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Entries from November 2012

Natsuki Tamura/Satoko Fujii: Muku

The restlessly innovative husband and wife team of trumpeter m: Natsuki Tamura and pianist m: Satoko Fujii have produced some of the most intriguing and invigorating music to come out of Japan. Although rooted in the jazz idiom, their explorations are on universal themes, drawing upon a variety of inspirations. Their work is primarily improvised, but not in the sense of a blowing session and more within the permissive construct of melodic and unconventional compositions…

Date: Nov 30th, 2012 · No Comments · Categories: Jazz CD Reviews

The Peggy Lee Band: Invitation

Based in Vancouver, Canada since the early 1990s, Canadian cellist Peggy Lee has been steadily building an impressive discography. Invitation is the fifth album by her self-titled band, and the group’s second release for Drip Audio. The record encompasses a broad stylistic range, revealing influences as disparate as folksy Americana and exotic Afro-pop–though Lee’s harmonically sophisticated arrangements expertly balance composed and improvised elements, yielding a cohesive sum greater than its parts…

Date: Nov 30th, 2012 · No Comments · Categories: Jazz CD Reviews

Erik Jekabson: Anti-Mass

Trumpeter Erik Jekabson likes to stroll through San Francisco’s DeYoung Museum and imagine what the visual works there would sound like. In league with his Sting-tet ensemble, he explores the textures and colors, the harmonies and melodies of these artworks, translating them into sounds on Anti-Mass. Teaming with violin, viola, saxophone, bass and drum, and with the occasional addition of vibes, he paints a vibrant variety of sounds that stretch from chamber jazz to third stream, from avant-garde to The Big Easy…

Date: Nov 30th, 2012 · No Comments · Categories: Jazz CD Reviews

Music for a While: Graces That Refrain

Five years have passed since Norwegian quintet m: Music for a While released its debut, Weill Variations (Grappa, 2007), a collection of fresh, outspoken versions of Kurt Weill songs. Now this dream team band–headed by cabaret diva Tora Augestad, with accordionist m: Stian Carstensen (leader of m: Farmers Market ), trumpeter m: Mathias Eick (from m: Jaga Jazzist and a leader in his own right), tubaist Martin Taxt (from the m: Trondheim Jazz Orchestra and Koboku Senju) and drummer PA l Hausken (from m: In the Country )–delivers a magnificent chamber jazz transformations of classical repertoire, songs ranging from English Renaissance, Baroque and Romantic eras to the present…

Date: Nov 30th, 2012 · No Comments · Categories: Jazz CD Reviews

Kyle Brenders Quartet: Offset

A former student of visionary composer Anthony Braxton , Canadian multi-instrumentalist Kyle Brenders subtly expands upon the idiomatic language of his former Wesleyan professor on Offset, the second album by his self-titled Quartet, following 2010’s Karst. In addition to numerous other projects, Brenders engages his interest in the oeuvre of iconic soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy as a member of The Rent, a Lacy repertory band led by fellow Canadian trombonist Scott Thompson . Although influenced by Lacy’s idiosyncratic sensibility and Braxton’s esoteric methodologies, Brenders’ aesthetic temperament embodies a far more straightforward, accessible approach, yielding a truly individualistic style…

Date: Nov 29th, 2012 · No Comments · Categories: Jazz CD Reviews

Lars Bech Pilgaards Slowburn: Mammut

Danish guitarist Lars Bech Pilgaard’s musical philosophy denies the existence of any genre or convention. His musical range encompasses free improv, avant-garde, Kraut rock, punkish energy, odd cinematic soundscapes, noise, and even fifties classics. Mammut, Pilgaard’s debut as a leader with The Slowburn trio, attempts to find a common thread among this colorful sonic universe. Experienced bassist Thommy Andersson solidifies Pilgaard’s imaginative outbursts, while drummer Thomas Eiler, Pilgaard’s collaborator in the Svin quartet, pushes him even further…

Date: Nov 29th, 2012 · No Comments · Categories: Jazz CD Reviews

The Greg Abate Quartet Featuring Phil Woods: The Greg Abate Quintet Featuring Phil Woods

Led by reed man, educator and Conn-Selmer clinician Greg Abate, The Greg Abate Quintet Featuring Phil Woods documents an electrifying set of bebop, straight-ahead and Latin styles featuring legendary alto saxophonist m: Phil Woods as its marquee player. The quintet burns through an exciting ten-piece repertoire of Abate originals complimented by contributions from both Woods and pianist John Patrick. Abate, like Woods, is known for his mastery of the alto, but on this date his superb talents on the baritone, soprano and flute are also on display…

Date: Nov 29th, 2012 · No Comments · Categories: Jazz CD Reviews