It’s been a slow summer at TNB, but now we’re deep into September – the year is just flying by! The fall months are bringing a lot of great new music that we look forward to digging into and sharing with you. In the meantime, here are some of the albums we loved during the hot summer months, and we hope you will enjoy them, too.
TNB Pick!
David Virelles with Ben Street and Eric McPherson – Carta
(released June 16, 2023)
David Virelles – Piano
Ben Street – Acoustic Bass
Eric McPherson – Drums, Percussion
The piano trio may be the most difficult format to make your mark – from Ahmad Jamal to Keith Jarrett to Hank Jones to Tommy Flanagan, the great geniuses of that instrument have already put their stamp on the format. For that reason, many pianists take their time before making a trio record – what is there new to say? Following up on last year’s brilliant Nuna, which is (mostly) a solo recital, keyboard star Virelles has given us the piano trio we’ve been waiting for. Bassist Ben Street and drummer Eric McPherson are the perfect accompanists, and the music is evocative at every turn. Virelles’ take on the trio is highly rhythmic – the tunes have a dark Monk-ish sensibility, the writing is sharply percussive, and Eric McPherson’s clave-derived beats are essential. Highlights included the dense overlapping lines of “NYChepinson,” the poise and authority at a medium tempo on “Confidential,” and the lovely blending of tradition and the avant-garde on “Tiempos.” Virelles goes from strength to strength with each release – he’s shown each time he’s one of the most vital players alive. More Virelles to come at TNB!
TNB Pick!
Michael Formanek Elusion Quartet – As Things Do
(released May 19, 2023)
Michael Formanek – Double Bass
Tony Malaby – Tenor & Soprano Saxophones
Kris Davis – Piano
Ches Smith – Drums & Vibes
A new release from Michael Formanek is an event, and the terrific As Things Do showcases Michael Formanek’s “triple threat” talent as a composer, bassist, and bandleader. This is one of the year’s best releases. Formanek wrote all the tunes, balancing memorable melodies, clever arrangements, and open spaces for the soloists to leave their mark. This material brings out terrific playing from everybody. Formanek’s bass is full of rhythmic poise and beauty, Tony Malaby sounds fantastic here (especially on tenor), Kris Davis’s piano always takes the music in a new and exciting direction, and Ches Smith has the style and restraint to organize all of the fun explorations going on about him. An instant classical from start to finish.
TNB Pick!
jaimie branch – Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((world war))
(released August 25, 2023)
jaimie branch – trumpet, voice, keyboard, percussion, happy apple
Lester St. Louis – cello, voice, flute, marimba, keyboard
Jason Ajemian – double bass, electric bass, voice, marimba
Chad Taylor – drums, mbira, timpani, bells, marimba
The arrival of another Jaimie Branch album would have been a cause for celebration, but now that feeling is tinged with somber reflection. Branch’s death last year at age 39 has sadly left a void in the music landscape, and on Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((world war)), Branch’s 3rd album with the “Fly or Die” band, you can hear the fulfillment of a promise made by her 2017 debut album. On that first record, Branch showed a way of making creative and “avant-garde” music accessible, urgent, and understandable, qualities that are fully realized in this new recording. The importance of directness is something Branch emphasized in interviews such as this one with Burning Ambulance – she did not favor esoteric, complex song forms and instead wanted to find a way to write simple tunes that shared feeling and meaning. That ability to communicate is all over Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((world war)), from the earthy rhythms of “borealis dancing” to the joyous “baba louie,” or the urgent vocals Branch deploys on “burning grey” and “take over the world.” Branch was a transcendent talent that will be sorely missed.
TNB Pick!
Guillermo Klein Quinteto – Telmo’s Tune
(released August 18, 2023)
Chris Cheek – tenor and soprano saxophones
Leo Genovese – Fender Rhodes and keyboards
Matt Pavolka – bass
Allan Mednard – drums
Guillermo Klein – piano
Reid Anderson described Klien’s music in a 2006 interview as “ethereal yet accessible . . . rich in detail, combining rhythmic and contrapuntal intensity with flights of pure melodic joy.” That description is just as accurate today, and we can’t have enough music from one of the greatest writers and arrangers in music. Usually, Klien presents his big band, but on Telmo’s Tune, he employs a small group recorded after a stint last year at the Village Vanguard. Even without the huge palette of the large group, the writing and arranging have a rare and striking beauty. Telmo’s Tune starts with a joyous aplomb on the opener, “Criolla,” which uses a dancing melody played by Chris Cheek on soprano sax set over the bouncy rhythms of the keyboards and percussion. Elsewhere, Klien uses stillness and open spaces (“Push Me Not and “Is cos me queres”) to let us admire the architecture of deconstructed rhythmic language and gorgeous sound and textures produced by the band. Denser arrangements return on the album’s back half, bridging a gap between traditional South American rhythms and the exciting, modern playing of sax player Cheek and keyboards from Genovese. Invariably, stunning beauty is at the center.
Emma Rawicz – Chroma
(released August 25, 2023)
Emma Rawicz – Tenor saxophone and Bass Clarinet
Ivo Neame – Piano
Ant Law – Guitar
Conor Chaplin – Upright and electric bass
Asaf Sirkis – Drums and vocals
Immy Churchill – Vocals
Emma Rawicz’s new album Chroma proves she is one of London’s most exciting new sax players. To hear Rawicz’s solo prowess, skip to the third tune on the record, “Rangwali.” On Rawicz’s tenor solo, you hear a biting tone and complex, elastic sax lines that reminded me of Bob Berg (one of my favorites!). Rawicz has assembled a fire-breathing group, with especially exciting playing from guitarist Ant Law and pianist Ivo Neame. Impressive! What will Rawicz and this band will do next?
