What jazz music are you listening to?

[bart]

Michel Benita
Ethics - River Silver
Qobuz 24/96




A Roon suggestion based on the Snétberger album I played.
I like it!

River Silver is double bassist Michel Benita's debut as a leader for ECM. He has recorded for the label previously with Andy Sheppard's groups. Benita formed Ethics in 2010, with the express purpose of wedding jazz to his love of global folk traditions. The lineup has been constant: guitarist/electronicist Eivind Aarset (with whom he plays in Sheppard's quartet), longtime associates Matthieu Michel on flügelhorn and Philippe Garcia on drums, and Mieko Miyazaki on koto. This is their second album; their first, 2010's Drastic, was issued by Zig Zag Territoires. Perhaps the most remarkable element in this band's sound is that its most "exotic" instrument doesn't play that role. It is harmonically integral to the body of these compositions, though Miyazaki is given plenty of improvisational space. Aarset's role -- prevalent on recordings he's appeared on in recent years -- is primarily one of a colorist; he clearly thrives in it. Michel's flügelhorn is the primary melodic instrument in much of this mix; his songlike approach to improvisation adds complexity as well as emotional depth. The music is dreamy and warm, but not necessarily all that abstract. "Back from the Moon" commences with snare and an electronic drone. It is swept into presence via strummed koto before Michel articulates the melody and Benita adds small melodic counter-flourishes. "Off the Coast" is rockist in places with Aarset's brooding electric guitar riff. He follows by doubling the melody with Michel; his guitar creates a bridge between the structure and improvisation. Miyazaki's koto is played more like a gourd banjo here, often touching on folk-blues. Her own "Haichi Gatsu" is almost hummable in the introduction before it unfolds as layers of harmonic interplay between Benita and the koto player evolve. Garcia adds a folk dance rhythmic vamp. "Yeavering" by Northumbrian piper Kathryn Tickell is ushered into being by Benita's bassline before Michel offers its lovely, haunted melody with a singer's sense of phrasing. His "voice" is highlighted by the koto's plucked chords and soft electric guitar effects. "Toonari" is a wonderfully spooky, spacy labyrinth. Tonally and harmonically, it has been influenced by Jon Hassell's "Fourth World" aesthetic, but its group improvisation is dynamic, owned by Ethics. A fine, unhurried bass solo introduces "Lykken," an art song by Eyvind Alnæs. Michel's articulation of the melody is pastoral and tender; Miyazaki's koto fills add poignancy while Garcia's cymbals whisper on the margins. There are moments on River Silver that don't really amount to much -- the aimlessly wandering tone poem that is the title track, or the equally unfocused closer "Snowed In" -- but they don't distract from the abundant pleasure found elsewhere. (To be fair, these tunes would likely fare better in a concert setting.) Michel Benita and Ethics have found found a unique voice on River Silver; it is beguiling, seductive, and resonant.

© Thom Jurek /TiVo

[Antonmb]

My jazz comfort food - I always come back to the many wonderful recordings of Keith Jarrett’s standards trio.

[audioguy3107]

Qobuz 16/44.1

[bart]

Bill Frisell - Valentine
Qobuz 24/88.2




Frisell's newest.
Mediocrity is not for this musician. Excellence is.
I enjoyed this very much.

Before we marvel at the high-altitude interplay of the Bill Frisell Trio or the sometimes extreme sonic gyrations of its leader, let's begin at the most basic level—with stark, simple, standalone guitar declarations. Frisell opens several pieces on Valentine this way, in the clear. He'll send a carefully plucked single note out into the air, and then, after it subsides, he'll drop another. Tone is his only lure, and it's all he needs to suggest the framework of a tune like "Levees:" The initial phrase operates like an opening scene in a film, establishing a thick and specific atmosphere. Out of that blossoms a six-minute exploration in which Frisell, bassist Thomas Morgan and drummer Rudy Royston travel between strict tempo and drifty listlessness, blues repetition and free-jazz high dives, jittery conversation and disquieting silences.

From a single note, there are many resonances; Frisell has been doing this kind of quiet alchemy for years, of course. Valentine is among the most rousing works in his extensive discography in part because it's so relentlessly visual. On just about every piece, Frisell and his trio work transfixingly together to conjure dirt-road sojurns and nature vistas out of thin air. They create contemplative spaces the jazz academy never visits. They dance through a blithe, lighthearted reading of Burt Bacharach's "What The World Needs Now" and a disquieting sorrow-filled version of "We Shall Overcome." And on many of Frisell's skeletal originals (the stunning "Keep Your Eyes Open," for example), they transform their three-way improvised abstractions into clear, singable music that has the sturdy narrative arc of classic country music.

As these journeys unfold, it becomes clear that right along with the spontaneity there's some deep intention at work. The stylistic juxtapositions and sudden changes in density are hardly random. Neither are the fragile little introductions—somehow they're all Frisell needs to telegraph where he's going. As in so many aspects of life, the tone is set from the top. © Tom Moon/Qobuz

[bart]

The Lost Melody - New Songs For Old Souls
via Qobuz




Another Roon suggestion (through the Frisell album).
It's good!
Would never have found it.
Starting to like Roon.
I'm late to the party, I know.

[bart]

Rudresh Mahanthappa - Hero Trio
via Qobuz




One of the better alto sax players on the jazz scene.
Don't play this when you're hankering for a quiet evening.
Same drummer as on the Frisell album Valentine: Rudy Royston.

[bart]

Dave Douglas - Dizzy Atmosphere
Qobuz 24/96




I've been following this great trumpet player since I saw him live a couple of years ago at the Antwerp Jazz Middelheim Festival, where he was the artist in residence.
It normally takes place around this time of year, but no festival this year unfortunately...

[bart]

Originally Posted by audioguy3107

Qobuz 16/44.1

Nice... but I need something that grabs my attention a bit stronger.
I'll go to the 'golden age of jazz' (mid 50s till mid 60s according to Dean, a musicologist who used to post very intelligently here).

[bart]

It was Dean who inspired me to buy first the CD, and then stream this album.
No easy listening, but very rewarding.

Originally Posted by Josquin des Prez

Andrew Hill, "Point of Departure"
Blue Note 84167
Music Matters 45 RPM remaster

w/Kenny Dorhan, Eric Dolphy, Joe Henderson, Richard Davis, Anthony Williams

If you like going even a little outside of mainstream, this album is just pure brilliance. Arguably one of the best jazz dates of the 60s. This is like Eric Dolphy, "Out To Lunch" level of greatness!

Originally Posted by bart

Andrew Hill - Point of Departure
Qobuz 24/192




Compared to my CD, this has a less aggressive, slightly more agreeable sound.
Not day and night differences, but I prefer the Qobuz hi-res stream.

Recorded in '64.
Penguin Guide Core Collection, 5 stars from AllMusic.

Kenny Dorham – trumpet
Eric Dolphy – alto saxophone (1, 2, 3), bass clarinet (3, 4, 5), flute (3)
Joe Henderson – tenor saxophone (all), flute (3)
Andrew Hill – piano
Richard Davis – double bass
Tony Williams – drums

[bart]

Eric Dolphy - 'Out To Lunch'
Qobuz 24/192




These remasters are a feast!

Recorded Feb 24, '64.

Eric Dolphy – bass clarinet (1 & 2), flute (3), alto saxophone (4 & 5)
Freddie Hubbard – trumpet
Bobby Hutcherson – vibraphone
Richard Davis – bass
Tony Williams – drums