Month: January 2024

Amanda Gardier – Auteur: Music Inspired by the Films of Wes Anderson (released January 26, 2024)

Amanda Gardier – Alto Saxophone and compositions
Charlie Ballantine – Guitar
Jesse Wittman – Bass
Dave King – Drums

Purchase on Bandcamp
Stream at Apple Music
Stream at Spotify

Wes Anderson may have been snubbed by the Motion Picture Academy this past week, but his fans can find solace in the release of Amanda Gardier’s Auteur: Music Inspired by the Films of Wes Anderson, a heartfelt and winning album inspired by the aesthetic of the great director. When I saw the album cover for Auteur, which channels the visual style of Wes Anderson, I was immediately excited about the concept of making music inspired by film. Although musical tributes to film directors are much less common than for musicians or albums, a few examples come to mind. Enrico Pieranunazi did a stylish album dedicated to Federico Fellini, William Parker devoted one disc out of his ten-volume opus Migration of Silence Into and Out of The Tone World to Fellini and other Italian filmmakers, and Tim Hagans & The NDR Big Band did an album inspired by John Cassavetes. Ken Vandermark named a band after avant-garde filmmaker Chris Marker. I’m sure there are others, but I think tributes to film directors may be less common because directing is an inherently visual activity with no obvious musical analogue. Making an album inspired by Wes Anderson is a particularly interesting choice. Anderson’s aesthetic and stylized dialogue are distinctive and evocative, and translating this world into sound is an enticing project that attracts sympathetic minds.

Amanda Gardier’s writing is terrific on Auteur, and I think you can hear the connection to Anderson in the music. Gardier’s talent for portraying a slightly melancholy, melodically attractive sound world can be traced to the first track of her discography as a leader, “Giants,” from the 2018 album Empathy. “Giants” uses an arrangement of reeds, bass, and guitar lines to create a luminous effect that is simultaneously downcast and hopeful. The rest of Gardier’s debut and her 2020 follow-up, Flyover Country, contain more of this fine writing and are highly recommended. The compositions on the new Auteur expand on this emotional landscape and feel of a piece with the world of Wes Anderson. Gardier achieves a variety of moods, starting with the opening track, “Coping with the Very Troubled Child,” which conveys a frantic sense of displacement. Other tunes are distinctive, such as “The Incarcerated Artist and His Muse,” which features a wistful sax melody over tremolo guitar, or the joyful calypso line of album closer “Green Line.” Gardier seems to like creating intros and outros that use repetition drawn from minimalist techniques, such as at the end of “The Cycling Reporter” or “Order for Yourself.” Then there’s “Let’s Hope It’s Got a Happy Ending,” which feels like the album’s centerpiece, a thoughtful arranged, long-form composition that conveys the mixture of feelings suggested by the song’s title. However, for me, the highlight is “The Blue of Winter,” which is built around a plaintive alto melody that Gardier repeats, developing increasingly intense, forceful ideas. The last 3 minutes of this tune are cathartic, with incredible drumming from Dave King – “The Blue of Winter” is the most moving music I’ve heard so far this year.

Auteur also features strong playing from all the members of this quartet. Gardier brings back two players from Empathy, guitarist Charlie Ballantine and bassist Jesse Wittman. Ballantine, who is also Gardier’s husband, has a great sound and interesting ideas. He knows how to play in many contexts, whether rock, blues, or jazz, and has the restraint to serve the song as well as the chops to play attractive, melodic solos, which he does on “Electroshock Therapy” and “Green Line.” Bassist Jesse Wittman is much more prominently featured on Auteur than on Empathy, and his playing, especially in quick tempos such as the opening track, is impressive. Dave King, who plays in The Bad Plus, with Julian Lage and his own Dave King Trucking Company, hardly needs any introduction – he’s one of the top drummers anywhere. His playing is a delight throughout Auteur, always full of energy regardless of tempo and pulling an astounding array of textures and ideas out of his kit. But the star is Gardier herself, and while I think her writing is the primary attraction of this album, her playing is excellent, too. Her alto sax playing has a buoyant sound and a full, rich tone. On this album, Gardier displays new dimensions of her playing, such as pushing expressive tonality with the intensity of “The Blue of Winter” that I describe above or playing “off the horn” techniques with her solo on “The Cycling Reporter.” Her playing is melodic, energetic, and has a bite when the music needs it.

