There are weeks when all I want is music that challenges me, confronts my belief systems, and pushes at my expectations. Then, there are times I want my music that comforts, wraps its warm sound around me, has rhythms that make my feet move, and makes me laugh. Here are two trio albums that fit easily into the latter description with a little bit of the former.
Yes! Trio –– Ali Jackson (drums), Omer Avital (bass), and Aaron Goldberg (drums) –– has been a working band for nearly two decades. Yet, each member is so busy with his own group or as sidemen that they rarely get together. When they do, creative sparks fly! Their debut album, released as "Yes" under all three names on Sunnyside Records in 2012, lays out their modus operandi. The songs are often blues-based, usually quite melodic as well as rhythmical, and their repertoire blends originals and standards. The sound quality on the recordings is such that no one instrument is mixed above any other and the listener feels as if he or she is the middle of the band.
In 2019, the ensemble, now known as Yes! Trio, move to the French Jazz & People label to release "Groove du Jour", a delightful collection that often made one feel like dancing. Just in time for the change of seasons, here's the band's third album "Spring Sings" (Jazz & People) –– if at first and second, the formula works really well, why change it? Drummer Jackson composed six of the 10 songs on the program while bassist Avital added two plus plus there are two engaging takes on two recognizable standards. "The Best is Yet to Come" (from Carolyn Leigh and Cy Coleman) swings with glee propelled by the thumping bass and dancing drums. Goldberg's solo is as irrepressible as Jackson's "groove". Irving Berlin's "How Deep is the Ocean" has a Caribbean "St. Thomas" feel in the playful drumming. Goldberg and Avital engage in a pleasing give-and-take before the the drummer heads off on a 4/4 rhythm with the bass. The bass solo is so deliciously melodic using the melody to jump into various adventures. There's also an engaging "marching band" solo from the drummer before the song comes to its eventul conclusion.
The title track (composed by Jackson) opens the album. Quietly, the piece moves forward on strummed bass chords and martial drums while the pianist plays the sweet melody. Goldberg then joins with Avital's bowed bass to present a second melody; the powerful bass solo alludes to Igor Stravinky's "The Rite of Spring". Listen below to Avital's "Sheikh Ali" (a play on words celebrating his rhythm section partner) to hear how well this Trio support and respond, how their conversation is so musical. The drummer returns the compliment on his "Omeration" –– all three play the theme before the pianist dances away on a lively solo. Of course, Avital gets the spotlight as well. He is so articulate in the bass's higher register not unlike a cellist. Then, the group "trades 4s" so that Jasckson gets to "play" as well. The program closes with Jackson's "Fivin" with its generous New Orleans rhythms (such funky tambourine), dancing melody lines, and, for a special treat for close listeners, the pianist's nod to John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme" 40 second before the song ends.
I am mightily tempted to play Yes! Trio's three albums back-to-back; after all, one can truly not get enough of this band's splendid interplay, charming sense of playfulness, and its embrace of melody and rhythm. Ali Jackson, Aaron Goldberg, and Omer Avital are good friends, great musicians, and the music they make can charm a listener in so many ways. Put on this album and listen deeply –– I dare you to sit still and not crack a smile.
The trio of Rodrigo Recabarren (drums), Pablo Menares (bass), and Yago Yazquez (piano) consists of two natives of Chile and one from Galicia, Spain. The music on their second album "Familia" (Greenleaf Music–– the trio's 2017 album "Desde la Lluvia" was recorded and initially released in Chile)
reflects not only the musicians' roots but also their immersion into Black American music. The nine tracks, all originals, often uses rhythms that "dance" rather than "swing" with melodies that suggest folk tunes. The music is conversational and, on occasion, fiery but articulate and emotionally rich.
The program opens with "Santiago"; composed by the drummer, the music salutes his (and Menares's hometown) in melody and especially in rhythm. Listen below to how Vazquez caresses the melody supported by the warm bass sounds and the composer's martial drums (not unlike Brazilian "parade" drumming). With the rhythm section churning below, the piano solo is richly melodic. Vazguez's lovely "Terra" follows. The interaction between piano and bass is often stunning. Menares has a melodic streak a mile wide –– it shows in his works with vocalists Claudia Acuna and Camila Meza as well as with saxophonist Melissa Aldana. The bassist contributes "Viaje"; the opening melody suggests Milton Nascimento's "Ponta de Areia" plus there's a nod to that song's melody early in the piano solo. Recabarren's haunting ballad "Lazo" finds him on brushes at the onset as Vazquez explores the melody. The drummer switches to sticks during the opening piano solo and back to brushes for the final verse.
