Album Reviews

: CD Reviews; 20 February 2014; 20 February 2014; 27 March 2014

Snarky Puppy – We Like It Here ★★★★

Ropeadope / GroundUP Records
Michael League (el b, Moog keybass), Bill Laurance (p, Fender Rhodes, kys),Justin Stanton (Fender Rhodes, kys, t), Cory Henry (Hammond B3 organ, kys),Shaun Martin (Moog, kys), Bob Lanzetti (el g), Mark Lettieri (el g), Chris McQueen (el g), Chris Bullock (ts, b clt, fl), Bob Reynolds (ts), Mike ‘Maz’ Maher (t, flhn), Jay Jennings (t, flhn), Nate Werth (perc), Larnell Lewis (d), Yannick Hiwat, Tessel Hersbach (vln), Mara Tieles (vla), Susanne Rosmolen (clo), Julio Pimental and Steven Brezet (perc on tracks 4 & 7). Rec. October 2013

Since 2005 Snarky Puppy have had a studio audience present at every recording, most vividly captured on the simultaneously filmed DVDs of each album notably 2012’s breakthrough GroundUP and their recent Grammy winning Family Dinner Vol.1. If this squares the circle of bringing a certain frisson of in-concert energy to the often clinically dry studio, the fact that this band are exceptionally grooved-in after playing 1,000 gigs, Michael League’s Snarky Puppy take their levels of sophisticated textural layering and sheer groove prowess to new levels here. With no less than 20 players all breathing as one, the music – while still offering singable ways in to their melodic world – doesn’t shy away from lengthy solos or rhythmic complexity. Older hands may nod as they acknowledge the snap of Tower Of Power in the horns or Weather Report in the wide chordal shifts, yet Snarky’s energy and enthusiasm for recasting this afresh for their generation to embrace anew, free from histrionics, is only to be applauded. There’s variation aplenty too from the brooding Arabic rock of opener ‘Shofukan’, to the Led Zeppelin-via-P Funk-injected ‘What About Me’, and ‘Kite’s wide-angle horn arrangements. While this is all about the collective, drummer Larnell Lewis (who only stepped into record the album at the last minute) impressively powers the percussive vortex while keyboardist Corey Henry builds two extraordinary solos. In fact it’s Henry and the horn section that duel it out on the burning 5/4 finale ‘Lingus’ as percussion, keys solo and stabbing horn interjections face off in spectacular fashion. Dedicated to a certain Irish airline it’s a fittingly exultant touchdown for this highflying tour de force of an album.

– Mike Flynn

: CD Reviews; 10 February 2014; 10 February 2014; 27 March 2014

Jazzwise February 2014 Issue Album Reviews List

All these albums are reviewed in the FEBRUARY 2014 issue of Jazzwise which is out now – to read them all click here to subscribe here and get a FANTASTIC FREE CD

New Releases

Arild Andersen/Paolo Vinaccia/Tommy Smith Mira ECM

The Jamie Baum Septet+ In This Life Sunnyside Records

Randy Brecker The Brecker Brothers Band Reunion Moosicus

Bushman’s Revenge Thou Shalt Boogie! Rune Grammofon

Daniel Carter/William Parker/Federico Ughi Navajo Sunrise Rudi

Daniele Cavallanti and the Brotherhood Creative Trance Music Ensemble Faces and Tales Rudi Records

The Claudia Quintet September Cunieform Rune

Rachael Cohen Half Time Whirlwind

Dave Douglas DD 50 Special Edition 50th Birthday Recordings Greenlea

Mark Edwards In Deep Quiet Money

GoGo Penguin v2.0 Gondwana

Abdullah Ibrahim Mukashi / Once Upon A Time Intuition

Jazz ExTempore Orchestra East & West 33 Records

Willie Jones III Sextet Plays the Max Roach Songbook Live at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola

