This Trio is a cut out from the Pimpono Ensemble, just a Polish wing, so it will be interesting to see what sort of Slavic vs Scandinavian element had been kept in this music comparing to the big squad. As they got some program assumptions clearly displayed in the name of the band I am always craving for a Beauty then I was all ears. All compositions came from the band mates collectively. Four from Bass-man , five from Sax-man and two from the drummer.

From first strike, called Yakuza, it was clear that it is going to be more focused, more open dialogue. Bass is ploughing arco here making the ground for saxophone monologue densely seasoned with energetic and space full drumming. Sax sounds harshly and rough. Music sounds like it is briefly sketched then improvised, but I might be wrong here. Phrase is wild and unpredictable.

My Family Is On Fire is assigned part 3 so it might lead into something more complex later on but I already love it as it is now. Despite the title suggesting rapidity there is no rush there. Wonderful airy sax intro opens it up and keeps building nostalgic melody. Drum framework is equally spacious and sounds unexpected due to use of different preparations. Bass lines are ghostly and staying in the background. This is very Scandinavian indeed and the core of the melody deeply grasps from the folk.

Intention, like title suggests, brings immediate tension build by on repetitive drum figure married to the bass reef. Use of Korg Monotron by the drummer creates some interstellar feeling of an open space. Dark sax solo drifts on that like a lost meteor. On the similar basis comes Wakacje w Kolobrzegu, another tune with very dark feeling, but here drums and electronics are building more horizontal sonic landscapes to which sax lines fits in a natural way.

Coming after Jacob sounds almost like Art Ensemble of Chicago. It posses the same dark and murky feeling of space with lots of air and figurative rhythm section’s work. Sax lines tell the story with gentle articulation and emotional touch.

Very interesting piece is the Medieval. This is for sure the music of silence. Most Nordic and contemporary sounding one on whole recording. All sounds very reserved and intentionally damped. Again the story comes of the saxophone mouth and it is pretty lyrical. It makes no reminiscences to dark ages, but intensive exploration of the percussive disuse by both bass man and the drummer makes it highlight.

Reprise seems to be twin being, which is interesting as they both came from under the different hand. Here feeling of Tundra is even stronger. This is deeply charming theme with lots of connection to Norwegian folk.

Crickets kind of closing this triptych. Not just because it is the last tune there but by the way it communicates with the previous two. Dancing of the bass and sax is a marvellous journey to follow.

All music on this disc is wonderfully composed and arranged. It is played with the marvellous quality and understanding. It is obvious that those three musicians understand each other on the fly without saying. They communicate in milliseconds and act like the cells of the single organism. The way they seek their paths and finding beauty between the notes is adorable and fully convincing to me. I am listening to this recording continuously and still keep finding new fascinating details, which is amazing giving the simplicity of the melodies and almost tangible sense of ambience.

Those who remember The Great “Little Jimmy” will welcome this recording with Joy. It not only comes as a great epitaph and the summary of his unusual carrier but also, as a package with documentary paying tribute to his life achievement, it makes a full circle.

Without going into the details, except two tracks which are actually tributes to Jimmy: Folks Who Live On The Hill and I Remember You, all remaining ten are Jimmy’s favourite standards he repeatedly performed all his life. Some of them became pillars of his Legend. Like the opening  Motherless Child. This traditional Negro Spiritual has its special meaning, and in Jimmy’s interpretation it strikes your heart just like Abel Meeropol’s Strange Fruit sung by Billie Holiday. There is no other version after that which can be considered serious.

Here we’ve got a double bill from the Netherlands based band co-led by drummer Jonas Linnemann and pianist Paul Stark accompanied by musicians they shared the sparkle with. It counts in a Greek bassist Vasilis Stefanopoulos who already has a track with them back to the beginning and takes part on both trio and the quartet recording. Last not at least comes young and passionate saxophonists Iman Spaargaren who completes a line up on vol.III and who’s deeply spiritual sound suits very well the romantic nature of Chopin’s music. Volume II & III suggests that there was a vol.I before. The one I don’t know. Lets’ look closer then. Both recordings are interpretation of Frederic Chopin’s music.

Vol.II, performed in trio covers composers famous late Piano Sonata No.3 Opus 58. This had been recorded by all the greatest pianists, doesn’t matter the period. Without going deeper to the subject my all time favourite performances are from E.Gilles, M.Argerich and K. Zimerman.

