Record Reviews
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  | JAKOB BRO / JOE LOVANO ~ ONCE AROUND THE ROOM: A TRIBUTE TO PAUL MOTIAN
ECM 2747 (Barcode: 602445994908) ~ DENMARK ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music
Recorded: 2021 Released: 2022
This is an album by Danish guitarist Jakob BroFind albums by this artist and American saxophonist Joe LovanoFind albums by this artist, recorded in a highly unusual septet setting with three bassists: American Larry GrenadierFind albums by this artist and Thomas MorganFind albums by this artist and Danish Anders ChristensenFind albums by this artist, and two drummers: American Joey BaronFind albums by this artist and Spanish Jorge RossyFind albums by this artist. The album presents six tracks, two each by Bro and Lovano, one by American drummer / composer Paul MotianFind albums by this artist, to whom the album is dedicated, and finally one co-credited to all seven participating musicians.
The music is completely free spirited, mostly improvised with very little melodic continuity. It is mostly about atmosphere and despite the fact that it is performed by obviously highly talented musicians, sounds to me quite estranged and cold. It sadly represents the many ECMFind albums on this label albums, that despite the high potential completely fail to deliver anything worth mentioning.
Overall, for me this album says very little, and is one of those records that I continued to listen to until it was finished only from the respect I feel towards the musicians, never to return to it again.
| | Updated: 14/01/2025Posted: 14/01/2025 | CD 1 Slipcase Recommend To A Friend |
  | CHARLES LLOYD ~ TRIOS: CHAPEL
BLUE NOTE 602445266494 (Barcode: 602445266494) ~ USA ~ Jazz
Recorded: 2018 Released: 2022
This is the first album in the series of “Trio of Trios” albums by the legendary American Jazz saxophonist / flautist / composer / bandleader Charles LloydFind albums by this artist, recorded with guitarist Bill FrisellFind albums by this artist and bassist Thomas MorganFind albums by this artist. It is a live recording. The album presents five tracks, three composed by Lloyd and two standards.
One of the true “last of the Mohicans” of American Jazz, Charles Lloyd (born in 1938), remains still at his full capacity and his recording legacy keeps growing, now at his advanced age, more rapidly than during earlier periods of his life. Highly productive phases of recording for the ECMFind albums on this label label and lately for Blue NoteFind albums on this label are just exploding with creativity, vitality and aesthetic beauty, in complete disregard of his age, created often with musicians less than half his age.
This album offers a highly melodic, almost romantic music, with some Bluesy tendencies, which features Lloyd playing floatingly, playfully and as always masterly, supported amicably by the guitar, played by Frisell, who records with him continuously since 2015, and the delicate bass lines by Morgan. Lloyd is undisputedly the main soloist and the lengthy tracks allow him to perform wave after wave of improvisation, which stays respectfully within the melodic and harmonic framework.
It is pretty amazing to hear Lloyd in such superb form, which defies any speculations about aging musicians. His tone is still crystal clear, and the notes appear in a perfect flow, without the slightest hesitance, with the Master being in total control at all time.
Overall, this is a beautiful piece of Jazz music, serene and lyrical, which flows gently and gracefully, as if time is of no substance. Of course all three albums in this series, although completely different from each other, are equally worthwhile and recommended.
| | Updated: 31/07/2024Posted: 31/07/2024 | CD 1 Mini-Sleeve Recommend To A Friend |
  | MARIA NECKAM ~ DEEPER
SUNNYSIDE 1246 (Barcode: 016728124621) ~ AUSTRIA ~ Jazz
Recorded: 2010 Released: 2010
This is the second album by the Austrian-born singer / songwriter Maria NeckamFind albums by this artist and her first recording following her relocation to the USA. It was recorded five years after her debut album with the group MarylandFind albums by this artist was recorded in the Netherlands, where she studied at that time. This album comprises of ten original songs, all written and composed by Neckam. It was recorded with Neckam accompanied by a trio, which includes pianist Aaron GoldbergFind albums by this artist, bassist Thomas MorganFind albums by this artist and drummer Colin StranahanFind albums by this artist. Saxophonists Lars DietrichFind albums by this artist and Samir ZarifFind albums by this artist participate on some of the tracks and vocalist Peter EldridgeFind albums by this artist participates on one track.