Vazquez's "Anninovo" moves seductively atop the rippling bass lines and the dancing drums. The piano solo not only dances but also rings with short melodic phrases. Menares solos as well; he, too, is a wealth of melody but also reflects the rhythmic elements of the pianist's original melody. The pianist's "Minho" is a ballad with a touch of Cole Porter in the melody and chords. His solo reflects a feeling of melancholy as well as a nod to Duke Ellington's "(In My) Solitude".
"Familia" closes with the bassist's "Después De Todo". The slower tempo allows for the listener to appreciate the handsome melody. The piano solo ripples forward, a blend of long single-note runs and short chordal inserts. The music slows down with 95 seconds remaining for a coda that blends blues, longing, and a touch of sadness. Sweet yet also haunting.
Rodrigo Recabarren, Pablo Menares, and Yago Vazquez have taken their myriad influences and experiences creating a program that not only reminds us how international Black American music is but also how that music benefits from the addition of elements from other cultures. Isn't that how the music first came to be, a fusion of African, European, and South American elements. The trio certainly sounds like a "Familia" and their sophomore album is quite the positive listening experience..
If you've spent any time paying attention to creative music in the 21st Century, you know that there are a group of pianists who are always pushing the envelope. Artists such as Jason Moran, Myra Melford (who started out in the last decade of the previous century and has never stopped exploring), Craig Taborn, Aruan Ortiz, John Escreet, and Kris Davis. Ms. Davis seemed to spring out of nowhere with her 2003 debut on Fresh Sound New Talent and over the course of 13 albums as a leader or co-leader, she has continually expanded her musical palette. In 2016, Ms. Davis inaugurated her own label Pyroclastic Records with "Duopoly", a series of two duets each with eight artists. "Octopus" followed in early 2018, also an album of duets only this time her dialogue was with fellow pianist Craig Taborn. She also leads a trio with bassist William Parker and drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts (dubbed January Painters), another trio (this one named Borderland Trio) with bassist Stephan Crump and drummer Eric McPherson, plus she has a duo with saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock. One would not go wrong calling Kris Davis a very busy musician.
Her latest recording, "Diatom Ribbons" (Pyroclastic), is a program of 10 compositions (eight by the pianist and one each by Michaël Attias and the late Julius Hemphill) played by various sized ensembles ranging from a duo to septet with several others in between. The one constant partner throughout is drummer Terri Lyne Carrington appearing on every track with other participants including turntablist Val Jeanty (all but two tracks), acoustic snd electric bassist Trevor Dunn, vibraphonist Ches Smith, guitarist Nels Cline, saxophonists JD Allen (only on the first and last tracks) and Tony Malaby (on three tracks) plus two cuts with guitarist Marc Ribot. Esperanza Spalding adds her voice to two tracks, Attias's "The Very Thing" and "Certain Cells". Attias's song has a lilting melody that the drummer underpins with her expressive playing with Malaby's tenor pushing in the background and Jeanty's swooshes and splashes painting quite a backdrop. "...Cells" builds from Gwendolyn Brooks's powerful poem "To Prisoners" and is a tour-de-force for Ms. Carrington's robust drumming.
Photo: Peter Gannushkin
There are moments throughout the album that capture the mind. The voice of composer Olivier Messiaen moves and out of "Corn Crake" as Ms. Jeanty's electronics swirl beneath the rambling piano lines and the rock-steady drumming. Ribot's lines spew out with force on the rocking "Golgi Complex (The Sequel)" (dig how Ms. Carrington and bassist Dunn lock into the groove) then engages in a duel with Cline on the following track "Gogol Complex." That track not only pits the guitarists against each other but pay attention to the power coming from the rhythm section and Ms. Davis's thunderous piano work.
