Optimism, Evolution & Telepathy
World of Jazz 691
2024 is proving to be an excellent year for new jazz. This new selection is no exception. The show kicks off with a couple of bass players, includes two new albums featuring Daniel Carter, and has visits to South America and Australia, amongst other places. The variety of styles and genres included is a testament to the reach and influence of the music.
THE SHOW
PLAYLIST
Show Intro 00:00
Emiliano Lasanky “The Optimist” from The Optimist (Outside In Music) 00:28
Bruno Råberg “Mode Natakapria” from Evolver (Orbis Music) 06:04
Gabriel Genest “Kairos” from As It Is (ODD SOUND) 13:35
The Telepathic Band : Daniel Carter, Patrick Holmes, Matthew Putman, Hilliard Greene, Federico Ughi “Under Full Spacearrest” from Telepathic Mysteries, Vol. 2 (577 Records) 19:40
Synaptic Biosphere - Choboter Rånes Kadereit “Muraenidae Sirtalis” from Synaptic Biosphere (Gateway Music) 27:24
George Colligan “Time To Wind Down” from You’ll Hear It (la.reserve) 33:32
Matt Wilson “Walk WIth The Wind” from Good Trouble (Palmetto Records) 40:11
Aleksi Glick “Japanese Garden” from World Traveler (Pinch Records) 46:18
Stix Bones “Monday Madness” from Olimpik Soul (BONE Entertainment) 52:46
Rosario Giuliani Quartet “Interference” from Logbook Live At Sounds (Hypnote Records) 56:38
Wil Sargisson Trio “Kelly’s Blues” from Jazz in Meanjin 10 : Live at JMI (4000 Records) 1:05:41
Tony Romano “Ratatat” from Three Chord Monte (TRM Records) 1:11:11
Area 51 Celso Pixinga, Igor Willcox “North Zone” from North Zone (Room73 Records) 1:17:18
The Beat Freaks & Ralph Alessi “The Mechanics Of Nature” from The Mechanics Of Nature (Jazz Generator) 1:22:42
Jorge Cariglino “Coming to NYC (feat. Byron Landham)“ from After The Storm (Produced by JCR) 1:27:52
Chick Corea & Béla Fleck “Bemsha Swing” from Remembrance (Béla Fleck Productions/Thirty Tigers) 1:33:32
Lauren Henderson “Venas” from Sombras (Brontosaurus Records) 1:39:06
Andy Pratt “Soon” from Trio (Thrift Girl Records) 1:42:42
Daniel Carter, Matthew Putman, Federico Ughi “Tease-breeze” from Stream of a Dream (577 Records) 1:47:49
SHOW NOTES
Emiliano Lasansky
Bassist/composer Emiliano Lasansky with his debut album available worldwide on Outside In Music on June 21, 2024. The 2024 composition award winner in the Bridges Competition - David Baker Prize at the Ravinia Music Center, 2023 ASCAP Foundation Award (in composition) recipient, and a graduate from the prestigious Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz Performance at UCLA, delivers an album of melody-driven compositions, brought to life by his band featuring Devin Daniels on alto saxophone, Javier Santiago on piano, Benjamin Ring on drums, and Genevieve Artadi providing vocals on three tracks.
Bruno Råberg
On his new album internationally renowned bassist/composer Bruno Råberg returns to a large ensemble format for the first time in 22 years. As the title suggests, the results are a clear indication of how far Råberg has journeyed and how he takes personal evolution as a mission core to his musical vision. Released June 1, 2024 via Råberg’s own Orbis Music imprint, Evolver features a stellar ten-piece band along with special guest appearances by Grammy-winning pianist Kris Davis and acclaimed saxophonist Walter Smith III.
