Tuesday, July 31, 2012

NEW RELEASES - JOHN AMBERCROMBIE QUARTET, DUDUKA DA FONSECA QUINTET, THELEMA

JOHN AMBERCROMBIE QUARTET – WITHIN A SONG

Tenorist Joe Lovano makes a wonderful appearance here – really bringing in a lot of soulful depth to an otherwise mellow set from guitarist Jon Abercrombie – providing a perfect foil to the lead player's sense of tone and timing! Abercrombie's guitar feels like it's swinging a bit more than usual – just a bit, but in all the right ways – and it's darn hard to ignore the presence of Lovano, whose well-chosen notes burst brightly in these great little lines throughout. The rest of the group features Drew Gress on bass and Joey Baron on drums – and titles include "Where Are You", "Easy Reader", "Sometime Ago", "Interplay", "Wise One", "Nick Of Time", and "Blues Connotation". ~ Dusty Groove

DUDUKA DA FONSECA QUINTET – SAMBA JAZZ – JAZZ SAMBA

Samba jazz, but lots more too – a set that's got plenty of dark edges amidst the warmer rhythms – which makes for one of the most compelling albums we've heard so far from drummer Duduka Da Fonseca! The group's a quintet, with some especially nice work on tenor from Anat Cohen – whose tone really helps flesh out the sound of the record, and bring in a strong sense of depth – amidst some lighter sounds from Guilherme Monteiro on guitar and Helio Alves on piano. Lenoardo Cioglia rounds out the combo on bass – and titles include "O Guarana", "The Peacocks", "Rancho Das Nuvens", "Sabor Carioca", "Depois Da Chuva", and "Melancia". ~ Dusty Groove

THELEMA – HEARING THE LIGHT

A cinematic cover, and some cinematic music to match – one of the moodiest projects we've heard from the contemporary underground of artists inspired by older film soundtracks! Keyboards are the dominant instrument here – often used in spare, snakey ways that recall older European cinema – but with a quality that's less scene-setting than just purely musical – sometimes groovy, sometimes a lot more stark and atmospheric. There's a few moments of spoken Icelandic dialogue – and titles include "Ljos", "Close Your Eyes & See", "Become A Hearer", "Grey Evening", and "Still Hearing The Light". (Includes a bonus CD of the entire album!) ~ Dusty Groove

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