Mostly Other People Do The Killing: Blue

Mostly Other People Do The Killing (quintet)
Blue (Hot Cup Records; 2014)
Jon Iragbagon (sax)
Kevin Shea (drums)
Peter Evans (trumpet)
Moppa Elliott (bass)
Rob Stabinsky (piano)

Mostly Other People Do The Killing, are one of the best and most challenging ensembles around. For their latest, Blue, they've surprised everyone by playing it straight. This is a wonderful love letter to Miles Davis' (and jazz in general) iconic benchmark, Kind Of Blue.

What I was expecting was a full-on avant garde re-interpretation of the jazz opus. Instead we are treated to is a delicately laid out pattern of musicianship by the quintet. It is almost a note for note transcription but you have to listen extremely closely for the subtle details in the performances.

Iragbagon's sax is crisp throughout "So What." Certainly the best straight, traditional performance I've heard from him in awhile. Beautifully crafted too are the lines from Evans, Elliott and Stabinsky. Stabinsky, Shea and Evans show real vibrancy on "All Blues" and "Flamenco Sketches," with the trumpet and piano both high in the mix (as with the original compositions). But both pieces have slightly playful feel as added by Iragabagon's softer tone--almost like listening in a nightclub setting.

Listen, we all know its easy to record a homage like Kind Of Blue. It's also easy to completely screw it up. But what's challenging is to performance it with grace and reverence. Mostly Other People Do The Killing have done just that with Blue. A phenomenal tribute to the greatest jazz musician and his most important work in the pantheon of music in general. Highly Recommended!

Mostly Other People Do The Killing: Red Hot

Mostly Other People Do The Killing (quartet)
Red Hot (Hot Cup Records; 2013)
Jon Iragbagon (sax)
Kevin Shea (drums)
Peter Evans (trumpet)
Moppa Elliott (bass)

David Taylor (trombone, bass)
Rob Stabinsky (piano)
Brandon Seabrook (banjo, electronics)

Nice way to begin and end the year--with new albums by MOPDTK. At the beginning of the year I was talking about their 80s influenced Slippery Rock! This time around, they will frustrate their detractors even further with Red Hot--a bizarre and wonderful experimentation with New Orleans and Kansas City style jazz. Sound is traditional. The vision is way beyond.

The quartet is expanded to a sextet which provides a lot more opportunities for creativity and extended solo work. "Zelienople," is a raucous 30s anthem filled with some aggressive performances by Shea, Evans and the horn section. This is juxtaposed by the fun filled lines from Seabrook on banjo Stabinsky rollicking piano. Great stuff.

Melding the avant garde into this kind of venture seem dangerous. But it works extremely well on "Red Hot" and "King Of Prussia." Both vicious number for different reasons. "Red Hot" features a bluesy vamp melody wrapped by electronic one tone static. A difficult an strange occurrence at first but then you realize the inventiveness. "King Of Prussia" is a ballad filled everything lovely and distracting. Irabagon's playing is bold and very enveloping.

Remember that drunken new years eve party. Actually maybe you don't. Well "Orange Is The New Town" probably was playing in morning hours during your waking dream state. Beautifully executed with some slow emotional notes by Stabinsky and closing with a large dose of echoing chaos.

Everything lets loose on the finale "Bird In Hand." A rapturous number that will have thinking of a joyous night at the Cotton Club. The entire ensemble features throughout. It's fun, uplifting and a great way to close out a very adventurous record.

With Red Hot, MOPDTK have done another twisted and victorious job with building on tradition while making you rethink it as well. Excellent way to close out the year.

Jakob Bro: December Song

Jakob Bro (guitar)
December Song (Loveland; 2013)
Lee Konitz (sax)
Craig Taborn (piano)
Bill Frisell (guitar)
Thomas Morgan (bass)

With December Song, Jakob Bro concludes a wonderful trilogy that started in 2008 with Balladerring and then Time in 2011. A beautiful and melodic tribute to one his mentors, the late Paul Motain, December Song is another shinning document in the growth of an very subtle yet expressive voice, Bro has become over the last decade.

"Giant" flows heavy and effectively on the notes of Konitz and Bro. But the addition of Taborn adds a complexity that give the atmospherics of Bro's playing more dynamics and experimentation. "Zygaena" and "Tree House" are similar to compositions from Balladerring and Time yet still show the growing aspects of Bro's writing after all these years. Both consist of lush, gentle tones that highlight the weaving patterns of Bro's guitar and Americana themes laid out by Frisell. But as always, Bro turns both pieces into a kind of journey that is rich and imaginable.

"Risskov" and "Vinterhymne" have folkish qualities that both romantic and dream-like. The compositions are like lullabies. "Risskov" is highlighted by Konitz's bold horn and Bro's subtle yet captivating notes. Quiet and short notes that linger with each echoing tone. "Vinterhymne" is more a drifting piece with images that fade that softly in the distant sunset. A wonderful closing number and longing gesture to one of his mentors.