Now to face a complexity of such a score makeover one needs to hear the original at least once to understand amount of work the arranger has to do to adopt the complex piano tissue like that , with all its dynamic fullness, melodic passages and percussive structure originally composed for the piano to the territory of the acoustic trio. Needless to say that the point is to not to throw the child out of the bath and respect and prevent the composer’s intentions and the fragility of the original. Here is when Jonas did a wonderful job.

In an opening Part 1 rhythmic ballast of the score had been shared among the section and the piano in an absolutely astonishing way. When the double bass opening riff introduces the theme with drums’ sparkle announcing upcoming tight wave from the piano we are already surrounded with the melodic motif on which sonata builds on. With the modular shifts through the rhythm related to the tension of the score we are getting slowly to the core of the melody. That is played with all the attention that the piano script would be played with. Articulation, pace and time are more on the side of the classical performance here, than a jazz-like hybrid. And it stays like that until subject returns in repetitive quotes. This is where a jazzy counterpart is taking over. It has to be said that it is handled with the same respectful attention to the very end. The highlight here to me is Vasilis’ arco solo gently wrapped in the cymbals tapestry with the piano chords accenting the beat in the background.

More challenging is Part 2, where widely overbuilt poly-rhythmic drumming such as Ginger Baker’s African Force acts as an introduction to the subject, before a sneak of the theme even comes to the surface. Once it appears it drifts nicely like a cloud in multiple piano repetitions bringing dreamy images. Thanks to that and despite of the opening drumming cannonade the romantic spirit of the Sonata with its famous slightly melancholic tense of time had been kept and present. At least in my ears.

In Part 3 the arrangement job hits Zenith. This is most rocky sounding part with a deep bass foundation and the drum intro which wants to rock you. You can almost hum to Queen’s tune. But again this tension only builds up to counterpoint the later realise of the melody, which here in more significant way takes over towards modal direction. Again Vasislis’ elegantly articulated, played pizzicato, solo acts as a shifting gear for the piano’s driving force.

Closing Part 4 is where we see figurative finger-work of the piano going through a multiple style makeover, where between shifting tempos and multi-layered jazz piano articulations the main theme, again beautifully executed comes back and back to the surface between shifting of jazzy flourishes. This is the most like a modern piano trio sounding part with tension of the piano and articulation of accompanying percussions brings me memories of Ch.Corea’s Fiesta. Passages are fast and lucid with great sense of space and wonderfully balanced silence between the notes in both, fast and slow movements. To sum it up let me say I enjoyed every single note I heard from this recording

Vol.III in similar way covers Chopin’s Cello Sonata Op.65. Still piano is a part of the original score. One would expect then reducing trio into duo and transcript cello parts into lower octaves… but no. Not only does the drumming stay the same but it is also like that when the saxophonist joins.

Opening Allegro moderato starts exactly like an original does with an opening Arco, here performed by double bass of course. A prelude counts the piano in, but it only lasts a minute when the tasty percussion brakes in with a sax lament. This continues another two bars taking over the theme which is after that repeated by the piano again before it came back to bass to play the cello part. Another brake is even more interesting as it changes everything into the Rumba rhythm into which original them in weaved to, surrounded by the section. Piano sounds like a Cuban Sol here and I really enjoy the balance they achieved. That turns later on into the culmination involving sax playing long lamentation part over the theme kept by trio in a purely jazzy manner. After that the same theme is explored again by a double bass and Vaslis’ bowing is simply excellent here. Then next Tutti takes it to the trip across the jazz styles with drummer holding on rhythm in fantastically sparkling way from the ballroom like gentle drive, through the Max Roach alike rhythmic persuasion  into the final culmination, which again involves the same styles I mentioned above.

Scherzo attacks us straight on with hot Latin Rumba taking the place of the Menuet. Once introduced, dance rhythm stays on with piano and sax sharing a duty of holding the score, but cello parts brake through between the sections and those are the most close to the original part. Percussion holds all the duties here. Keeping rhythm, breaking with gentle intros but the biggest responsibility is the gear shifting between the styles here. Like in an Allegro theme that gets repeated by the sax, but with changed tempos, multiplied layers and building up culminations it is not that obvious from the first listening.

With Largo piano passages are more accenting an emotional sax lines flying all over than holding to the melody. This is a top moment for a young tenor player to show his understanding of this music as it is all left here in his hands. And he did well indeed. With a very clean articulated sound he beautifully deconstructs melody and plays with it. Slow tempo helps to express the dignity and a simple beauty of Chopin’s vision.

