Espen Eriksen Trio with Andy Sheppard. Perfectly Unhappy. Rune
Grammofon. After having released three albums as a trio, this trio, composed of
Espen Eriksen on piano, Lars Tormod Jenset on bass, and Andreas Bye on drums, is
joined by Andy Sheppard, the British saxophonist, on their Perfectly Unhappy. Andy Sheppard’s tenor saxophone accents the
melody found in tracks like “1974,” “Perfectly Unhappy,” “Indian Summer,” and “Home.”
The interplay between the saxophone and the trio is especially prominent on “Naked
Trees.” I recommend this album and consider it as one of the best of the year.
Maciej Sadowski Kwadrat, ms2. One EP that came to my
attention during 2018 is simply titled ms2. Created by the Maciej Sadowski
Kwadrat, this album of nearly 21 minutes is meant to “foreshadow…[a]
forthcoming full album.” All of the tracks on this EP are composed by Maciej
Sadowski. The strong rhythm section, composed of Maciej Sadowski on double bass
and Antoni Wojnar on drums, is most apparent on “Noz w lodzie” (translated,
roughly, as knife in the ice) and “Kotojeleri Zlodziej” (translated, roughly,
as cat thief). Michal Jan Ciesielski’s tenor saxophone is most notable on
“Kotojeleri Zlodziej” and “Noz w lodzie.” The interplay between David Lipka’s
trumpet and Ciesielski’s tenor saxophone is particularly strong on “Noz w
lodzie.” Lipka’s trumpet solos on “Dziadek mroz part 1” (translated as Jack
Frost) while both Ciesielski and Lipka solo on “Dziadek mroz part 2.” I like
the driving rhythm and the saxophone solo in "Noz w lodzie," the bass intro to "Dziadek mroz Part 2," and the saxophone solo and the stopping and starting in "Kotojelen Zlodziej." Sadowski describes his music as nonjazz, that is, a
commingling of “emotional improvisations…drawn… from many musical genres.” Jazz
is such a fluid term that it allows the influence of music drawn from other
cultures and other genres. There are, of course, certain preconceptions
associated with jazz and labeling the music on this album as nonjazz is one way
to appeal to a wider audience and a younger one. I look forward to hearing more
of this nonjazz from Gdansk, Poland, when Maciej Sadowski releases the
full-length album.
Justin Gray & Synthesis, New Horizons. I only discovered
Justin Gray & Synthesis and their album New Horizons in February, 2018,
four months after it had been released. This debut album features Justin Gray
on the bass veena, an instrument that he invented and co-created. In addition
to a strong quartet, Justin Gray is joined by a range of musicians, some of whom
play the following instruments native to Pakistan and/or India-- that is, sarangi,
mrdangam, sarode, bansuri, and esraj. This album, Justin Gray says, exhibits a “wide
range of musical influences, including Indian classical, jazz, western
classical, electronic and R&B music.” Some of the tracks on the album that
deserve mentioning are “New Horizons,” “Reflections,” “Migration,” “Unity,” and
“Serenity.” I particularly like the haunting string instrument solo in “Migration.”
Let’s hope that Justin Gray & Synthesis continue to explore their
influences.
Unfurl, Sleeping Giants. Another album which reflects a bridging of cultural traditions
is Unfurl’s Sleeping Giants (in memory of Adam Warne). Adam Warne, who died in
2017 from bowel cancer, was a cofounder of the band and plays Egyptian percussion
on this album, an EP that contains a little more than 31 minutes of music. The
band, which hails from Manchester, also features Olivia Moore on violin, Gavin
Barras on bass, Jim Faulkner on guitar, John Ball on santoor, and Maria Jardardottir
on voice. John Ball’s santoor intro and
solo on the track "Upstream" is noteworthy. Maria Jardardottir’s scatting on “Upstream”
becomes more intense, starting at 3:50. While I cannot identify all of the instruments
on “The Fox and the Wolf,” I particularly like Gavin Barras’ bass intro, the
scatting of Maria Jardardottir, and Olivia Moore’ violin solo, which starts at 7:03.
Olivia Moore’s violin is clearest on the tracks“Bear Stories” and "Sleeping Giants." Let’s hope that
this band releases more music in the future. I imagine that Adam Warne
would want the band to continue.
I am still listening to some of the other music released in 2018 and have not yet made any decisions about some of the other music listed to the right of this page.
