New Jazz Releases – 09/02/2024
Author: Russell Perry
Wayne Escoffery
A couple of my favorite saxophone players have new releases out – Wayne Escoffery and Miguel Zenón. And we have a pair of fine releases from Norwegian players – low brass player Daniel Herskedal and a saxophone / accordion duet from Trygve Seim & Frode Haltli. From a little bit outside but beautifully played, new releases came in from Kris Davis and Patricia Brennan. Lots to hear.
Wayne Escoffery – Alone (Smoke Sessions Records, releases 08/30/2024). Wayne Escoffery – tenor saxophone, Gerald Clayton – piano, Ron Carter – bass, Carl Allen – drums.
Tenor saxophonist Wayne Escoffery is getting a lot of exposure these days and for good reason – he is a hell of a player. Already this year his wonderful full-toned playing has graced releases by all star groups Something Else (Soul Jazz previewed 05/20/2024) and Black Art Jazz Collective (Truth To Power previewed 05/06/2024) and he is back with a first class band for this new release. Escoffery’s playing can be compared to Ben Webster or Dexter Gordon for his warm, breathy, deeply emotional playing. His work gets better and better. I love this. Highly recommended
Reviews: Making A Scene, Jazz Weekly
David Bailis – Tree Of Life (Create or Destroy Records, releases 10/11/2024). Chris Speed – tenor saxophone, Eric Lane – piano / synth bass, David Bailis – guitar, Jason Nazary – drums.
Guitarist David Bailis has released a gentle record in a quartet setting featuring Chris Speed (Billy Mohler, Angelica Sanchez, The Bad Plus) on tenor, Eric Lane on keys and Jason Nazary (Darius Jones, Anteloper) on drums. Clocking in at less than 30 minutes, the listener is left wanting more.
Daniel Herskedal – Call For Winter II: Resonance (Edition Records, releases 09/27/2024). Daniel Herskedal – tuba / bass trombone.
Norwegian low-brass player Daniel Herskedal composed and recorded this disc, as he did its predecessor, in a remote cabin in Norway in the winter. Using a limited pallet of tuba and bass trombone, Herskedal layers up a rich tapestry of sounds that can be rhythmic, atmospheric, and cinematic by turns.
Kris Davis Trio – Run The Gauntlet (Pyroclastic Records, releases 09/27/2024). Kris Davis – piano, Robert Hurst – bass, Johnathan Blake – drums.
Pianist Kris Davis was the Jazz Journalists Association Pianist and Composer of the Year in 2021 on the strengths of her terrific release Diatom Ribbons. Her current release is dedicated to six women pianists whose influence resounds through her work – Geri Allen, Carla Bley, Renee Rosnes, Angelica Sanchez, Marilyn Crispell, and Sylvie Courvoisier. Recorded in a standard piano trio format, the invention of Robert Hurst (Orrin Evans, Joe Farnsworth, David Virelles) on bass and Johnathan Blake (Passages previewed 08/14/2023) on drums make this anything but “standard.” Adventurous music that may bring you back for more, it certainly brought me back.
Reviews: The Art Music Lounge
Ben Solomon – Echolocation (Giant Steps Arts, releases 09/03/2024). Ben Solomon – tenor saxophone, Davis Whitfield – piano, Rashaan Carter – bass, Kush Abadey – drums.
Tenor saxophonist Ben Solomon (Wallace Roney) is a John Coltrane forward saxophonist, and if you wonder who isn’t these days, he is more so than most. His band is really together – Davis Whitfield (Christian McBride, Mark Whitfield – his father, Javon Jackson) on piano, Rahsaan Carter (Black Art Jazz Collective, Nasheet Waits, Marta Sanchez) on bass and Kush Abadey ( Melissa Aldana, Ethan Iverson, Gilad Heckselman) on drums. The program is eight well-crafted originals. Recommended.
Trygve Seim & Frode Haltli – Our Time(ECM, released 09/13/2024). Trygve Seim – soprano saxophone / tenor saxophone, Frode Haltli – accordion.
Twenty-five years into their musical collaboration, Norwegian saxophonist Trygve Seim and accordionist Frode Haltli have recorded a program equally divided between compositions and improvisations. This combination of instruments in the hands of these players can be quite haunting and peaceful in a very ECM kind of way.
Jeremy Ledbetter Trio – Gravity(CaneFire Records, release 09/13/2024). Jeremy Ledbetter – piano / steel pans, Rich Brown – bass, Larnell Lewis – drums, Yonathan “Morocho” Gavidia, Javier Suárez, Juan Carlos Segovia – percussion.
Toronto-based pianist / composer Jeremy Ledbetter (Joy Lapps Project) has a busy life producing Afro-Cuban groups in Canada. This is his second release with his trio.
Patricia Brennan – Breaking Stretch (Pyroclastic Records, releases 09/06/2024). Adam O’Farrill – trumpet, Jon Irabagon – alto saxophone / sopranino saxophone, Mark Shim – tenor saxophonePatricia Brennan – vibraphone / marimba, Kim Cass – bass, Marcus Gilmore – drums, Mauricio Herrera – percussion.
In her third release as a leader, vibraphonist Patricia Brennan mixes free blowing with constructed ensemble passages so comfortably that it seems perfectly normal. In fact, it is a rare record that can accomplish this integration. She has enlarged her coterie to include not just her quartet from last time (Kim Cass – bass, Marcus Gilmore – drums, Maurico Herrera – percussion), but also the fiery front line of Adam O’Farrill on trumpet, Jon Irabagon on reeds and Mark Shim on tenor. Without question, this will be too much for some, while it rewards attention and multiple listening. Her rhythmic focus may get your toes tapping.
