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Sunwrae Ensemble: Live at Thornbury Theatre
Not to be confused with Saturn's most famous jazz son, the Sunwrae Ensemble is the creation of Rae Howell, a multi-instrumentalist who has gained widespread recognition in her native Australia as a composer of highly original music which simmers somewhere between cinematic score, modern classical composition, and chamber jazz of a distinctly progressive variety. Recorded at Melbourne's Thornbury Theatre in 2009, Rae orchestrates various configurations of piano, string quartet, double-bass and drums, harp, vibraphone and flute, through an intriguing set of her own compositions, performed by all with unbridled passion...
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Norma Winstone: Stories Yet to Tell
Distances (ECM, 2008) wasn't British vocalist Norma Winstone's first release to feature her current trio of reedman m: Klaus Gesing and pianist Glauco Venier, but with ECM Records' greater exposure and reputation, it was the first to reach a broader international audience. With Distance a largely lyric-based alternative to Winstone's always lovely wordless vocals on Chamber Music (Universal, 2004), Stories Yet to Tell is a worthy successor to both, with even greater emphasis on Winstone the lyricist--she contributes to eight of its twelve songs--making it an even more personal collection than either this trio's past releases or the hushed beauty of her 1987 ECM debut as a leader, Somewhere Called Home...
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Jared Gold: Out of Line
The age of the classic chitlin' circuit organ combo passed away with m: Jimmy Smith in 2005. Regardless, greasy-spoon organ jazz is still frequently summoned, if only in approximate form, beating the alternative of no new mainstream B3 music at all. New Yorker Jared Gold tore things up on his Supersonic (Posi-Tone, 2009) and Dan Pratt's Toe The Line (e: Posi-Tone Records, 2010), and continues to do so on Out of Line...
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Dave Douglas and Keystone: Spark Of Being: Expand
Just as summer comes to a close, another great release from trumpeter/composer Dave Douglas comes along. Expand is the second part of a trilogy of music, performed by Dave Douglas and Keystone, for the Bill Morrison film Spark of Being (2010). The film and related music bring Mary Shelley's iconic novel, Frankenstein (1818), and the relationship between science and humanity in the future, into a modern light. The first part, Soundtrack (Greenleaf, 2010) , was released earlier in the summer, with the conclusion, Burst (Greenleaf, 2010), to follow in the fall. All three releases are also available together as a box set...
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The Black Crowes: Croweology
Croweology is a reaffirmation of the versatility of The Black Crowes lineup as first presented on Warpaint (Silver Arrow, 2008). It also extends the group's reach into the realm of Americana, as introduced on Before the Frost/Until the Freeze (Silver Arrow, 2009)
In hearing this two-CD set, it's essential not to compare these new arrangements to the previously recorded versions, if only because the only carryovers in the current lineup remain in the form of founding siblings Chris and m: Rich Robinson, as well as loyal drummer Steve Gorman. That said, the durable nature of some tunes, such as "Jealous Again," results in a take not altogether different from its precursor---except that this version sounds equally legitimate with the finger-picked guitar by both Rich Robinson and guitarist m: Luther Dickinson, of m: The North Mississippi Allstars, plus salty barrel-house piano from estimable keyboardist Adam MacDougall, who's never afraid to strut his stuff when given the chance...
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Charles Lloyd Quartet: Mirror
Sometimes the trust in knowing can yield more than the excitement of uncharted territory. Charles Lloyd ratchets down the energy from Rabo De Nube (ECM, 2008), one of the most exciting, free-wheeling albums and new groups of the saxophonist's half century career. Relying on the quartet's increasingly profound chemistry--and mostly recycled material rather than Rabo's largely new set of originals--Lloyd continues his upward trajectory; his intrinsically spiritual nature a moving force behind an album somewhat reminiscent of The Water is Wide (ECM, 2000). The Water is Wide's multigenerational quintet of established greats and stars-in-the-making, however, culled low-keyed material from a longer recording session that also yielded the energetic follow-up, Hyperion with Higgins (ECM, 2001). Instead, Mirror teams Lloyd with three active, thirty-something musicians on the vanguard of 21st Century American jazz...
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David S. Ware: Onecept
In the press release for Onecept, David S. Ware makes much of the concept of spontaneous form. This is worth mentioning because the degree of continuity between notion and outcome is exceptional. Ware's work--and, indeed, his musical life, perhaps--is now at a stage where the reedman doesn't have to be combustible all the time, and it shows in this trio's collection of three equal voices. The implied democracy hasn't resulted in a quenching of the fire, but rather a group music based upon such a level of intuitive understanding that it can only be described as extraordinary...
