Recording of the Week, Melissa Aldana, '12 Stars'

Tenor saxophonist Melissa Aldana has been in the jazz game for the best part of a decade now, both on-stage and in the studio. Born in Santiago, Chile, Aldana begun playing the saxophone from a young age and by the time she was in her teens was already playing in jazz clubs around the city – thanks to the tuition of her father Marcos, a professional saxophonist – eventually recording her first album as bandleader Free Fall in 2010 at 21 years of age. Initially inspired by the sounds of alto players like Charlie Parker, Cannonball Adderley and Michael Brecker, it was upon hearing Sonny Rollins that she took up her grandfather’s old Selmer tenor saxophone, and has played tenor ever since.

Aldana has since relocated to New York, as many a jazz player would, following her studies at Berklee College of Music. In the years following she found herself in the lineup of the all-female jazz supergroup ARTEMIS, which also features the talents of fellow saxophonist Nicole Glover, clarinettist Anat Cohen, and vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant just to name a few of its members. While performing as the ‘Melissa Aldana & Clash Trio’, alongside Cuban drummer Francisco Mela and fellow Santiago scene graduate Pablo Menares on bass, she recorded her self-titled debut on Concord Records, as well as a 2016 follow-up Back Home, before she formed what has now become her usual quartet the following year.

12 Stars marks Aldana’s debut on Blue Note Records, as well as being her first post-ARTEMIS work and first to feature her quartet as a full quintet, swapping in pianist/keyboardist Sullivan Fortner as well as guitarist Lage Lund (Aldana used to opt for either or), as well as bringing back Pablo Menares and Kush Abadey both from her usual quartet lineup. Melissa herself draws from introspective places – after dealing with a breakup at the start of 2020, she initially planned on keeping herself busy with gigs to stave off the heartbreak, but when lockdowns hit in March of the same year she instead concentrated on writing, spending the subsequent twelve months writing what would become 12 Stars. The titular ‘stars’ themselves refer to the crown of The Empress tarot card, itself a representation of art as well as the creation of life.

Pablo Menares (left) & Melissa Aldana (right)

While Aldana’s compositions themselves are nothing to sniff at, her chemistry with Lund throughout the record is also one of its strong suits – the two trade off solo and melodic duties brilliantly, often weaving in and out of each other’s passages like the spiralling melodies on ‘The Bluest Eye’. Lund also contributes significantly to the writing on 12 Stars, assisting Aldana with the arrangements throughout the record, and certainly manages to make his presence known throughout its runtime – the pair even come close to conjuring shades of Pat Metheny on ‘The Fool’. The works themselves lean heavily on warm, modal voicings, striking a balance between comforting and curious sounds. Aldana explores the ideas of future motherhood on ‘Emelia’, a tender cut that sees Fortner break out the Rhodes, giving the tune a soft pillowy underbed, and even on more spirited tracks like ‘Los Ojos de Chile’ – inspired by the 2019 Chilean protests – 12 Stars retains that welcoming tone.

Aldana’s tendency for low-key, modal-influenced compositions belies her well-honed improvisation chops, but perhaps she doesn’t feel the need to be too showy. With her now fully-formed quintet, Melissa Aldana’s latest recording is a personal and sensitive one, while also allowing her to debut to a wider audience on Blue Note – gets to enjoy something of a fresh start with 12 Stars, with the expertise of someone who’s been carefully honing her craft for over a decade now.