Thursday, October 6, 2022

Olga Konkova Trio - Open Secret

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2021
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:10
Size: 140,5 MB
Art: Front

(5:43) 1. Hymn For my Brother
(3:38) 2. Loved Before
(6:25) 3. All Sorts of Weird and Wonderful
(4:39) 4. Rest In Motion
(5:36) 5. Darwin`s Point
(4:00) 6. No Rules
(4:03) 7. The Man With The Van
(2:48) 8. Les Hommes des Sables
(6:07) 9. Open Secret
(6:39) 10. Grande Capitano
(6:21) 11. Discovering the Truth
(4:07) 12. Triste Realidad

This album is a listener’s journey. Imagine a kaleidoscope for the ears. Forms, colors and patterns gently and constantly evolving towards something yet unheard. Cohesive, unpredictable, delicate, intimate, extroverted, somber and playful.

There is a very internal aspect to this music, and the playing of these performers. We don’t hear a musical conversation between the musicians so much as we hear an exchange of thoughts, dreams, and half-forgotten memories. This is not music for spectators. The listener can’t stand outside of the music and watch it go by. We are invited inside. The interplay between the musicians insists that we come and be a part of it.

The material spans the spectrum from quiet introspection, drawing the listener in close, to a driving intensity that challenges the sonic limits of the trio. Sometimes the music is sparse and aesthetic, creating immense weight and value for each individual note. At other times, the sounds come in a seemingly endless cascade to engulf, inundate and overwhelm the listener.

The trio format has always been a challenging one. The sound is open and transparent, unmercifully exposing any flaw, uncertainty or hesitation. Approached too simply, the format stiffens. The bass, piano and drums relegated to their expected functions of melody, harmony and rhythm become ultimately predictable. It would be easy and comfortable to fall back on these traditional roles. But here, every contribution can stand on its own musical merits. This trio playing more closely resembles three soloists united in a common cause. Three distinct and individual voices creating a unique commentary. In this respect, the trio format fits perfectly, showcasing the nuance, depth, sensitivity and imagination of the performers that might otherwise be covered up in a larger ensemble. This is a listener’s album. Get your best pair of headphones ready, and enjoy the ride.
By Scott Pierson Rogers http://www.losenrecords.no/release/open-secret

Personnel: Olga Konkova piano, Fender Rhodes; Per Mathisen upright bass; Gary Husband drums

Open Secret

Art Pepper - Presents “West Coast Sessions!” Volume 2: Pete Jolly

Styles: Saxophone And Piano Jazz
Year: 2017
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:28
Size: 131,2 MB
Art: Front

(5:07)  1. Strike Up The Band
(4:36)  2. You Go To My Head
(7:35)  3. I Surrender Dear
(6:04)  4. Y.I. Blues
(9:57)  5. Night And Day
(5:59)  6. Everything Happens To Me
(6:49)  7. Out Of Nowhere
(4:46)  8. Y.I. Blues (Alternate Take)
(5:32)  9. Y.I. Blues (Take 3)

The story goes that in 1977, Japanese label Atlas approached saxophonist and erstwhile cool jazz star Art Pepper about possibly doing some recording. Notoriously, Pepper had spent the better part of the prior 20 years in and out of prison and toiling with drug addiction. By the late '70s however, with his wife and then manager Laurie Pepper's help, he had resurrected his career. Subsequently, labels like Atlas were once again hoping to recapture Pepper's distinctive sound on record. To avoid violating his contract with Fantasy/Galaxy, Pepper decided to appear as a sideman on the recordings, bringing on various "headliners" to release under. For his third Atlas date, 1980's Strike Up the Band: Pete Jolly & His West Coast Friends, Pepper hired longtime West Coast pianist Jolly, with whom he had previously recorded the classic 1956 Chet Baker album Playboys. Joining them were bassist Bob Magnusson and drummer Roy McCurdy. The 2017 Omnivore compilation, Art Pepper Presents West Coast Sessions, Vol. 2: Pete Jolly, brings together all of the tracks recorded at the session.

Also included are liner notes from compilation producer Laurie Pepper. Primarily, this is a brightly swinging affair that balances the cool lyricism of the saxophonist's early years with the bluesy, post-John Coltrane harmonic maturity that marked his latter career. Here, we get a handful of lyrical, if sanguinely delivered standards, including a sprightly take on the George Gershwin title track, a soulful, Latin-tinged rendition of Cole Porter's "Night and Day," and a jaggedly buoyant version of Harry Barris' "I Surrender Dear," with Pepper gritting into the melody like he's brushing a cavity. Similarly engaging is the ensemble's soulful, delicately funky version of Pepper's "Y.I. Blues," of which we also get two worthy alternate versions accented by some candid, between-take studio chatter. However, it's their dusky, bittersweet reading of Matt Dennis' "Everything Happens to Me" that sticks with you. Played at the tempo of a slow tide with Pepper's mournfully sweet alto at the crest, it evokes a noir-ish West Coast romanticism. It's almost as if Pepper is looking back through the hazy corridor of sex, drugs, and smoky late-night gigs that stretch back to the '50s. ~ Matt Collar https://www.allmusic.com/album/art-pepper-presents-west-coast-sessions-vol-2-pete-jolly-mw0003009535

Personnel: Art Pepper (alto saxophone); Pete Jolly (piano); Roy McCurdy (drums).              

Presents “West Coast Sessions!” Volume 2 Pete Jolly 

Joshua Redman, Brian Blade, Christian McBride, Brad Mehldau - LongGone

Styles: Saxophone, Piano Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2022
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:16
Size: 144,6 MB
Art: Front

( 7:21) 1. Long Gone
( 6:21) 2. Disco Ears
( 8:18) 3. Statuesque
( 6:00) 4. Kite Song
( 6:31) 5. Ship to Shore
(12:42) 6. Rejoice

The second album from Joshua Redman's reunited '90s quartet, 2022's LongGone is another warmly relaxed affair showcasing the group's seasoned sophistication. When they first debuted on 1994's Moodswing, they were a cadre of up-and-coming young lions. Almost 30 years later, the lineup of saxophonist Redman, pianist Brad Mehldau, bassist Christian McBride, and drummer Brian Blade is essentially a supergroup of four of the most acclaimed and recognizable jazz musicians of their generation. It's not just that each of them are uber-talented improvisers, which is certainly true. It's that they've grown into four solo artists, primarily for their work as leaders, each with a distinctive and influential style of their own. All of which makes their decision to reunite (as they first did on 2020's RoundAgain) such a delightfully democratic surprise.

As with RoundAgain, there's a sense of jovial familiarity about LongGone, as if the quartet just picked up where they left off with MoodSwing. It's a vibe that's particularly apparent on "Kite Song," a rambling composition with a spindly Paul Desmond-esque melody that nicely evokes the title as Redman and Mehldau tumble as if through clouds, dipping into jaunty swing, folky asides, flourishes of atonal classicism. Also engaging, the opening title track is a tough midtempo swinger in which Redman dances with lithe athleticism over McBride and Blade's fat trampoline groove. We also get "Disco Ears," a wicked modal swinger in the late-'60s hard bop style, while the classical-inflected ballad "Statuesque" moves with spare, stentorian reverence as if the band are playing to a black-and-white slideshow of images from their past. Most of LongGone feels deeply organic, with Redman and his bandmates feeding off each other and working to build something cohesive and bigger than their individual contributions.By Matt Collar https://www.allmusic.com/album/longgone-mw0003772896

Personnel: Joshua Redman (saxophone), Brad Mehldau (piano), Christian McBride (bass), and Brian Blade (drums)

LongGone