by Pico
So what do these three albums getting the spotlight on this Quickies have in common? For one, they all fall on the jazz side of things (no surprise there). For another, these are all April releases. Oops, it’s already May, isn’t it? It’s still not too late to be the first kid on your block to own one of these uncovered treasures, though.
The first one is our obligatory look at a new Medeski, Martin & Wood product. After that are of couple of fresh records by emerging talents who just might be deserving of your attention:
Medeski, Martin & Wood Radiolarians II
Last fall MMW kicked off the first part of their Radiolarians trilogy with Radiolarians I. Earlier this month, Part 2 came out. As with Part 1, Radiolarians II has many of the threesome’s astonishing range, sharp musicianship and unpredictability on display; it’s atypical nature makes it a typical MMW album, if you know what I mean.
That said, there’s a distinction that sets II apart from I: it’s less “jammy” and more a collection of distinct, memorable songs. The tightness translates to increased listenability but the chops don’t get the short shrift, either. While a few tunes still drift a bit (“Ijiji”), others stomp with some nasty fuzz bass of Chris Wood (“Flat Tires”) and still others herald back to the band’s loopy acoustic funk of their Gramavision days (“Junkyard”). “Chasen vs Suribachi” finds Wood playing a bowed bass over Martin’s hip-hop beat. Perhaps a bit more surprising is the straight up approach of songs like the latin-tinged piano jazz of the breezy “Padirecto” or the relaxed loungy jazz of Rev. Gary Davis’ “Baby, Let Me Follow You Down,” with a funky little clavinet thrown in to spice it up a little bit. “Riffin’ Ed” presents some lively gospel piano by Medeski rendering one of the better melodies of the album, with that unbeatable rhythm section shuffling perfectly underneath it.
With the boys taking so many side roads of late, it’s good to see thme get back to the kind of music their known for. It seemed that for a while it was hard to tell if they still had a musical identity, but no more. Radiolarians II is Medeski, Martin & Wood saying to the world “this is who we are” better than any record they’ve made since the turn of the millenium.
Radiolarians II became widely available on April 14.
Miles Okazaki Generations
It’s staggering. Miles Okazaki is a guitarist schooled at Harvard, Manhattan School of Music and Julliard. He’s played with Stanley Turrentine, David Binney Jane Monheit and Steve Coleman. Came in second on the Thelonius Monk Jazz Competition, and used the winnings to finance his first album Mirror (2006). Along the way he’s studied musical styles as diverse as South Indian to classical to Brazilian fingerstyle techniques.
It’s staggering. This time, I’m referring to the music offered on only his second record, Generations. There are nine distinct tracks on an album that was recorded in a single, unbroken, hour-long take. No edits, overdubs, effects. The goal, as stated in the online liner notes, is “to capture an hour of time on tape, and hear how that hour was filled with sound on one particular day. The hope is that the listener can feel the natural progression of a live performance.”
It’s a demanding listen, not because there are any abrasive or atonal passages, or that any of the performers are playing with a great deal of flash. Rather, it’s a record that unfolds, ebbs and flows. And, it’s very much a group performance. Okazaki’s band is a little unusual in that there are three saxes…all alto (Binney, Miguel Zenon, Christof Knoche). In addition to the saxes, acoustic bass (Jon Flagher) and drums (Dan Weiss), Jen Shyu provides either wordless or indecipherable vocals.
The saxes often get the lead opportunities, while Okazaki himself rarely does go out front on his own record. Given the fluid nature of music, it’s difficult for individual tracks to stand out on their own, although I thought “Waves” was a highlight.
The highly artistic and fairly unique approach Okazaki is already garnering him the critical acclaim he received for Mirror. And the man does deserve a lot of credit for putting quietly confident art ahead of flamboyance. You just better have a pair of good headphones and about 60 minutes of focused attention to spare to appreciate this one.
Generations, a Sunnyside Records product, dropped on April 7.
Helge Lien Trio Hello Troll
We’re still bummed out over the tragic, sudden death of Swedish piano phenom Esbjörn Svensson last June, but as we assess the mark he’s left behind in piano trio jazz, one of his legacies might be a greater focus on emerging Scandinavian piano talent. If that’s so, then e.s.t. fans might do well to take a closer look at what the Helge Lien Trio from Norway is puttin’ down. The trio, consisting of Helge Lien on piano, supported by Frode Berg on acoustic bass and Knut Aalefjaer on drums, have already been taking Norway by storm for at least a few years now and are poised to gain a wider following on the heels of this new release, their sixth one.
That new release, Hello Troll, begins much as Svensson himself might have done it, with the cool, minimalist groove of “Gamut Warning”. Other selections like “Axis Of Free Will” and “Snurt” might recall Brad Mehldau more, while a cut like “It Is What It Is, But It Is,” evokes Keith Jarrett, and the record overall has the clear, impressionistic vibe of Bill Evans. But ultimately, the Helge Lien Trio appears to be forging a smooth, clean but adventurous sound that’s all their own. The personalized feel to these tunes comes from the fact that all of these tunes were written by Lien himself.
This album was released in Europe last year and has already been racking up awards there, including the Norwegian Grammy in the jazz category. Brought to us by Ozella Music, Hello Troll went on sale stateside April 14.
“Quickies” are mini-record reviews of new or upcoming releases, or “new to me.” Some albums are just that much more fun to listen to than to write about.
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is there a way to download music from ur page or will be a just decoration?
We don’t have any music to download, this is strictly a music review site. If we did that, we probably wouldn’t be around here too long.
The best we do is provide links where you can obtain the music legally. Sorry.