Articles by Anya Wassenberg
George Crotty: Chronotope
by Anya Wassenberg
Cellist George Crotty excels at blending various elements into a unique musical brew. On Chronotope, a cross-cultural mix of South American, Arabic, Indian, and contemporary jazz idioms amount to a stream of genre-blurring invention.On the opening tune, “Island Incidental," the sounds of water mix with acoustic guitar-like accompaniment, with results that are atmospheric as well as melodic. Shimmering cymbals crisscross a moody cello line. “Chronotope," the title track, takes a Middle Eastern rhythm and melody into psychedelic improvisation ...
Continue ReadingLynne Arriale: A Suite Of Hope In Chaotic Times
by Anya Wassenberg
Pianist/composer Lynne Arriale's The Lights Are Always On (Challenge Records, 2022) is a suite of compositions that reflects on the tumultuous period of history we live in. Through the chaos, though, she offers a message on hope and the indomitable nature of the human spirit. “The theme of the album was inspired by an interview that I heard with Dr. Prakash Gatta, who is a physician who was treating COVID patients," Arriale explains. She had been struck, in ...
Continue ReadingBenjamin Deschamps: Augmented Reality
by Anya Wassenberg
A dynamic approach, delivered with crisp modern panache, characterizes saxophonist, clarinetist & composer Benjamin Deschamps' Augmented Reality. For Deschamps, a greater reliance on an electric sound marks a considered departure from earlier work. A sense of forward momentum pervades all the tracks on the album, notably anchored by Al Bourgeois on the drumkit. Deschamps' and his sax lead off the first track, “Unfinished Business," a song with an aggressive drive that showcases the ensemble's strengths-- virtuosic technical precision, ...
Continue ReadingTriio: Triio
by Anya Wassenberg
Blending composition and free improvisation on their eponymous release, Triio—a sextet led by Toronto-based double bassist/composer Alex Fournier—offer a distinctive sound, whimsical track titles, and a surprise around every corner. “ESD" is a vibrant track that opens with a trippy piano line which uses the darker tones of the lower octaves to moody effect. When the rest of the sextet join in, they weave into a complex mesh of sound. There's a nice sense of momentum through the ...
Continue ReadingIn Orbit: in Orbit
by Anya Wassenberg
In Orbit--the group, the song and the album--have a groovy 70s retro kind of feel, crashing chords, melody and dissonance, all to a disco beat. High on energy, with an emphasis on danceable grooves, In Orbit is a cross-border group with a core of Canadian guitarist Michael Occhipinti and American saxophonist Jeff Coffin, who shared composing duties on the album. Tom Reynolds adds tasteful and understated piano to the mix, with the strong combination of Felix Pastorius on ...
Continue ReadingIvan Mazuze: Moya
by Anya Wassenberg
Contemporary Western jazz idioms blend seamlessly with influences that span the globe on Moya by Mozambican-Norwegian multi-instrumentalist and composer Ivan Mazuze. With a cast of collaborators specialized in a range of musical traditions, the results are multi-layered--offering both the familiar and the unfamiliar. Mazuze's playing is expressive; tone is given as much importance as virtuosity and speed. He composes all the tracks on the release, musically based on elements of various African and Indian musical traditions, with the ...
Continue ReadingJay Danley: Ethio Jazz Volume One
by Anya Wassenberg
Complex rhythms and relentless grooves are what set music from the so-called golden era of Ethiopian jazz apart, and it's that essential and even hypnotic energy that guitarist and composer Jay Danley captures in Ethio Jazz Volume One. Arguably the most important--certainly the most recognizable--element of classic Ethiopian jazz is its bass-heavy groove patterns. In the hot music scene of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from the 1950s to the mid-1970s, musicians fused traditional Ethiopian music with North American jazz, ...
Continue ReadingJazz Martyrs: Along Similar Lines
by Anya Wassenberg
On Along Similar Lines. So-Cal-based drummer and bandleader Paul Marangoni and a band of veteran musicians offer a tight blend of musicianship, and a high-energy approach that shifts tempos and moods easily. The recording has a nice, fat sound, and production values that capture the music with a sense of the live energy between the players. Marangoni started the band in 2011, and he contributed two original pieces to this release. One of them, “Prava," is a track ...
Continue ReadingCarlos Henrique Pereira: There And Here
by Anya Wassenberg
Multi-instrumentalist Carlos Henrique Pereira offers up an avant take on Brazilian jazz in There And Here. The tracks, all written by Pereira, were inspired by his native Brazil, and many, like “O Choro Do Bebê," directly reference traditional genres (a choro being a traditional song form). Contemporary jazz with an edge of dissonance and deconstruction is the matrix that holds the various threads and influences together in this collection. The evocative compositions are brought to life by polished ...
Continue ReadingAlex Lefaivre Quartet: YUL
by Anya Wassenberg
Bassist and composer Alex Lefaivre's YUL is named after the airport code for the Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport in Montreal, Canada, and the liner notes say the release was inspired by his home town and its cosmopolitan vibe. Like the fun-loving city, the album's sound is contemporary and imaginative. YUL is characterized by creative musical chops and a strong sense of composition that create a narrative out of each song. It's contemporary jazz with a few unexpected ...
Continue Reading