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Paul Carr: Straight Ahead Soul
If saxophonist m: Paul Carr could be described in a single word, it would be durable. Carr's two previous recordings--Just Noodlin' (PCJE, 2008) and Musically Yours (PCJE, 2006)--displayed a dependable adherence to the m: Ray Charles' principles of rhythm and blues. His tone and attack are made of the same precious metal as that of m: Hank Crawford and m: David "Fathead" Newman. On Straight Ahead Soul, Carr does his part to move adult contemporary jazz toward respectability with the fussy and hard-to-please traditionalist...
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Various Artists: Latin Party
The redoubtable Putumayo programmers have already released ¡Baila! A Latin Dance Mix (2006), ¡Salsa! (2009) and Afro-Latin Party (2005), as well as nationally-themed but party-ready collections from Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. Are they perhaps scraping the bottom of the Latin party barrel with Latin Party? Ah, that would be to mistake the inexhaustible profundity of that barrel...
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Matt Jorgensen: Tattooed by Passion: Music Inspired by the Paintings of Dale Chisman
Drummer Matt Jorgensen pushes a bit out of the relative comfort zone of his longstanding Matt Jorgensen + 451 ensemble, to pay homage to his late father-in-law, abstract expressionist painter Dale Chisman, with Tattooed by Passion. With his + 451 group, Jorgensen crafted a distinctive modern-leaning sound on CDs Hope (Origin Records, 2004) and Another Morning (Origin Records, 2008). He carries that tradition forward on Tattooed by Passion...
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Jose James and Jef Neve: For All We Know
A newsworthy release, not just for the poised American songbook performances of Minneapolis-born, London-based singer JosA(C) James and his accompanist, Belgian pianist m: Jef Neve, but also for its issuing label. The iconic Impulse! is not best known for vocal albums.
Under its present owners, Universal Music/Verve, the onetime home of the new thing and its standard bearer, saxophonist m: John Coltrane, was mostly dormant during the 2000s, aside from a burst of reissue activity mid-decade to coincide with the publication of Ashley Kahn's biography, The House That Trane Built: The Story of Impulse Records (Granta, 2006). James is the first new artist in over a decade to sign to Impulse!, and For All We Know is its first newly recorded release since pianist/harpist m: Alice Coltrane's Translinear Light in 2004...
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Ted Piltzecker: Steppe Forward
From the opening notes of "Steppe Forward" itself, Ted Piltzecker and his sextet give a clear statement of intent: Steppe Forward is going to be an upbeat, joyous and uplifting album, from beginning to end. As the closing bars of "Reunion Blues" fade away, it's clear that the band has achieved this intention, with a lively, inventive and engaging set of tunes and some exceptional playing...
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Dave Holland and Pepe Habichuela: Hands
Sometimes the best indicator of an artist's versatility is in the side projects they accept. Bassist Dave Holland's career could hardly be described as monolithic, with his discography as a leader--ranging from his quintet (Critical Mass (Dare2, 2006)) to his big band (Overtime (Dare2, 2005)) --nothing short of but exemplary. Still, some of the most unexpected revelations have come on peripheral dates, such as Mid-Eastern-informed Thimar (ECM, 1998), with Tunisian oudist m: Anouar Brahem and British reed man m: John Surman, or the aptly named World Trio (Intuition, 1995), featuring guitarist m: Kevin Eubanks and percussionist m: Mino Cinelu. When Holland shares the marquee, it seems, the only sure thing is the surprise in store...
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Georg Breinschmid: Brein's World
Georg Breinschmid is a madman; a genius madman, but a madman just the same. "Schnucki von Heanois" is a Yiddish Rap and is not even the subject of this piece. Breinschmid's brand of music is a bit hard to describe, but here goes. The bassist takes whatever musical tradition striking him at the time and infuses it with such a potent Eastern European spirit that it's impossible to know if you should dance a polka or a bluegrass jig...
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Various Artists: Cuban Funk Experience
UK mixologist John Armstrong has compiled a collection of "Cuban funk" recordings from the coffers of two record labels: Havana's Egrem and Miami's Sound Triangle, between 1973 and 1988. Like Típica '73's Johnny "Dandy" Rodríguez did back in the 1970s, Armstrong is arguing that Cuban music in the US and in Cuba are two branches of a single family tree. He makes a good case. An interesting experiment is to try to identify which of these cuts comes from which country: it's not easy...
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