New Release Round-up,
Jazz New Release Round-Up - 19th November 2020
For this week’s selected new releases, we’re starting off with an album of music by Dutch drummer and composer Joost Lijbaart, a healthy mixture of busy solo drums and spacious ambience. I’ve also been digging into some new sounds from Whirlwind’s Trio Grande, a multinational collaboration that blends seemingly disparate sounds yet mixes them all smoothly. Revisiting Hubro Records from Norway, I’ve highlighted the new recording by improv trio Huntsville, whose new album features collaborations with members of Wilco and other free-improv veterans. For something a little more agreeable, the Rubber Soul Quartet’s album Blackbird is exactly what it says on the tin, a collection of Beatles songs for jazz quartet, while guitarist and singer George Benson’s new live record Weekend in London captures an intimate recording at a sold out Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club. Finally, fans of Icelandic crossover-classical pianist Ólafur Arnalds may enjoy fellow Icelander Magnús Jóhann’s - albeit slightly bleaker - new offering, Without Listening.
In drummer Joost Lijbaart’s own words, “Free is an album I’ve wanted to make all my life.” Given a large spate of free time he (and many others) were given this year, he took the opportunity to finally pu it to wax. Free is a drummer’s album, and naturally much of what Lijbaart offers is some delightfully flowing drumkit magic, but there are also some alternative detours as well; making use of synthesiser drones on tracks like ‘Corona Spiritual’ and ‘Dreamtime’, or tuned percussion on ‘Half Moon’, there’s more variety than one might expect. Extra attention has clearly been paid to the recording, too; it almost feels as if Lijbaart’s kit surrounds the listener at every angle, in the best possible way, and the quality of recording is crisp and clear.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
This new project on Whirlwind Records is the debut record of British saxophonist Will Vinson (who also provides keys on this album), Israeli guitarist Gilad Hekselman and American drummer Antonio Sanchez. What’s immediately striking about Trio Grande is how much the trio in question manage to blend together seemingly disparate sounds into a complete whole; the carnival-evoking rhythms on ‘Elli Yeled Tov’, the romantic swaying on ‘Oberkampf’, and the funky ‘Scoville’ all feel equally at home on this record.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Coming from Hubro, the heralds of Norwegian jazz and free-improvised music, is a new album from free improv trio Huntsville. While we were fans of Erlend Apneseth’s Fragmentarium just last month, Bow Shoulder scratches that same itch for spacious improvised music, with a little more chaos thrown in thanks to the addition of Nels Cline, perhaps best known as electric guitarist for American alt-rock band Wilco, as well as other guest spots by fellow Wilco member Glenn Kotche, Jim O’Rourke-collaborator and bassist Darin Gray and experimental electronic artist Yuka Honda. Bow Shoulder is heavy and chaotic, but intensely rewarding if your ears are tuned in such a way.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC
No prizes for guessing what’s on this record - as the title suggests, the Rubber Soul Quartet’s album, Blackbird, is a collection of Beatles songs rearranged for jazz quartet. The Rubber Soul Quartet touch on a number of stylistic points in the realm of jazz; ‘I Feel Fine’ receives a boisterous bossanova interpretation for the opening track, while the following track ‘She’s Leaving Home’ gets a more traditional bebop treatment. Naturally, these timeless songs are still enjoyable, and all work almost a little too well in these arrangements, perhaps I’d put that down to the Quartet’s rearranging of the songs, and the strength of their source material.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC
Icelandic pianist Magnús Jóhann’s latest recording is part jazz, part ambient music. Though much of the album is led by Jóhann’s incredibly soft piano touch, it’s the attention to sound design and atmosphere that pushes it into more meditative territory. Jóhann’s sparing use of his ensemble makes their presence somehow more known; when drummer Magnús Trygvason Eliassen makes an appearance to deliver a steady backbeat or spacious clattering, or Tumi Árnason’s breathy sax adds a sudden fullness to the space, it feels all the more important. But, for the most part, Jóhann keeps things simple; be it solo piano played so intimately you can hear his chair creaking (‘Viðgerð’), or ominous synthesiser drones. Without Listening also features production by Bergur Þórisson, also responsible for producing big-name Icelanders like Björk and Ólafur Arnalds.
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC
Joshua Lee - Jazz Content