Photo: Daniel Sheehan/Martin Sarrazac
The album closes with Hemphill's "Reflections" (first recorded in 1975 on his second album as a leader "Coon Bid'ness"), a multi-sectioned piece that opens in an introspective mode with the two saxophones playing in unison behind the dancing piano lines and the counterpoint of the drums. Dunn's bowed acoustic bass moans quietly while also producing overtones as the saxophones begin to state the song's theme. A bit past the halfway point, the drums and bass drop into a funky beat, the saxophonists repeat the melody, and a highly processed proper British voice talks about learning. Both Allen and Malaby solo, dancing atop the beat and Ms. Davis's pounding piano chords, the voice jabbering in and out of the background.
One of the more delightful attractions of "Diatom Ribbons" is how Val Jeanty adds her distinctive turntable sounds to the mix. How Kris Davis utilizes her talents makes the album all the more intriguing, an integral part of a program in which all parts are integral – there is no wasted space. Ms. Davis first teamed up with Terri Lyne Carrington and Esperanza Spalding to play a series of concerts to honor the memory and work of Geri Allen. That connection pushed Ms. Davis to create this project, one that will greatly appeal to the curious mind. Dig in, pay close attention.
Saxophonist Samuel Blais came to New York City in the early years of this decade to study with saxophonist and NEA Jazz Master David Liebman. In 2012, Liebman helped the young man create a saxophone quartet in NYC that featured the two of them (on soprano and baritone saxophones) in a partnership with tenor saxophonist Donny McCaslin and alto saxophonist David Binney. They toured in Quebec that year playing compositions by all four members, the first time both Binney and McCaslin had written for this kind of ensemble. The ensemble got back together in May of 2015, entered Red Rock Studio in the Poconos Mountain in Pennsylvania and, over the course of two days, recorded the 10 tracks that make up "Four Visions" (Sunnyside Records)
Interestingly, the four musicians each only play one reed instrument throughout the program although all but Binney play different saxes. That choice gives the music more of a classical feel. The entire is composed of originals by the band members insulting three each by Blais and Binney plus two each by Liebman and McCaslin. On initial listening, one hears the influence of the World Saxophone Quartet, especially the writing of Julius Hemphill. Once you dig into each track, the composers individual voices come out. Liebman's "A Moody Time" starts as a ballad with each voice stepping out of the ensemble for short, solo, lines. Suddenly, the baritone sax falls into a groove and the soprano takes off. The tenor joins the bari while the soprano and alt take the melody and off the quartet goes. Binney's "Dunes" opens with the fours saxes sounding like a church organ but soon the quartet is off on a sonic adventure filled with melodic excursions and lightning-fast tempo changes. "Empty Sunbeams" hs a similar opening but falls into a groove, one tha bears the sound of WSQ.
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McCaslin contributes the handsome ballad "Buy a Mountain", a piece that hints at the blues, the phrases the members play when they step out echoing Coleman Hawkins, Johnny Hodges, Charlie Parker, Wayne Shorter, and others along the jazz continuum. "Et Voit Le Jour" (translated as "and see the day"), composed by Blais, has room for a handsome baritone solo but be sure to listen to what the other three play behind him. The support for the tenor solo is the same – make sure to listen to how clearly the band articulates the supporting lines.
Julius Keilwerth Saxophones
Liebman's "Inside Bach's Studio" is the longest track (15:53), through-composed yet leaves room for each saxophone to step out for solos. Those "spotlights" are truly solo (sans accompaniment) and rubato yet fit perfectly into the expansive fabric of the composition. There are several moments where one believes the piece is ending only to hear the quartet move into a new written section.
"Four Visions" is the work of four fertile minds brought together by Samuel Blais and Dave Liebman. It's such a treat to hear both Donny McCaslin and David Binney in this setting, creating music that challenges them as much as the listeners. What a treat1
Here's the Quartet in concert playing an expanded version of the piece:
Photo: Harvey Tillis
Bassist, composer, orchestrator, and arranger Matt Ulery has been a busy member of the Chicago music scene since arriving two decades. He studied at both Roosevelt University and Depaul University and played professionally with the likes of Patricia Barber, Kurt Rosenwinkel, and trumpeter Marcus Hill. he first recorded as a leader in 2007 and, since then, has worked with numerous different-sized ensembles, from trios to quintets to nonets to a brass band and a jazz orchestra. His compositions have been performed by groups as diverse as Eighth Blackbird, Axiom Brass, and the New Millennium Orchestra of Chicago. In 2016, Ulery inaugurated his own label, Woolgathering Records, with red;eases by his Loom/Large ensemble, pianist Rob Clearfield, trumpeter Russ Johnson, and saxophonist Tim Haldemann.