Gabriel Genest
As It Is is Montreal saxophonist Gabriel Genest's second album as a leader. A follow up to his debut album Triptyque (winner of the Prix François-Marcaurelle from the 2021 OFF Festival de Jazz de Montréal), it is a compelling new album with a modern aesthetic marked by complex rhythms, modal harmony, and sophisticated melodies. Eight new compositions draw just as much influence from classical impressionist music as they do from the American and European jazz traditions. The warm, subtle, yet powerful sound of Genest's tenor saxophone is supported by the exceptional musicianship of three long-time accomplices: Alex Le Blanc on double bass, Guillaume Pilote on drums and Yannick Anctil on piano. This core group is joined by guests who contribute strong, original musical personalities to the album: Jeanne Laforest on vocals, Jean-Nicolas Trottier on trombone and Olivier Salazar on vibraphone.
The Telepathic Band
The Telepathic Mysteries, Vol. 2 is the second volume from the recording session, documented at Sear Sound, in NYC in 2019. Named after the sort of improvisational style that can only be accomplished after a decade or two of collaboration. This most recent album is classic Telepathic Band approach, celebrating their imaginative tradition and daring sound while edging towards a dissonant tension and gentle reprieve that signals a new era in their sound. Possibly their darkest project yet, the extended tracks enter a more mysterious realm, while drawing from new classical and orchestral influences particularly reminiscent of Impressionistic composition. Matthew Putman plays Debussy-esque melodies on piano and psychedelic dub keyboards. Patrick Holmes delivers eerie, lyrical clarinet solos, and Hilliard Greene offers his own harmonies on bass. Federico Ughi again challenges the assumed role of a percussionist, diverging from steady rhythms, to offer uniquely spontaneous and open drumming, while Daniel Carter returns to his perennial role as a multi-instrumental and chamber-focused informal facilitator, easing the spaces in between features and lending an added measure of coherence between musicians.
Synaptic Biosphere
An art project that maps an imaginative world. A multi-dimensional experience, completed with paintings and layered sounds, that explores dreams and the collective unconscious. The album contains nine musical pieces alongside nine paintings. Each explores a different area of what could be called the world hidden inside our minds, the SYNAPTIC BIOSPHERE. The music of this album can be seen as a soundtrack to dreams: Sometimes the flute soars like a bird over a wide, peaceful soundscape created by the electric guitar and piano. At other times, pitched stones eerily roll and scratch each other to summon the texture and impression of a cave deep in the mountains. Then, in another dream, the fast percussion phrases and aggressive guitar sounds bring out the dark, aggressive side of the subconsciousness. The whole flow of this dream and its soundtrack is open to the moment and shifts through multiple facets. The Art is by Dorian Noel. The musicians are Matt Choboter: extended Piano, Jan Kadereit: Tabla, Janggu, Shakuhachi, various Percussion and John Arne Rånes: Guitar and electronic effects
George Colligan
George Colligan is not only one of the great jazz pianists of his generation, but he has earned an international reputation as a multi-instrumentalist( drums, trumpet, organ, keyboards), composer, accompanist, teacher, and bandleader. Winner of the 2015 DownBeat magazine Critics Poll (Keyboard), he has had a long association with living jazz legend Jack DeJohnette. With over 130 albums to date as an accompanist, Colligan has worked with a long list of jazz greats, including Buster Williams, Cassandra Wilson, Don Byron, Ravi Coltrane, and many others. Fresh from his tour of Ireland Colligan celebrates the release of his 38th album, “You’ll Hear It, ” his debut for the New York based La Reserve label.
Matt Wilson
Shortly before his death in 2020, Congressman and Civil Rights icon John Lewis urged Americans to stir up "good trouble." Acclaimed drummer/composer Matt Wilson has taken those words to heart, declaring that as musicians, “We want to be provocative, we want to make statements, we want to open doors for people." That mission drives the music on Wilson’s new album, Good Trouble. Out June 14, 2024, the album honours Lewis and also celebrates Wilson’s 60th birthday. His 14th release as a leader for Palmetto Records, the album also debuts a superb new quintet, also christened Good Trouble, which features Wilson, alto saxophonist Tia Fuller, tenor saxophonist/clarinetist Jeff Lederer, pianist/vocalist Dawn Clement, and bassist Ben Allison.