In comparison with her spectacular debut recording, this album is much more laid back, relaxed and lyrical. It´s still the same unique Maria Neckam experience, but the joyful youthfulness is now replaced with mature reflection and melancholy mixed with joie de vivre. As the album´s title suggests, she treats her music on a deeper level this time. The songs are longer (three songs are over seven minutes long), allowing for more instrumental passages as well as expanded lyrics. Neckam uses vocalese as well, with her voice becoming an additional instrument of the entire ensemble. The performances are incredibly tight and intricate, always first class and right on the money.
Of course the most important strong points of Neckam´s magic universe are her outstanding compositions and her continuous desire to discover new musical vistas. This album is an overwhelming testimony to her talents, taking the idiosyncratic efforts on the debut a whole notch of two further out, with truly incredible results. Listening to this album is like embarking upon a journey into the unknown, where anything could happen, and indeed things happen ceaselessly. Although always bearing the Neckam "seal of authenticity", the individual songs are so different from each other that the listener must ask himself "what else can she come up with?" As usual, the answer is in the music.
There is no doubt that Maria Neckam is emerging as one of the most promising young cross-genre performers / composers, expanding the vocal Jazz idiom into new and uncharted territory. If she continues on this path, stars will smile at her and so will her listeners and admirers, hopefully growing into vast numbers. This album is worthy of an honorable position in any decent music collection, well beyond any narrow classification. A solid piece of musical magic!
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  | MARIA NECKAM ~ UNISON
SUNNYSIDE 1321 (Barcode: 016728132121) ~ AUSTRIA ~ Jazz
Recorded: 2012 Released: 2012
This is the 3rd album by Austrian-born living in the US singer / songwriter Maria NeckamFind albums by this artist, who has been "making waves" for quite a while now and rightly so, as she definitely is one of the most original and idiosyncratic musical discoveries of the last few years. Although obviously cross-genre and completely free of any conventions, it is quite obvious that she has a deep empathy towards improvisation and the Jazz tradition, which lie beneath her stunning output.
The album consists of fifteen original compositions by Neckam, almost all of which are over five or six minutes long (totaling 75 minutes), which leaves a lot of space both for her vocal delivery and instrumental presentation by the great ensemble of musicians, which accompanies her. The core ensemble is a quartet with pianist Aaron ParksFind albums by this artist, guitarist Nir FelderFind albums by this artist, bassist Thomas MorganFind albums by this artist and drummer Colin StranahanFind albums by this artist. Several other players (saxophones, trumpet, cello and piano) participate on selected tracks. Neckam also wrote all the lyrics, except for three of the pieces, where she uses (not surprisingly) poems by the 14th century Persian poet HafezFind albums by this artist or more contemporary poetry by Rainer Maria RilkeFind albums by this artist and Pablo NerudaFind albums by this artist.
Neckam utilizes her voice both to deliver the lyrics and use it as an instrument, with her vocalese improvisation being one of the highlights of this album. Her vocal delivery is quite unique, with a slight, but charming, foreign accent, which adds to the overall mystique. The accompaniment is brilliant from start to finish, subdued and supporting when needed, with some excellent solos and always greatly sensitive and aesthetically pleasing. Considering the fact that this music can be devilishly complex and unpredictable, the overall delivery here is simply stunning.
But it is the actual music, which is the true forte of this album. Neckam´s compositions are simply outstanding in every respect; amalgamating Jazz with contemporary Classical, Progressive Rock, World Music influences, shades of the Blues and so on, she is simply floating somewhere in her own universe, completely beyond categorization and eschewing all conventions. There is an intrinsic elegance, artistic beauty and intellectual challenge herein, coexisting peacefully with each other, which is a rare quality in any Art form. But of course there is a price to be paid for such lofty qualities; this is definitely not "easy" music, and therefore it is destined to attract mostly the open-minded and cultivated ears of music connoisseurs, which is often hard on an artist expecting a wide recognition of his work.
Regardless of the album´s commercial prospects, Neckam can certainly feel proud to be the creator of this musical gem, which certainly deserves to be listed among the best albums released in 2012, and there are only a handful of these. Considering the fact that she is, after all, just starting her wondrous musical journey, may I be allowed to wish her Godspeed!
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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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