Auteur: Music Inspired by the Films of Wes Anderson has a great concept and is well executed. You don’t need to be a Wes Anderson fan to hear what is happening in this album. The music is quite varied, and there is a lot of beauty and a convincing rendering of a sonic and emotional space. With Auteur, Gardier has joined the small but distinguished group of musicians that use the visual medium of film as an inspiration to make music. More artists should give it a try.

Related links:

Catch up with Gardier
To prepare for this review, I listened to two good interviews with Gardier, here and here. She’s a very amiable interviewee who freely shares her debt to Miguel Zenón, and her interest in composing based on characters and themes from TV and film.

More Ballantine!
Gardier’s husband, Charlie Ballantine, is one of the top guitar players today. If you like his playing here, you’ll also enjoy checking out his records. I recommend Vonnegut,  Life is Brief: The Music of Bob Dylan, or Where Is My Mind? which all feature Gardier.

More King!
King’s drumming lifts up Auteur – well, King’s drumming is always a wonderful. Hearing him here made me jump back and listen to his drumming on the recent 2023 Chris Speed album, and also watch and listen to my favorite drum break in recent memory. (Go to 3:30 in). I also listened to two favorites, Adopted Highway and Surrounded By The Night by Dave King Trucking Company. And that’s just scratching the surface. Also, I need to mention Rational Funk, a deep resource of drum knowledge and good humor.

Here’s where I fess up
One of the reasons I didn’t try and make direct connections between these tunes and Anderson movies, is that . . . I’ve seen very few of them. I enjoyed Asteroid City, but bizarrely, it’s the first Anderson movie I’ve seen. I did see Bottle Rocket after that (I loved it), so now I need to take in all the films in between. I’ve been inspired by this album, and I ordered a giant stack of DVD’s from the New York Public Library. So, now I’ll be watching Wes Anderson with Amanda Gardier as my guide!

Mary Halvorson – Cloudward (Nonesuch, 2024)

Link to purchase at Bandcamp
Link to stream at Apple Music
Link to stream at Spotify

With snowflakes falling outside, I’m listening to Cloudward, the highly anticipated Mary Halvorson album. It’s the best soundtrack I can imagine for enjoying the first NYC winter-like landscape in two years; like the snow, Halvorson’s music moves with spontaneity and grace and, at the same time, conveys an uplifting feeling. Halvorson emphasizes the sense of hopefulness she felt when she wrote this music in 2022. In the press kit for the album, Halvorson says, “This band, for me, was quite simply working, both musically and personally, and the main thing I felt while writing the music was optimism.” That feeling of optimism is all over Cloudward, an album which showcases the leader’s strengths and her remarkable sextet.

Cloudward comes on the heels of Amaryllis, the 2022 release that capitulated Halvorson to the top of that year’s Francis Davis Jazz Critics poll. Halvorson’s new album uses the same band as Amaryllis – Halvorson on guitar, Patricia Brennan on vibraphone, Nick Dunston on bass, Tomas Fujiwara on drums, Jacob Garchik on trombone and Adam O’Farrill on trumpet. On Amaryllis, this band performed dense, knotty, and energetic music in the same vein as other Halvorson classics like Away With You (2016) and Illusionary Sea (2013). You could hear the excellence of the then newly formed band as well as the potential that they could do even more. When Amaryllis was written and performed, the pandemic had sidelined live work, but after that recording, Halvorson was able to take the band out on the road. Cloudward reflects both the opportunity for this band to develop the chemistry that comes from playing together and for Halvorson to imagine the possibilities of writing for a working group rather than a studio ensemble.

