The Neil Cowley Trio

The Neil Cowley Trio (group; formed 2006)
Neil Cowley (piano)
Richard Sadler (bass)
Evan Jenkins (drums)

British outfit, The Neil Cowley Trio have garnered a considerable praise in just 4 short years and 3 albums. The band born out of the creative mind of Neil Cowley whom spent a number of years on the electronica/jazz/chill out scene with Zero 7, Brand New Heavies and more importantly his own band Fragile State. Fragile State released two critically acclaimed albums that you must check out if you want a nice hybrid jazz and electronica.

Excising those experiments Neil moved on full time to his love of jazz and formed the trio. He has admitted that he never started out as a jazz musician (classically trained) but his inventive and exuberant approach to writing and performing has resulted three spectacular albums. Their debut, Displaced (Hide Inside Records) was refreshing with great straight ahead melodies and propulsive rhythms. Neil Cowley and his fellow band member seem more traditional than their British counterparts.

Unlike most British jazz of late which has been more abstract and experimental, Neil Cowley for me has an upbeat quality reminiscent of Sonny Clark in addition to his own interest in the great Ahmad Jamal. Displaced sparkles with a live jazz club feel, particularly on "How Do We Catch Up," "Pair Of Teeth" and even a dash of funk on "Kenny Two Steps". The bands second album, Loud, Louder, Stop (Cake Records) was massive step forward. Right from the opener, "His Nibs" The Neil Cowley Trio appear to be making a statement that they were here to stay and advance their sound. The cascading rhythms of the opener to the gentle movements of "Scardey Cat," and the beautiful ballad "Well" all encapsulate the "playing with sheer fun and abandon" ethos of the trio.

While Loud, Louder, Stop could be considered the breakthrough for the band, the latest release Radio Silence (Naim Jazz) is a massive statement of intent. With the excellent "Monoface" as its opening Neil Cowley Trio do stake claim to becoming a trio that could (quite possibly) fill the gap left by E.S.T. The fact that the trio has has only been together for such as short time is never noticed by the deep interplay they have with each other. They seem also to mastered the mixture of mid-tempo tunes and raucous crowd-pleasers as evident on tracks such as "Stereoface," "Vice Skating," and "Hug The Greyhound."

There is an over abundance of piano led trio in recent years. Many of them owing a great deal to Esbjorn Sevnsson Trio but The Neil Cowley Trio have definitely made a case that they will be standing high and above the majority as the years going on. Radio Silence should be on your list of records to check out sooner rather than later.

Soil & "Pimp" Sessions — 6 (2010)

Japanese punk-jazz sextet Soil & "Pimp" Sessions are back with their sixth full-length in as many years. Simply dubbed 6, it's the band's most accomplished set to date and out now on Gilles Peterson's Brownswood label.

Raucous and relentless tracks like "Papa's Got a Brand New Pigbag" and "Double Trouble" amply demonstrate SPS's aesthetic: Blend boisterous, high energy soul jazz with ferocious chops and hit "pulverize". And by no means is it just a bunch of noise. Hell to the no. There are melodies a plenty swirling around in this stew, but beware — this shit is hot. Mess around and you might get burned.

So, who are these jazz punks anyway. According to their rap sheet, they include Shacho (agitator, spirit), Tabu zombie (trumpet), Motoharu (sax), Josei (piano), Akita Goldman (bass) and Midorin (drums). When's the last time you encountered a jazz group featuring an "agitator"?

First and foremost, SPS is a live band and their albums sound that way, sans audience interaction (though they do have a live DVD if that's what you're looking for). They call their music "death jazz," and while that's amusing and all you don't really get a negative vibe from their music. If anything it's all the way live.

According to the band's PR, "We always felt that in the world of jazz, there was an unwritten rule that the musicians were to concentrate on their techniques and the audience were simply there to admire, like a transmitter/ receiver relationship. We wanted to break away from that and create exciting jazz with far more interaction between the players and the audience."

Judging from 6, they've got the skillz that kill. This isn't jazz to sit calmly listening to, applauding politely after every solo. This shit is for dancing like your pants are on fire. Aw hell, just give it a listen.

Timo Lassy - Round Two (2009)

A bit late out of the gate with this review, so stop me if you've heard this one before: Timo Lassy's got it goin' on. New to you, too? Thank me later. By the time you're finished reading this you'll want to get into Round Two, his second solo effort released last fall on Ricky Tick Records. It'll ring your bell.

You may know Lassy, the smokinist sax player of the red hot Helsinki jazz scene, from his work with Blue Note recording artist U-Street All Stars, the globe-trotting Five Corners Quartet and his solo debut The Soul & Jazz of Timo Lassy, naturally.

It's worth noting that Lassy also brought some heat to Nicola Conte's Rituals album, on which he made the acquaintance of José James, a jazz singer from Minneapolis whose voice lives up to its velvet reputation. James flew to Finland from none other than New York for Round Two's three-day recording session and contributes memorably on the swinging opener "The More I Look At You" and the cooker "Ya Dig."