Woolgathering Records
His new album, "Delicate Charms", features long-time associates Zach Brock (violin), Greg Ward (alto saxophone), Quin Kirchner (drums), pianist Clearfield, and the leader on bass and all compositions. Ulery worked on the pieces for this lineup over the course of several years and the quintet went to Portugal in late 2018 where they received an ecstatic reaction from the audiences. Immediately on arrival back in Chicago, the group entered the studio. As to be expected, the music is beyond category but one can not miss the composer's love for melody, harmony, and counterpoint. The rhythm section is a major component in the music as well, not just with its use of polyrhythms but their own medic additions. What immediately stands out is the blend of the violin and alto sax – when Brock and Ward play together, the sound is so full and it's hard to tell them apart unless one is under headphones. Listen to the opening moments of the first track "Coping"; with Ulery and Brock bowing while Ward is playing, they sound like a string trio. Then, the violinist takes the melody and Ward plays the counter-melody. And, then they switch throughout the reading of the theme and verses.
Photo: Harvey Tillis
There are numerous delights on this hour-plus program. Ward, who is my choice for 2019 MVP (most valuable player) shines on "Taciturn" – his wide-ranging solo pushes Brock who follows with his own sparkling performance. Meanwhile, the rhythm section is rocking beneath them. Clearfield's piano solo at the onset of "Nerve" (the final track) has a classical feel with overtones of Appalachian folk music. The melody that follows carries on that sound with a melody that pulls at the emotions Pay attention to Kirchner's active drumming as well as to how he puts the rhythm on simmer underneath Ulery's excellent solo. Notice the soulful alto solo where the phrases take flight, reaching towards the skies.
Every track on "Delicate Charms" is worth exploring in depth. Over his career, Matt Ulery has created music that expands inside one's ears and mind, making the listener return to discover all that's in the music. With this album and July's release of "Wonderment" (a trio date with Brock and drummer Jon Deitmeyer), Matt Ulery has produced two of the best recordings of 2019!
The older I get, the more comfort I derive out of music that sounds like the musicians are having a great time playing. Not sure how I can tell other than there are occasions of one band member extorting on the others but one feels the comfort these musicians have taking chances, interacting with one another, and the "dancing" quality that inhabits the music. Drummer Ali Jackson (Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra), bassist Omer Avital (Third World Love), and pianist Aaron Goldberg (Joshua Redman Quartet) all are busy sidemen as well as leaders – they have known each other for over two decades and, early in the 2010s, decided to form a trio. They took the name Yes! Trio and released their debut album on Sunnyside Records in 2012.
Seven years later, Yes! returns with a new album on a new label (Jazz & People, based in France) but with a renewed spirit and a whole mess of joy. "Groove du Jour" features 10 tracks with four composed by Avital, three by Jackson, one from Goldberg plus "Dr. Jackle" by Jackie McLean and the standard "I'll Be Seeing You." That final track listed is an excellent a=example of the trio's delightful approach – after a quiet beginning, Jackson settles into a slow shuffle beat and the song is permeated by the blues. Listen to the delightful piano solo. The program ranges from the powerful "Escalier", a Jackson composition that opens with the power of a McCoy Tyner that settles into a swinging groove. Avital's "Muhammad's Market" hints at a Middle eastern groove while it rumble forward on the strength of the drums and bouncing bass lines. Jackson's "Claqué" dances in on the funky drums, the high bass melody, and Goldberg's Thelonious Monk-like blues feel.
The album closes with Avital's "Bed-Stuy", yet another delightfully swinging song. Each member the trio gets to "strut his stuff" yet no one steps on anyone's toes. This music is so alive and lively you'll want to get into "Groove du Jour" many times. This is soul-affirming music from Yes! Trio!
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