JazzWrap revisits a great year of discoveries in 2011.
Equilibrium (trio)
Walking Voices (Songlines Recordings; 2011)
Sissel Vera Pettersen (voice, sax)
Joachim Badenhorst (clarinet)
Mikkel Ploug (guitar)
Simply put, Walking Voices is one of the most beautiful records you'll hear all year. There is a blissful nature to the music. Pettersen, Badenhorst and Ploug weave a delicate web of electronics, folk and chamber classical themes into a dream-like soundscape built on the 15 solid pieces. Incorporating these themes may seem difficult but this trio do it with ease.
The spiritual flowing "Silverise" embodies the aesthetics of the group. It's atmospheric, organic and exploratory. Invoking the essence of Eno, Glass or Laurie Anderson, "Whitless" is awash of multi layered effects both vocal and electronic that will leave a dizzying effect on you as to the strength of this trio.
In our original piece on Walking Voices,I discussed how Equilibrium have shown they are beyond description and that the music revolves and involves with many themes and varying sounds. This still holds true as I listen to again today. Each of the musicians has there own successful groups that they led but together they are one of the most innovative to come on the scene in recent years.
JazzWrap revisits a great year of discoveries in 2011.
Nicole Mitchell (flute)
Awakening (Delmark; 2011)
Avreeayl Ra (drums)
Jeff Parker (guitar)
Harrison Bankhead (bass)
Awakening was one of a slew of records that came at me out of nowhere. I quickly feel in love with Nicole Mitchell's performance here. The writing is tight, spiritual and groovy all at once. As I mentioned in my discussion of the album, it brings back a lot of that Black Power Jazz that floated between Detroit, Chicago and New York in the late '60s and early '70s. There are also moments where the experience of playing with the likes Rob Mazurek in Exploding Star Orchestra seems to have rubbed off ("Journey Of A Thread"). The quartet setting allows the individuals to stand out more. Mitchell's quiet and personal display on "Snowflakes" is indicative of touching Awakening can be on the listener.
Jeff Parker compliments Mitchell on this session with stellar playing that shift from blues to improvised jazz so smoothly you barely notice the changes. Harrison Bankhead and Avreeayl Ra (bass and drums respectively) do more than keep the time and rhythm. Ra's solo during moments is killer and unexpected after the mood Mitchell has set to this point. Bankhead adds a funky but sinister bassline to "There" which Mitchell tempers with some gentle but free moving colours.
Awakeningis a laid back, psychedelic, soulful work that won't have you talking about the flute. It will have you taking about the composer. Here's our first discussion on Awakening.
JazzWrap revisits a great year of discoveries in 2001.
Hugo Carvalhais (bass) Nebulosa (Clean Feed; 2011) Tim Berne (sax) Gabriel Pinto (piano) Mario Costa (drums)
I have probably listened to this record at least 3 times a month since the beginning of year. That might not sound like a lot but I've got a lot of music so trust me--it's a lot. Hugo Carvalhais created a record in Nebulosa that is so dense yet vivid with imagination that you really have to stop, sit down, and focus your mind around the instrumentation and sonic resonance his group are shaping.
Even now almost two months later I'm finding new sounds and classical elements from Tim Berne ("Impala") and from Gabriel Pinto ("Nebulosa II" and "Nebulosa III") that I hadn't noticed originally. Even the more contemporary flavor of "North" I'd hadn't noticed until a few months ago. Carvalhais' writing is sparse and allows for improvising at just the right moments.
The sonic adventure alone is just one of the many reasons why Nebulosa is one of my favourites of 20011. Check out our thoughts from earlier this year: Hugo CarvalhaisNebulosa.
JazzWrap revisits a great year of discoveries in 2011.
John Escreet (piano)
The Age We Live In (Mythology Records; 2011)
Marcus Gilmore (drums), David Binney (sax)
Wayne Krantz (guitar), with Brad Mason (trumpet) Max Seigel (trombone), Tim Lefebvre (bass), and
Christian Howes (string orchestration)
Exception To The Rule (Criss Cross; 2011)
David Binney (sax), Eivind Opsvik (bass), and Nasheet Waits (drums)
John Escreet has been on the rise the last few years. A well disciplined associate of Jason Moran, Escreet combines complexity and beauty into a more cerebral jazz that is both forward-thinking as it is accessible.
This year has seen the release of two distinct albums, both recorded a month apart. And both albums show that Escreet is quietly climbing up the ladder of important post-modern jazz musicians. The first release of the year came in the form of the expansive, The Age We In Live In (Mythology Records). A Pandora's box of possibilities, Escreet creates a document that encompasses elements of fusion, ambient, modern, and rock, and all with sincere cohesion and deep sense of adventure. "The Domino Effect" rolls out the gates like a beast, thanks to some fantastic playing by Krantz on guitar and Escreet's infectious, Headhunter-esque work on fender and keys. Binney and Gilmore both cut a large chunk of counterpoint, which makes for blistering conclusion.
The title track feels like it has more in common with King Crimson or Mahavishnu Orchestra. It's epic, with monstrous tones from Binney and Gilmore. Escreet draws a futuristic picture with an inward performance that pulls you into a different soundscape. Guest musician, Max Seigel (trombone), provides a foil for Binney to bounce concepts back and forth with as the sounds get bigger and bigger. "As The Moon Disappears," is an ethereal piece featuring Escreet in a mixture of piano and keyboard. A haunting piece that has the beauty of Eno's Discreet Music and Komeda's Rosemary's Baby. The Age We Live In turns out be a melting pot of rich ideas and shows Escreet really stepping into his own.
One of things that continually astounds me about John Escreet's music is the diversity of his compositions. His language is rising to a different level, higher than some of his contemporaries. Only few weeks later, he returned to the studio to record similar abstract themes with a second set of musicians (also including Binney) in the shape of Exception To The Rule (Criss Cross). There's a small bit of contemporary playing here that reflects the sound of the label, but overall this is still a broad-minded John Escreet session. "Collapse" demonstrates the group in beautifully twisted form. It's a complex piece with multiple themes that rise and fall. Escreet allows the musicians to work freely, but they all seems to come back together at just the right moment. This creates a unique melody and rhythm that is both somehow transcendent and linear before you realize.
"Escape Hatch" is a dizzying array of improvised notes, with the group in moving in various directions and at times creating a groove out of nowhere. Opsvik's bassline holds things together so the rest can roam freely. There's a classic approach to "Wide Open Spaces" in which Escreet provides a chamber music setting. The piece is dominated by Opsvik's bass. But Escreet has delicately placed notes for everyone to touch upon creating a wonderful sound out of nothing.
The electronic work on "Electrotherapy" feels like something off a John Foxx album. It's brief and atmospheric and really shows Escreet has been listening to a lot of different sounds over the last year. "Waynes World," is a piece originally on Escreet's first album. Consequences has the same fiery structure but features a lot more texture than its parent version, and it represents a nice way of closing the album but reminding the listener that this is where we came from but not where we're going next...
You don't get artist releasing two records in a year these days (with the exception of say, Wynton Marsalis). But when you have an artist with the exceptional talent and complex compositional thinking as John Escreet, you have to take notice. The Age We Live In and Exception To The Rule could easily be one double album under the same concept, but they are enjoyable and challenging as separate entities. These are two records that you shouldn't miss out on this year.
