John O’Gallagher: Ancestral

     “Who’s the drummer?” is often the first thing I want to know when I look at a new release. When I glanced at the cover of alto saxophonist John O’Gallagher’s Ancestral, and saw the names of two exceptional master percussionists, Andrew Cyrille and Billy Hart, plus guitarist Ben Monder, I knew I was in for an exciting musical experience. And so it has proved. Cyrille and Hart have never recorded together before, but their collective spirit and breadth of experience makes the double drumming and the unusual quartet instrumentation sound totally natural. All the compositions are by O’Gallagher, and their open-ended nature gives the players plenty to work with. O’Gallagher’s powerful voice on alto, which sometimes reminds me of late Art Pepper, is never less than thrilling. His imaginative solo style draws on his own decades of playing in a wide variety of contexts and his immersion in late-period recordings of John Coltrane. The compelling Altar of the Ancestors is a clear homage to the glorious duets with Rashied Ali on Coltrane’s Interstellar Space. That’s just one standout among many. The stately and elegant Profess is another. Monder and O’Gallagher play the theme loosely together, then the saxophonist straps in for a passionate and urgent solo. All the while, Cyrille and Hart are churning and roiling underneath. Monder tosses out an exciting solo, spurring the drummers’ on and being stimulated in turn. Another highlight is Quixotica, a mournful ballad that puts O’Gallagher out front with the melody caressed by Monder’s quietly sympathetic lines and carefully restrained drumming. Everybody cuts loose on the improvised Postscript which closes the CD. Monder’s playing on the session ranges from clean chordal passages to electronically altered explosions of sound, and pretty much everything in between. From the photos from the session, it appears that everyone was playing together in the same space, and without headphones. It might be an old-fashioned way to record, but when the musicians are totally in sync with one another, it’s a method that often yields superior results to a more isolated studio situation. The deeply impressive Ancestral testifies to that approach. Warmly recommended. 

Whirlwind WR4840; John O’Gallagher (as) Ben Monder (g) Andrew Cyrille, Billy Hart (d); Montclair, NJ, no dates specified; Awakening/ Under the Wire/ Contact/ Tug/ Profess/ Altar of the Ancestors/ Quixotica/ Postscript; 44:39. whirlwindrecordings.com

Bill Coon: Standard Elegance

     The title of veteran guitarist Bill Coon’s latest CD tells it all: Standard Elegance. Wielding either an archtop electric guitar or an acoustic nylon-string version, Coon offers solo renditions of eleven selections of well-known standards, plus one original (the charming Fall Rain at Night) and what you might call a modern standard, the Lennon-McCartney penned And I Love Her. Coon’s technique is impeccable, and the smoothness of his sound belies the complexity of his approach to solo playing. That may be a another way of saying that he makes it sound easy. Any way you put it, the music of Standard Elegance is warm and intimate, and a pure pleasure to listen to. 

Cellar CMF121225; Bill Coon (archtop electric & nylon-string guitars); Burnaby, BC, January & August 2024; All the Things You Are/ Yesterdays/ And I Love Her/ But Beautiful/ I Cover the Waterfront/ Prelude to a Kiss/ East of the Sun/ The Nearness of You/ How Deep is the Ocean/ Nuages/ Fall Rain at Night/ Here’s That Rainy Day/ We’ll Be Together Again; 48:18. cellarlive.bandcamp.com

Jussi Reijonen: sayr: salt thirst (in the studio) & sayr: kaiho (in concert)

     Finnish guitarist and oudist Jussi Reijonen spent a day in the studio to record sayr: salt thirst, a solo performance on steel-string acoustic guitar. Sayr is Arabic for “course” or “motion”, a metaphor for “ a musical pathway unfolding through improvisation in a memory palace of sound,” according to Reijonen’s website. There was just one take of about 40 minutes to take up both sides of an Lp, split into two “suites” titled salt and thirst. At the beginning of salt, his main influences seemed to be John Fahey at his most devotional and Robbie Basho. The music here is meditative, intimate and calming. The next section, sarvi (‘horn’ in English) is fragmented and atomized, though equally intimate, as if the listener is allowed to intrude upon Reijonen’s guitar musings. Then I noticed that in the booklet for this release, Reijonen cites Lightnin’ Hopkins, Ali Farka Touré, Paco de Lucia, Hamza El Din and others “for leaving us trails.” Clearly his influences are broad and partake of many styles and approaches to string instruments. The playing is impeccable, the recording is transparent, and it all makes it easy to get lost in ths music. Totally improvised, and quite lovely as well. Recommended. Unmusic UNCD12025/UNLP12025 ; Jussi Reijonen (performed on steel-string acoustic guitar in one improvised take); Helsinki, Finland, March 1, 2025; salt (sola/ sarvi/ sae/ keinu)/ thirst (koto/ kuori/ kaarna/ säe/ kiedo/ aina/ ennen); 40:00.

