JANKO
NILOVIC - SOUL IMPRESSIONS
One of the
funkiest records ever cut by studio jazz genius Janko Nilovic! This set
definitely earns the "soul" in the title – as Janko blends his usual
mad mix of studio sounds with some heavier 70s elements – including a fair bit
of fuzzy guitar, funky beats, and some nice horn fills. About half the tracks
on the album benefit from this sort of approach – kind of a cross between
blacksploitation soundtrack scoring and the tighter instrumental moods of work
by The Duke of Burlington. The other half is more in Janko's usual bag – nicely
groovy jazz numbers, some with a slinky 70s edge! Titles include
"Hippocampus", "Open Country", "Crazy
Enterprise", "Drug Song", "Soul Impressions",
"Man Of Genius", "Push Push", and "Family Tree".
~ Dusty Groove
DAVID AKE –
LAKE EFFECT
The lake
effect here is a powerful one – a way of building up songs in these blocks of
sound that relies heavily on the piano of David Ake, but also draws a lot from
the well-crafted saxophone lines of Peter Epstein! Ake's approach is somewhat
in the more contemporary school of jazz piano – that way of moving boldly with
very carefully-chosen chords – but his work also has a darkness that's very
unique, and a balanced sense of pacing that really makes the work of Epstein
even more powerful than it might be in a more freewheeling setting. The group's
completed by equally-thoughtful work on bass by Sam Minaie and drums by Mark
Ferber – and titles include "Lone Pine", "The Cubs",
"Tricycle", "Two Stones", "Silver Thaw", and
"Palhaco". ~ Dusty Groove
ANDY
SHEPPARD – SURROUNDED BY SEA
Extending
the range of his widely-praised Trio Libero project with French bassist Michel
Benita and Scottish drummer Seb Rochford, Andy Sheppard adds the Norwegian
guitarist and electronics wizard Eivind Aarset to his band for 'Surrounded by
Sea'. With Aarset's ambient drones and electronic textures as a backdrop,
Sheppard and co seem to have even more space to explore than on the
saxophonist's acclaimed Trio Libero recording. The music embraced here includes
new compositions by Sheppard, Benita and Rochford, open improvisations, the
Elvis Costello tune "I Want To Vanish", and the Gaelic traditional
ballad "Aoidh, Na Dean Cadal Idir" which appears in three variations,
a thematic thread through the album. 'Surrounded by Sea' was recorded at Lugano
in August-September 2014 with Manfred Eicher producing. The prodigiously gifted
Andy Sheppard famously took up the saxophone at 19, inspired by Coltrane, and
played his first gig with it three weeks later. After a period in Paris, he
returned to the UK in the mid-80s, recording the album 'Andy Sheppard' with
Steve Swallow as producer, the beginning of a long musical association. Since
then he's recorded extensively and written trans-idiomatic music for ensembles
of every size (his Saxophone Massive project has included 200 sax players) as
well as for theatre, film, dance and mixed media. ~ Amazon
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