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Arman Sangalang: Quartet
by Jack Bowers
Chicago-based tenor saxophonist Arman Sangalang, still in his mid-20s, makes his recording debut with Quartet, wherein his talented four-member ensemble uses delicate textures and shadings in lieu of heated fire and brimstone to amplify its even-tempered musical purpose. That was clearly Sangalang's idea, as he wrote all save one of the album's ten by and large tranquil themes (chaperoning the lone standard, Johnny Burke and Jimmy Van Heusen's “Polka Dots and Moonbeams"). Sangalang's unaccompanied intro to that ...
Continue ReadingRebecca DuMaine: Someday, Something
by Richard J Salvucci
It is odd that Rebecca DuMaine should have chosen “Alone Again (Naturally)" to decorate a pandemic-influenced recording. Quite a few musicians have, almost perforce, referred to the circumstances of the Covid months, but this song can be oddly compelling for someone who remembers the contrasting emotional environment in which it was recorded in 1972. It was about personal loss, and powerfully so, but certainly not about widespread disappearances, a modern version of a plague year. DuMaine's matter-of-fact delivery here is ...
Continue ReadingDave Miller: Old Door Phantoms
by Glenn Astarita
Guitarist Dave Miller has been all over the jazz, rock and improvisational map, performing with the progressive rock band Algernon and stints with Ted Sirota's Rebel Souls amid collaborations with many artists for numerous record labels. However, Old Door Phantoms is Miller's his first solo outing, where he draws upon numerous jazz, pop and rock influences. It's an explosive set recorded at famed producer Steve Albini's Chicago studio, Electrical Audio. According to the press release, [the audio] “has ...
Continue ReadingLena Bloch: Feathery
by Alberto Bazzurro
Moscovita di nascita ma giramondo per natura dopo un primo trasferimento alla volta di Israele datato 1990, Lena Bloch è una solida tenorista formatasi studiando, fra gli altri, con Yusef Lateef, Joe Lovano e in fondo più di tutti Lee Konitz, che l'ha introdotta all'estetica tristaniana, forgiando per sempre il suo linguaggio (e la sua pronuncia, la sua sonorità), che si avverte oggi inequivocabilmente imparentato con quello del grande Warne Marsh. Per questo che risulta essere il ...
Continue ReadingLena Bloch: Feathery
by Hrayr Attarian
Saxophonist Lena Bloch's Feathery is a cerebral album laced with a mature, tender passion. It is also a collaborative effort with her sidemen contributing to the creative process democratically while maintaining their individuality.Drummer Billy Mintz's thunderous beats and crashing cymbals set an expectant and dramatic mood on Guitarist Dave Miller's solemn and ethereal “Rubato." Miller's haunting almost baroque explorations add a mystical touch while bassist Cameron Brown's bowed and reverberating strings maintain the western classical sensibility while meandering ...
Continue ReadingLena Bloch: Feathery
by Dan McClenaghan
Russian-born tenor saxophonist Lena Bloch carries a cool burning torch for the music of saxophonist Warne Marsh and the Lennie Tristano school of jazz. For Feathery, her debut CD as a leader, Bloch has assembled a quartet that can rival the loose and interactive and spontaneous ensembles of alto saxophonist Lee Konitz--a Tristano acolyte and Bloch's friend and mentor. Like the marvelous Konitz outing, Live at Birdland (ECM Record, 2011), where the saxophonist was joined by top notch ...
Continue ReadingLena Bloch: Feathery
by Jack Bowers
On one level, the Russian-born, New York-based tenor saxophonist Lena Bloch's debut album is like stepping into a time machine; on the other hand, one could argue that her approach to music in general and jazz in particular is timeless. Foremost among Bloch's influences are Lee Konitz, Warne Marsh and Lennie Tristano, and the mood on Feathery clearly reflects those associations. In fact, the word “feathery" could serve as an apt description of Bloch's style, which is for the most ...
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