{"id":10875,"date":"2019-01-20T00:52:58","date_gmt":"2019-01-20T08:52:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/?p=10875"},"modified":"2019-02-23T13:24:11","modified_gmt":"2019-02-23T21:24:11","slug":"recent-listening-jazz-is-of-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/2019\/01\/recent-listening-jazz-is-of-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Recent Listening: Jazz Is Of The World"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Paolo Fresu, Richard Galliano, Jan Lundgren, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2W0Veob\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mare Nostrum III<\/a><\/em> (ACT)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/61YOwOIk8iL._SX522_-e1547970497128.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft  wp-image-10876\" src=\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/61YOwOIk8iL._SX522_-e1547970497128.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"268\" height=\"241\" \/><\/a>This third outing by Mare Nostrum continues the international trio\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s close collaboration in a series of albums that has enjoyed considerable success. With three exceptions, the compositions in this installment are by the members of Mare Nostrum. It opens with one the French accordionist Galliano titled \u00e2\u20ac\u0153\u00e2\u20ac\u009dBlues sur Seine\u00e2\u20ac\u009d for the storied river that flows through Paris.<\/p>\n<p>Among the pleasures of the album, which <em>in toto<\/em> is a pleasure, are the Sardindian trumpeter Fresu\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Human Requiem, which he managed to make as hopeful as it is somber, and pianist Lundgren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Ronneby,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d named for the town on Sweden\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Baltic shore where he grew up, and did so happily, if this piece is evidence. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Ronneby\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s\u00e2\u20ac\u009d intriguingly Nordic harmonic departures help to make it a track to which the listener (this one, at any rate) keeps going back.<\/p>\n<p>Galliano occasionally replaces the accordion by playing with equal eloquence on the bandoneon, the accordion\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s close relative, popular in Uruguay and Argentina. Nonetheless, it is on the accordion that he performs his touching \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Letter To My Mother.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>The three musicians are as expressive, interactive and playful in Michel Legrand\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Windmills Of Your Mind, Eduardo DiCapua\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s and Alfredo Mazzucchi\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122te murria vas\u00c3\u00a0\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and Quincy Jones\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Love Theme From \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcThe Getaway\u00e2\u20ac\u2122\u00e2\u20ac\u009d as they are in their own pieces. For all the lyricism and solemnity in some tracks, this album\u00e2\u20ac\u201dbeautifully engineered by Lars Nilsson in Gothenburg, Sweden\u00e2\u20ac\u201dexudes feelings of discovery and the joy of collaboration. Here, Mare Nostrum plays Lundgren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Love Land.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Video courtesy of The ACT Company.<\/p>\n<div align=\"&quot;center\">\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/TcVX9H7mass\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Misha Tsiganov, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2T4ks35\">Playing With The Wind<\/a><\/em> (Criss Cross)<\/p>\n<p>Pianist Tsiganov won the All-Russia Jazz Competition in 1990 and came to the US from St. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/61RIY8oOKPL-1._SX522_-e1547970636504.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-10877\" src=\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/61RIY8oOKPL-1._SX522_-e1547970636504.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"230\" height=\"230\" \/><\/a>Petersbug, Russia, to study at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. He moved to New York in 1993 and has been a busy member of the city\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s jazz community ever since, working with a wide variety of musicians including Wynton Marsalis and others in the Jazz At Lincoln Center orbit and a number of artists in New York\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Latin scene.<\/p>\n<p>The sidemen on his third album for Criss Cross are a fellow Russian, trumpeter Alex Sipiagin, tenor saxophonist Seamus Blake, bassist Matt Brewer and drummer Dan Weiss. Tsiganov\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s penchant for Wayne Shorter compositions is reflected in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Virgo\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Witch Hunt,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Shorter pieces that by now may as well be called jazz standards. Tsiganov\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fleet soloing on both is impressive. He reaches into his Russian heritage for the folk song \u00e2\u20ac\u0153To Ne Veter Vetku Klonit\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (\u00e2\u20ac\u0153No, It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Not A Branch Bowing To The Wind.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d) Whatever the traditional rhythmic treatment of the piece may be in his homeland, Tsiganov has made it a metric fiesta involving 3\/4\/, 7\/4 and 5\/4 time signatures. The arrangement results in all of that flowing naturally and encouraging logical, however adventurous, solos from all hands. Sipiagin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s solo is particularly daring, incorporating astonishing fluidity and a stratospheric climax. The album ends with Ray Noble\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Very Thought Of You,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d taken in slow 4\/4 time with, according to quote from Tsiganov in the liner notes, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153no mixed meters, no rhythmic tricks, a lot of new chords.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a peaceful ending to a stimulating album.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2T62VHO\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Randy Brecker &amp; Mats Holmquist<\/strong> <\/a>Together with UMO Jazz Orchestra (MAMA)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/81AUycCAShL._SS500_-e1547970936281.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-10878\" src=\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/81AUycCAShL._SS500_-e1547970936281.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"230\" height=\"230\" \/><\/a>Trumpeter Brecker teams with the powerful Finnish big band the UMO Jazz Orchestra and Mats Holmquist, a star arranger since he was graduated from the University of North Texas, where he got his second masters degree in composition in 1991. He already had one from from the Royal College Of Music in Stockholm. Holmquist is a major figure in modern Scandinavian music. The album contain ingenious, demanding original compositions by Holmquist. It also has his arrangements of three Chick Corea pieces and new works based on standard songs including Victor Young\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Stella By Starlight\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and Jerome Kern\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153All The Things You Are.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Holmquist\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s reworking of the Kern song is listed as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153All My Things\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and described by Holmquist as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153a conceptual piece.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Some concept.<\/p>\n<p>Here is a video version, taped in concert at around the time of the studio recording.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/nLq37n6q8R8\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Brecker was the trumpet soloist. The soprano saxophone solo was by Ville Vannemaa. We should mention that the audio recording has several piano solos by Seppo Kantonen, playing at his customary high level. If you are curious about the UMO Jazz Orchestra but unfamiliar with it, here is a list of its members:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Woodwinds:<\/strong> Ville Vannemaa, Mikko M\u00c3\u00a4kinen, Teemu Salminen, Max Zenger, Pertti P\u00c3\u00a4vivinen. <strong>Trumpets:<\/strong> Teemu Mattsson, Timo Paasonen, Mikko Pettinen, Tero Saarti. <strong>Trombones:<\/strong> Heikki Tuhkanen, Mikko Mustonen, Juho Vilijanen, Mikael Lanbacka. <strong>piano,<\/strong> Seppo Kantonen; <strong>bass,<\/strong> Juho Kivivuori; <strong>drums;<\/strong>&#8221;\u00a0&#8221;\u00a0<strong>guitar<\/strong>, Mikel Ulferg.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Paolo Fresu, Richard Galliano, Jan Lundgren, Mare Nostrum III (ACT) This third outing by Mare Nostrum continues the international trio\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s close collaboration in a series of albums that has enjoyed considerable success. With three exceptions, the compositions in this installment are by the members of Mare Nostrum. It opens with one the French accordionist Galliano [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-10875","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-recommendations","7":"entry","8":"has-post-thumbnail"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10875"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10875\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}