Record Reviews

BLEY / SHEPPARD / SWALLOW ~ ANDANDO EL TIEMPO ECM 2487 (Barcode: 602547797117) ~ USA ~ Jazz Recorded: 2015 Released: 2016 This is the 3rd album by the trio co-led by American Jazz pianist / composer Carla BleyFind albums by this artist, British Jazz saxophonist Andy SheppardFind albums by this artist and American Jazz bass guitarist Steve SwallowFind albums by this artist. The album presents five tracks, the first three being parts of a suite. All the compositions are by Bley. The music was recorded by the great Stefano AmerioFind albums by this artist and offers a sensational sound quality. The beautifully melodic music is a superb example of Bley’s unique sense of melody and compositional aesthetics, which is her trademark since 1960 on. When she died in 2023, Bley left a vast body of compositions created in over six decades, many of which remain absolute Jazz classics. The trio offers a tight, precise and beautifully well balanced music-making tool to present the music, complementing each other for the entire duration and exchanging lead parts in tandem. The entire presentation is minimalist and modest, with not one unnecessary note, offering a melancholic journey, full of beauty and reflection. The trio would record only one more album together, called “Life Goes On”, which would be Bley’s final recording. Overall, this is a beautiful, delicate piece of music, which summarizes quite faithfully her entire career, not only as performer and composer, but perhaps more importantly as an instigator and catalyst of styles and directions, far beyond her own career.

Updated: 29/12/2024Posted: 29/12/2024

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AVISHAI COHEN / YONATHAN AVISHAI ~ PLAYING THE ROOM ECM 2641 (Barcode: 602577522772) ~ ISRAEL ~ Jazz Recorded: 2018 Released: 2019 This is an album by the duo of Israeli Jazz musicians: trumpeter Avishai CohenFind albums by this artist and pianist Yonathan AvishaiFind albums by this artist. The album presents nine tracks, two original compositions (one each by the duo members), one by Israeli composer Alexander ArgovFind albums by this artist, five Jazz standards and one Pop standard. The music was recorded by Stefano AmerioFind albums by this artist and offers the expected sublime sound quality. It is the 3rd album by Cohen released on the ECMFind albums on this label label. The music is set in a highly melodic, almost romantic mood, relaxed and minimalist, emphasizing the beauty of the compositions and the intimacy of the duo setting, all in the “Art of the Duo” tradition. Both musicians toy with the melodies and rhythmic patterns playfully and charmingly, displaying their complete mastery of their respective instruments, eschewing any flashy displays or unnecessary ornamentation. One might wonder how these interpretations might have been received by the original composers (John ColtraneFind albums by this artist or Ornette ColemanFind albums by this artist for example), but they would probably just smile, despite the liberties the duo applied to the music. There is no doubt that the ECM mood and aesthetics were closely observed. Overall, this is a very elegant and highly polished Jazz album, which offers a pleasant listening experience for a wide spectrum of Jazz listeners, but displays the tendency of ECM producer Manfred EicherFind albums by this artist to clutch all the music produced by the label into a uniform aesthetic and aural mould, which at some cases stifles the spirit of the music. Personally I prefer the earlier recordings by Cohen, which display more adventurous approach, but his trumpet work is here, as always, beyond reproach.