    Six months later, Jussi Reijonen brought his guitar and oud to play in the same personal spirit for an audience in a small space in Helsinki. The Black Box seats between 220 and 350 people, depending on the room’s configuration. The name of the venue is perfect for the live improvised nature of sayr: kaiho (roughly “longing” or “nostalgia” in Finnish). The “input” is Reijonen’s vast array of influential music, as filtered through an individual personality. The “output” of course is the music that we’re hearing. But how this happens is a bit of a mystery, perhaps even to Reijonen himself. Two sets of instant compositions that make a stunning matched pair. Unmusic UNCD22025/UNLP22025; Jussi Reijonen (steel-string acoustic guitar, oud*); Helsinki, Finland, September 19, 2025; halla (kuura/ pihka/ suisto/ kaaripeili/ sarvi)/ fes* (irti/ iki/ eri)/ vielä (entä); 42:14. www.jussireijonen.com

Sarah Wilson: Incandescence

     Trumpeter Sarah Wilson’s latest release is the always fascinating and often beautiful Incandescence. Wilson’s original compositions are intricate and develop in idiosyncratic pathways. The perfectly poised sextet of Mara Fox on trombone, Kasey Knudsen on alto sax, John Schott on guitar, Liza Mezzacappa on bass, with Jon Arkin and Tim Bulkley sharing drum duties, gives her smartly crafted arrangements a spirited workout. The combination of the charts and the assured ensemble work gives the aural impression of a larger group than just six pieces. Everyone gets a chance to solo, with the imaginative Wilson and the veteran Bay Area guitarist Schott prominent. But as strong as the solo work is, for me, it’s really about the ensemble passages and the ever-shifting blend of voices. Solo passages turn into duets and lead into further permutations within the ensemble. From the start of Architecture in Space I found myself captivated by Wilson’s music, which seems to invite the listener to come in and explore. Standout tracks include the joyful title track with its high-life feeling, the stately and somber Music Appears to Stand Still, the unusual Lullaby, featuring John Schott in a playfully abstract mood, and the moving Echoes Refrain, which closes the set in style. Highly recommended. 

Brass Tonic; Sarah Wilson (tpt) Mara Fox (tbn) Kasey Knudsen (as) John Schott (g) Liza Mezzacappa (b) Tim Bulkley or Jon Arkin* (d); Oakland, CA, April 13-14, 2024; Architecture in Space/ Incandescence/ Hopeful Sorrow/ Music Appears to Stand Still/ Epilogue/ Jubilant*/ Dancing with Cierra*/ Fully Unfolding*/ Lullaby*/ Trifecta/ Echoes Refrain; 45:11. www.sarahwilsonmusic.com 

Zack Lober: So We Could Live

     Catchy melodies and a profound sense of creative joy infuse So We Could Live, the second release by bassist Zack Lober and his NO FILL3R ensemble. Adding tenor saxophonist Jasper Blom to his trio with trumpeter Suzan Veneman and drummer Sun-Mi Hong increases the range of sonic possibilities while retaining the brisk interplay within the band. With the well-established Blom on hand, Lober acquires not just a new voice in his group, but another composer. Lober and Blom split song-writing duties for this effort, along with one standard. One of the real highlights of the set is Lober’s busy and emotionally fraught solo bass medley of his original Dad, played in a medley with Consuelo Velázquez’s Besame Mucho. Veneman’s clear trumpet sound and her thoughtful and elegantly constructed solos make a nice contrast with Blom’s grittier tenor and more angular approach to his solo excursions. Lober and drummer Hong are beautifully matched, with a seemingly intuitive link that establishes a firm rhythmic foundation for the music to develop. Hong is generally content to keep things moving without calling much attention to herself, but when she does step out on Blom’s hard-bop flavored Feathered Head, she contributes an appropriately vigorous solo. Lober’s title track concludes the session with an inspired composition that leaves this listener with a calm and peaceful feeling. So We Could Live is definitely recommended. 

