The 40th Anniversary of the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble – but celebrated by a wonderfully fresh version of the group! The lineup here features the solid, soulful percussion of Kahil El Zabar – who also wrote and arranged all the music too – plus the great Ernest Dawkins on reeds and the bold Corey Wilkes on trumpet! The mixture of trumpet and saxophone is sublime – stretching out over Kahil's spacious percussion at a level that unlocks a spiritual sound that the AACM never even expressed this strongly back in the 70s – a nicely open vibe that stretches out, but still hangs inside at most moments too – a bit like some of El Zabar's famous collaborations with David Murray, but with the addition of trumpet in the mix. Titles include "The Awakening Of 2012", "Creole Peppa Stew", "Walk The Talk", "Can You Find A Place", "Black Is Back", and "Be Bop". ~ Dusty Groove
Music inspired by the works of Thomas Pynchon – served up in a special blend of jazz and avant composition by reed player Kyle Bruckmann! The work was supported by Chamber Music America – and although the lineup features many avant jazz players from Bruckmann's scene, the overall presentation also shows some deeper inspirations from 20th Century avant classical – not in a way that holds back the fiery free moments from Jason Stein on bass clarinet, Jeb Bishop on trombone, Darren Johnston on trumpet, or Tim Daisy on drums – but just at a level that works their individual energy into long pieces influenced by the books The Crying Of Lot 49 and Gravity's Rainbow. Quite a great step forward in the mix of composition and freedom in the scene today – and also featuring Jen Clare Paulson on viola and Anton Hatwich on bass. (Packaged in a great letterpress sleeve, too!) ~ Dusty Groove
TON TRIO – ON AND ON
Some of the greatest work we've heard so far from alto saxophonist Aram Shelton – a player who's really coming into his own these days, and whose penned some fantastic original tracks for his Ton Trio project! The group features Aram spinning out these bold, soulful lines with Scott Brown on bass and Alex Vittum on drums – picking up on the sax trio format first explored by Sonny Rollins in his bold late 50s years – but taken to new heights here by Shelton's deft work on his instrument! The tunes are wonderful – filled with dark shadows and expressive passages – already captivating even before the individual players break out with bolder energy – and the record's one that will definitely have us keeping an even greater ear out for Shelton than ever before. Titles include "On & On", "We Were Told", "Let's All Go", "Layover", "Findings", "Turncoats", and "This Reminds Me". ~ Dusty Groove
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