Updated: 15/09/2024Posted: 15/09/2024

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TAMARA OBROVAC ~ CANTO AMOROSO ALESSA 1045 (Barcode: 9004501010453) ~ CROATIA ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2015 Released: 2016 This is the tenth album by the superb Croatian vocalist / songwriter Tamara ObrovacFind albums by this artist. Recorded with her Transhistria EnsembleFind albums by this artist, which includes Slovenian guitarist Uros RakovecFind albums by this artist, Italian accordionist Fausto BeccalossiFind albums by this artist, Slovenian bassist Ziga GolobFind albums by this artist and Croatian drummer Krunoslav LevacicFind albums by this artist, the album presents ten songs composed by Obrovac, who also wrote the lyrics to seven of the songs. She sings in Croatian, except for one of the songs which features lyrics in Armenian. The album was brilliantly recorded at the Artesuono Studio in Udine (Italy) and engineered by Stefano AmerioFind albums by this artist. The music is a completely unique amalgam of Ethnic and Jazz influences, mostly from the Mediterranean region, stretching from Spain in the West to Turkey in the East. These heartbreaking love songs are all very intimate, with a superbly arranged accompaniment, which gently emphasizes the dramatic music and emotional vocals. The purely acoustic, delicate and fragile sound, is absolutely ideal, and in spite of its seemingly limited power manages to express and convey the messages with remarkable strength and clarity. Obrovac is in full command of her vocal abilities, using her voice wisely and expressively, with many theatrical tricks of the trade. She is confident and highly professional, able to use the lyrics and vocalese parts effectively and convincingly. On some of the songs she sounds like a Flamenco singer, on others like a Gypsy, yet on others like a French or Italian chansonniere; always at her best, always sensuous and most importantly always superbly musical. This album takes some serious listening in order to penetrate its multilayered complexity, its instrumental virtuosity and its magic atmosphere. For people living in the Mediterranean Cultures this music simply flows within their bloodstream, but others might have to make an effort and open up to grasp it in full. In any case this is an absolutely delightful Jazz-World Fusion recording, which should be able to make many listeners around the world extremely happy. Wholeheartedly recommended!

Updated: 23/05/2017Posted: 23/05/2017

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TAMARA OBROVAC ~ ULIKA REVIVAL UNIT 4529 (Barcode: 7640114795299) ~ CROATIA ~ Jazz Recorded: 2013 Released: 2014 This is the ninth album by the Croatian vocalist / songwriter Tamara ObrovacFind albums by this artist. Recorded with her quartet, which includes Croatian pianist Matija DedicFind albums by this artist, Slovenian bassist Ziga GolobFind albums by this artist and Croatian drummer Krunoslav LevacicFind albums by this artist, the album presents twelve songs composed by Obrovac, who also wrote the lyrics to most of the songs. Two of the songs are wordless vocalese. As the title suggests, the album presents re-visited versions of songs Obrovac recorded on her second album "UlikaFind albums with this title" from 1998. The album was beautifully recorded at the Artesuono Studio in Udine (Italy) and engineered by Stefano AmerioFind albums by this artist. This album is obviously more Jazz oriented than many of the other albums by Obrovac, which are much more Jazz-World Fusion oriented. Nevertheless her Istrian roots, both musically and as reflected by the local Istrian dialects she uses, are very strongly present here as well. The piano trio accompaniment tips the balance towards Jazz, and yet there is a plentitude of ethnic elements present. The resulting album is a great adventure featuring an orgy of rhythms and emotions elegantly wrapped up and arranged to fit into a Jazz oriented idiom, with brilliant performances by the vocalist and the instrumentalists all the way through. Obrovac fells completely at ease singing lyrics and wordless vocalese and in both cases her sensuous voice is able to express a wide range of emotions. The instrumental work by all three players is first class, with the piano obviously supplying most of the melodic and harmonic support, but which also features superb contributions by the rhythm section. In today´s world, which produces mostly repetitive derivative music, such originality, as the one displayed here, is even more outstanding. The album is fascinating from start to finish and the often minimalistic accompaniments are masterpieces of subdued excellence. Overall this is an excellent and very original vocal Jazz album, which should make connoisseurs of vocal Jazz very happy, especially in view of the fact that bold statements in that area are extremely rare, even on the European scene. People searching for challenging and highly aesthetic music are invited to take a plunge into the world of Tamara Obrovac, which should be not only very enjoyable but also very educational. Well done!