After such an intro Finale could not be anything else but coming back to the aesthetic they chosen. Latin Fiesta.

I like this approach a lot. It shows dancing potential laying in Chopin’s music. Something which the Philharmonics are not showing as it is not on the menu or in the notes exactly but the way that Jazz improvisers approach musical heritage like that is completely different. The best example is here what Jacques Loussier did before with music of Bach, Vivaldi, Ravel or Chopin. I like hybrid treatment like this a lot. It always shows vitality deposited in the music which this way is not dead and keeps appealing to the one generation after another. And always in a different way. Of course the same happens in the Classical domain and the fact that upcoming generations of musicians re- read notes differently is the same sign of changes time brings. Great recording with full steam blown into the music which never sounded like that before. I am sure that Chopin would love it too.

Here I got the band made of youngsters who are mainly in their twenties. International collaboration involves musicians from Poland, Norway and Denmark. The band is based in Copenhagen, city with one of the best in EU Music University and famous Rhythmic Music Conservatory (Rytmisk Musikkonservatorium) there having on board some of the best performers and teachers. Guys are actively performing on European improvised and alternative jazz scene since few years and this CD is their debut recording.

Almost three years passed since their last recording. Marvellous Life Lover, which I had the pleasure to write about before. That struck me hard and I was waiting for more since. Three years might be a long time but she made some recordings with different squads as well as being present on the stage. What did she learn over that time then if she already was well matured when her voice hit me at first? A LOT, I’ll tell you.

Trumpeter Tom Arthurs and electronic musician Sam Britton (AKA Isambard Khroustaliov) have collaborated in a number of different ensembles. Both in and out of the Not Applicable label/collective, over a period of at least ten years. Arthurs comes distinctly from the Jazz scene and his path is well documented on labels like ECM, Intakt and Babel. Britton belongs to the Dance music scene, something I am not most familiar with. But it doesn’t matter,what does is the fact that they are both improvisers.

That alone explains a lot Vaucanson’s Muse conceptual etymology. This project had been on tour before they entered the studio so they had enough time to get comfortable with what they do together. Being improvised means that titles are here more for the recognition reference than general meaning, but they might too give a gentle push to your imagination once you are entering their circle.

Opening On a Carpet of Leaves Illuminated by the Moon is just like that. With gentleness coming from a poetic phrase one immediately sets his mood up and the silky tone of Tom’s trumpet became immediately explained. Tom is very dedicated to the articulation. He plays with acoustics of the space he plays in and responds to the feedback very sensitively. The fact I recently heard him on stage helped me to constitute that. His phrases here are either light or fast or articulated on the mouthpiece for adding an extra harshness to the modulation. Repetitive lines are communicating nicely with gentle electronic dissonances based on waves and percussive effects. All communicates with an imaginative picture delivered by the title.

Vaucanson’s Muse starts equally gently, but it brings more twisted lines from Tom, with vibratos adding extra dimension to the pictured character. I guess they do refer to the eccentric French inventor living in 18^th century. Here complexity of their dialogue becomes more complex. Not in regard of space occupation as there is still a lot of ambience between the notes, but Sam’s contribution is vastly enriched. We have a lot dissonances here and subsonic waves striking with massive bass culminations.

Coming after Grace Jones is much lighter sketch, leaving purely in higher registers,, like almost not stepping on the ground. Levitating character of the picture possesses both strength of the core and the fragility of the tissue. I like it a lot just like a real Grace.

Trajets is one of my favourite here. It is very airy. Trumpet has an excellent feeling of weightlessness. Long blows are lasting till the breaths end when they finally catch some gravity. Electronic accompaniment is very euphonious and it frames trumpet lines perfectly.

But the real escalation of that feeling comes from See Interval.  It brings strong nautical feeling with the sounds that Sam’s generates in the background. Tom’s trumpet tells the story in beautiful melodic lines, which are both nostalgic and simple. Sometimes with the funny high pitched rhythmic figures he is somehow contradicting himself. Almost like asking questions inside of his head. Arguing with the main narration, which finally brings us to the end when all the other voices fade into the silence.

This is very imaginative music. It’s experimental but not shooting in your face, in fact, it’s pretty much the opposite. It gives images which are quiet but very poetic and stimulating. I love it a lot.

I am leaving you then with another half of the titles untouched. Virgin territory. Dare to explore it. Let you mind go there and relax. See what you can find and what images will come to your head.

You can listen to the samples and purchase this music here.

