{"id":7263,"date":"2016-01-22T17:38:08","date_gmt":"2016-01-23T01:38:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/?p=7263"},"modified":"2016-01-22T20:06:01","modified_gmt":"2016-01-23T04:06:01","slug":"recent-listening-pelt-vitchev-feather","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/2016\/01\/recent-listening-pelt-vitchev-feather\/","title":{"rendered":"Recent Listening: Pelt, Vitchev, Feather"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"babyContinuing the struggle to keep up, the Rifftides<\/em> staff once again plunges into the accumulation of more-or-less-recent albums and selects a few to tell you about. The stacks you see below include the 50 or so review copies of CDs that have come in since January 1. Keeping up seems to be out of the question.<\/p>\n

\"Incoming<\/p>\n

Jeremy Pelt<\/strong>, #Jiveculture<\/em><\/a> (High Note)<\/p>\n

Following his 2002 debut recording<\/a>, trumpeter Jeremy Pelt quickly\"Pelt worked his way into the front rank of a new generation of jazz players. Now with ten CDs of his own and dozens with other leaders, Pelt continues to capitalize on technical skill, a tone of penetrating warmth, and subtle humor centered in rhythmic phrasing. His new collection\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s centerpiece is bassist Ron Carter\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Einbahnstrasse,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d which debuted 50 years ago in an essential album <\/a>by pianist Bobby Timmons with Carter, saxophonist Wayne Shorter and drummer Jimmy Cobb. In Pelt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s new CD the piece is as joyful and\u00e2\u20ac\u201dwith its unorthodox four-bar bridge\u00e2\u20ac\u201das surprising as ever. In the rhythm section with pianist Danny Grissett and drummer Billy Drummond, Carter is powerful in time and tone, his note placement even more incisive than when he was with Miles Davis at the time of the Timmons album. Grissett and Drummond are impressive throughout.<\/p>\n

#Jiveculture<\/em> has Pelt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s compelling playing on fast pieces including \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Einbahnstrasse\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and his compositions \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Baswald\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Place\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Desire.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d It also has the sensitivity of his ballad work. His soloing in Cole Porter\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Dream Dancing,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Dave Grusin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Love Like Ours\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and his own \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Akua\u00e2\u20ac\u009d are examples of coherence, restraint and the primacy of melody in improvisation and composition. In his 40th year, Pelt is a master of all those elements. This album\u00e2\u20ac\u201dodd title and all\u00e2\u20ac\u201dis likely to be seen as a milestone in his career.<\/p>\n

Hristo Vitchev<\/strong>, In Search Of Wonders<\/em><\/a> (First Orbit Sounds)<\/p>\n

Eight tracks into this double CD set, guitarist Vitchev and his rhythm section leap into a piece \"Vitchevcalled \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Old Theme.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d It is not the first sign of unabated vitality in the collection; Vitchev, drummer Mike Shannon, bassist Dan Robbins and pianist Weber Iago have elevated moments throughout. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Old Theme,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Invisible Stairway,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It May Backfire\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and the joyful \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Without Words As The Full Moon Shines\u00e2\u20ac\u009d provide contrast to the relaxation, lyricism and air of nostalgia that characterize much of the album. A Bulgarian who settled in the San Francisco Bay area, Vitchev has an even guitar touch, creates long improvised lines and has a compositional style that encompasses Latin, Eastern European and post-Coltrane jazz elements. The moments when the quartet seems intent on making background music don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t last long.<\/p>\n

Lorraine Feather<\/strong>, Flirting With Disaster<\/em><\/a> (Jazzed Media)\"L<\/p>\n

In the notes for her new album, Lorraine Feather writes that the nature of the project suggested the title; \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Any time you fall in love, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re flirting with disaster.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d She fulfills that premise\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s possibilities in eleven songs with her lyrics. The emotional range runs from the risk implied in the title tune and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Off Center\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to the slightly aggressive vibe of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Be My Muse,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d the au courant<\/em> hipness of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d Be Down With That,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d the lyricism of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Feels Like Snow\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and the declaration of unconditional love in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Staircase.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Up the steep and narrow stair
\nWe will slowly climb.
\nI never said I loved you,
\nBut I knew it all the time.<\/p>\n
\n

As usual, her work is seasoned with dashes of irony, subtle humor and sensitivity to the romance, heartbreak and comedy of human failings. She sings clearly, in tune, with good time and, obviously, an understanding of the lyrics. Ms.Feather worked with talented musicians who have collaborated with her as co-writers and accompanists on several previous albums. They include pianists Russell Ferrante, Dave Grusin and Shelly Berg; guitarists Grant Geissman and Eddie Arkin, drummer Greg Field and the intriguing violinist Charlie Bisharat.<\/p>\n

More recent-listening reviews coming soon<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Continuing the struggle to keep up, the Rifftides staff once again plunges into the accumulation of more-or-less-recent albums and selects a few to tell you about. The stacks you see below include the 50 or so review copies of CDs that have come in since January 1. Keeping up seems to be out of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7264,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","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":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-7263","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-main","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7263","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=7263"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7263\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7263"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}