, Greenman Review

The freshly released album Defiant Life by Vijay Iyer with Wadada Leo Smith is welcomed by media in the USA and the UK

As passionate as each man is intelligent, both pianist/composer Vijay Iyer and trumpeter/composer Wadada Leo Smith also manifest healthy egos. Accordingly, collaborations like ‘Defiant Life’ require each man to contour his skills to complement the other sufficiently. Their shared humility is intrinsic to solidifying the inspiring bond that arises from the two not only playing, but composing together. In the end, the generosity of spirit maximizes the potency of the art these men create on this second of their collaborations (the first was ‘A Cosmic Rhythm With Each Stroke’, ECM Records, 2016). […] To be sure, this second pairing of the souls and the intellects of Vijay Iyer and Wadada Leo Smith is picturesque music from start to finish. Fittingly, the quiet but purposeful conclusion that is ‘Procession: Defiant Life’ directly references the staunch attitude at the heart of the album’s title and, by extension, the full extent to which that mindset permeates the music.

Doug Collette, All About Jazz

Using the past to make sense of the present fits the mode for new collaboration ‘Defiant Life’, in which the pair look back in anger, yes, but as an act of hope in response to our current time. They recorded the album over a short time in the summer of 2024, but it feels as relevant as possible right now, an act of calm resistance in an era of turmoil. […] In a defiant life, one must slow down and gain some self-understanding and perspective in order to withstand and overcome the world’s oppressive forces, whether they come in the form of faceless empires or imminent personal attacks. The players remain slow and measured throughout, offering their sort of calm in a world of chaos, providing respite as resistance. Both artists know how to use space, and their comfort with each other allows them to let the pieces slowly develop, organizing around nearly subliminal structures.

Justin Cober-Lake, Spectrum Culture

‘Defiant Life’ once again finds the two musicians engaged in a sort of hypnotic chemistry, crafting stripped-down pieces that are as much ambient as jazz […] These pieces are sometimes melodic and sometimes floating weightlessly on drones, always fascinating, frequently moving, and rarely broadcasting where they’re going in advance. A stunning piece of ambient jazz that’ll take a few listens to fully absorb, but it’s well worth the effort.

Jeff Terich, Treblezine

As the title suggests, this is a work inspired by struggle and challenge, despair at the state of the world and belief in humankind’s capacity for redemption. As they have shown when both leading their own groups and working together, Wadada Leo Smith and Vijay Iyer are able to lend to such themes the necessary emotional depth as well as musical invention. […]  ‘Floating River Requiem (For Patrice Lumumba)’ is heart stopping for the understated gospel implications of Iyer’s chords and the wry blues of Smith’s melodies, tracing a line from Armstrong to Eldridge to Cherry. […] Elsewhere digital effects are almost like a distant purr of cellos, and when the brass phrases fragment against the faintest of loops or the gentle hammering of a single icy high note on the keyboard the result is intense. Disciplined, solemn music by two masters of communication that provides a serious response to serious issues.

Kevin Le Gendre, Jazzwise (Editor’s Choice)

The album Renaissance by the Nicolas Masson Quartet is praised by British media

This follow up to the Swiss saxophonist Masson’s 2018 ECM album ‘Travelers’ has been a long time coming. In the intervening years the quartet, with a now stable personnel that have been making music together for nearly two decades, have been touring and honing their music still further as this exhilarating new release reveals. Once again Masson is responsible for composing all the music, with the exception of the brief group improvisation ‘Tumbleweeds’, and having one person writing for the quartet brings a strong sense of identity and focus to the music. In bringing new compositions to the table, the saxophonist has loosened his grip on the compositional structures of the music allowing the quartet to interact more freely. Paradoxically the very looseness of the music finds the four musicians discovering common ground and all pulling together giving the illusion of a tighter structure. […] It may be seven years between Masson’s two releases for ECM, and it is reassuring to witness longevity in the quartet’s personnel which makes for interesting music making that is surely set to continue to evolve as time passes. For now, ‘Renaissance’ stands as a compelling addition to the saxophonist’s discography.

Nick Lea, Jazz Views

Masson switches between tenor and soprano saxophones throughout the album, playing with an inspirational style that imbues warmth and togetherness. There’s a collective spirit within this quartet that sparkles, moments of grey misty mornings turning into breathtaking multi-hued splendour as the startling rays of sunshine filter through the clouds. It’s like an awakening of sorts, the quartet never afraid to mix up the pastoral elegance of the music with sharply focussed inquiry and intrigue. The band is in a searching spirit on rubato pieces like the expressive ‘Tremolo’ or the ambient ‘Tumbleweeds’, with more cerebral cuts like the title track ‘Renaissance’ working well alongside the melodiousness of tunes such as ‘Anemona’ and ‘Forever Gone’. The tracks in general feel like there’s a significant openness and space created by Mason’s writing, less structured than previous outings perhaps, but always with a lyrical disposition at heart. Interaction is key, and all four musicians are on fine form here, bringing a sublime atmosphere to the recording, helping make ‘Renaissance’ the wonderful album it is.

