Record Reviews

MICHAEL FORMANEK ~ THE RUB AND THE SPARE CHANGE ECM 2167 (Barcode: 602527395142) ~ USA ~ Jazz Recorded: 2009 Released: 2010 This is the debut album for the prestigious ECMFind albums on this label label by American bassist Michael FormanekFind albums by this artist. It was recorded with a brilliant all-American quartet, which includes saxophonist Tim BerneFind albums by this artist, pianist Craig TabornFind albums by this artist and drummer Gerald CleaverFind albums by this artist, all three belonging to the top class of American musicians today. All the music was composed by Formanek and the quartet performs it brilliantly, from start to finish. Both Berne and Taborn have distinctive voices of their own and their contributions are superb throughout. Formanek and Cleaver work together harmoniously and brilliantly as a rhythms section, turning this quartet into a splendid music-making unit, with very few rivals around. The music is strongly influenced by European aesthetics, which is unusual for American Jazz musicians, but common (not surprisingly) to those recording for ECM. This is a very strong album, which should appeal to all Jazz connoisseurs. Highly recommended!

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JAMES BRANDON LEWIS ~ DIVINE TRAVELS OKEH 888837666428 (Barcode: 888837666428) ~ USA ~ Jazz Recorded: 2011 Released: 2014 This is the second album by young US saxophonist James Brandon LewisFind albums by this artist, recorded in a trio format with two veteran Free Jazz / Improvised Music activists: bassist William ParkerFind albums by this artist and drummer Gerald CleaverFind albums by this artist. The album presents ten original pieces, all credited the trio members. Two of the pieces include lyrics written by American poet Thomas Sayers EllisFind albums by this artist and recited by him. The music is a typical free form session with spontaneous improvisation being the focus of this date. It is difficult to guess how much of this music was preconceived or rehearsed in advance, but it seems as if not everything is left to spontaneity here. There are some short melody lines stated at the start of most of the pieces, but those are soon abandoned in favor of improvised sections, which don´t really have a clear purpose, sense of direction or emotional expression. Parker and Cleaver are of course recognized as some of the improvised scene leaders, but Lewis still has a long way to go. His improvisations are somewhat restricted in scope, tend to sound repetitious and display a very limited emotional range. As a result it is difficult for him to carry the weight of a whole album as the focal soloist. There is no "fire" and no "ice" in this music, just a lot of notes that manage to tingle the perception but fail to sink in. The attempt to create a Jazz & Poetry episode also remains rather unimposing, as it is only a "sidekick" and the music and words fails to create a bond that makes them something more that just word and notes uttered simultaneously. The only positive aspect of this album is the fact that it was released on the revitalized OkehFind albums on this label label, which is a subsidiary of SonyFind albums on this label Music. When I see a Free Jazz album released by a Major record label, this is a feast indeed. Hopefully Lewis will do better next time, as this is rather unimpressive.

