June round-up
Jazz traditionally relies on collective interaction, yet paradoxically the music’s development is always described in terms of the innovative statements made by individuals, from Satchmo to Coltrane and beyond. Each of this month’s discs carries the name of an individual performer, but they also neatly illustrate how such roles and the notion of leadership can be seen from a number of perspectives.
Herlin Riley throws down a well-worn gauntlet with Perpetual Optimism. Usual expectations of a drummer-led album are that the drums will be heard too often and too loudly and that at least half the music on it will have been written by the leader in order to achieve this. Riley, it has to be said, rather lives up to this stereotype, but he’s forgiven due to the way in which this ebullient mixture of modern originals, borrowings and standards lives up to its title. (Mack Avenue MAC 1136 ★★★★)
Riley’s disc points goodnaturedly in the direction of the leader as auteur (he also co-produced the aforementioned album), a phenomenon which is now so common as to be taken for granted; both Tom Harrell and Laurence Hobgood have recent releases in a similar vein. Harrell’s unique sound on trumpet and flugelhorn manages to sound laid-back even when things get busy, but as ever it’s his legendary ability to wrangle a tune that defines the impeccably-produced Infinity,a set of ten polished originals. Again, though, the commitment of his sidemen is an integral component of the music and the absence of a piano from this (mostly) quintet set leaves some interesting spaces for them to occupy. (High Note HCD 7321 ★★★★★)
Pianist Hobgood’s tesseterra is also big on tunes, but this intriguing album is for the most part a new and different take on the practice of raiding the poprock catalogue for jazz-friendly material, which in this case is steered in an unexpected direction by the addition of the excellent avant-contemporary string quartet ETHEL. With tunes borrowed from The Police, The Beatles and numerous other sources, the programme is nothing if not diverse, but ultimately it’s the presence of the strings that gives the music its unique stamp, with Hobgood’s arrangements expertly splicing precise and demanding compositional elements with improvised sections. (Ubuntu Music UBU0019 ★★★★★)
It’s often – well, occasionally – pointed out that jazz is reputedly associated with improvisation but that some of its most legendary practitioners (Gershwin, Ellington again) were effectively leader/ composers writing for improvisers. This brings us to the increasingly formidable Trish Clowes, whose Ninety Degrees Gravity is, to my ears at least, a composer’s recording and politely demanding in its idiosyncratic way, blending jazz energy with expertlycrafted structural devices that seem harmless enough but that defy second-guessing. Her quartet (sax/ voice, guitar, piano/organ, drums) negotiates the whole apparatus with insight. (Basho SRCD 56-2 ★★★★)
Finally, a critical sleeper of an album from singer Quiana Lynell. It’s a crowded space when it comes to albums of standards and favourites, but on A Little Love this Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition Award winner pulls a few unexpected rabbits out of the hat, including an occasional intimate Joni Mitchelllike register which gives some breathing space to the lyrics. One to watch. (Concord CJA00131 ★★★★)