The development of Halvorson’s writing marks the biggest leap forward with Cloudward. Halvorson’s accomplishment brings to mind an oft-repeated adage about Duke Ellington that he used the personalities of his band to forge his compositions, harnessing the qualities of his player’s instrumental voices and often developing tunes as a showcase for star players. Halvorson’s compositions on Cloudward use that wisdom to great effect. For example, the second and third tracks, “The Tower” and “Collapsing Mount,” form a kind of suite for the vibraphone player Patricia Brennen in both solo and prominent accompanying roles. Brennan sounds spectacular here, and Cloudward is an excellent display of the versatility of her playing and the power of her sound and phrasing. Elsewhere, remarkable brass solos bookend the album. On the opening tune, “The Gate,” Jacob Garchik comes out of, yes, the gate with an assertive and fluent trombone solo, followed by the exuberant trumpetry of Adam O’Farrill. The two closing tunes repeat the same trick, with Garchik dominating “Tailhead,” followed by O’Farrill injecting propulsive and uplifting energy to album closer “Ultramarine.” Drummer Tomas Fujiwara provides terrific support throughout, using his rich palette to set the mood and structure of the performances. On “Unscrolling,” bassist Nick Dunston gets to deliver a memorably energetic arco solo. Also making an appearance is labelmate Laurie Anderson, who plays violin on “Incarnadine.” I like the quietly mysterious free improv here, buoyed by Anderson’s enigmatic playing. Notably, none of the tunes run through multiple back-to-back solos which sometimes happen as a consequence of band “democracy,” where everybody gets a crack at every tune. Instead, each performance on Cloudward showcases one or two band members in ways that are always in service of the compositions’ individual energy, texture, or mood. Everybody gets a chance to shine, but Halvorson brilliantly marshals this creativity within the musical structures.

As for Halvorson herself, her guitar playing is surprisingly restrained through much of Cloudward, which I think demonstrates how she has chosen to use this release to spotlight her compositions, arranging, and band-leading. However, in the mid-album “Desiderata,” Halvorson turns the volume up and delivers an unfettered, intense, metal-edged solo that bursts out of the intricate arrangement. It’s a singular moment of ferocity and a reminder of what a total badass Halvorson is on guitar. Halvorson does not take another solo like that one on the record, which might have left you wanting more, but the music and this band are so remarkable that nothing seems out of place.

Cloudward is a deep album that balances beauty and energy and achieves a wonderful variety of moods and ideas. In this release, Halvorson demonstrates her growth as a bandleader and her deep level of maturity and skill. If you’re a Halvorson fan, I’m sure you won’t miss this one, and if you’re new to her music, this is a great place to start. This band is on tour now, and it will be interesting to see how they develop and change this material in performance. Make sure you check them out live and pick up a copy of Cloudward.

More links:

One of the Albums of the Year
Unsurprisingly, Cloudward is getting lots of notice. Read excellent reviews at The Guardian, Pop Matters, Bandcamp, All About Jazz, and The Quietus.

It’s on Vinyl
We’ve been hearing for years that vinyl is making a resurgence, but the production cost for vinyl releases is still very high, so if you want to support this format, check out the vinyl on Bandcamp. Here’s Mary playing her copy.

Halvorson’s Album Picks
As part of the promotion for this album and the 60th anniversary of Nonesuch, Halvorson made a  video inaugurating Nonesuch’s album library, where she picks out favorite albums.  I love her choices, some of which I have not heard!

Guitar Corner
This video might be better suited for guitarists, but even for the novice, the gear session featuring Halvorson, Julian Lage, and Miles Okazaki is delightful. I love listening and looking as they geek out over guitars and equipment, plus you pick up some fascinating musical tidbits.

It’s All Here
The Mary Halvorson sessionography by Rick Lopez is comprehensive and outstanding. We need this type of discography available for more artists.

Matthew Shipp – Steve Swell – Space Cube Jazz (RogueArt, 2024)

Link to purchase at Bandcamp

Personnel:
Steve Swell – trombone
Matthew Shipp – piano

(released January 12, 2024, recorded November 24th, 2021, at Park West Studios, Brooklyn, NY, USA)

The new year has started with Space Cube Jazz, an album of duets from pianist Matthew Shipp and trombonist Steve Swell. Given their respective reputations in creative music and both artists’ long relationship with RogueArt, it’s surprising that Shipp and Swell have never recorded an album together until now. However, the results are excellent, and Space Cube Jazz is strongly recommended. A great way to start 2024!