Mike Gates, UK Vibe

The album Just by Billy Hart with Ethan Iverson, Mark Turner and Ben Street impresses a UK reviewer

The whole enterprise has the feel of being lovingly crafted. Take any pace from achingly slow to illegaly quick, or any form, any mood, and these four musicians working as an ideal team, will show you how they can thrive in it, and constantly come up with new and surprising ideas. This totally assured, truthful and blessedly gimmick-free album is thoroughly recommended.

Sebastian Scotney, The Arts Desk

The new album Winter Poems by Yuval Cohen excites a UK reviewer

There is a haunting and spacious poetry to these 40 or so minutes of original music from Cohen – whose extraordinary plaintive sound, lyrical control of timbre and ultra-patient phrasing are complemented throughout by the adroit dynamic sensitivity of his cohorts: sample the opening ‘First Meditation’. Relish also the beautiful brief piano trio intro to ‘Song For Lo Am’, the latter a tender ‘crying and soaring’ piece that, like the following ‘Song For Charlie’ (which has Cohen on melodica) would surely have put a big smile on Sidney Bechet’s face. But there is also a lovely, rippling and bubbling rhythmic impetus to this music, epitomised by the up-and-cooking yet also in part reflective ‘The Dance Of The Nightingale’, ‘Avia’ and the diversely impassioned title track. […] On no account miss it!

Michael Tucker, Jazz Journal

A German reviewer is thrilled by the vinyl-reissue of Paul Bley’s Open, To Love within the Luminessence-series

Bis heute hat ‘Open, To Love’ nichts von seiner Magie verloren. Wir hören über sieben Stücke lang einen nachdenklichen Bley, der Songs seiner Lieblingskomponistinnen Carla Bley (‘Closer’, ‘Ida Lupino’ und ‘Seven’) und Annette Peacock (‘Open To Love’ und ‘Nothing Ever Was, Anyway’) – sowie zwei eigene Kompositionen vorträgt. Sein Spiel ist von hoher Aufmerksamkeit und Raffinesse geprägt, gleichzeitig so feinfühlig und offenherzig, dass sie ganz unmittelbar wirkt. Besonders das Stück ‘Ida Lupino’ von Carla Bley ist eine der schönsten und lyrischsten Darbietungen, die man je auf einem Jazz-Klavier gehört hat. Die Eigenkompositionen ‘Harlem’ und ‘Started’ sind freie Improvisationen der klassischen Jazz-Standards ‘I Remember Harlem’ und ‘I Can’t Get Started’. Er fragmentiert und skelettiert diese Songs und verwandelt sie in surreale, fast traumhafte Klangwelten, die weit über den traditionellen Jazz hinausgehen und Stille sowie subtile Dissonanz in den Mittelpunkt rückt.

Sebastian Meißner, Sounds and Books

Another German reaction to the re-issue of Freigeweht by Rainer Brüninghaus within the Luminessence-vinyl series

Mit Kenny Wheeler am Flügelhorn und Jon Christensen am Schlagzeug standen ihm zwei Musiker zur Seite, die zu diesem Zeitpunkt bereits an vielen wichtigen Aufnahmen des Labels beteiligt waren. ECM-Mastermind Manfred Eicher hatte die Idee und die entscheidende Vorstellungskraft, mit dieser Begleitung ein Album von bleibender Bedeutung zu erschaffen. Brynjar Hoff an Oboe und Englishhorn ergänzt die genannten Musiker mit selten gehörten Klängen. Rainer Brüninghaus baut auf seinen sechs Kompositionen mit Piano und Synthesizer ein schwebendes Konstrukt, das mit seinem Minimalismus und sich wiederholenden Stukturen breiten Raum lässt, der  von den beiden Bläsern höchst kreativ genutzt wird. Zutiefst beendruckend ist auch die differenzierte Schlagzeugarbeit von Jon Christensen, die stets erkennen lässt, dass er nicht nur ‘Haus-Drummer’ von ECM war, sondern auch zu den wichtigsten Vertretern an diesem Instrument zählt. Alle Stücke sind von einer Intensität geprägt, die sich stets mit großer Leichtigkeit verbindet.

Ralf Henke, LP Magazin