While James makes his presence known, most of the set belongs to Lassy and his band, which is strictly A-list. Teppo "Teddy Rok" Mäkynen kicks it behind the kit (as well as the mixing board, where he co-produced with Lassy). Jukka Eskola lets his trumpet do the talkin'. Georgios Kontrafouris tickles the ivories. Ari Jokelainen swings on alto sax. Mikko Mustonen lets it rip on trombone. Antti Lotjonen works a fleet-fingered bass groove. And Abdissa "Mamba" Assefa fills the beats in between on percussion.

At the center of it all is Lassy — a persuasive player, a confident composer and an assured arranger. While Lassy seems most at home in the hard-bop and soul jazz idioms, he seamlessly blends them with Latin jazz ("Shifting Winds," "Backyard Puma"), ballads ("Some Love"), tribal spirituals ("Deeper Into") and swing ("Fooling Rosetta," "Buzz Beater Stomp"). Clearly, he knows jazz tradition and, more importantly, knows how to breathe new life into them.

As retro as that might sound, Lassy's band sounds as contemporary as they come (but with a rootsy sensibility that never gets watered down). Moreover, they do it without resorting to trendy gimmicks or self-conscious experimentation. Mostly, I think ya'll dig the man's toe-tappin' tunes and his band's tuneful approach to improvising around them. You guessed right - Round Two is a knock-out.

Christian Scott: A New Revolution To Be Heard

Christian Scott (trumpet; b. 1983)

A few weeks ago I stumbled across the music of New Orleans trumpeter Christian Scott. I had heard the name around the scene but up until that point I had given it much attention, thinking it was mostly hype. Well funny how time flies and thoughts change. I have spent allot of time absorbing the music of Christian Scott and I have to say this is one cat you should really check out.

There is a sense of aggression, thoughtfulness and protest throughout his music. Christian Scott is definitely challenging the order of things. I believe I said I hadn't seen and heard this much brouhaha since Roy Hargrove came on the scene, and I still think I'm right. But Scott does deliver the goods. He has a desire to fuck with our preconceived notions of how jazz should be (from an American perspective). The european jazz artists are already blowing jazz apart and reconstructing it. Christian Scott is looking at it from a rock/alternative perspective. His material is dense, packed with distorted guitar work and pulsating drum lines.

The ghost of Miles Davis does linger for those who are wondering, but then you think "What would Miles be doing now anyway?" (Remember he had worked with Prince on some brief studio work before his death).

Rewind That (Concord), Christian Scott's debut, is a well-crafted and smoothly executed session highlighted by the striking originals "Say It," "Rejection," "Suicide" and the Donald Harrison penned "Paradise Found". This is a dark and ambitious album without any real upbeat movements. Although you could consider Scott's reinterpretation of the Miles Davis classic "So What" as a funky 21st look into what was done and what can be done when listening to your mentors.

The follow up, Anthem (Concord) continues the forward thinking approach and appropriate usage of rock-tinged guitar as needed. Passages like "Anthem," "Dialect" and "Katrina's Eyes" show a deeper perception and sense of anger that could parallel some of Miles' mid-fusion era material. There is still a beautiful quality to this playing that holds the language of the tunes together. It's like riding through a riot a 2 miles an hour and now wants to touch your car. Anthem is heavy stuff but then "The 9" and "Like That" remind you that Christian Scott and his band can find the groove and subtle ballad side of the proceedings to ease the listener along the journey. Anthem turns out to be a strong follow up with some very heady themes.

Some would see his third album Live At Newport (Concord) as nothing but filler until the next studio album but this would be a major misstep on any one's thought. Live At Newport is a CD/DVD that demonstrates both visually and audibly what an awesome performer Christian Scott has become in just short of a decade. And to witness his band including pianist Aaron Parks, bassist, Joe Sanders, guitarist, Matt Stevens ripping through chord changes with an emotional verve that might be reserved for more rock oriented acts is truly amazing. Keeping his band together appears to be one of the main focuses of Christian Scott ethos.

This is a band that is in supreme control and the interplay is meticulous. The work done by saxophonist, Walter Smith III is fantastic, especially on "Litany Against Fear" along with Parks again on piano. This is a fresh concert date finds the group in prime form. Along with a few originals there are two Matthew Stevens tunes, "Rumor" and "The Crawler" that for me were startling and refreshing. Live At Newport also revisits of "Anthem" and "Rewind That" with higher than expected results when experienced live (especially on the DVD). Live At Newport is still challenging stuff but worth every minute of it.

Yesterday you said Tomorrow (Concord) appears to be the culmination of a journey. The fusion of rock idioms and jazz rhythms into a solid, well balanced jazz album that demands the attention it is receiving. Yesterday you said Tomorrow starts out emotionally deep with some terrific interplay between Scott, drummer, Jamire Williams and guitarist, Matthew Stevens on "K.K.P.D." I've never been a fan of Radiohead or Thom Yorke but somehow the groups cover of "The Eraser" actually works (who would of thought of that?). Tracks like "Isadora" (originally on Live At Newport) and "Jenacide" are gritty, complex and challenging. It all comes to a perfect conclusion by giving the listener more thing to think about on the abortion themed "The Roe Effect".

While every artist uses their environment as the basis for their work, few American jazz musicians transform their thoughts into logical, thought provoking and even sometimes unnerving soundscapes that cause the listener to stand back and truly take stock of what is going on in music. Jazz continues to grow and Christian Scott appears to be determined to see it grow in all directions except backwards.