Three years since already passed since I had the pleasure to review Melt Trio‘s 2nd album called Hymnolia. I liked it a lot and kept going back to it and listen to as nothing newer was available around to listen to until now. The band however didn’t go to sleep and kept polishing their skills by constantly touring as well as being involved in numerous collaborations with Jan Bang, Tony Malaby, John Hollenbeck, Theo Blackman or Jim Black alike.

All this resulted in much more confidence and synergy to become audible in the latest Trio’s outcome. They always had a strong sense of the direction in which they are going to and it remains valid even more now. Saying that they possess immediately recognisable sound would be kind of trivial as they already had it on the first date. But something definitely had been changed in group’s general sonic universe. The most noble thing is that their sound gained more integrity. It became so smooth and organic that the listener almost forgets to notice the electronics involved in a performance. They merged their acoustic sound with all layers of electronica into one single coherent image.

It is audible from the opening Crescending, where as per title two guitars and drummer keep dialoguing in repetitive circles. Until the crescendos reach their climax and can be re set and repeated over and over again. Dangerously titled Cassandra Complex finds crescending circles glittering in the air with some tension realise moments appearing but no disastrous brake. Congo Square brakes this hypnotic invocation introducing some percussion patterns which are starting to challenge so far so smooth galactic journey and some nebulous sound from both electronically tweaked guitars are starting to contradict this new order in return.

Hybris I is a show off for drummer skills here. He can clearly demonstrate how his fragile percussive framework makes a trellis for both guitars to climb up unspoiled. On contrary Hybris II, starting with much more disturbing patterns is showing both guitarists ability for trap avoiding. Smooth outro makes a gentle bridge to title Stroy. Here the subject comes to the shape from under the gentle touches of all the musicians. A title intending to mean an opposite to destroy, so The Stroy is shown as a creative element in this word play.

On this recording I can not find any trace of nervous interaction, or if you wish more rock style like harshness, where on the previous one’s such a shifts are a part of their style yet. It looks like the Trio developed a completely new own language with all the ingredients being present and if one is to look inside carefully you never get this being noticeably thrown straight at you. Also the function of both guitars became less formal. Bass is not just holding the grip only any more, but often takes a lead leaving the guitar behind or going hand in hand with it together.

The Heiliger Dankgesang, closing this recording is matching the mood of the whole recording despite of the fact it is based on excerpts from 3rd movement of Beethoven String Quartet N.15. Without this fact being indicated it would be difficult to spot. That once more shows how Melt Trio’s melting skills vastly increased during these past three years only.

Arne Jansen, a well known Berlin based guitarist comes back with his 4th recording. After short flirt with ACT he is back in the label he started with. And with an equally delightful company. His former drummer , Eric Schaefer ( Demontage ,[em]) is present on this recording as well. Bassist Eva Kruse, Eric’ [em] counterpart had been replaced by the young bass-man and cellist Robert Lucaciu ,whom I had a pleasure to listen to playing in Eva Klesse‘s Quartet recently.

Jensen, a multi-rewarded guitarist in his native country Germany is recognised to be one of the best if not the best jazz guitarists the German stage ever got/ seen ?. Listening to this CD it is easy to see why it is like that. First what strikes you is the incredible transparency of his composition and the way it is executed. Connection inside the band is like a well oiled machine – everything goes forward smoothly with no need to ask questions. His guitar keeps floating over a solid rhythmic foundation from the first to the last note.

More of that even if he stays as a main story teller there all the time the presence of the others is equally straight forward. Schaefer’s drumming stays in a constant dialogue during this performance. So is the bass ,which not only holds the groove but interacts with a guitar tissue and adds to the gravity. The beauty of Jansen’s compositions is laying in the fact that they are equally demanding for every musician taking part of the act. You can’t just be there and play your part in the background. The structure comes out in the way that both the drummer and the bass-man are more like co-soloists all the time with the lines which Jansen composed for them than let’s say the rhythm section. It is difficult to articulate why it is like that, but it can easily be heard.

Opening Here we go strikes with a fast tempo but all recording contains hefty mix of both. Ballads like Deep Wood or It’s Always Night or Klingsors Last Summer are among the most beautiful compositions on this recording. This is where all partners have all the space given to shine. With a lot of space perfection of the articulation and the beauty of the timbers on the guitar and double bass are hypnotising. The enormity of shades coming out of Eric’s cymbals are truly amazing. So is the feeling of the unenforced stroke and the time given to notes to delay and fade into the background.

