Mondo Jazz

LE NUOVE USCITE E.C.M. DI APRILE

Fly: Year Of The Snake (ECM 2235)
(www.ecmrecords.com/Catalogue/ECM/2200/2235)

Mark Turner tenor saxophone
Larry Grenadier double-bass
Jeff Ballard drums

On its second ECM CD, recorded in New York last year, Fly continues to overturn the conventions of the sax/bass/drums trio. Mark Turner, Larry Grenadier and Jeff Ballard share freedom and responsibilities in a democratically-constituted band of equals, which is never about soloist-and-accompaniment. More often coolheaded and thoughtful than incantatory, the trio’s music subtly interweaves improvisation and composition; there are some deep conversations, and reflections on jazz history, taking place inside it. All three members contribute tunes to the programme of “Year of the Snake”, which builds on the achievements of the earlier “Sky and Country” (“Clever, expert, 100% engaged, and very musical” – The Guardian). 

ECM Player "Year Of The Snake"

Steve Kuhn / Steve Swallow / Joey Baron: Wisteria (ECM 2257)
(www.ecmrecords.com/Catalogue/ECM/2200/2257)

Steve Kuhn piano
Steve Swallow bass
Joey Baron drums

Wisdom and wistfulness are intertwined in “Wisteria”, whose title track, written by Art Farmer, takes us back to the early 60s, when both Steve Kuhn and Steve Swallow sang softly of the blues in the trumpeter-flugelhornist’s band. They’ve shared a lot of history since then. Swallow played on Kuhn’s classic “Trance”; Kuhn played on Swallow’s “Home” and “So There”. Drummer Joey Baron has been heard with Kuhn on ECM discs including “Remembering Tomorrow” and the dazzling tribute disc “Mostly Coltrane”. This new album takes a fresh look at several pieces heard in Kuhn’s orchestral “Promises Kept” collection, but alongside the aching balladry there is also some driving hard bop (on “A Likely Story”) , a brace of Swallow tunes (“Dark Glasses”), Carla Bley’s gospel-tinged “Permanent Wave” and the Brazilian “Romance” by Dori Caymmi… In all, a varied programme that the trio seems to sail through effortlessly, master musicians beyond the need to prove anything, creating the agreeable illusion that this demanding music is playing itself.

ECM Player "Wisteria"

John Abercrombie Quartet: Within A Song (ECM 2254)
(www.ecmrecords.com/Catalogue/ECM/2200/2254)

John Abercrombie guitar
Joe Lovano tenor saxophone
Drew Gress double-bass
Joey Baron drums

“Within A Song” celebrates the spirit of discovery that illuminated the jazz of the 1960s, as John Abercrombie declares his musical loyalties in a quartet album that pays tribute to a range of early influences including Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Ornette Coleman, Sonny Rollins and Jim Hall. “This was the music that spoke to me. When I heard it, it was like finding a new home.” The group assembled especially for this production, recorded at New York’s Avatar Studios in September 2011 features tenorist Joe Lovano as the optimal partner for Abercrombie. Together they mine deep feelings from these modern jazz classics. 

ECM Player "Within A Song"

L'etichetta di Monaco nel suo pluridecennale percorso ha raccolto come è normale sia critiche che consensi. E' comunque indubbio che Manfred Eicher abbia portato una visione personale all'interno del mercato discografico: alta qualità di incisione, copertine dall'impronta immediatamente riconoscibile, grande attenzione al suono, tanto da farne quasi una filosofia.

Come in tutti i grandi cataloghi ci sono poi capolavori, opere interessanti, opere minori e qualche volta anche tanta noia. Succede perfino alla Blue Note e ai giorni nostri, e l'etichetta americana è dichiaratamente una etichetta jazz tout-court, mentre ECM è sempre stata sicuramente più ibrida e crossover.

Questi ultimi tre album non credo rientrino tra le incisioni da catalogare alla voce "noia", i primi ascolti di Fly e Abercrombie sono molto apprezzabili, intanto è possibile per tutti un antipasto grazie all'ECM Player.