October round-up Jazz
Garry Booth discovers several inspiring new albums as well as past rare treats
American guitarist Julian Lage was a child prodigy who started playing at five, had a documentary film made about his life at eight and performed at a Grammy awards ceremony when he was 13. But his folksy, genre-crossing repertoire means he’s kept a fairly low profile as a jazz player across the years
(he’s now 33). A new trio album for the iconic Blue Note imprint, called Squint, might change that, however. Recorded in Nashville in the shadow of lockdown, with Dave King on drums and Jorge Roeder on bass, Lage’s characteristic country blues feel frequently gives way to a more enquiring, sidelong, exploration. Also, Lage’s switch to a hollow-bodied guitar gives added jazz bounce to his sound. (Blue Note 00602435521510) ★★★★★
Saxophonist Julian Siegel took his inspiration for the suite at the centre of his latest album Tales From the Jacquard from his late father’s lacemaking factory. Specifically, Siegel used the punched pattern cards that control the machines to inform the melodies and rhythms in a 30-minute, threepart extended orchestral work. It’s kinetic, powerful – unstoppable – music, the fast moving parts delivered by some of the UK’S finest jazz musicians. There’s no anti-climax in the rest of the (live) programme, the orchestra surging through five more expansive charts. The woozy ‘Blue’, with Jason Yarde wailing querulously on soprano sax in front of a growling brass chorus, is a standout. (Whirlwind Recordings WR 4774) ★★★★
In the early days of jazz, the tuba played the same role as the string bass, especially for outdoor gigs. After being pretty much neglected for the last 100 years, it’s made something of a comeback recently with super tubists like Theon
Cross and Marcus Rojas much in demand. On his new trio disc
Harbour, Norwegian tubist Daniel Herskedal plays the ‘brass bass’ with an agility usually reserved for the trumpet. The combination of the leader’s breezy, original compositions and far-ranging sound gives a sense of the instrument being set free. Pianist Eyolf Dale also plays celeste while drummer Helge Andreas Norbakken dabbles with the marimba. (Edition Records EDN 1181) ★★★★
Jazz harp is another instrument that doesn’t appear much on this page, although it’s always been around. The first recorded jazz harpist was probably the American Adele Girard in 1938; she played alongside her husband Joe Marsala and His Chicagoans, a popular swing outfit. Young harpist
Brandee Younger seems assured of 21st-century commercial success with her seductive nu-soul/jazz mix Somewhere Different. It’s a hip sound but there’s nothing ‘lite’ about the music; like Girard before her, Younger has a wonderful facility to improvise and to take the harp beyond celestial clichés, surrounded by some top-drawer soloists. (Impulse! 3829861) ★★★★
The late Alice Coltrane is closely associated with the harp, but she’s playing the Wurlitzer organ on the newly discovered archive selection Kirtan Turiya Sings; she’s also singing (in Sanskrit) throughout. At the time of the 1981 recording Coltrane was a reclusive spiritual teacher and this solo programme is essentially devotional music. Yet, close listening reveals her bebop jazz roots and a sonic link to the transcendental collaborations she made with partner John Coltrane in the ’60s. The sound benefits from remixing and remastering using the original ‘homemade’ 24-track version. (Impulse! 3593975) ★★★★