Potpourri

Much has befallen (emphasis on "fall') since the previous post. Now I have two fractures to heal! Still listening to plenty of music but writing is slow and cumbersome. Here's a sampling of what I was working on between the two accidents.

Unless you have paid no attention to Black American Music over the past decade-plus, the name Luke Stewart should be quite familiar. The bassist has worked with David Murray, Wadada Leo Smith, Nicole Mitchell, the late Jaimie Branch, Marshall Allen, and so many more.  He leads several different ensembles including the Exposure Quartet, Heart of the Ghost, and the Remembrance Quintet as well as co-leading Irreversible Entanglements.  He also leads Silt Trio, an ensemble featuring tenor saxophonist Brian Settles, and drummers Trae Crudup or Chad Taylor. The Trio's 2020 debut, the self-released "No Trespassing" did not carry the Silt Trio monicker, has Crudup on drums, and sounds like a totally improvised set. 2022's Cuneiform release,  "The Bottom", features Taylor and showsw three voices working as one, not beholden to any one style and also displaying Stewart's ear for melody – the songs are not "blowing tunes" but composition and free improvisation often reside in the same pieces.

Silt Trio's new recording "Unknown River" (Pi Recordings) is made up of four tracks recorded in Tempo House studios in Baltimore, MD, and three recorded live in Trinosophes, a cafe/ performance space in Detroit, MI. The studio tracks open the album with Crudup in the drum chair (he's also worked with saxophonist James Brandon Lewis). Listen below to "Seek Whence", the opening track – the bass and drums lay down a "tight" groove and the underappreciated Settles delivers the melody then creates a solo that is his response to both that melody and the rhythmic drive.  "Baba Doo Way" follows and it's easy to see where the tune got its title.  Doesn't take long for the Trio to move up and away from the melody into a frenetic, at times, improvisation that shows how deeply they listen to each other plus the strength of the bass lines to allow Crudup to explore poly-rhythmic pathways.

Photo: Luciano Rossetti

The three live tracks open with "Amilcar" and Taylor announces his presence from the get-go with the powerful solo that introduces the track. Two minutes in, Stewart joins in, his powerful bass work introducing Settles and a thunderous solo, arguably his most exciting and impressive of the album. Stewart taes the peace to its finish with a throbbing solo which leads into the nearly 13-minute opus "Dudu".  The bowed bass, the steady beat, and Settles playing slow melody lines creates a drone. Three minutes in and there's a shift in dynamics, the tempo picks up, the tenor and bass lines flutter and skitter around each other as the drums sit out.  As Settles and Stewart continue their improvisatory dance, Taylor returns and the intensity begins to climb. Soon, the three musicians are firing on all cylinders withg Settles riding the rhythmic headwinds created by the bass and drums.

"Unknown Rivers" may refer to the numerous underground water sources that fill our lakes, bays, reservoirs, and oceans or, more to the point, to the rivers of music that course through the musicians bodies as they are creating in real time.  Luke Stewart Silt Trio creates fascinating music on this, their third album, and one imagines they must thrive in the concert/ club setting. If you're a fan of saxophone trio music, this album ranks up there with Sonny Rollins' "Freedom Suite", with Air's "Air Time", and Matana Roberts, Josh Abrams, & Chad Taylor's "Sticks and Stones", arguably my favorites. 

For more information and to purchase the album, go to https://lukestewart.bandcamp.com/album/unknown-rivers. 

Here's the opening track:

There's a delightful new recording from percussionist-composer Samuel Torres. Titled "A Dance for Birds",  Torres has created a nine-movement suite of music for the Latin Chamber Ensemble that features the members of his Sextet plus the Bergamot String Quartet.  

Here's the video for "The Song" with graphics created by Colombian visual artist Diego Pombo:

Ernesto Cervini is one busy person, leading several ensembles, playing as a sideman, running his publicity company, touring, and helping to raise a young family.  One of his ensembles is the sextet Turboprop and their new recording is, arguably, its best.  "A Canadian Songbook" (TPR Records) is a seven-song program featuring two interpretations of two Canadian "pop" songs, two Cervini originals, one from Turboprop trombonist William Carn, and one each from friends Allison Au and James Hill. 

Here's the group's take on The Barenaked Ladies "When I Fall":

Turboprop is:

Tara Davidson - Alto Saxophone
Joel Frahm - Tenor Saxophone
William Carn - Trombone
Adrean Farrugia - Piano
Dan Loomis - Bass
Ernesto Cervini - Drums