Best Albums of 2011: Daniel Levin

JazzWrap revisit a great year of discoveries in 2011.

Daniel Levin (cello)

Inner Landscape (Clean Feed; 2011)

Releasing three records in a year made my decision extremely difficult as to what to choose from cellist, Daniel Levin, growing catalog. But after some intense listening and probably even closing my eyes and pointing, I finally decided on Inner Landscape. A solo work divided into six suites (if you don't mind me calling it that) that are expansive, challenging and entertaining.

Levin's great skill comes in creating a sound that is not only enveloping but it explodes your original theories of what the cello can do. His performances on record and live are beyond both jazz and classical. Inner Landscape is an improvised masterpiece but burst with undulated patterns and themes. You should expect the unexpected when taking this journey. "Landscape 3" might be the only piece that is calming to uninitiated but this is an album that demands you attention to the detail.

Inner Landscape was Daniel Levin's first solo cello album after a series of duos, trios and ensemble sessions. It's great to hear what his world sounds like all on his own.

Fred Lonberg-Holm & Piotr Melech: Coarse Day

Fred Lonberg-Holm (cello)
Piotr Melech (clarinet)

Coarse Day (Multikulti; 2011)

Avant garde duos are pretty prevalent at the moment, no matter what the instrument(s). But what makes the best ones stand out is the quality of the musicianship and the depth of the material.


As with my earlier discussion on the Daniel Levin/Tim Daisy release, The Flower and The Bear, Fred Lonberg-Holm and Piotr Melech have created a richly diverse and highly challenging document that is both absorbing and thought provoking.

Lonberg-Holm, a member of various outfits in Chicago (most notably The Vandermark 5) and Melech, a growing presence of the Polish avant garde scene (including his trio Enterout) together, explore a strange world of soundscapes on Coarse Day. It's a densely packed session with movements that are multi-layered and demanding of the listener's concentration.

"Cloudburst" is pops and crackles with a sense of adventure. Lonberg-Holm maneuvers up and down the scales like a cat stuck in an aqueduct. Melech's clarinet(s) create an echo chamber that is both haunting and exhilarating. "Tangle Of Loops" feels almost anti-avant garde. I felt Longberg-Holm and Melech have a number of exchanges that are humorous and well improvised. My mind drifted into a jovial exploration into Raymond Scott (although I'm certain that was not the composers intentions). The use of electronics and sound manipulation on "Tangle Of Loops" gives the piece a schizophrenic edge that is genuinely exciting.

"Mildew Gourmets" moves out melodically in a somber spiritual pattern, similar to Coltrane's "A Love Supreme." It's hypnotic and relaxing tone is a calming departure point for the session and provides further insight into the duo's composition talents.

Coarse Day while challenging, is an album that once it sinks in--will become a fixture on your stereo. Lonberg-Holm and Melech have created an album that is filled with improvisation but also subtle accessibility that deserves intense listening. Haunting, beautiful and emotional.

Levin & Daisy: The Flower & The Bear

Daniel Levin (cello)

Tim Daisy (percussion)

The Flower And The Bear (Relay Records; 2011)

Finishing off my unexpected week of duo recordings, I thought I would mention a fantastic album I just picked up a few weeks ago from Daniel Levin and Tim Daisy entitled The Flower And The Bear.


Levin has worked in a number of settings (trio, quartet, duo and ensemble), Daisy has done the same (most notably with, Klang, The Engines, The Vandermark 5 and his own Vox Arcana). They are highly creative forces on their own. Together, they have crafted an amazing duet record that is fun, raucous and inventive. 

The Flower And The Bear I have to assume relates to the two musicians themselves. Either way this is an album that shine with life and activity. Built on only five extended pieces, both musicians bristle with excitement. "Graystone" slowly builds on Levin's structured yet somehow improvised movements. These are matched with free flowing rhythm's from Daisy, until the two get midway into the piece and the wheels come flying off in beautiful rolling cacophony. 

"The Flower And The Bear" feels like a hunt for Chanukah gelt that turns out to be a creepy message from the under-world (that's the best way I could describe it). But really, its an adventure in improvisation. Percussion and cello are the perfect compliment in this setting because you can create a variety of sounds that are both rich, pure and beautiful. Daisy and Levin manage to do that with ease. "The Flower And The Bear" ventures into a scattered and diverse structures towards the end but somehow manages to keep the listener well focused. Levin and Daisy become one sound as the movement heads towards a calm conclusion.

"Steel Flags" may be the only track with a real structure, which is laid out in the beginning by Levin. At times Levin almost turns his instrument into a percussion piece. The unity that the two musicians display throughout this piece is spellbinding. It's intense but quietly affective. There are striking layers of tense beauty as well as repetitive patterns that construct the overall theme of the piece. It's engaging without being disarming. Wonderful stuff.

With The Flower And The Bear, both Daniel Levin and Tim Daisy effectively show they are at the top of a very small list of creative musicians within the free-improvisational structure of musicians. Highly Recommended.

Daniel Levin: Inner Landscape

Daniel Levin (cello)

Inner Landscape (Clean Feed; 2011)

Daniel Levin has been at the forefront lately in the creative circles of jazz. His recordings (both in duo, trio and quartet settings) have been some of the most inventive and challenging in improvised music. It is amazing to think that after seven albums as leader that he has never recorded a solo cello album. Until now.

Inner Landscape contains six fully improvised pieces that feel more contextual than spontaneous. It's a journey of individual passages with distinct stories interwoven between the chords. Levin takes the listener from a well focused starting point, then catapults you into a realm where the boundaries of free jazz, improvisation, classical and jazz just fall by the wayside. It becomes MUSIC. No defined genre (only for you, the listener, to decide).

"Landscape 2" displays these thoughts brilliantly. It is a piece with endless possibilities. It begins with some loose but fast paced finger work from Levin. He sets the tempo by utilizing the space around the composition. There are short gaps between each moment before he really begins to focus and let loose. The improvised sections on first listen may be hard to grasp but on second listen you are full engulfed by the structure and patterns Levin has created.

"Landscape 6" is Levin walking you through forest at dusk. At first it seems peaceful and you delight in the beautiful trails. But then darkness falls and your psyche creeps in and your thoughts start to betray you. Levin quickly scrambles the pieces and you are left to guide yourself to the exit. But the music moves up in pace, and the journey seems in all directions--Levin brings the listener back only slightly and only for a few moments before literally stretching you right out of the piece (you'll understand that when you hear the piece).

Inner Landscape is a collection of multiple themes with various shapes, colours and patterns that need deep repeated listens. Emotional. Moving. Unexpected. And yet well rounded. There are only a few cellists on the scene today that can make the instrument sound more than what it is in addition to taking you on an other-worldly journey.

Daniel Levin continues to do this with ease. Inner Landscape is a superb first solo outing and I'm hoping he sprinkles more like this in between his other projects. Brilliant.