The Listening Guide
🎶 The listening guide: five albums, released during the past twelve months, chosen around a weekly theme 🎶
This week’s theme is quartets. Trumpeter Bruce Harris strikes an elegant balance between traditional and contemporary jazz styles on his sophomore album, Soundview. Leading a quartet which features Sullivan Fortner on piano, David Wong on bass, and Aaron Kimmel on drums, the Wynton Marsalis-touted composer and leader covers a couple of standards, pieces by greats like Gigi Gryce and Hank Mobley, as well as presenting his original compositions. Cologne-based quartet BÖRT consists of leader and chief composer Lukas Keller on bass, saxophonist and clarinet player Theresia Philipp, pianist Jonathan Hofmeister, and drummer Jan Philipp. Their new album HANA shows off the virtuosity of the players, with tunes like the title track combining time signatures, and Nach Norden, which displays Theresia Philipp’s expressive playing. AURA hail from Australia and comprise Flora Carbo on alto saxophone, Audrey Powne on trumpet, Helen Svoboda on bass, and Kyrie Anderson on drums. The group met at the Banff Centre's renowned workshop in Jazz and Improvised music in 2019, directed by Vijay Iyer and Tyshawn Sorey. They recorded this debut project at the Telus Recording Studio at the Banff Centre. Their musical approach ‘pays homage to the great chord-less jazz quartets of Ornette Coleman and Sonny Rollins, while drawing on contemporary Australian artists like Andrea Keller, The Necks and the Australian Art Orchestra.’ Like AURA, Nortonk operate without a chord-producing instrument: Thomas Killackey playing trumpet, Gideon Forbes the alto saxophone, Stephen Pale the bass, and Steven Crammer the drums. The group recorded their eponymous debut album in early 2020 and ‘take inspiration from that great lineage of iconic, free-minded jazz bands without a harmony-establishing chordal instrument.’ Pianist Haeun Joo completes our list with her first album of fantastic original compositions, entitled We Will Find. Joo, who plays piano and sings on the recording, is joined by Matt Holman on trumpet and flugelhorn, Doug Weiss on bass, Ronen Itzik on drums. You can support each of these projects on Bandcamp!
Album of the Week
Our NQ Jazz album of the week is the latest offering from multi-instrumentalist, composer, and producer Nat Birchall. The Greater Manchester-based artist plays all of the instruments on Ancient Africa, including tenor and soprano saxophones, bass clarinet, bass, drums and percussion. With each of the six track titles, Birchall pays tribute to the African continent—which he describes as “the root of everything ... the source of civilization, art, music, you name it”—plus the great writer, Malidoma Patrice Somé. With rich horn arrangements, uncomplicated piano parts, and lyrical solos, it’s another heart-warming LP from Birchall’s impressive discography. You can support the record on Bandcamp!
Classic Album
Our NQ Jazz classic album this week is House On Elm Street, a soulful late sixties offering from pianist Harold Johnson’s Sextet +. Johnson’s piano playing and arrangements are melodic, sensitive and accessible, with great musicianship on display and an inviting, homely feel. The touching tune Dolores has a Take Five feel but uses 6/8 time, with beautiful woodwinds from David Crawford and an assortment of saxophonists. You can track the album down on platforms like Discogs.