Jeanette Köhn and Swedish Radio Choir New Eyes on Baroque ACT

Jon Lloyd Group Vanishing Points 33Xtreme Records

Brian Lynch Unsung Heroes Vol. 2 Hollistic Music Works

Étienne Mbappé Pater Noster Plus Loin Music

Zara McFarlane If You Knew Her Brownswood

Mehliana Taming the Dragon Nonesuch

Pat Metheny Unity Group Kin Nonesuch

Mozdzer Danielsson Fresco Polska ACT

Mumpbeak Mumpbeak RareNoise

The Necks Open ReR Megacorp

Bill O’Connell & The Latin Jazz All-Stars Zocalo Savant

Linda Oh Sun Pictures Greenleaf Music

Evan Parker & Joe McPhee What / If / They Both Could Fly Rune Grammofon

Gretchen Parlato Live in NYC ObliqSound

Nicholas Payton Sketches of Spain BMF Records

Troyk-estra Live at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival 2013 Impossible Ark

Mark Perry/Duncan Eagles Road Ahead F-IRE

Romain Pilon Colorfield Whirlwind Records

Steve Plews/Ed Jones Derelict ASC

James Plotkin & Paal Nilssen-Love Death Rattle Rune Grammofon

Ragini Trio Ragini De Werf

Pete Rodriguez El Alquimista (The Alchemist) Conde Music

Michele Rosewoman’s New Yor-Uba 30 Years: A Musical Celebration of Cuba in America Advance Dance Disques

Samo Salamon Quartets Stretching Out Samo Records

Norma Winstone/Glauco Venier/Klaus Gesing Dance Without Answer ECM

Gwilym Simcock and the City of London Sinfonia Instrumation ACT

Tigran Shadow Theater Universal/Verve

Ben Van Gelder Reprise Pirouet

Various Artists Red Hot + Fela Knitting Factory Records

Natalie Williams Where You Are Little Girl Records

Webster Wraight Ensemble No Lucky Days Miso/ Heavenly Sweetness

Short Cut // New Releases

Howard Alden/ Andy Brown Heavy Artillery Delmark

Bad Ass Brass Live! Bad Ass Records

John Bailey Quartet Heart Horizons johnbaileyquartetbandcamp.com

Comanda Barabba Jazz Resistant Rudi Records

Bodrato Battaglia Massaria Furia Bartleby the Scrivener Evil Rabbit

Ruthie Culver/Utterjazz Band Look Stranger Purring

Paul Edis Not Like Me www.pauledis.co.uk

Schweizer Favre Live in Zurich Intakt

Gordon Grdina/Mark Helias No Difference Songlines

Pablo Held Elders Pirouet

Marquis Hill The Poet Skiptone

Dave Jackson Quartet Cosmontology davejacksonmusic.com

John Lake Trio Up on the Downs John Lake

Chuck Loeb Silhouette Moosicus

Myra Melford Life Carries Me This Way Firehouse

Lorna Reid Falling like Dew www.lornareid.com

Sao Paulo Underground Beija Flors Velho E Sujo Cuneiform

Threeway Looking Forward, Looking Back Jazz Cat

Fay Victor Ensemble Absinthe and Vermouth Sunnyside

Reissues/Archive Reviews

Gato Barbieri Fenix/Gato… Para Los Amigos/Que Pasa/Che Corazon Flying Dutchman Jazz Classics

Dollar Brand/Abdullah Ibrahim Orchestra African Space Program Enja

Ornette Coleman Ornette On Tenor Atlantic

John Coltrane and Don Cherry The Avant-Garde Atlantic Warner Andrew Cyrille Complete Remastered Recordings On Black Saint And Soul Note BXS

Gil Evans Svengali Atlantic

Donny Hathaway Never My Love: The Anthology Rhino/Atco

John Coltrane The Complete Sun Ship Session Mosaic Records 3LP Vinyl

Keith Jarrett Concerts: Bregenz/München/No End ECM

Rahsaan Roland Kirk & The Vibration Society Rahsaan, Rahsaan Atlantic

Lee Konitz The Real Lee Konitz\With Warne Marsh Atlantic/Warner Jazz

Shelly Manne & His Men Boss Sounds! – Shelly Manne & His Men At Shelly’s Manne-Hole\Jazz Gunn Atlantic

Jackie McLean Quartet Swing, Swang, Swingin’/ Let Freedom Ring American Jazz Classics

