Simon Nabatov Quintet

Taking time away from his more ambitious projects such as composing musical suites influenced by modernist Russian literature, pianist Simon Nabatov, who has worked with everyone from Ray Anderson to Gerry Hemingway, has created this exemplar of modern jazz playing and writing. Nabatov, whose path led from Moscow to New York and who now lives in Cologne, recruited three players from that city – saxophonist Sebastian Gille, bassist David Helm and drummer Leif Berger – plus one ringer, American trumpeter Ralph Alessi, to help interpret his nine compositions.

Somewhat of a misnomer if lovely is only defined as charming, the tracks include exquisite arrangements and easy-going narratives, but the sounds are energetic as well as engaging. The only evidence of a ballad is the concluding “No Doubt”, but even there Alessi’s squealing triplets confirm this melody is far from easy-listening territory.

More descriptive are those tunes which match straight-ahead swing with unexpected and ingenious pivots. Juddering horn lines, squeaking string stops, drum shuffles and situated keyboard comping are everywhere. Some pieces are freer still. Dramatic string scrapping on “Nature Morte” for instance underlines a blend of horn harmonies and piano intensity, while on “Timwork” the slippery exposition is swiftly deconstructed with emphasis on harsh sputters and piccolo-elevated brass shakes, although swift reed flutters maintain the composition’s moderated pace.

Still the definition of how loose and open this session is compared to more formal Nabatov work is most apparent on “Old Fashioned”. Anything but the title suggests, the extended pieces gives every player solo space to express himself, revealing expanded techniques from brass note bending to reed flattement to ferocious string pumps,  yet without the exposition deviating from focused linear motion and the basic melody.

Although some of the music is lovely by definition, there’s a lot more to this session. It clearly underlines that the skills of the right creator can blend lyricism and invention to produce a program that can be as profound as the most carefully organized musical project without deviating too much from the Jazz tradition.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: 1. Koscha’s Delight 2. Nature Morte 8 3. Rickety 4. Autumn Music 5. Timwork 6. Amour Fou 7. Margarita 8. Old Fashioned 9. No Doubt

Personnel: Ralph Alessi (trumpet); Sebastian Gille (soprano and tenor saxophones);  Simon Nabatov (piano); David Helm (bass) and Leif Berger (drums)