August round-up
To mix a metaphor, the doubleedged sword of the festival milk round is now upon us again, with the world’s jazz talent clustering around these events rather than coming soon to a venue near you.
It’s a good time to console oneself with some new CDS and, following Tim Garland’s example, perhaps also to consider the resurgence of jazz composition alongside the improvising tradition, essentially a product of the past few decades and possibly linked to the relatively recent adoption of jazz by music colleges. Whatever the case, it’s always good to have a new CD from Canadian pianist and composer Renee Rosnes, particularly as she’s underexposed on the European live circuit. Beloved of the Sky is a fine selection of varied originals for quintet that showcase her adaptable talent. Imaginative and restless, her pieces are a reflection of her playing style, never overworking ideas and supportive of her fellow performers; saxophonist Chris Potter responds with vibrant contributions. (Smoke Sessions SSR-1801 ★★★★★)
Unsurprisingly, there’s no shortage of pokey saxophone on Joshua Redman’s Still Dreaming either, which sees the reedsman working alongside some fine collaborators on a set of pieces inspired by his father Dewey Redman’s ‘Old and New Dreams’ band. Musically it’s as astute as you’d expect, marshalling both energetic vivacity and internalised intensity. It has to lose a star for the oversanitary production values which make you wish you were at a live gig instead, although drummer Brian Blade manages to elevate the proceedings occasionally, brilliantly walking the fine line between extroversion and bad taste. (Nonesuch 0075597933093 ★★★★)
Interestingly, Redman could actually have taken a lesson from young Ugandan Londoner Mark Kavuma, whose debut album Kavuma captures all the animation and emotional conviction that so many high-end productions lack. It’s apparently a studio recording, but seems to be very much of the live-in-a-room school and is all the better for that. Trumpeter Kavuma fronts a septet (with a few permutations) playing mainly originals in a glorious bop-tomainstream style. His own playing is warm and articulate and he also gives his bandmates plenty of scope to stretch out without inhibition, reflecting an insider’s understanding from his earlier work as a sideman and guest soloist. (Ubuntu Music UBU0007 ★★★★★).
It’s assumed that composers work within an idiom, but between their recent albums Redman and pianist Stefano Bollani demonstrate that the idea of a ‘jazz idiom’ is elusive. ‘Que Bom’ is one such, a mixture of small-group instrumentals and songs mainly tethered to the Latin and Afro-cuban traditions, but performed with a delicate grace that produces a toe-tapping chamber jazz that’s worth hearing for the ethereal vocal contributions of Caetano Veloso alone. (Alobar AL 1001 ★★★★)
As creators of personal idioms go, though, guitarist (mainly) Steve Tibbetts has long been a maverick among mavericks. His eschewal of live performance and protractive approach to recording make his albums genuine events. Life Of, on which he doubles on piano and involves two other instrumentalists on percussion, cello and
‘drones’ doesn’t disappoint, being a shimmering cascade of sound that is somehow both minimalist and profoundly intricate. (ECM
2599 ★★★★★)