Charles Mingus The Jazz Workshop Concerts 1964-65 Mosaic

Charles Mingus The Clown Atlantic

Charles Mingus Three Or Four Shades Of Blues Atlantic

The Modern Jazz Quartet The Modern Jazz Quartet/At Music Inn – Guest Artist Jimmy Giuffre/The Comedy/Lonely Woman/Plastic Dreams/The Legendary Profile/Blues For Bach Atlantic

Marius Neset Suite for the Seven Mountains Discovery

William Parker Wood Flute Songs:Anthology/Live 2006-2012 Aum Fidelity

Max Roach The Max Roach Trio Featuring The Legendary Hasaan Atlantic

S.O.S. Looking For The Next One Cuneiform Rune

Various Artists Verve: The Sound of America: The Singles Collection Verve

Miroslav Vitous Infinite Search Atlantic

Mal Waldron Hard Talk Enja

: CD Reviews; 23 January 2014; 23 January 2014; 27 March 2014

GoGo Penguin – v2.0 ★★★★

Gondwana CD 009
Chris Illingworth (p), Nick Blacka (b) and Rob Turner (d). Rec. 2013

Manchester’s GoGo Penguin prove, among other things, what a rhythmic gift the drum ’n’ bass dance scene, which began in the 1990s, has been to British jazz’s forward-thinking wing. Their follow-up to 2012’s Fanfares maintains that album’s flare for anthemic riffs and skittering grooves, and with new double-bassist Nick Blacka and more generous studio time, pushes the acoustic piano trio format further into the future. ‘One Percent’ (suggesting the politically resistant undercurrent somewhere deep in these grooves) sees Turner’s drums threaten to bust free of the tune. But the trio’s schooling in bop, break-beats and classical forms lets them easily contain this chaotic element within the music’s elastic yet unbroken shape. ‘To Drown In You’ shows their gift for studio dynamics. One moment Blacka’s bass is being mournfully, traditionally bowed, then the volume leaps forward with an echoing boom. Each instrument then unpredictably, momentarily shifts up in the mix. This effects-aided, organic reboot of the solo principle sums up GoGo Penguin’s approach. Classical melancholy, dance-floor thrills and jazz’s free, intuitive thinking are all on generous display here.

– Nick Hasted

: CD Reviews; 21 November 2013; 21 November 2013; 22 November 2013

Jazzwise December 2013 Issue Album Reviews List

All these albums are reviewed in the DECEMBER 2013 issue of Jazzwise which is out now – to read them all click here to subscribe here and get a FANTASTIC FREE CD

