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\nAs I may have mentioned a time or two, keeping up is impossible. We can only try. Here we go with observations on a few of the dozens (hundreds?) of recent jazz releases.<\/p>\n
\nAs I may have mentioned a time or two, keeping up is impossible. We can only try. Here we go with observations on a few of the dozens (hundreds?) of recent jazz releases.<\/p>\n
Roni Ben-Hur, Harvie S<\/strong>: Introspection<\/em><\/a> (Jazzheads)<\/p>\n Eliane Elias<\/strong>, Music from Man of La Mancha<\/em><\/a> (Concord Jazz)<\/p>\n Pianist Eliane Elias interprets nine pieces from composer Mitch Leigh\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s score of the Broadway Ivo Perelman<\/strong>, Philosopher\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Stone<\/em><\/a> (Leo Records)<\/p>\n If it is possible to find enough listening time to keep up with the tenor saxophonist Ivo Perelman\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s prodigious output, I haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t discovered the secret. I can report only that when I encounter Perelman, however daring and experimental he may be, I find intriguing elements in his work. Elemental his work is, whether Perelman is collaborating with his frequent piano partner Matthew Shipp or bringing into his orbit a fellow adventurer like trumpeter Nate Wooley. Perelman, Shipp and Wooley joust entertainingly, lyrically, puzzlingly, occasionally gratingly, in Philosopher\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Stone<\/em>. The album comes in ten parts not named but called \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Part 1,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Part 2,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand so on. If you believe that the spirit of music allows it to be made in freedom from rules and still be music, I suggest that you open your mind to Perelman. Philosopher\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Stone<\/em> is a good place make his acquaintance. Neil Tesser\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s articulate album liner notes are helpful to understanding this demanding music.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/71CktVFSdhL._SX522_.jpg\")
Compatibility, mutual responsiveness and subtle interactivity characterize this album from guitarist Ben-Hur and bassist Harvie S. It might have just as appropriately been titled \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Interaction.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d With drummer Tim Horner as a third partner, the trio moves through a ten-track collection encompassing several rarely-recorded pieces. Among them are Thelonious Monk\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s title tune; the Brazilian master Ary Barroso\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Pr\u00c3\u00a1 Machucar Meu Cora\u00c3\u00a7\u00c3\u00a3o;\u00e2\u20ac\u009d an intricate take on George Shearing\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Conception; Harvie S mournfully bowing the melody of Billy Strayhorn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Blood Count;\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and welcome explorations of Jerome Kern\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Nobody Else But Me,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Neil Hefti\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Repetition\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, Baden Powell\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Deixa,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Tadd Dameron\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Focus\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and Kenny Dorham\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Asiatic Raes.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d The album is an attractive amalgam of standard songs, Latin classics and neglected jazz tunes integrated with uncommon sensitivity.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/61zY1aYET2L._SX522_.jpg\")
musical theatre success based on Miguel de Cervantes\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Don Quixote<\/em>. As she advances in her career, Elias\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s playing seems to gain harmonic and sonic depth. Alternating between all-star rhythm sections with bassists Eddie Gomez and Mark Johnson and drummers Jack DeJohnette and Satoshi Takeishi, she is captivating from \u00e2\u20ac\u0153To Each His Dulcinea\u00e2\u20ac\u009d through the playfully rich chord-play of the concluding \u00e2\u20ac\u0153A Little Gossip.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Elias alternates between all-star rhythm sections, one with bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Jack DeJohnette, the other with bassist Marc Johnson and Satoshi Takeishi on drums. Throughout, Manolo Baderna enlivens the rhythmic atmosphere with rich percussion touches. This is a captivating collection.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/51Gf6IT6XmL._SS500-2.jpg\")
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quartet, to say the least, a Russian pianist, a Norwegian bassist, an Oregon reed player and a bebop drummer\u00e2\u20ac\u201dYelena Eckemoff; piano; Paul McCandless, oboe, English horn, soprano saxophone, bass clarinet; Arild Anderson, bass; Peter Erskine, drums and percussion. As she prepared this latest in her impressive succession of themed L&H albums, Ms. Eckemoff chose musicians who could picture and feel the desert she conceived. The vision extends to the short-short story and descriptive poems she wrote in the liner notes and her atmospheric painting that makes the cover of the booklet. The music visualizes the unnamed desert to which she gives sonic life. McCandless\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s oboe is notably evocative in that regard. Ms. Eckemoff\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s own playing leads the way, harmonically and in depth of keyboard tone, as she establishes the album\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s feeling of mystery and languor. Eckemoff\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s concept is akin to that of many albums released on the ECM label over the years, making it a natural setting for bassist Anderson, often a leader of ECM sessions. Erskine\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s percussion array allows him to generate colors beyond his customary mainstream palette.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/1-front-alley-instruments-1_2_orig.jpg\")
21 years old at the time of this 2017 recording, the identical Maguire twins\u00e2\u20ac\u201dbassist Carl and drummer Alan\u00e2\u20ac\u201dwere born in Tokyo and raised in Hong Kong. In a dramatic change of scenery and culture, they moved with their parents to Memphis, Tennessee, in 2011. The brothers enrolled at the Stax Music Academy and came under the influence of bassist John Hamar, pianist Donald Brown and saxophonists Greg Tardy and Kirk Whalum. Brown is heard only on electric piano on one track. All of those musicians but Whalum and Hamar are on the twins\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 debut album on their family\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s label, as are pianist Aaron Goldberg and trumpeter Bill Mobley. The twins manage extremely well in that heavy company. Carl\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s responsive drumming is impressive behind Goldberg on Brown\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153An Island, A Piano, and Keith,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d dedicated to his son, also a pianist. Carl Maguire contributes two original compositions to the playlist, Alan one. Alan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s bass introduction is important to the success of his abstract arrangement of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Someday My Prince Will Come.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d It will be interesting to follow this pair of promising rhythm players as they develop further.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"