Aleksi Glick
World Traveler, the new album from guitarist and composer Glick, straddles several genres with his dynamic trio while remaining true to his distinct musical voice and vision. Glick shows his depth as a guitarist, equally adept at delivering subtle melodies and blistering solos. His strength as a composer lies in his ability to create something new with the already familiar, giving his pieces a timeless feel. Featuring nine originals and one cover, the music moves seamlessly through Jazz to Blues, Americana to R&B, and Bossa Nova to Soul. Many of the compositions on World Traveler were inspired by Glick’s travels, including a few unusual places: a picturesque bench in a Japanese garden, the side of a road in Finland, a stoop in the middle of New Orleans, a seemingly mundane layover at an airport, and a rooftop in sunny LA, to name a few. Glick is joined by bassist Jeff Koch and drummer Nathan Ellman-Bell with guest appearances by vocalist Laureana (Olivia Chindamo), keyboardist and producer Adam Ahuja, and saxophonist Eric Trudel.
Stix Bones
New York-based drummer/producer Stix Bones’ jazz-meets hip-hop, Olimpik Soul features Abiodun Oyewole of The Last Poets, includes a riveting remake of William DeVaughan’s seventies soul classic, “Be Thankful For What You’ve Got” and marks the recording debut of percussionist and Olympic Gold Medalist Bob Beamon.
Rosario Giuliani
Italian saxophonist Rosario Giuliani with new album called "Logbook" recorded at Sounds Jazz Club (Brussels) in December 2023. He's backed by amazing musicians: the pianist Pietro Lussu, Dario Deidda on electric bass and Sasha Mashin on drums. In 1996, Rosario Giuliani played the Sounds Jazz Club stage for the first time. As the notes fly, a bond is created between the young saxophonist and the Brussels audience hanging on his every note. He was still in his early days as a professional musician, and had no idea that in the years to come, recordings would multiply, venues would grow, and he would gradually become a key figure on the jazz scene at the turn of the century. When he returned to Sounds Jazz Club in December 2023, the now seasoned musician decided to set in stone this piece of his history, this place where years earlier, the public had opened its arms to him. Surrounded by a few faithful friends, he offered his compositions for two evenings of music to an audience that had lost none of its enthusiasm: Hypnote Records release the album on June 14, 2024.
Wil Sargisson Trio
The 10th instalment of the excellent Jazz in Meanjin series. Recorded on March 28th at Brisbane’s wellspring for jazz talent, JMI (Jazz Music Institute). Brisbane jazz pianist Sargisson hails from New Zealand, where he was raised on boogie woogie, New Orleans R&B and Harlem stride piano. He began solo festival appearances at age 13 and moved to Australia at 28. Wil’s trio is rounded out by Elliott Parker (double bass) and Mitch Bellert (drums) who bonded over a shared love of the records of the Oscar Peterson Trio.
Tony Romano
Guitarist Romano is fluent in so many styles of music that he has been one of the busiest musicians in New York City for more than 20 years. Although his soulful, lyrical guitar playing has made him a favourite accompanist among vocalists, on his newest album as a leader, he displays his edgy, modern jazz style on 13 original compositions. The new album, follows Standards (2018), a trio recording, and Dance for One (2017), a solo project featuring all original compositions by Romano for nylon string guitar. Romano has also recorded dozens of projects as a co-leader or sideman. Just Jazz Guitar wrote “His tone is beautiful and soulful, and his remarkable technique is a servant to his rich musical imagination and broad harmonic palette.” Joining Romano on this album are three stalwarts on the New York jazz scene: Paul Carlon on sax, Jennifer Vincent on bass, and Rob Garcia on drums.
Area 51
"North Zone" is the first single from the new project titled Area 51, conceived by the legendary Brazilian bassist and composer Celso Pixinga, whose internationally established career includes over 43 released albums. He collaborates on this project with the renowned drummer and music producer Igor Willcox. This single features special guest appearances by the talented and recognized saxophonist Wagner Barbosa and guitarist Igor Bollos, considered one of the great revelations of the new generation of Brazilian guitarists.
