November 16, 2020

Elias Stemeseder & Max Andrzejewski

light/tied
WhyPLayJazz WP J 054

SETT

First and Second

New Wave of Jazz nwoj033

Pierrick Hardy Acoustic Quartet

L’Ogre Intact

Émouvance emv 1041

Laura Schuller Quartet

Metamorphosis

Veto-Records 020

Jason Kao Hwang

Human Rites Trio

True Sound Recordings TS03

Something in the air: Flexible fiddles can feature much more than fundamentals

By Ken Waxman

Freed from the tyranny of section accompaniment, solo string concertos have long been a feature of notated music. A similar liberation for violins and violas happened years ago in improvised music. However it’s only during the past few years that use of these four-string instruments have been treated as more than a novelty. Sessions such as these which feature a violin or viola as part of different ensembles show how the prototypical instrument of so-called classical music is forging an equally impressive role creating freer sounds. MORE

August 17, 2020

Absolutely Sweet Marie

Wherever You Roam
Tiger Moon Records TMR 008

With the number of Jazz releases given over to interpretations of the Great American Songbook as well as those recasting versions of more recent pop, rap and R&B tunes, why not use Bob Dylan’s oeuvre as the basis for instrumental improvisation? That’s why the Berlin based quartet Absolutely Sweet Marie (ASM) was formed and this fascinating but frustrating disc is its third release.

Wherever You Roam is fascinating because it provides a window onto how some of Berlin’s most accomplished youngish improvisers can move familiar and unfamiliar songs into new areas as they change our perception of them. The frustration arises though since each of the 16 interpretations lasts between a little less than two minutes to, in a couple of case, slightly more than five. Such abrupt performances don’t allow much room for agile transformation. Technical skill is proven since each player has a notable history. ASM’s chief architect, tenor saxophonist Alexander Beierbach works with Nicolas Schulze and Hannes Zerbe’s orchestra. Trombonist Matthias Müller has recorded with Frank Paul Schubert; drummer Max Andrzejewski works with Julien Desprez, while trumpeter Steffen Faul plays with Uli Jennessen. MORE

November 6, 2015

Anna Webber’s Percussive Mechanics

Refraction
Pirouet Records PIT 3079

By Ken Waxman

Audaciously extending her conceptual chops, composer Anna Webber has created a suite of sorts with Refraction, bookending the program with a prelude and postlude sonically coordinated but not copied, while those tracks and the other five subtly reflect motifs which swirl throughout. A British Columbian turned Brooklynite, Webber, who plays tenor saxophone and flute here, is joined on this journey by other musicians whose playing is neither overly percussive nor mechanical. MORE