Michael Vlatkovich 5 Winds: Five Of Us

One of my favorite aspects of the first wave of jazz recordings in stereo, around 1957 and 1958, was the direct relationship between where musicians were positioned physically in the studio and the spatial dimensions of the finished product. When, for example, the baritone saxophone player was at the far left, he was also on that side of your listening room. The peripatetic and imaginative trombonist Michael Vlatkovich creates different musical situations for himself wherever he goes. Five Of Us is new from the innovative pfMENTUM label, source of many Vlatkovich projects, and the music is presented in that old school style. The ensemble is Michael Vlatkovich 5 Winds, with a line-up, from left to right, of the great David Mott on baritone saxophone, Lina Allemano on trumpet, Mr. Vlatkovich in the dead center with his trombone, Nicole Rampersaud on trumpet, and Peter Lutek on tenor saxophone and frankenpipe, which I discovered is “an attempt at converting a traditional Highland bagpipe into a MIDI controller.” (Lutek also expertly recorded, mixed, and mastered the disc.) Vlatkovich, who wrote all the pieces, authors some of the most cheerfully odd music you’ve ever heard, as you might guess from a glance at some of his song titles. The first nine tracks comprise the 5 Winds Suite, and there’s so much beauty packed into the melody and arrangement of Part 1: Six, the listener is ready for anything, secure in the feeling that whatever the 5 Winds throw at you will make you happy. And so it is, for more than an hour. It seems that limitations, particularly self-imposed ones, often lead to creative breakthroughs. Three brass and two reeds is an unusual combination, but a potent one when the players are as self-assured and accomplished as Vlatkovich and his partners. Key attractions are the leader’s limber and expressive trombone, the sheer beauty of the melody of For You, the gorgeous brass wail on a piece like Part 5: Five, Mott’s creamy baritone, and Vlatkovich’s inventive charts. I’ve enjoyed quite a lot of Vlatkovich’s music over the years, but Five Of Us might be his best outing of all. Heartily recommended. pfMENTUM PFMCD130; Lina Allemano, Nicole Rampersaud (tpt) Michael Vlatkovich (tbn) Peter Lutek (ts, frankenpipe) David Mott (bari s); Toronto, ON, June 3, 2015; Please Help Me I’m Blowing Bubbles/ 5 Winds Suite (Part 1: Six; Part 2: Twenty-Six; Part 3: Nineteen -> No. 7, Part 4: Zero; Part 5: Five; Part 6: One; Part 7: Twenty-Four; Part 8: Nineteen; Part 9: Ninety-Three)/ For You/ Natural Identical Flowers/ People in My Wallet/ (Alt), The Recognition of Rhythm in the Life of Worldly Things/ What Question Did the Man with Seven Ears and Three Eyes Ask the Plastic Surgeon?/ For the Protection of Yourself and Others You’ll Need to Wear Your Space Suit; 64:44. pfmentum.com