Iro Haarla, Ulf Krokfors & Barry Altschul: Around Again: The Music Of Carla Bley

In a perfect balance of artists and repertoire, the trio of Iro Haarla, Ulf Krokfors & Barry Altschul offers a dozen compositions by Carla Bley on their luminous Around Again: The Music Of Carla Bley. Drummer Altschul, of course, played some of these tunes when he was in the Paul Bley trio which introduced Closer, Batterie, And Now, the Queen, and Start in the mid-Sixties. That was at the beginning of this master drummer’s career, and a lifetime of wide-ranging experiences make him uniquely suited for this project. Pianist Haarla and bassist Krokfors have performed together frequently over the years in a number of different musical situations. Their intuitive interactions come as no surprise, and the supremely musical Altschul seems to be immediately on their wavelength, with the entire program of a dozen songs recorded on a single day in the studio. The TUM label’s extensive documentation for this session includes revealing statements by the members of the trio, along with biographical notes and comments on the songs and their histories. While it’s a nice bonus to have all those words bringing an added dimension to the enjoyment of this disc, it’s the impeccable playing and the obvious affection of the musicians for one another and for Carla Bley’s music that make Around Again an important and affecting 67 minutes. One of the best releases of the year, absolutely recommended.
TUM 054; Iro Haarla (p) Ulf Krokfors (b) Barry Altschul (d); Helsinki, Finland, November 11, 2015; Closer/ Vashkar/ Batterie/ Ida Lupino/ Around Again/ Olhos de Gato/ Intermission Music/ King Korn/ And Now, the Queen/ Útviklingssang/ Start/ Jesus Maria; 67:01. www.tumrecords.com

The OGJB Quartet: Bamako

The OGJB Quartet is a new band with four long-established musicians. The initials stand for saxophonist Oliver Lake, cornetist Graham Haynes, bassist Joe Fonda, and drummer Barry Altschul. As Fonda tells the story in the lengthy and copiously annotated booklet for their initial release, Bamako, his original plan was a trio with Altschul and Lake. When Kunle Mwanga of Earth Art Productions suggested adding Haynes to make it a quartet, Fonda and Altschul thought it was a great idea. Judging by this impressive debut, it seems they made the right choice. The program revisits previously recorded compositions, including Altschul’s Be Out S’Cool and Just a Simple Song, and Lake’s Stick and Is It Alright?, adds a couple of new tunes, and concludes with two examples of balanced and friendly group improvising, totaling about 10 minutes. Fonda and Altschul have performed together frequently, first in the FAB Trio with Billy Bang, and then The 3DomFactor with Jon Irabagon. These connections, and many more, are explored in Lawrence Donohue-Greene’s richly informative liner essay, and that web of relationships is evident in the “perfect synergy” that Joe Fonda finds within this unit. Haynes and Lake blend their instrumental voices with great care, with a range that extends from their peacefully entwined solos on Just a Simple Song to the more jagged and aggressive call and response on Lake’s Is It Alright? Their most unexpected collaboration is Haynes’ musical setting for Lake reading his poem Broken In Parts, with the composer on dousn’gouni, Fonda on bass, and Altschul on mbira. All told, an inspired and inspiring release. Warmly recommended.
TUM CD 050; Graham Haynes (cnt; dousn’gouni on *) Oliver Lake (as, ss; recitation on *) Joe Fonda (b) Barry Altschul (d, perc; mbira on *); Listen to Dr. Cornel West/ Bamako*/ Be Out S’Cool/ Stick/ GS #2/ Just a Simple Song/ Is It Alright?/ 3 Phrase 09/ OGJB #2/ OGJB #1; 63:17. www.tumrecords.com