December Song is again another statement of powerful creativity from a composer and performer who seems to be prime, prolific form at the moment. I try every chance I get to tell as many people about Jakob Bro. I'm hoping that an album such as December Song can do it all without me screaming to the hilltops. It's that beautiful and that good. One of my favourite albums of the year. And I already have a small list of them (Jason Moran/Charles Lloyd, MOPDTK, Sunna Gunnlaugs, Soren Gemmer and Soren Dahl Jeppesen to make the short list). But Jakob Bro always seems to make that list. Highly, Highly Recommended!

Kris Davis: Capricorn Climber

Kris Davis (piano)
Capricorn Climber (Clean Feed; 2013)
Ingrid Laubrock (sax)
Trevor Dunn (bass)
Tom Rainey (drums)
Mat Maneri (viola)

The incomparable, Kris Davis returns with more brave and complex patterns on her sixth album, Capricorn Climber. Davis, is part of the new legion on New York musicians that are redefining the scene nationally and globally. A scene composed of such notables as Tom Rainey, Mary Halvorson, Peter Evans, Ches Smith, Tashawn Sorey, Moppa Elliott, Jon Iragbagon et al. But Davis like Halvorson has been one of the major standouts for me over the last few years.

Capricorn Climber provides all you need to know and hear from a talented composer with challenging ideas. "Pass The Magic Hat" is a smooth yet very involved piece. The first steady tempo is lead by some lovely rolling lines from Davis. This is subtly balanced by Rainey and an uncharacteristically calm Laubrock, who sounds bold and romantic. Then all that changes as the piece moves forward and becomes even more reserved and delicate. Maneri dominates with some wonderfully inventive and chaotic notes. Beautiful and surreal.

Davis gives Trevor Dunn a lot of room to roam of course on "Trevor's Luffa Complex." The opening solo is superb and illustrates how well developed his craft has become in the last few years (actually he's been at way longer than that). He sets up some lovely exchanges with Laubrock that then fold nicely into a boiling cascade as Davis and Rainey come blasting in.

"PI is Irrational" flexes back and forth with breaking rhythms and patterns, mainly from Maneri and Rainey, with little slices of improvised notes floating in and out from Davis and Dunn. Laubrock's arrives towards the end of the number to add a nice linear passage for the closing notes by Dunn.

Maneri really shines in Davis' pieces, this is evident of the title track where his conversation with Davis is a perfect simpatico. Once the rest of the quintet dive in, the piece becomes a bright wash of sound that levels off calmly but with deep sense of structure.

A new album from Kris Davis always brings real joy to my ears. Capricorn Climber is definitely one of the more developed and intense sessions she's done so far. And it may take a little time for you digest all its beauty. But you will shortly realize how important Kris Davis has become as musician, composer and influence on a larger scene globally. Highly Recommended. And one of my albums of the year!

Mostly Other People Do The Killing: Slippery Rock!

Mostly Other People Do The Killing (quartet)
Slippery Rock! (Hot Cup Records; 2013)
Jon Iragbagon (sax)
Kevin Shea (drums)
Peter Evans (trumpet)
Moppa Elliott (bass)

I don't know how they do it, but with each record, MOPDTK get wilder with clever humour and intricate creative compositions. Non-secquitor song titles and ironic covers hide a quartet of immense power and quality. On their newest release, Slippery Rock! they again bring an electricity and excitement that intertwines a jam session with a revival.

Opening with the soaring and multi-layered "Hearts Content," the quartet set in for more of a rock oriented groove through Shea's crisp timing and Elliott's funky bassline before the tune quickly gets turned on its head. Rhythms and patterns that are circular, jump cutting and then linear - all still with precision and avant garde accuracy. Stunning!

"Can't Tell Shipp From Shohola," a bluesy ballad with minor improvised periods highlights the ability of MOPDTK to shift styles but still maintain a sense of adventure and airiness that pulls in both casual and well-seasoned listeners.

The rhythm and blues side of jazz is always present throughout the group's existence. And it is on display here with "Sayre" and "Yo, Yeo, Yough." Both pieces have soulful elements filling the forefront but with intense concentration on reshaping everything else. This can be heard on the improvised section of "Yo, Yeo, Yough." Elliott and Irabagon have very hard-pounding arrangements riding along side a fierce set of patterns laid out by Shea.

"Is Granny Spry?" is a nice way to close another interesting journey in the world of MOPDTK. The album is somehow dedicated to smooth jazz of the '70s and '80s but you would never really know it. Parts of "Is Granny Spry?" give a hint at what was going on in the mind of this group as they were writing and performing. It is soulful and melodic with heartwarming passages. And just when you think this is where the funk comes in--they change direction and leave you with question marks all over your face.

Scattered lines and chords show Mostly Other People Do The Killing as a group that really don't want to be confined to the definition of jazz and whatever its subsets may be. This is a group that is having fun with every note and every structure. Slippery Rock! is yet another bright spot that once you're under the MOPDTK spell - you can't get out. Highly Recommended.