New Releases

John Abercrombie Quartet 39 Steps ECM

AfroHORN / Francisco Mora Catlett Rare Metal AACE Records

Astro Sonic Come Closer And I’ll Tell You Hubro

Tim Berne’s Snakeoil Shadow Man ECM

Tony Bevan and Matthew Bourne At Leeds College of Music May 2010 Foghorn

Brass Jaw Minted Keywork Records

Brass Mask Spy Boy Babel Label

David Chesky Jazz in the New Harmonic Chesky Records

Ramberto Ciammarughi New Music for Trio CAM Jazz

Gerald Clark Nakba – A Jazz Suite for Palestine theinterruptingsheep.com

Paquito D’Rivera and Trio Corrente Songs for Maura Paquito Records

Da Lata Fabiola Agogo

Dunmall/Hanslip/Gibbs/ Ricard Weeping Idols

Echoes of Swing Blue Pepper ACT

Fringe Magnetic Clocca LOOP Records

Get The Blessing Lope and Antilope Naim Jazz

Global Noize Supersly – Reimagining the Music of Sly & the Family Stone Zoho

Sunna Gunnlaugs Distilled Sunny/Sky

Craig Handy & 2nd Line Smith OKeh

Harmonie Ensemble/ New York The Nutcracker Suites Harmonia Mundi

Ollie Howell Sutures and Stitches Whirlwind

Huntsville Past Increasing, Future Receding Hubro

Chris Hyson Little Moon Man EP (played by Kit Downes) ChrisHyson.bandcamp.com

Kayhan Kalhor and Erdal Erzincan Kula Kulluk Yakısir Mı ECM

Jeff Lorber Fusion Hacienda Heads Up

Harold López-Nussa New Day Jazz Village

Geir Lysne New Circle ACT

The Pedrito Martinez Group The Pedrito Martinez Group Motéma Music

Tina May Divas Hep Jazz HEP

Chris Morrissey North Hero Sunnyside

Aaron Parks Arborescence ECM

Ivo Perelman/Matthew Shipp/Mat Maneri A Violent Dose Of Anything Leo

Ivo Perelman/Matthew Shipp/Whit Dickey/ Gerald Cleaver Enigma Leo

Jason Rebello Anything But Look Lyte Records

ReDiviDeR Meets I Dig Monk, Tuned Diatribe

Dianne Reeves Beautiful Life Concord Records

Matt Ridley Trio Thymos Whirlwind Recordings

Sachal Studios Orchestra Jazz and All That In Memory of Dave Brubeck Sachal Music

Nicky Schrire Space and Time NXS

Zoe Schwarz Blue Commotion The Blues Don’t Scare Me 33 Records

Archie Shepp Attica Blues Orchestra I Hear The Sound Archieball

Nick Smart’s Trogon Tower Casa Babel Label

Dr Lonnie Smith The Healer Pilgrimage

Szakcsi/Potter/Veal/ Carrington Live at MÜPA BMC

The Thing Boot! The Thing Records

Viktoria Tolstoy and Jacob Karlzon A Moment Of Now ACT

Ralph Towner/ WolfgangMuthspiel/ Slava Grigoryan Travel Guide

Steve Turre The Bones of Art HighNote

Various The Road To Jajouka Howe

Vive Album Deluxe Encanta Records

Max von Mosch Orchestra Berlin Kaboom! ACT

Pete York and Young Friends Basiecally Speaking ACT

Short Cuts New Releases

Kari Antila The North Wind Seventh String Music

Marco Blanco No Time Like the Present Cognitive Dissonance

Wilford Brimley with the Jeff Hamilton Trio Capri

Robert Carter Trio That’s Just It Flame Records

Dig a Little Deeper Songs from the Small Hours Spin Cycle

Jules Faife Compás www.julesfaife.com

Gado Quartet with Dave Liebman Umgrund

Enrico Granafei Alone (and) Together CAP

Grid Mesh Live in Madrid Leo

Florian Hoefner Group Falling Up OA2

Christoph Irniger Trio Gowanus Canal

Mike Jones Trio Plays Well with Others Capri

Love Notes Special Unit Love to Light TEMC

Vana Gierig Making Memories Enja

Go: Organic Orchestra Sonic Mandala Meta Records

The Margots Pascado Okka

Daniel Rosenboom’s Book of Omens Nine Winds

Reissues // Archive Reviews

Kenny Burrell Quintet Introducing Kenny Burrell/ Weaver of Dreams Essential Jazz Classics

Gary Burton & Keith Jarrett Gary Burton & Keith Jarrett Atlantic

Gary Burton Good Vibes Atlantic

Ornette Coleman Ornette! Atlantic Warner

Ornette Coleman The Art of The Improvisers Atlantic Warner

John Coltrane The Heavyweight Champion: the Complete Atlantic Recordings Rhino/Atlantic

Grateful Dead Sunshine Daydream (Veneta, Oregon, 8/27/72) Grateful Dead Productions/ Rhino

Charles Brackeen, Rhythm X (The Music of Charles Brackeen) Strata East 1973 (Lost In The Vaults)

Billie Holiday Music For Torching + Velvet Mood Poll Winners

Herbie Hancock The Complete Columbia Album Collection 1972-1988 Columbia Legacy

King Crimson The Road To Red Panygyric Recordings

John Lewis European Encounter/Animal Dance American Jazz Classics

Charles Lloyd Quartet: Dream Weaver / Forest Flower/ Charles Lloyd in Europe / The Flowering / Love-In / Journey Within Atlantic / Charles Lloyd in the Soviet Union Atlantic / Soundtrack Atlantic

Charles Mingus Passions Of A Man: the Complete Atlantic Recordings 1956-1961 Rhino/Atlantic

