Without realising it, this month has been a treat for someone who appreciates the sound of the bass. I have the new releases from Avishai Cohen, Kristin Korb and Giuseppe Venezia in my pile for November and I can’t wait to jump into the deep lows that the instrument offers. I start with…
Giuseppe Venezia: I’ve Been Waiting For You (GleAM Records AM7031)
Ferrari, Giorgio Armani, Lamborghini and Gucci have two things in common; all of them are Italian and all of them are as cool as a cucumber fresh from the fridge. You can add another name to the list: Giuseppe Venezia. Ok, well he might not be cool (I couldn’t possibly judge because I don’t know him personally) but the brand of jazz he oversees on the seven-track album that I currently have playing certainly is! There are hints of Dave Brubeck on title track I’ve Been Waiting For You, John Coltrane-style sax on Blue Bird and a more contemporary feel on closing track The Shortest Story. Did I mention a bass solo track that opens the album? I didn’t, but I will – it’s a wonderful introduction to the backbone of the album.
When a bassist is the chief of the band there is a worry that the bass might sit high in the mix, but this isn’t the case here, the songs are served perfectly, the bass is exactly where it needs to be, propping up the rhythm with tasteful moments but when the spotlight turns towards it, it has its moment. There is a lovely warmth to the whole production and the bass comes across like a trusted old friend. This is a tight band; one you could stumble across in a basement jazz club in Europe where the suits are sharp, and the cocktails are raised to toast the music. It’s a really good collection of music which, although rooted in bebop, makes the most of the opportunity to branch out. Brilliant.
Calgaréal: Vanishing Point (independent release)
The music of Calgaréal is a combination of the styles of Calgary and Montréal. I’m not familiar with either musical style so I press play with a little trepidation but on first impressions, it’s marvellous! You have the drama and romance of Celtic music – the opening part of Cercle is straight from the postcard images of rural Ireland where the stout flows alongside stories and arguments while the whistles, flutes and bodhran plays; but midway through the track we’re transported to another world, a world where gypsy jazz rules the cobbles before a mixture of the two worlds meet and, surprisingly and pleasingly, the music melds together. It’s brilliant.
I’ve said it before, but I love how wide the genre of jazz is. It welcomes anything into its arms and as long as it sounds good, no one questions it. This album repeatedly throws everything on its head. Just when you think you’ve got the puzzle solved, it throws in a track like La Soupe with a straight drumbeat, cool bass riff and vocals before we’re thrown into a violin solo section that could be playing beneath a scene from Les Miserables! What?! Il Lago Accento drifts into a straighter jazz groove (the double bass is the star of the show here and listen out for the John Coltrane style sax solo) proving again that you never feel sure in what direction the music will go. I’m so pleased I was given this album to review: it’s such a deeply layered album, with so many influences whirling around, yet it still knows its place and works very, very well.
Avishai Cohen: Brightlight (Naïve/Believe BLV8583)
If the double bass was the star of the show on Vanishing Point, it seems a good time to move onto one of modern jazz’s most celebrated double bass players. Avishai Cohen is an influence on countless bassists, and he balances great musicianship with the ability to write great music. His latest release, Brightlight, is a treat. It’s everything that you expect from an artist of this standing, here with pianist Guy Moskovich and drummer Roni Kaspi and also featuring saxophonist Yuval Drabkin.
We get differing time signatures, Middle Eastern influences and, of course, the virtuosity on bass. The instrument sounds beautiful here, with deep lows and pinchy, punchy trebles (just listen to the bass openings on Hope or Liebestraum No3 for how easy the instrument seems). At times the album is energetic and powerful, but this is countered with moments of calm such as tracks Hitragut and Dabkin, the latter cruising along like a boat on a river. There’s even time for a groovy vocal cover of the classic Summertime which sounds like it was recorded in 1960s San Francisco, the pianist and drummer going full throttle. The album is fantastic, the band is fantastic and is led so powerfully by a modern great.
Kristin Korb: Sweet Dreams (Giant Sheep Music GSM0932)
This album can be summarised in very simple terms – it’s a collection of the greatest hits of Eurythmics in a jazz style. That summary will attract those curious to hear how you can turn synth-heavy 80s pop music into jazz, but might also have people turning away. If my opinion counts for anything, those turning away are missing out. Things just kind of go well together. For example, the Porter-style lyrics of There Must Be An Angel (“I walk into an empty room and suddenly my heart goes boom”) fit perfectly, so why not just go with it? Of course, a lot of the success here is down to Korb herself, she plays with the material, weaving her way through the music beautifully – Here Comes The Rain Again is a smoky, sultry and bluesy ode and as far from the original as you can get but it’s a highlight.
I should also mention that as well as being a fine singer (I imagine there have been comparisons to Diana Krall made in the past) Korb is an accomplished double bassist providing the muscle on the album. Her walking line on Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves is superb, swinging and singing in equal measure and giving a solid rhythmic feel to build upon. I really like this album, and I think some of this comes down to the fact that it doesn’t feel like a covers album. Instead, it feels like the songs were used as an ignition, something to build from and create on rather than doing a chord-by-chord copy. I can see myself reaching for this album again over the next few months and probably doing some digging into the discography of Kristin Korb. If this is what she does, then sign me up!
Scott Colley, Edward Simon, Brian Blade: Three Visitors (GroundUP)
Offering a change of pace from everything that has come before, this is a delicate and exceptional album. It’s immersive and powerful stuff, an album to drift away with, one that requires a dedicated 50 minutes or so of your time with nothing else going on. Put down your phone, close the door, find a good chair (and an even better sound system) and let go…
This is a trio – piano, bass and drums – at the very peak of their skills. They’re supportive, intuitive and clearly have been playing together long enough to second guess each other, and this really shines through. The album never takes a wrong step. We start with Nostalgia, a track that opens with a poignant piano part before widening the picture and increasing the drama. It’s a powerful start but one that acts as a hint of things to come. The following tracks – Kintsukoroi, Ellipsis and The Thicket build until we reach You Are, a seven-minute track that displays everything that is good about this trio. It’s grand, rising and falling from passionate strings into a bass solo, then from piano solo into a reflective quiet before rising again for more energy from a saxophone solo and finally ending with vocals. Love it.
I would say that I’m a so-so fan of jazz trios, some I like, some I don’t. I often feel that something is missing in the bare setup of a trio but what Colley, Simon and Blade do here is use the trio setup as a foundation. There are extra ingredients added, of course (e.g., the sax, the strings, the vocals) but even when it is just the nucleus of the band it never feels bare. I guess this is the benefit of knowing each other so well, knowing when to add that extra beat or note. This is a superb album played by superb musicians.