The Beat Freaks & Ralph Alessi
"The Mechanics of Nature" is the third studio album by The Beat Freaks, on which the musicians invited a special guest - American trumpeter Ralph Alessi. The inspiration for the musicians was nature, its beauty, complexity, unpredictability, extremes, sounds, and the mechanisms that constantly regulate it. Nature speaks to us constantly - the musicians tried to capture its message and convey it through their sounds. Despite the achievements of civilization, nature still determines human life - it is beautiful but can also be deadly. These extremes are what the musicians sought to convey through their sounds. The current line-up of the band includes: Michał Starkiewicz - guitar, Tomasz Licak - tenor saxophone, Flavio Gullotta - double bass, and. Radek Wośko - drums.
Jorge Cariglino
Jorge Cariglino is a jazz musician, guitarist, composer, arranger, producer and educator. He was born in Buenos Aires where he studied with the most outstanding jazz musicians of the local scene, he developed his musical skills creating his own style based on the natural fusion of jazz with its cultural environment of the Rio de la Plata movement. This new album features Pat Bianchi on organ Hammond B3 , Byron Landham on drums and Jorge on guitar and composition, with, Bobby Martinez on tenor saxophone & flute and Carlos Rossi on trumpet/flugelhorn. It was recorded in Madrid on January 22 2024.
Chick Corea and Bela Fleck
When18-time Grammy Award-winning banjoist Fleck speaks of his years-long collaboration with the late pianist Chick Corea, he can sound like a bashful student musician, still obviously in awe of the jazz titan whose impact transformed him as a teenager in the ’70s. “I just feel so lucky to have played with him in such an intimate way, and to have gotten to know him so well,” Fleck says. This new album Remembrance serves as a moving final document of the profound creative and personal rapport that Fleck and Corea first showcased at album length with 2007’s Latin Grammy-winning “The Enchantment”. It’s also a crucial addendum to Corea’s legacy, featuring three previously unreleased Chick compositions as well as five short free improvisations, or impromptus, that Fleck has infused with written music.
Lauren Henderson
The personnel on Sombras comprises Henderson’s longstanding creative team of Joel Ross (vibraphone), Sean Mason (piano), Jonathan Michel (bass), and Joe Dyson (drums, percussion). The album was engineered by Daniel Sanint of Flux Studios who has engineered Henderson’s entire discography, and their established rapport enabled the sessions to move forward with an almost telepathic smoothness. The album’s title, Sombras, is a Spanish word that translates to “Shadows” in English. This title evokes the idea of one’s ancestry being the shadows of oneself. This, then, depicts a metaphor that as one’s present actions and self are the light and the visible world, one’s genealogy is the unspoken and hidden driving force that subtly forms a person into who they are. Shrouded in mystique, each song on Sombras plays with this balance of the seen and unseen and the myriad elements, decisions, and events that have led each person - even from generations before - to where they are today.
Andy Pratt
Andy Pratt, who is based in Chicago, is a fluent and melodic jazz guitarist who also sings with a deep and friendly voice. A masterful storyteller, his interpretations are full of tasteful charm and honest emotions. Pratt is joined by bassist Joe Policastro who he has worked with for many years, and the always greatly in-demand drummer Phil Gratteau. Together they perform a wide-ranging set of music that includes five vintage songs from the Great American Songbook, two Burt Bacharach tunes, a Perez Prado mambo, and a movie theme. The Gershwin’s “Soon” opens the program and is featured herein
Daniel Carter, Matthew Putman, Federico Ughi
After performing and recording together for over fifteen years as members of various bands, musical genius Daniel Carter, pianist Matthew Putman, and drummer Federico Ughi have come together as a trio for the first time. Whether you recognize them individually, as the core team at 577 Records, or from their involvement in ensembles like the legendary quintet Telepathic Band (see above ), you’ve never heard them like you will in this their debut album. Their premiere release is a live recording from a March 2024 performance at Brooklyn’s New York Forward Festival. Together, Carter, Putman, and Ughi present essential, abstract music as a full-body experience that one can only describe as the exhilarating chemistry of sound. This live show embodies the mystical and sacred nature of their decades-long friendship that is steeped in a shared passion for creating melodies. 577 Records release Stream of a Dream on June 14, 2024, both digitally and on CD.