Arne’s style,if someone would like to analyse that instead of just purely enjoying it and immersing themselves into the sound, holds a lot of inspiration to be traced and it is great fun too to get into the puzzle. Echoes of Metheny‘s and inspiration of Scofield can obviously be heard, but mostly in the way he holds the story going , not the way he articulates. His long notes are coming with no tension and in my feeling it is a unique sense of time what makes him so special. The best to note it is to listen carefully to Between Two Moons, where Lucaciu’s elegant Arcos come as an extra treat for your ears.

Closing He Who Counts the Stars with the quest cello appearance by Stephan Braun is like a lovely lullaby where gentle guitar tin whistles are flying over beautifully lyrical and clean voice of the cello nicely anchored in a middle registers.

This recording is such a pleasure to listen to that I simply don’t want it to stop and come to the end and probably everyone will be about to feel the same. Come joy and stay forever.

It is a nice challenge to write about a movie I haven’t been watching yet. Especially pleasing that this one is about the Chet Baker. Director Rob Budreau’s picture loosely plays with Chet’s biography with the focus set on the particular period of the middle 60’s when he was trying to catch up with show business again. Ethan Hawke stars as the trumpeter and even sings a couple of tunes there himself.

Young Berlin based pianist Clara Haberkamp might be a newcomer to me but a bit of research shows that she has already some established history behind her as well as some recordings done. So are her band-mates bassist Dan Peter Sundland and drummer Tilo Weber. Therefore I do not have any key knowledge about her music. Or have neither set ahead any expectations.

This is only for good as from the first notes of the opening of the title piece it all sounded fresh and breezy. The sound she offers is very relaxed and narrative at the same time . Melody appears and goes to hide behind repetitive fingering patterns. It has a lot of intellectual twists like you might thing it is just played at hoc as the thoughts go.

Bass lines are underlining piano chords nicely and it is almost all you can hear. You need to think about it twice to actually bring up the fact that there is a drummer too. He has such a talent to stay behind that it all sounds almost like a duo, or often solo act.

Lines of Glass coming after is actually possessing the same kind of intimacy, that should be expected giving the fact that is with a single exception only her own music. Here for the first time we can hear her singing. She has nice and smooth soprano and uses her voice with a similar way as the piano. It is half sung , half narrative, melodic enough to be a song but with lyrics matured to justify being a poem. Voice never goes bright, even in high registers.

Another song, Inside Out, offers more as a song. It has a rhythm and choruses deliberately weaved among the piano passages. And section framework supports it fully to build the drama and counterpoint piano culminations crowning upcoming choruses. Reflective Pink Leave is gentle and melancholic and it feels exactly like watching Autumn leaves falling. It makes nice intro into Walt Whitman’s lyrics (mentioned above exception) to which she composed the music. This is really mature arrangement with vocalise close to what Norma Winston is doing. Choir-like multiple voice of her own sampled into the mix in repetitive choruses adds to arrangement’s simplicity and originality.

In similar way coming after Surfaces is nicely framing it out with its nostalgic and intellectual reflection spelled into piano lines. Here again I can’t marvel myself enough with an amazing drummer’s skills who is there but I is almost like he is not at all. Those two are communicating on the telepathic level as it goes far above what practice and time only can do. Twenty-six might indicate her age or have another meaning I am not aware of but this is simply wonderful music. Focused on listening to your inner voice kind of like we had heard before from Paul Bley or Bobo Stenson.

And , my God , this drummer again. I would buy this record for this single piece of music only! Not mentioning the bassists wonderful lines here which contributed to the overall joy. That would be an unacceptable cruelty. This Suits Me would be another almost straight forward song with a piano accompaniment. If only piano clusters and wonderful e-bass introduction didn’t brake a structure to bring some theatrical reflection to hit the surface. Following From an Actor’s Perspective with repetitive rows of chords filled up with lovely fingered into the piece onomatopoeic lines is a fantastic exercise to follow. A Glimpse , percussion interlude gives a taste of drummer’s skills and what he can do if someone only leaves him alone for a minute.

Within going to other titles left for you to be discovered for your own there is that much I can say. I absolutely adore this recording, the pianist and the trio as it comes. She steps on the ground firmly and is finding her paths in such a natural intuitive way that makes you feel that an order had been invited only to make you a slave. With a drummer like Weber who can fly high and has no fear. She already doesn’t which is great. Gravity is equally well prevented here ,so I can only say I want more and more from them and the sooner the better.

ORANGE BLOSSOM TRAUMTON PR