Aaron Dooley — The International Disassociation of (Centripetal Force/Island House)
This second outing of 2023 from Aaron Dooley’s seven-piece jazz ensemble shimmers and shifts, an indefinite haze of sound breaking, sporadically, for clear flights of melody. Dooley, a bass player out of Denver, plunks a subtle, unsettling undertow, allowing other instruments—pedal steel, saxophone, even drums—to slip to the forefront. All improvised, these cuts absorb multiple points of view into free-flowing inquiry, not muddying them, but softening the edges.
“Passing Tres” for instance weaves slow-moving textures of bass, percussion, saxophone and trumpet together, letting the drums float to foreground with their punches and cymbal shivers (that’s Diego Lucero on kit). It’s a luminous, somewhat indistinct sound with flares of fusion-y futurism, a musing, narcotic drift to it. A skirling saxophone, played by Gabriella Zelek, breaks through like a swimmer to the surface, the bass roiling deep underneath. “What About Being Alone” shifts the focus to Cooper Dickerson, his plaintive surges of pedal steel lifting out of the soundscape, while Zelek’s sax swirls and blows around him. “Reward of Consequence” provides space for Aesop Adams, the guitarist and Dooley’s partner in Osmium House, to let things rip.
The disc’s first three cuts are relatively concise. The last three stretch to wider horizons. “Westbound Alameda” does this in a lyrical, laid-back way, an elastic foundation of bass and struck percussion supporting flares of trumpet (Gavin Susalski), slithery runs of sax and, again, that gorgeous pedal steel. “Funeral of Fireflies” abstracts country pedal steel into abstract shapes, letting the thump and pound of percussion push it away from conventional twang. Adams, here, executes whistle-high harmonics that cut through the haze and Zuri Barnes sings warmly, evocatively in the background. It sounds like a slightly countrified version of Laraaji’s transcendental bliss. Dooley’s band is rooted in jazz, but not confined by it. The final track with its stand-up bass and swaggering horn line sounds the most like big band swing. It also allows the wildest bouts of brass improvisation, with Susalski arcing off into the stratosphere from a swaying, grounding foundation.
It's not easy to get even a couple of people on one page, let alone seven. These tracks show a still relatively new configuration of people finding their way together, making a shared path and diverging from it.
Frank Denyer — The Fish that became the Sun (Songs of the Dispossessed) (Another Timbre)
Composer Frank Denyer has two nearly simultaneous releases out through Another Timbre that, while not too disparate, reveal separate sides of the artist. The first, The Boundaries of Intimacy, explores hushed sounds in a chamber setting. Denyer's musicians whisper their way through overheard conversations. The Fish that became the Sun (Songs of the Dispossessed) works on a larger scale, employing various ensembles, choirs, child vocalists, percussionists, and “over eight garbage instruments” for a grand statement.
The whole piece presumably works best in person. Denyer gives considerable space in his liner notes to explaining the arrangement of the musicians on stage, and the design suggests a recording run through quadrophonic sound might actually pay off. As it is, the recording still reveals depth and distance. The cornets of the album's closing might or might not truly sound “outside” (in opposition to the basses in the room with us), but they remain eerily apart. After 45 minutes of sandpaper blocks, ocarinas, and wine glasses, the cornets could triumphantly overpower the other musicians; instead they function as the ghosts outside the machine.
Inside, Denyer continues his work of turning unlikely instruments and non-instruments into the source of his novel sounds. Essayist Michael Turnbull refers to “Denyer's detritus” instruments,” and the phrase sticks. The piece's title suggests some sort of ancient myth, but the music itself sounds like trash reinvented. Denyer provides moments of musical stability — the violin and the contrabassoon make sense because they're from our world. Other instruments feel like a vision of something else; it's not dark enough to be post-apocalyptic, but it's post-something, the only possible explanation for the detritus made into art.
If we're left with “post- something,” then Denyer has succeeded in making us question the sounds. The Fish avoids linearity but it moves forward all the same, collecting and building as it goes. At the same time, it remains a persistent puzzle, full of questions. By the time children's voices address a “beetle in the corner,” we're prepared. We don't know what the beetle's story is, but its orphaned presence makes sense just the same, and its very existence makes it worthy of song. That Denyer moves from that section's playground to a dungeon only makes sense in his uneasy world as it eventually settles into thoughtful silence.
Hannah Kendall's Even sweetness can scratch the throat (2023), from our premiere performance by Wavefield Ensemble. This will be released as part of her upcoming album later this year!
Brian Lynch Big Band 62nd Annual GRAMMY Nomination
Congrats to Brian Lynch Big Band on their 62nd Annual GRAMMY Awards® nomination under the Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album and Best Instrumental Composition categories with their Album The Omni-American Book Club. So many talented artists announced by the @RecordingAcad @RecordingAcademy
as nominees for the 62nd #GRAMMYs. Can't wait to celebrate together!
The Recording Academy® represents the voices of performers, songwriters, producers, engineers, and allmusic professionals. Dedicated to ensuring the recording arts remain a thriving part of our shared cultural heritage, the Academy honors music's history while investing in its future through the GRAMMY Museum®, advocates on behalf of music creators, supports music people in times of need through MusiCares®, and celebrates artistic excellence through the GRAMMY Awards®— music's only peer-recognized accolade and highest achievement. As the world's leading society of music professionals, we work year-round to foster a more inspiring world for creators.
The GRAMMY Awards® airs Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020 at 8:00 p.m. ET / 5:00 p.m. PT on the CBS Television Network
Christopher Zuar Orchestra - Musings - some wonderful arrangements here!
The mind has a tendency to wander – the artist just knows to follow
where it leads. Whether struggling with personal issues, searching for
one's place in life, reflecting on loved ones or simply observing life
as it passes by the nearest window, one’s muse can take many forms,
all capable of leading to inspiration. For his new recording, Musings, composer/arranger Christopher Zuar incorporates a variety of emotional and musical sources to create a program of highly original, self-reflective and expressive compositions performed by an extraordinary ensemble. The recording will be released April 1, 2016 – Zuar’s 29th birthday.
Dave Pietro, Ben Kono, Jason Rigby, Lucas Pino & Brian Landrus - woodwinds
Tony Kadleck, Jon Owens, Mat Jodrell & Matt Holman - trumpets
Tim Albright, Matt McDonald, Alan Ferber & Max Seigel - trombones
Pete McCann - guitar
Frank Carlberg - piano, Fender Rhodes
John Hébert - bass
Mark Ferber - drums
Rogerio Boccato - percussion
Jo Lawry - voice
Christopher Zuar - composer, arranger & conductor
