Houston Person & Ron Carter – Remember Love
Tenorist Houston Person and bassist Ron Carters started
their 60s careers in very different parts of the jazz spectrum – but over the
years, they've found a way to work together wonderfully – in a mode that's
created some especially great duo albums like this! There's few folks who could
get so much out of just the mix of bass and tenor saxophone – especially
without going into any sort of avant or free jazz modes – and the pairing of
Person and Carter hardly makes us miss piano, drums, or any other
instrumentation – as their sense of rhythm and expression is fully formed
throughout. As you might guess from the title, most tunes are ballads – and
titles include "Without A Song", "Easy To Remember",
"Love Is Here To Stay", "Day Dream", "Gentle
Rain", "The Way You Look Tonight", and "Blues For
DP". ~ Dusty Groove
Nicole Mitchell – Maroon Cloud
Incredibly beautiful work from Nicole Mitchell – and a
record that's maybe unlike anything we've ever heard from her before! The
group's a quartet, and Mitchell plays flute in the lead – but the session also
features Fay Victor on vocals, who has this magnificently dynamic style – moody
one minute, very pointedly powerful the next – working with lyrics from Nicole
that are a complete surprise to our ears! Victor's approach moves through a
history of jazz vocal expression that recalls, at moments, the work of Honey
Gordon with Charles Mingus, or some of Jeanne Lee's work with Ran Blake, and
maybe even some of the more adventurous moments of Abbey Lincoln – given
support alongside Mitchell's flute by the piano of Aruan Ortiz and cello of
Tomeka Reid. Given Mitchell's already-strong legacy of recordings, this set is
just another feather in her already-huge cap – on titles that include
"Vodou Spacetime Kettle", "Warm Dark Realness", "No
One Can Stop Us", "Endurance", "Hidden Choice",
"A Sound", and "Constellation Symphony". ~ Dusty Groove
Alex Conde – Origins
Pianist Alex Conde always has a great way of blending jazz
performance with Latin rhythms – and that approach really takes off here, as
Conde's core combo gets fantastic frontline help from Brian Lynch on trumpet,
Conrad Herwig on trombone, and Dayna Stephens on tenor and soprano sax! Both
Lynch and Herwig are no strangers to sounds like this – and they really shine
when called upon – soaring out to give the music this great sense of color and
energy – which is really saying a lot, given Conde's already-strong work with
the bass, drums, and cajon in the rhythms. A few moments feature guest vocals –
from Alejandro Conde Sr and Ismael Fernandez – and titles include "The
Great Priest", "Jungle Street", "Spring Break",
"Upper West Side", "Bulerijazz", "Descarga Por
Bulerias", and "El Emigrante". ~ Dusty Groove
No comments:
Post a Comment