Tuesday, February 10, 2015

NEW RELEASES: MAKAYA MCCRAVEN – IN THE MOMENT; MARK TURNER QUARTET – LATHE OF HEAVEN; JEAN-LOUIS MATINIER / MARCO AMBROSINI - INVENTIO

MAKAYA MCCRAVEN – IN THE MOMENT
A totally unique record from drummer Makaya McCraven – and a great one too! The set's built around improvised performances recorded over the period of a year – with some of Chicago's best underground jazz talents, including Matt Ulery on bass, Marquis Hill on trumpet, Jeff Parker on guitar, Justefan on vibes, Desean Jones on tenor, Tony Barba on tenor and electronics, and Josh Abrams on bass – and the performances are then edited down into these shorter, focused tracks that are really wonderful! The music is still quite live in its approach at most moments – and often given a very rhythmic pulse in the way it's put together, but never in any sort of hokey or heavy-handed remix way. The basslines are wonderful – full, round, and very modal – and titles include "The Jaunt", "Time Travel", "The Encore", "The Drop", "Finances", "Just Stay Right There", and "Three Fifths A Man".  ~ Dusty Groove

MARK TURNER QUARTET – LATHE OF HEAVEN

Majestic music from tenorist Mark Turner – a set that has him soaring gently with trumpeter Avishai Cohen, a partner who really seems to make the record sparkle! The group's a quartet, with no piano – just Joe Martin on bass and Marcus Gilmore on drums – and the tenor and trumpet do a great job of carving lines in open space, but with a fullness and focus that's quite different than an ECM date like this might have sounded decades back. The record really lives up to Turner's great legacy, but also has a unique sort of power as well – and all tunes are original compositions, with titles that include "Lathe Of Heaven", "Sonnet For Stevie", "Brother Sister 2", "Ethan's Line", and "The Edenist".  ~ Dusty Groove

JEAN-LOUIS MATINIER / MARCO AMBROSINI - INVENTIO

An instrumental pairing you're not likely to hear every day – the accordion of Jean-Louise Matinier and the nyckelharpa of Marco Ambrosini! We love the use of the former instrument – which Matinier plays with these open, evocative tones that remind us of our favorite work by Daniel Mille – but we're especially struck by the latter instrument – a many-stringed viola-like instrument, which has varied tunings, and is played with a bow. The ebb and flow of Ambrosini's music works beautifully with Matinier – and its slight string edges create this feeling of the ancient at moments, and a vibe that links some of the ECM early music projects with its modern ones. Titles include "Presto", "Szybko", "Taiga", "Qui Est Homo", "Osku", "Hommage", and "Basse Dance". ~ Dusty Groove


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