This new album is also a good entry point into the huge discographies of these two musicians, as it gives plenty of space for both the pianist and the trombonist to demonstrate their personalities, show what they can do with their instruments, and create a representative sound world. In Shipp’s case, he has referred to himself in interviews as a “cosmic pianist,” which you can hear in the abstract piano sounds, as well as the title Space Cube Jazz, and song names like “Dark Matter” or “Space Warp.” The other half of the titles describe a kinetic energy, such as “Flashes” or “Electric Tip,” which capture the flavor of the record. The interactions of Shipp and Swell have a palpable fission, and the music has a density and luster that marks its excellence.

I want to share some of the highlights. On the tune “Dark Matter,” the meeting of these players is at its most simpatico and authoritative. Taken at a leisurely tempo, Swell plays in a deep blues vein and shows off an astonishing array of moans and shouts over Shipp’s left hand bass patterns. “Dark Matter” is delightfully connected to classic jazz language and sets a wonderful and effective mood. Another memorable performance is on the dirge-like “Firmament,” which reminded me of the classic tune “Evolution” by Grachan Moncur III. Swell’s trombone, like Moncur’s, digs into a deep and meditative place, while Shipp uses the tranquil setting to craft a beautiful accompaniment. The rest of Space Cube Jazz is at an equally high level. The album opens with a dynamic back and forth of “Flashes,” where you can hear the close listening and creativity of the duo partners. Other tunes show off a shared language such as on “Stairways” and “Ice and Water.” The pacing and variety of Space Cube Jazz is also maintained by using two tracks for a solo statement – Shipp demonstrates his mesmerizing solo piano vocabulary on “Space Warp” and Swell plays a kind of trombone etude on “By and By.” Space Cube Jazz brings out the distinctive qualities in both players – Shipp’s playing is evocative, angular, wonderfully moody, and highly rhythmic. Swell’s trombone has a vocal quality, and his articulate lines feel like an echo of human thoughts and feelings. This is just what you want from the duo format – both players display what makes them special and also find a middle ground where they create memorable music.

I’m glad Swell and Shipp have finally recorded an album together, and I hope they will make many more. It is a fascinating and welcome release. As usual, there is another Shipp record right around the corner – he just announced a trio album with Michael Bisio and Newman Taylor Baker coming out in April. Swell also has another RogueArt disc coming out with the PNY Quintet in March 2024. You can check out upcoming gigs at Swell’s website, with the next being live date this Sunday at New York City Jazz Vespers. Lots to look forward to in 2024!

The past couple of weeks have been list-making time, an opportunity to reflect on the great music that came out in the past year and try to distill what was best or most meaningful. I discussed my top 20 albums in this blog’s year-end summary, a slightly expanded version of the list I submitted for the 18th annual Francis Davis Jazz Critics poll. The Francis Davis poll is now live at Arts Fuse, and if you are interested in jazz or adjacent genres of creative music, you owe it to yourself to spend some time checking out the poll results in detail. In this year’s poll, the 159 critics and journalists who participated were asked to pick their top 10 new releases, three top archival releases, and make one pick each for debut artist and Latin jazz. The published results calculate the winners and publish a list of the top 50 jazz albums for 2023, along with insightful essays by poll founder Francis Davis and tireless poll runner Tom Hull. You’ll also find a list of jazz musicians who have died in 2023 and, most interesting of all, access to each of the individual ballots. Digging into the wealth of results is an excellent way of finding music you missed over the last year and getting a new perspective on the landscape in the creative music community.