ZenneZ ZR2025015; Suzan Veneman (tpt) Jasper Blom (ts) Zack Lober (b) Sun-Mi Hong (d); Hilversum, The Netherlands, April 22 & 23, 2025; Joe Type Tune/ Behind a Myth/ The Loose End/ Vignette/ Dad; Besame Mucho/ Landscape/ Feathered Head/ So We Could Live; 37:56. zennezrecords.com

Horace Silver Quintet: Silver In Seattle: Live At The Penthouse

     It may be hard to believe, but there was a time when live jazz was broadcast on the radio from clubs across the country. Zev Feldman, who has produced reissues for many labels over the last decade or so, has presided over the release of music by a number of prominent artists (like Cal Tjader, Cannonball Adderley, and Wynton Kelly with Wes Montgomery) recorded from the stage of Seattle’s Penthouse club. The latest to appear features a short-lived edition of the Horace Silver Quintet. Short-lived because the unit heard on Silver In Seattle: Live At The Penthouse has a front line of trumpeter Woody Shaw and tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson, who were in Silver’s group together only from the spring of 1965 until perhaps the first half of 1966. Drummer Roger Humphries was with Silver from mid-1964 until 1967, with various bassists joining him in the rhythm section. That role was often filled, as it is here, by Teddy Smith. But here’s the thing: if you are a fan of vintage hard bop, especially on the Blue Note label, you love Horace Silver’s music practically by definition, no matter who is on the bandstand. The five tunes here include Henderson’s The Kicker, the well-known Silver originals Song For My Father and The Cape Verdean Blues, which was first recorded a couple of months after the Seattle appearance. The quintet is excellent form on this pair of broadcasts, a week apart. That’s another relic of the past. Bands would frequently appear at the same club for a couple of weeks or even longer. This situation provided the musicians a chance to learn the room and make any necessary adjustments required, with the added benefit of staying in one city and keeping off the road for a spell. Jim Wilke of KING-FM hosted the broadcasts, and he wisely recorded many of them for fans to enjoy decades later. Silver’s blend of buoyant groove and memorable melodies will never go stale, and here’s another vault issue to prove it. Easily recommended. 

Blue Note; Woody Shaw (tpt) Joe Henderson (ts) Horace Silver (p) Teddy Smith (b) Roger Humphries (d); Seattle, WA, August 12 & 19*, 1965; The Kicker/ Song For My Father/ The Cape Verdean Blues/ Sayonara Blues*/ Band introductions*/ No Smokin'*; 53:45. www.bluenote.com

Linda May Han Oh: Strange Heavena

 

    There are times in the life of any music fan when a promised collaboration of favorite musicians will be wildly anticipated, only to end up sounding better on paper then on the stereo. Then there are particularly inspired dates that exceed anything you might expect. The utterly magnificent Strange Heavens by bassist Linda May Han Oh and her trio with trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire and drummer Tyshawn Sorey is one of those successes. Sorey’s simultaneously torrid and sensitive beat, Akinmusire’s broad range of expressive techniques, and Oh’s solidly rooted bass combine for an enchanting musical experience. Oh composed most of the pieces, and arranged Geri Allen’s Skin and Melba Liston’s Just Waiting for the trio. We begin with Portal, kicking off with a tricky bass pattern, drums that sneak up on you, and relaxed trumpet that fills out the sound. As the track proceeds, the trio’s remarkable cohesion, dynamic range, and ease in shifting tempos are revealed as keys to this program’s success. Oh and Sorey have been playing together quite a lot in pianist Vijay Iyer’s much-acclaimed trio, and their experiences there have clearly informed the intensity and commitment they bring to this group. There’s only one piece that exceeds five minutes, the straight-forwardly funky Noise Machinery which clocks in at 5:27. The trio likes to get into the compositions, have their say, and get out quickly, an attitude that promotes concentrated listening. Other highlights include the spacious title track, the hard-driving Paperbirds, and the impassioned musical conversation on Skin. As Oh notes, “Playing in chordless trios is invigorating and rewarding, in that I have freedom when I solo, but I also have a responsibility to make sure there’s clarity in what I’m saying and the story is being told.” The story that is told so well on Strange Heavens evokes the kernel of the creative music experience, when individuality and the collective experience of the group are in perfect balance. Strange Heavens is one of the best albums I’ve heard this year, and it should surprise no one if it rates highly in year-end polls. Highly recommended. 

Biophilia; Ambrose Akinmusire (tpt) Linda May Han Oh (b) Tyshawn Sorey (d); no dates or location specified; Portal/ Strange Heavens/ Living Proof/ Acapella/ The Sweetest Water/ Noise Machinery/ Home/ Paperbirds/ Folk Song/ Work Song/ Skin/ Just Waiting; 48:03. biophiliarecords.com