August round-up
This month’s Jazz Choice (see left) is reflected in several other recent releases that also follow the stripped-back approach of not including one or more instruments traditionally thought of as central to the genre. It’s not a new idea, but the realisation that jazz doesn’t have to be a melody instrument backed by piano, bass and drums can still lead us into fresh territory.
Trumpeter Dave Douglas, pianist Uri Caine and drummer Andrew Cyrille provide a cointoss for the above plaudit in the shape of Devotion, a set of pieces derived from the Sacred Harp, the quite extraordinary 19th-century American Christian vocal style derived from the hymnbook of that name (Google it at once if it’s not familiar). Douglas and Caine perfectly map the robust beauty of this material onto their instruments, while Cyrille, despite being an invited guest on what would normally have been a duo performance, integrates perfectly. Caine’s full-on approach is both a nod to the original hymns and an assured claim on the otherwise uncovered bass line. (Greenleaf Music GRE-CD-1071 ★★★★★)
Moving from the traditional to the personal, Frisell/morgan’s labelmate Areni Agbabian also draws on church music in the form of traditional Armenian hymns which are mixed with (mostly) her own pieces to good effect on Bloom. Both her voice and piano style are delicate but with an inner strength that eschews any notion of fragility, and her subtracted, sparse arrangements, subtly ornamented by percussionist Nicolas Stocker, are quietly fascinating. (ECM 2549 ★★★★★)
The piano of course has its own tradition as a self-contained instrument within jazz as much as in classical music. But while the same can be said of the guitar, the latter is a very broad church, encompassing both the Bill Frisells of this world and the vibrant Braz(ilian)-jazz of Lula Galvão, whose solo Alegria De Viver is an assured and spirited take on the work of several Latinjazz legends including Tom Jobim and Johnny Alf. It’s very enjoyable listening, but be prepared to be frustrated if you read neither German nor Spanish – while the production notes are provided in English, the composer biographies are not, which seems a tad perverse. ( Jazzline N 77058 ★★★★)
The young German drummer Max Stadtfield has a pleasing outing with his quartet Stax, which – perhaps disappointingly – isn’t a jazz take on the output of the legendary American label of that name. Instead it proves to be an eponymous album (the title is derived from his surname) featuring a fine set of wellstructured modern originals dotted with a couple of borrowings. The only chordal instrument here is a guitar, which leaves plenty of ventilation for his inquisitive melodies. (ACT 9679-2 ★★★★)
Less routinely, the Miguel Gorodi Nonet includes a vibraphone but lacks both guitar and piano, although the six (really) assorted horns ensure there are no aching voids in Gorodi’s somewhat unconventional arrangements, which are all loops and curlicues but with plenty of scope for the queue of soloists. Apophenia is his debut album and consists entirely of originals. I’m currently in two minds about his oddly weighted compositional style, but his conviction is clear enough and the band tackles the material with what can only be described as judicious gusto. (Ubuntu Music UBU0021 ★★★)