Updated: 23/05/2017Posted: 23/05/2017

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MACIEK PYSZ ~ A JOURNEY DOT TIME 9044 (Barcode: 604043904426) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2014 Released: 2015 This is the second album by Polish (resident in London) guitarist / composer Maciek PyszFind albums by this artist, recorded in a quartet setting with celebrated Italian bandoneónist / pianist Daniele di BonavenuraFind albums by this artist, Russian bassist Yuri GoloubevFind albums by this artist and Israeli drummer Asaf SirkisFind albums by this artist (also resident in London). The album presents twelve compositions, ten of which are originals by Pysz, one is an original co-composed with Italian guitarist Gianluca CoronaFind albums by this artist and one is composed by Ralph TownerFind albums by this artist. The music was recorded at the wonderful Artesuono Studio in Italy and engineered by Stefano AmerioFind albums by this artist with spectacular sound quality. Pysz continues the path already established on his debut album, which presents him as a superb composer and a virtuoso guitar player, which in spite of his young age (born 1982) propels him directly to the very top of contemporary Jazz-World Fusion musicians. The beauty and depth of the compositions presented on this album as well as their extraordinary execution are simply marvelous. The music, although obviously deeply personal, is at the same time completely universal, crossing melodic and rhythmic boundaries with ease and amalgamating the absolute best of the diverse Musical cultures from all over the world. Pysz has an ability to weave exquisite melodies, which in spite their sweetness manage to avoid completely even the slightest suspicion of cliché and kitsch. This is a very rare gift and he uses it exceptionally well. The three musicians that accompany Pysz on his journey are all top professionals: di Bonavenura provides the perfect harmonic and melodic counterpart to the guitar parts and his melancholy and delicate lyricism are simply ideally suited to this music, Goloubev is one of the most sophisticated bassists in Europe, his sound is absolutely unique and his emotional intelligence is incomparable, and finally Sirkis, who grew "under my wings" at the early stages of his career, turned into one of the Master drummers of our times, playing very subtly on this album, but his sole solo spot here is such a classic of the trade that it should be studied by all drummers. There is no doubt that this is an amazing album, full of musical beauty, aesthetic pleasure and extraordinary musicianship, an album that has only a very few equals among the numerous other albums released on a world scale. Blessed by the talent and the friendship of his fellow musicians Pysz gives the world a brilliant gift of music, which should leave not a soul untouched. Essential listening for Body and Soul!

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NORMA WINSTONE / KIT DOWNES ~ OUTPOST OF DREAMS ECM 2811 (Barcode: 602465191387) ~ UK ~ Jazz Recorded: 2023 Released: 2024 This is an album by British Jazz duo comprising of vocalist Norma WinstoneFind albums by this artist and pianist Kit DownesFind albums by this artist. The album presents ten tracks, four of which were composed by Downes, another four were composed by various composers and two are traditional tunes. Winstone wrote the lyrics to nine of the tracks. The music was recorded at the Artesuono Studio in Udine, Italy and engineered by Stefano AmerioFind albums by this artist, and offers a sensational sound quality. British vocal Jazz Diva Norma Winstone (born 1941) is in absolute top form and her many followers are able to enjoy another masterly album featuring her unique sensitivities and talents. This intimate duo setting is the best opportunity to hear her vocal delivery, which despite her age is still stunningly clear and convincing, as it has always been. This carefully selected set of compositions, which she enhances by adding her poetic lyrics, are immediately recognizable and characteristic of her work, which is magically expressive at all times. The album does require attentive listening and concentration, in order to enjoy the complex details, but the effort is fully rewarded. Kit Downes (born 1986) is less than half Winstone’s age, and yet he proves to be an ideal companion in this musical enterprise. His idiosyncratic compositions and approach to the piano reflect ideally the aesthetic values in the singer’s stylistics, and their work proves to be way beyond just the sum of the ingredients, where they fit and complement each other perfectly. I have been an admirer of Norma’s qualities since I first heard her in the late 1960s, when she was at the focus of the burgeoning new British Jazz explosion, recording one sublime album after another. Her collected recording legacy is an absolute treasure trove of British / European Jazz, and this album is another jewel in the collection. Overall, this is another brilliant addition to the magnificent life-long career of this great Artist, which none of her many admirers will dare to miss in their collections. It is minimalist and demanding, but exquisitely beautiful and aesthetically gratifying.

Updated: 26/08/2024Posted: 26/08/2024

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