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Friday, 19 March 2010

AAJ CD reviews
All About Jazz CD Reviews


Dan Weiss Trio: Timshel First gaining recognition with Indo-Pakistani guitarist Rez Abbasi, the last few years have been good to percussionist Dan Weiss. In addition to working with guitarist Joel Harrison, and saxophonists Rudresh Mahanthappa and David Binney, the debut of his now five year-old piano trio, No Yes When (Tone of a Pitch, 2006), was as uncompromising as anything released that year. Economical, multifaceted, and stimulating, it delivered much, but promised more. Demonstrating continued compositional acumen in addition to Weiss' inestimable skills as a player, Timshel delivers further on that promise, building on the successes of its predecessor with greater maturity, focus and concept... Marilyn Lerner / Ken FIliano / Lou Grassi: Arms Spread Wide Canadian pianist Marilyn Lerner has garnered a name for herself as one of the most diverse and exciting pianists to emerge in the last ten years. Best known among her releases is a series of albums with the co-op Queen Mab Trio, with violist Ig Henneman and clarinetist Lori Friedman. But also included in her discography are several albums based around Jewish music, a duo set with guitarist Sonny Greenwich, and a number of piano trio releases, all drawing on both improvisation and composition... Satoko Fujii Ma-Do: Desert Ship Pianist/bandleader Satoko Fujii's Ma-Do Quartet is loud, with a dense volume that is often stately, often fractured. The same can be said of much of her recorded output. Fujii is a stunningly prolific artist who records in a dizzying array of ensemble configurations. Of her two most notable quartets, the Ma-Do band is described as an explorer of the quieter, more subtle side of her acoustic music. It is, though, all relative. Her louder and less intimate electric Satoko Fujii Quartet shakes walls and windows, and sets chandeliers swaying. So does Ma-Do, but in a gentler, more acoustic fashion, down a point or two on the Richter scale... Orrin Evans: Faith in Action On Faith in Action, his reverent homage to an old boss, saxophonist Bobby Watson, Orrin Evans plays with his heart on his sleeve, gliding right down to his bare fingertips. Here is a pianist who channels masters from Thelonious Monk to Bud Powell and Bill Evans. However, through it all Evans is his own man, a singular voice that combines the precision of a surgeon and the compassion of a saint in an attack on the keys that is so angular and delightful that dancing feet and swaying bodies may never stop moving and grooving. Evans displays a superb ability to express the emotion of the music. This makes his reading of songs he aims to interpret taut with feeling. His solos comprise well-chosen notes and short phrases that reveal ideas that are fresh, inventive, and always relevant. Thus he goads his musicians--especially those in his current trio(s)--to reach further and deeper into their hearts and minds, to respond with equal measures of invention... Bryan Baker: This Morning Day Listening to guitarist/composer Bryan Baker's This Morning Day --the follow-up to his 2006 debut, Aphotic (Enilkrad Music)--is like going on a blind date. When focusing on the music--instead of Baker's impressive rA(C)sumA(C)--it's imperative to keep in mind that the excitement and anticipation of the unknown is half the fun. In this case, it's a promise that's not forsaken when exploring This Morning Day's nine self-penned compositions... The Wee Trio: Capitol Diner Vol. 2: Animal Style Based loosely in New York, The Wee Trio's origins form a cross-section of the United States, with drummer Jared Schonig from Los Angeles, vibraphonist James Westfall living in New Orleans and bassist Dan Loomis hailing from St. Louis. Notwithstanding that there isn't an abundance of vibraphone-centered recordings such as Joe Locke's For the Love of You (E1 Music, 2010) and Stefon Harris' Urbanus (Concord Music Group, 2009), The Wee Trio holds high the mallet-based banner in good form, showing itself to be one of the most dynamic trios around with Capitol Diner Vol. 2: Animal Style, the follow-up to its critically acclaimed debut, Capitol Diner Vol. 1 (Bionic, 2008)... Shawn Maxwell Quartet: Maxwell's House Chicago-based multi-reedist Shawn Maxwell's third disc as a leader, Maxwell's House, follows in the footsteps of his Originals (Self Published, 2006) and Originals II (Self Published, 2008). All three sets possess a solid mainstream quartet sound, with the piano/bass/drums rhythm team fronted by the leader's tangy-toned alto saxophone... Clogs: The Creatures in the Garden of Lady Walton With the digital-only EP, Veil Waltz (Brassland, 2010), neoclassicist quartet Clogs announced that it was back in action after a lengthy hiatus. But that brief collection, largely written for film, was really only a taste-whetter for The Creatures in the Garden of Lady Walton, Clogs' first full-length CD since Lantern (Brassland, 2006). Like Veil Waltz, Lantern presaged what was to come, but there's as much unexpected as there is familiar on The Creatures, Clogs' most ambitious project to date... Ralph Bowen: Due Reverence Due Reverence is a gem of an album from beginning to end. All five compositions by its protagonist, tenor saxophonist Ralph Bowen, deserve high praise for outstanding invention and impeccable execution. These are erudite compositions, delving not just into musical characters, but more than anything else, empathizing with them, emoting with them by taking turns on a trapeze of highs and lows with swooping changes in tone and manner. And best of all there is incredible rhythmic invention in each of the musical elegies--from a walking and trotting swing to a challenging shuffle-skip-and-fly rhythm executed in a most unfettered way... Charnett Moffett: The Art of Improvisation Discs that focus on a single instrument are not that uncommon in jazz, but recordings focusing primarily on the bass are quite rare, even for bassists who lead their own bands. Charnett Moffett's The Art of Improvisation joins the rank of such gems as Paul Chambers's Bass on Top (Blue Note, 1957) and, in particular, Ron Carter's Piccolo (Milestone, 1977) because Moffett also plays piccolo bass, an instrument invented by Carter, on three of The Art of Improvisation's 12 tracks... Raphael Imbert Trio: N_Y Project Bookending eleven of your own tunes with Duke Ellington's "Echoes of Harlem" and John Coltrane's "Central Park West" is a bold decision for any jazz musician to make--it's a confident statement and a risky one. On N_Y Project the decision pays off--saxophonist Raphael Imbert's compositions have their own strengths and innovations, ensuring that they stand such close comparison. The Marseille-based musician and the New York-based rhythm section also demonstrate some strong playing across this exciting collection of songs inspired by the Big Apple... Marc Mommaas: Landmarc In an era of single tune downloads and shortened attention spans, works like Marc Mommaas' Landmarc could be on their way out, facing marketplace extinction. The Dutch-born, New York-based saxophonist has created a nine-song set with a continuity of concept and mood at a time when it's all too common for artists to mix lineups, moods and genres on their CDs, to display their versatility and/or appeal to the download customer...

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