Reviews: AllAboutJazz, Art Music Lounge, Avant Music News
Louis Stewart & Jim Hall – The Dublin Concert (Livia Records, releases 09/06/2024). Louis Stewart – guitar, Jim Hall – guitar.
Guitarist Jim Hall recorded with Jimmy Giuffre in the 50s and Sonny Rollins and Bill Evans in the 60s forever cementing his reputation. In 1982, while spending the holidays in Ireland, a concert was hastily arranged with his friend Irish guitarist Louis Stewart, perhaps the most significant jazz player to come from Ireland. Stewart’s debut 1976 recording Louis The First was recently rereleased (previewed 03/04/2024). In their only joint recording, through five duets and three solo pieces from Hall, the guitar pair show why they are both so revered as masters of their instrument. Recommended.
Reviews: UK Jazz News, Jazz Guitar Life
April Aloisio & Joanie Pallatto – April & Joanie Sing (Southport, releases 09/06/2024). April Aloisio -vocals, Joanie Pallatto – vocals.
Composer / lyricist / vocalist Joanie Pallato (Accidental Melody previewed 05/29/2023) is also the co-owner of Southport Records, an important part of the Chicago jazz scene. For this release she has collected fourteen tracks that feature her singing in duet with April Aloisio. Their voices (soprano and alto) are complementary and the program ranges from Beatles to Gershwin plus the only cover I have ever heard of The Cream’s I Feel Free. Bob Dorough makes an appearance on Frank Foster’s Simone with lyrics by Pallato.
Miguel Zenón – Golden City (Miel Music, releases 08/30/2024). Diego Urcola – trumpet / valve trombone, Alan Ferber – trombone, Jacob Garchik – tuba / trombone, Miguel Zenón – alto saxophone, Matt Mitchell – piano, Miles Okazaki – guitar, Chris Tordini – bass, Dan Weiss – drums, Daniel Díaz – congas / tripandero / percussion.
Commissioned by SFJAZZ, alto saxophonist / composer Miguel Zenón has composed a suite of songs inspired by the historic evolution of San Francisco. In an interesting departure, Zenón has written for the darker side of brass primarily using valve trombone, trombone and tuba contrasting with his sinuous alto in the front line. The terrific rhythm section of Matt Mitchell on piano, Miles Okazaki on guitar, Chris Tordini on bass and Matt Weiss on drums is enriched by Daniel Diaz on Latin percussion. Zenón has such remarkable range – his last release with Luis Perdomo was a stunning and lyrical duet exploration of boleros (El Arte Del Bolero, Vol. 2 previewed 02/05/2024). Highly recommended.
Lucian Ban / Mat Maneri – Transylvanian Dance(ECM, releases 08/30/2024). Lucian Ban – piano, Mat Maneri – viola.
Romanian-born pianist Lucian Ban and US violist Matt Maneri have found inspiration in the folk songs and dance tunes collected by Béla Bartók. Long-time collaborators Ban and Maneri recorded this inspired set live in Romania.
Reviews: Marlbank, Jazz Weekly
Tom Johnson Jazz Orchestra – Time Takes Odd Turns (Self Produced, releases 08/30/2024). Clark Hunt – lead trumpet, Jack Kurtz – trumpet / flugelhorn, Nick Recktenwald – trumpet / flugelhorn, Sam Butler – trumpet, Andrew Danforth – lead trombone, Marcel Penzes – trombone, Leah Warman – trombone, Matt Acosta – bass trombone, Brianna Martinez – flute / piccolo, Noam Niv – flute / piccolo, Ana Nelson – clarinet, Garrett Fasig – soprano saxophone / alto saxophone, Kyle Brooks – alto saxophone, Chance Davis – tenor saxophone, Andrew Kreitner – tenor saxophone, Joseph Trahan – baritone saxophone, Alex Wignall – piano / electric piano, Joel Tucker – guitars, guitar synthesizers, Brendan Keller-Tuberg – electric bass / acoustic bass, Francis Bassett-Dilley – drums.
Retired academic and big band composer Tom Johnson has assembled an orchestra from players in the Indiana Jazz scene for a recording of eleven of his compositions written over the past forty years.
Delfeayo Marsalis and Uptown Jazz Orchestra – Crescent City Jewels (Troubadour Jass Records, releases 08/30/2024) digital only. Scott Frock, Andrew Baham, John Gray, Ashlin Parker, John Culbreth, Lynn Grissett – trumpets, Delfeayo Marsalis, Terrance “Hollywood” Taplin, Charles Williams, T.J. Norris, Ethan Santos – trombones, Khari Allen Lee, Aaron Narcisse, Khris Royal, Roderick Paulin, Scott Johnson, Shaena Ryan, Trevarri Huff-Boone, Alonzo Bowens, Branford Marsalis, Gregory “Speedo” Agid – saxophones, Kyle Roussel ,Shea Pierre ,Victor Campbell, Davell Crawford – piano, Kenny Brown, Maurice “Meaux” Trosclair – guitar, Chris Severin Roland Guerin Jason Stewart Barry Stephenson David Pulphus, Chris Severin, Roland Guerin, Jason Stewart, Barry Stephenson, David Pulphus – bass, Jarrel Allen, Brian Richburg Jr., Herlin Riley – drums, Tonya Boyd-Cannon – vocals.
Trombonist / bandleader Delfeayo Marsalis takes “letting the good times roll” very seriously! The title of this release Crescent City Jewels seems to refer to a NOLA cast of players not the selection of tunes which include such non-New Orleans jewels as ‘Round Midnight and Inner Urge. The presentation ranges from mid-size ensembles with a heavy R&B vibe to full big band charts. Good time music.
I hope that something here tickles your eardrums.
Russell Perry, Jazz at 100 Now!
If your music isn’t changing your life, you’ve simply picked the wrong songs. – Ted Gioia