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TOMASZ STANKO ~ WISLAWA ECM 2304/05 (Barcode: 6025371377256) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2012 Released: 2013 I always try to write about albums as soon as possible after they arrive on my desk and then dwell a while in my CD player. Usually these immediate reflections about music turn out to be accurate, as far as I am concerned, and when I read them later, sometimes years later, my initial opinion remains unchanged. This album is a very special and unusual case, as I´ve let almost a year pass by since I´ve heard this music for the first time, holding my tongue. Polish trumpeter / composer Tomasz StankoFind albums by this artist has been (and still is) one of my absolute top Artists for decades and my admiration towards his music lasted unshaken for all that time… until this album. When I heard it for the first time my initial reaction was a kind of disappointment, which of course I found quite shocking and improbable. Therefore I decided not to write a review for the time being. In the time that passed since, I´ve listened to the album repeatedly and also heard this music live. During the three years that passed between the time he recorded his previous album ("Dark EyesFind albums with this title") with a Scandinavian band and the recording of this album, Stanko deepened his ties with New York, taking a permanent residence there and establishing a new quartet, which he calls the New York Quartet. It comprises of himself and three American musicians: pianist David VirellesFind albums by this artist (aged 29 at the time of the recording, of Cuban origin, who arrived in NY in 2009), bassist Thomas MorganFind albums by this artist (aged 31, an upcoming bass player who took part in recording of no less than five albums for ECMFind albums on this label in 2012 alone) and drummer Gerald CleaverFind albums by this artist (aged 49, an established artist on the US scene). This is the first time for Stanko, to play with an all-American band, as all his previous recordings involved either Polish musicians or other European (mostly Scandinavian) musicians. This new direction, which was obviously deliberate, made s tremendous impact on the music of course. The album is dedicated to the memory of the great Polish poetess and Nobel Prize Laureate Wislawa SzymborskaFind albums by this artist, who sadly passed away shortly before this album was recorded. Stanko knew Szymborska personally and even worked with her on occasion, accompanying the readings of her poetry. Her poetry inspired much of the music present on this album, as Stanko states in the liner notes. The album´s music, which consists of twelve original compositions, all by Stanko, fills two CDs, with six tracks on each CD, and the album was recorded in NY. Stanko´s aficionados will find the music pretty much familiar; brief beautiful melodic themes, which are Stanko´s trademark, are usually stated at the beginning of each tune and than the quartet explores these themes via a series of lengthy improvised passages, featuring individual solos and returning back to the melody either by mid-time or just at the very end of each piece. This formula works for Stanko (and numerous other Jazz players) since many decades and one does not change horses in the middle of a race. Of course this formula works fine only if the musicians involved have a statement to make; otherwise the improvised passages tend to get somewhat less exciting. One must admit that Stanko plays superbly on this album, definitely as good as he always did. His tone can be piercing like a spear, or delicate as a butterfly´s wings, lyrical and even romantic. More importantly he plays a lot, which of course is a benevolent treat, since on some of his recordings his net input is much more modest. Several of his passionate solos on this album are some of his best ever. His melodies are also simply brilliant, as always, but the duration of the entire album tends to create a feeling of sameness, sort of a déjà vu, as if the same melodic theme was already used more that once earlier on, which is definitely a very weird feeling. The American quartet members are all fine musicians, no question about it. But their contributions on this album are honestly extremely limited. None of them, especially the pianist, rise in the slightest to the statue of the Master, even if the potential is there. Virelles is a splendid player, as evident live and on his other recordings, and in retrospect it is a great pity his contribution here is quite pale. The rhythm section does the job, but none of their efforts are exciting for the entire duration of the album, which takes some of the joy out of the potential pleasure of listening to this album. One might speculate that if this album was recorded a year later, after this material was performed repeatedly live by the quartet, the results might have been quite different. The big question hidden behind this album is: does Jazz have a Nationality? Stanko´s music has been a symbol of European Jazz for decades. It impersonates the European individuality, elegance, sophistication, thousands of years of Cultural heritage and (for good and for bad) the European singularity. Is it that Stanko wishes to leave all that behind him and try something else, i.e. play American Jazz? Or perhaps he hopes to teach the Americans to play European Jazz? Or may be he wants to create a Euro-American Jazz amalgam? Or simply he thinks that Jazz is completely unrelated to geography? Surely only he can answer any of these questions. Recording an album involves a series of decisions, and obviously some decisions ware made when this album was recorded. The result is simply the effect of these decisions. For anybody else recording an album of such quality would have been a momentous occasion, but sadly for Stanko this is just a very good album, or a magnificent failure, if I may say so. Nevertheless my love and admiration towards Stanko and his music remain unshaken.