Otis Sandsjö – Y-OTIS 2
(released July 24, 2020)
Otis Sandsjö – tenor saxophone & clarinet
Petter Eldh – bass & synthesizers
Dan Nicholls – keyboards & synthesizers
Tilo Weber – drums
I’m new to this project/band, a sequel to an album (Y-OTIS) that I have not heard yet, but I’ve loved bassist Petter Eldh’s music (check out his Koma Saxo), and I knew I had to listen to this. I’m glad I did! The best tracks here (“Tremendoce,” “Oisters,” and “Atombahn”) sound amazing and unique, with their multi-tracked and displaced world of woozy synths set over beats. The band calls the sound “liquid jazz of tomorrow” – take the plunge!
Luciana Souza & Trio Corrente – Cometa
(released August 25, 2023)
Luciana Souza – vocals
Fabio Torres – piano
Paulo Paulelli – bass
Edu Ribeiro – drums
It’s great to hear Luciana Souza back with “a new recording highlighting the pleasures of community, music making, and the Brazilian songbook,” as the album’s Bandcamp page says. Pianist Fabio Torres of Trio Corrente invited LA-based Souza to return to Brazil for concerts in the fall of 2022, coinciding with the election of Lula da Silva as Brazil’s new president. The performances went so well that Souza and Trio Corrente immediately decided to record an album featuring a combination of Brazilian classics and group originals. You can hear the air of celebration and uplift in the music, which celebrates rich tradition and a moment of hope for a new Brazil.
Nora Stanley and Benny Bock – Distance of the Moon
(released June 9, 2023)
Benny Bock – Steinway Grand Piano, Steinway Prepared Upright Piano, Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer 200a, Hammond B3, Estey Pump Organ, Percussion, Baritone Guitar, ARP 2600, Yamaha CS60, Moog Minimoog, Prophet 5, UDO Super 6, Oberheim Two Voice Pro, Soma Lyra & Pulsar 23, Drum Programming
Nora Stanley – Saxophone, Korg Maxikorg 800, Soma Pulsar, Moog Minimoog, Percussion, Kalimba, Drum Programming
and other musicians
Distance of the Moon sounds like a late fall or winter album, but its quiet luminosity has also been lovely to listen to through the summer months. Keyboardist and composer Benny Bock created a series of duets with composer and saxophonist Nora Stanley, employing a giant battery of instruments to develop spare and charming music. The album’s highlight is the lilting, evocative melody of “March,” which features memorable playing. The rest is this album can cast a spell – I know I’ll return to it when the weather turns and the leaves start falling.
Trickster: Live in Brooklyn
(released August 15, 2023)
Miles Okazaki – guitar, compositions
Sean Rickman – drums
Matt Mitchell – piano
Anthony Tidd – bass
Trickster is led by guitarist Miles Okazaki, and finally gets to show what it can do in front of an audience on the appropriately titled Trickster: Live in Brooklyn. Trickster has been well-documented on several studio albums (such as Trickster from 2017 and The Sky Below from 2019). However, the lockdown intervened when Okazaki wanted to take the band on the road and make a live album in 2020. Instead, we got a “recorded live at home” record (Trickster’s Dreamtriuckers). With the Pandemic behind us, we finally get a document of Trickster at a small club in Brooklyn in front of an enthusiastic audience. The highlight of this double album has to be “Mischief/Caduceus Steps,” which takes two themes by Okazaki and smashes them into Coltrane’s “Giant Steps.” To hear Matt Mitchell solo over Trane’s legendary tune is worth the price of admission alone! The jam flavor of the Trickster project seems endlessly renewable and, by the evidence here, a must-see live. Also, check out the cool vinyl issue of the album on Bandcamp.
Joe Farnsworth – In What Direction Are You Headed?
(released May 19, 2023)
Joe Farnsworth – drums
Kurt Rosenwinkel – guitar
Immanuel Wilkins – saxophone
Julius Rodriguez – piano
Robert Hurst – bass
Joe Farnsworth has always celebrated the jazz greats by playing with them, such as his collaborations with Cedar Walton, Harold Maburn, and George Coleman. With In What Direction Are You Headed? Farnsworth signals a change of approach and has recorded with younger players like saxist of the minute Immanuel Wilkins and vet guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel. The shift in direction injects this album with energy and a new sense of adventure. Farnsworth’s sound has constantly reminded me of Billy Higgins, a drummer who could play with Cedar Walton and Ornette Coleman. Now Farnsworth has embraced open and exciting music forms still grounded in the tradition with this stimulating new direction!
Archival TNB Pick!
Evenings at the Village Gate: John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy
(released July 14, 2023)
Link to Spotify
Link to Apple Music
John Coltrane – soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone
Eric Dolphy – alto saxophone, bass clarinet, and flute
Art Davis – double bass
Elvin Jones – drums
McCoy Tyner – piano
Reggie Workman – double bass
Play this newly discovered music and come time traveling to the Village Gate in the summer of 1961. You’ll hear the crackling fission of Coltrane and Eric Dolphy developing this unsettled, searching, and land-breaking music, right before your ears. The so-so audio only adds to the experience – you feel like you are eavesdropping on history in the making. Coltrane stretches out on the almost 16-minute-long “My Favorite Things” and burns on “Impressions.” Don’t skip the set closer “Africa,” making its only known recorded live performance. Coltrane had recently recorded “Africa” on the phenomenal Africa/Brass, which was, along with “My Favorite Things,” a formative launchpad for his concept of experimental music that embraced world influences and spirituality. The live version of “Africa” jumps out from the other performances due to the earth-shaking groove developed by Elvin Jones and the drama of the galloping arrangement set against dynamic solos by Coltrane and Dolphy—the highlight of a fantastic set captured on this essential release.