Modern Jazz Quartet The Lost Tapes/Germany 1956-1958 SWR Music

European Concert Volume One & Two Atlantic

Mark Murphy The Complete Decca Recordings Fresh Sound Records

Tony Scott Three Classic Albums Plus: 52nd Street Scene/The Touch Of Tony Scott/Tony Scott In Hi-Fi/ Newport 1958 Avid

Jimmy Smith Bashin’ – The Unpredictable Jimmy Smith/Plays Fats Waller Essential Jazz Classics

Spontaneous Music Ensemble Challenge Emanem

Bob Thiele Emergency Head Start BGP

Various Jazz On Film: French New Wave 1957-62 Jazz On Film Recordings

Various Artists Selected Signs III – VIII ECM

Short Cuts // Reissues

Bunny Berigan Swingin’ and Jumpin’ Hep

Marty Paich and the Modern Touch I Get a Boot Out of You Warner Bros

Conte Candoli / Lou Levy West Coast Wailers

Duke Ellington All American in Jazz / Midnight In Paris Essential Jazz Classic

Ella Fitzgerald Sings Sweet Songs for Swingers / Get Happy! Essential Jazz Classics

Billie Holiday Live at the Stratford Shakespearean Festival 1957 Solar

Fred Kaz Eastern Exposure Atlantic

Julie London Calendar Girl / Around Midnight Fine and Mellow

Marcel Marceau …Presents Swing im Bahnhof Schema

Carmen McRae Take Five / Live at Sugar Hill American Jazz Classics

Marty Paich and the Modern Touch The Broadway Bit Warner Bros

Frank Rosolino Turn Me Loose! Reprise

Carol Stevens (with Phil Moore) That Satin Doll Atlantic

Rex Stewart / Henri Chaix Baden 1966 / Montreux 1971 Sackville

Various Artists Fetén: Rare Jazz Recordings from Spain 1961-74 Vampi Soul

Various Artists Previously Unreleased Concert Recordings From KB Hallen Copenhagen 1946-60 Sundance (Denmark)

Various Artists Salsa de la Bahia Patios Records

Fats Waller Complete Victor Piano Solos Phoenix

: CD Reviews; 21 November 2013; 21 November 2013; 27 March 2014

Jason Rebello – Anything But Look ★★★★

Lyte Records

Jason Rebello (p, kys, v), Tim Garland (fl, b clt), Paul Stacey (g), Pino Palladino, Karl Rasheed-Abel (b), Troy Miller (d), Omar, Will Downing, Joy Rose, Xantoné Blacq, Jacob Collier, Sumudu Jayatilaka, Alicia Carroll and Aja Downing (v). Rec. April 3-4 2013

Anything But Look finds Rebello recording as a ‘solo’ artist after a hiatus of a dozen years. Not that he’s been off the radar: touring with Sting and Jeff Beck has only enriched his musical palette. After such a break, the man must have had a mountain of material to record that may have led to a mighty mess. But although the album is eclectic in styles, it’s a release of refreshing unity. It’s held together by Rebello’s personal, spiritual journey that reaches a happy resolution (of sorts), as noted by the closing titles ‘New Joy’ and ‘Lighten Up The Load’.

As often occurs, though, the devil gets the best tunes, notably ‘Dark’, with its swirling, neurotic theme, illuminated by a deliriously beautiful vocals from Alicia Carrol. Indeed, all the vocals are outstanding, each voice picked to fit a theme. So the soul stirrer ‘Is This How?’ is gorgeously rendered by Will Downing while the latin funk of ‘Know What You Need’ zips along beneath Omar’s vocals. But it’s those keys you come back to. Rebello’s fave influences remain: Kenny Kirkland chordings scaffold ‘Man On The Train’; Corea’s rhumba groove is never far away; while Jan Hammer’s spirit inhabits the synth work, notably when Rebello elegantly entwines with Stacey on ‘With Immediate Effect’. And of course Hancock’s clarity and open musical mind underwrites it all. Even as a teen prodigy, Rebello received praise for his maturity; but now in his forties, a family man and educator, as well as having that rich career to draw upon, he’s produced an album that’s singularly soulful. Like Kenny Garret (or indeed old boss Mr Sumner) Rebello reveals that pop, soul and complex, jazz textures are not polar opposites but joyful places on the spectrum that is simply great music.

– Andy Robson