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GEBHARD ULLMANN / BASEMENT RESEARCH ~ HAT AND SHOES BETWEEN THE LINES 71238 (Barcode: 608917123821) ~ GERMANY ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 2013 Released: 2014 This is an album by German saxophonist / bass clarinetist / composer Gebhard UllmannFind albums by this artist and his international Basement ResearchFind albums by this artist quintet, which also includes American trombonist Steve SwellFind albums by this artist, British saxophonist Julian ArguellesFind albums by this artist (playing baritone saxophone here), German / French bassist Pascal NiggenkemperFind albums by this artist and American drummer Gerald CleaverFind albums by this artist. The album presents seven original compositions by the leader, recorded by the legendary sound engineer Walter QuintusFind albums by this artist. The music is a classic European Free Jazz recording, based on composed themes but offering a lot of open space and freedom of individual improvisation, overall pretty well “organized” / “well behaved”, which manages to eschew total havoc and chaos. The quintet plays admirably well together, producing coherent statements and ever-changing fabric of difficult, but exciting music. Although two-thirds of the quintet are American musicians, this music is obviously way more European in nature and sound, perhaps somewhat more tamed than American Free Jazz, but definitely way more effective. All the members of the quintet are of course seasoned and well-known musicians within the Free Jazz scene, with impressive recorded legacy behind them. As a result, the individual statements included herein are all truly inspired. Personally I am most impressed by the ensemble sound, which sounds really impressive and brilliantly lucid, obviously emphasized by the splendid sound quality of the album. Overall, this is an excellent example of the European Free jazz, which offers exciting ensemble playing and virtuosic individual statements, which all come together in a precise, listenable way. This music obviously requires effort and open-mindedness to be enjoyed, but is definitely highly rewarding and as such recommended!

Updated: 16/04/2022Posted: 16/04/2022

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MIROSLAV VITOUS ~ REMEMBERING WEATHER REPORT ECM 2073 (Barcode: 602517881372) ~ CZECHOSLOVAKIA ~ Jazz Recorded: 2006 - 2007 Released: 2009 Czech bassist / composer Miroslav VitousFind albums by this artist was a founding member of the seminal group Weather ReportFind albums by this artist and played on their first 3 studio albums and the live album recorded in Japan. The idea of Weather Report was to search for a new direction in the rapidly changing Jazz scene at the time, which was initiated by the revolutionary artistry of Miles DavisFind albums by this artist. However, as we know in retrospect, Weather Report took a different turn than what Vitous had in mind when he co-founded the group, turning gradually more and more into the leading Fusion and Funk group of the 1970s / 1980s, rather than exploring the realms of free improvisation and spontaneity. Thirty years later Vitous takes a somewhat nostalgic trip back to his Weather Report days, proposing a "what if…" scenario, i.e. presenting music, which might have been played by the band if he stayed on. Played by his quartet with veteran Swiss trumpeter Franco AmbrosettiFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Gary CampbellFind albums by this artist and drummer Gerald CleaverFind albums by this artist, Vitous also adds the veteran French Master – Michel PortalFind albums by this artist, who plays bass clarinet. Together they perform some superb music, mostly written by Vitous except for one piece by Ornette ColemanFind albums by this artist, which is pretty open and free but retains enough rhythmic and melodic backbone to be enjoyable even to less ear-trained listeners. Wholeheartedly recommended!

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MIROSLAV VITOUS ~ UNIVERSAL SYNCOPATIONS II ECM 2013 (Barcode: 602517183575) ~ CZECHOSLOVAKIA ~ Jazz-Classical Fusion Recorded: 2004 - 2005 Released: 2007 This album, subtitled "Music for ensemble, orchestra and choir", is the second project by Czech virtuoso bassist / composer Miroslav VitousFind albums by this artist recorded at the Universal Syncopation Studios in Italy, hence the title. However, the music is quite different from what the previous album offers, being much more contemporary Classical inclined, as well as using certain World Music elements, all pre-composed and arranged. The cast consists of nine musicians playing in defferent settings, with saxophonists Bob MintzerFind albums by this artist, Gary CampbellFind albums by this artist and Bob MalachFind albums by this artist, trumpeter Randy BreckerFind albums by this artist, bandoneón player Daniele Di BonaventuraFind albums by this artist, singer Vesna Vasko-CaceresFind albums by this artist, drummers Gerald CleaverFind albums by this artist and Adam NussbaumFind albums by this artist and Vitous on bass. Serious music lovers will find this very interesting for sure, and I recommend some intense listening here, but all well rewarded. Warmly recommended!

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