September round-up

Open Land – Meeting John Abercrombie is a biopic on DVD of one of modern jazz music’s understated heroes. Made shortly before the electric guitarist died in 2017, it captures the man and his music beautifully. With straight to camera narrative from John Abercrombie and fellow musicians, we follow his rise from a Chuck Berry-loving kid to a musician revered around the world for his impressionistic composing and playing style. Open minded by even jazz standards, Abercrombie appeared in all kinds of settings. But it was with ECM that he found his spiritual home, being by nature ‘a little sad and also mysterious’ as the music featured in the film reveals. Directed by Arno Oehri with atmospheric cinematography. (ECM

DVD 675 1136 ★★★★)

Compared to the rather rarefied sound aesthetic of Manfred Eicher’s Edition of Contemporary Music (ECM) – the next best thing to silence he once said – it’s near namesake, the UK’S Edition, ten years old in 2018, is now known for its rich cornucopia of European jazz styles. Slowly Rolling Camera is Edition boss Dave Stapleton’s own project, and Juniper is its third release. While still rooted in electronica and making much use of jungly break beats overlaid with repeated minor chord motifs, it’s the jazziest work yet. The strong melodic lines and rhythmic hooks are all there, but the sound is taken to a more dynamic level by the entrance of soloists such as saxophonist Mark Lockheart and trumpeter Neil Yates. (Edition EDN 1115 ★★★★)

The delicious opening notes from Julian Argüelles’ soprano sax on his quartet Tetra’s new album Tonadas tell you something good is going to happen. No surprise – since his beginnings with London’s Loose Tubes big band in the mid-’80s, Argüelles has grown into one of Europe’s finest, most in demand, jazz men. Born and bred in the Midlands, Argüelles’s surname betrays his Spanish roots and this programme of sparkling original tunes explores that Latin heritage. In numbers like Bulerias and Alegrias one may hear Argüelles stretch out against dancing drum accompaniment from James Maddren. But characteristically deft arrangements, a craft honed with copious commissions from around Europe, create gorgeous settings for others, and Ivo Neame’s cascading piano lines especially are a joy. (Edition EDN 1116 ★★★★★)

Cuban music has long been a key ingredient of jazz (at least since the 1940s) – as Jelly Roll Morton said, ‘You’ve got to have that Spanish tinge’. Classically trained pianist Harold López-nussa belongs to a new generation of Cuban players and marries technical brilliance with an insistent rootsy drive.

On his new trio album, Un Dia Cualquiera, the Havana resident rips through the Cuban style book without a misstep. (Mack Avenue MAC 1135 ★★★★★)

Now and then, a jazz musician opens the door to a wider audience without alienating the purists. The late Joe Zawinul did it with Weather Report’s free ranging jazz rock. Another keys player, Robert Glasper, is doing a similar job today, his group

R+R=NOW blurring the boundaries between jazz funk, rap and electronic avant garde. Collagically Speaking is essentially a live studio jam, albeit with a glittering cast of West Coast instrumentalists, MCS and even actors. The core group is so hip it hurts, Christian Scott atunde Adjuah on trumpet and Derrick Hodge on bass working with a strong synth element to create a kaleidoscopic collage of groovebased sound. Zawinul would have loved it. (Blue Note 6755431 ★★★★)