Laterst releases reviewed
JOHN HOLLENBECK & JAZZ BIGBAND GRAZ
Joys & Desires
Intuition
*****
Drummer, composer and orchestrator Hollenbeck continues his creative subversion of the norms of big band jazz with this remarkable and superbly performed album. Joys & Desires has perhaps an even greater sense of unity than last year's A Blessing, even though the band is about the same size and even shares one piece (Abstinence). Since Hollenbeck draws his inspiration for these seven pieces (including the three-part title suite) from poetry, painting, and experiences both personal and musical, it's remarkable that this unity is not so much strictly musical as emotional. His voicings are unique, often on the slenderest of harmonic bases, and while each performance seems to spring, full-blown, from the moment, repeated listening reveals rigorous control. Remarkable and utterly unlike anyone else's music. http://uk.hmboutique.com
PAUL MOTIAN
Garden Of Eden
ECM
****
Motian leads Chris Cheek (tenor and soprano), Tony Malaby (tenor), Steve Cardenas, Ben Monder, Jakob Bro (guitars) and Jerome Harris (bass) to deliver music of great charm. Using seven of his originals, one each by Cheek and Cardenas, two Mingus pieces (Pithecanthropus Erectus, Goodbye Pork Pie Hat), one Monk (Evidence), one Parker (Cheryl) and one Kern (Bill), the septet produces, despite the instrumentation, group improvisations whose lack of clutter typifies the band's mutual responsiveness. Solos, where they happen, are kept brief, to be absorbed into the common discourse. There's a caveat: the longer pieces (most of those named) are at times sublime, but the shorter performances, though attractive, seem merely to scratch the surface of what this group is capable of. www.musicconnection.org.uk
CHRIS CHEEK
Blues Cruise
Fresh Sound
*****
Cheek, on tenor (mostly), alto and soprano, is backed on this latest release by the "old" Brad Mehldau trio with Larry Grenadier (bass) and Jorge Rossy (drums); the new trio, with Jeff Ballard on drums, will be here next Sunday. On a programme of deceptively simple but atmospheric originals by the leader, plus some surprising and unusual choices - Flamingo, Song of India, The Sweetheart Tree, a little-known Ellington (Low Key Lightly) - he brings a gentle, ironic, wry voice to bear which is both effective and distinctive. The trio offer totally sympathetic support, with Mehldau particularly sensitive to the illuminating clarity that both his role and the music require. The result is yet another example of Cheek's superior talents, especially as a ballad player.