In his keynote essay “The State of Our Union Could Be Better,” Francis Davis argues that the annual poll results over the last 18 years document a changing of the guard. In the first poll from 2006, only one of the top ten finalists was under 50 years old. By contrast, in the 2023 poll, only two of the top ten are over 50. Jazz is now younger, more diverse, more international, and more female – all excellent developments for the health of this art form. But the picture presented by the poll results is far from rosy. Davis also points out that the overwhelming number of the top 50 releases are on small artist-run labels. Although releasing music independently is often cast as giving artistic freedom, this choice is created from necessity. The 18 years of poll results show how major labels have largely left the “jazz” scene, and artists now have to fend for themselves. You can find the prior poll results here; the comparison is illuminating and a little distressing. Among the poll winners from the first five years of the poll were jazz albums on major labels such as Verve, EmArcy, Sony, and Concord. Even more important is the influence of Blue Note, one of the most important independent labels in jazz, but really a major label owned by Universal Music Group since 2012 and EMI since 1979. During the first 13 years of the poll, Blue Note consistently had at least one and often multiple albums in the top ten poll winners. This year, however, Blue Note released only four of the top 50 poll winners and had no top ten albums for only the second time in the poll’s history. There are really no other majors to pick up the slack – the only major label release in this year’s top ten is from James Darcy Argue on Warner Brothers-owned Nonesuch (#5 on the list). The declining absence of major labels from this jazz poll is part of a long story of disinterest in America’s art form that started with Columbia’s infamous purge of their jazz roster in 1973.

Artist-run labels have largely filled the vacuum left by the departure of major labels. First-place poll winner James Brandon Lewis released For Mahalia, With Love on Tao Forms, a label started by drummer Whit Dickey in 2020. Runner-up Jason Moran self-released From the Dancehall to the Battlefield on his Yes Records imprint, which has issued only Moran’s albums to date. Elsewhere in the top ten, independent standard bearer Pi issued three albums in the top ten (by Steve Lehman (#3), Tyshawn Sorey (#4) and Henry Threadgill (#8), while Kris Davis’s Diatom Ribbons Live at the Village Vanguard is on her Pyroclastic label (#7), and the fifth edition of Matana Roberts’ Coin Coin is on Canadian independent Constellation (#6). The top ten is rounded out at 9th place with Jaimie Branch’s posthumous release on Chicago-based indy International Anthem and the second album by Myra Melford’s Fire and Water Quintet on French independent label RogueArt. Whether the poll documents a decline in interest by the majors or a disconnect between major label support and artistic excellence is almost beside the point. The poll results show that the artists making the most vital music have had to do it on their own. Just about every month, another musician announces they are starting an imprint to self-release their new album, undoubtedly a sign of the change in times. And let’s not forget the withering of other critical sources of support to artists, such as the closing of local performance venues or the uncertainty over the future of artist favorite Bandcamp. It’s easy to feel the struggle of musicians to make a living or to read the tea leaves as to where we are headed. Part of the message is that the future of this art is in your hands – make sure you support the music you love!

But the absolute joy and pleasure of the Francis Davis jazz poll isn’t getting a roadmap of the scene – it’s getting hipped to the excellent and exciting music released in the last year. Much of this music doesn’t get the attention or notice it deserves until you have the benefit of journalists and critics crowdsourcing their accumulated knowledge, distilled into the poll results. I recommend drilling down to the individual ballots and seeing the individual top 10 lists of the 159 critics who participated in this poll. Taking in the list’s enormous variety of music is a reminder of the depth of today’s creative music and the ingenuity of the artists who create it. I can personally say I learned of at least a half dozen records that otherwise may have escaped my attention from reading these ballots. The quality of outstanding new music, the wild depth and variety of recent releases, and the genius of today’s musicians are a source of never-ending amazement.

Finally, on a personal note, it was a real honor to be invited to be one of the 159 participants in the poll. I want to publicly thank Tom Hull for the invitation. It was a responsibility I took seriously and a pleasure to listen to and ponder the best and most impactful music of 2023. Above all, I want to thank all of the artists who devote themselves to creating and sharing work that helps make the work a better place. The act of creation is what we need in the world at this time. If you want to check out my ballot, the link is here, but as I said above, I recommend reading everyone’s ballots and then going back to the music and making your next discovery. Now, on to the great music of 2024!

Your humble “jazz critic” is one of the voters!