Ambrose Akinmusire: Honey From A Winter Stone (Nonesuch 0075597905984)
Heart-rending low tones and soul-splitting high notes characterise Ambrose Akinmusire’s trumpet voice. But you don’t get much brass for your buck on his recent records. This ninth release as leader continues Akinmusire’s gradual disappearance from his own music.
His writing is tonally and texturally rich, flooded with meaning. Here it examines the struggles faced by the lead artist specifically and endured by many black men generally. Improvising vocalist Kokayi plays a central role, with Chiquitamagic on synthesizer. Sam Harris and Justin Brown appear on piano and drums respectively, with the Mivos Quartet adding strings. It’s an album of twisting compositions, tied together by a crystal-clear emotional message.
Akinmusire’s trumpet is present to kick things off. His long notes have fuzzy edges. His fast phrases have dog-eared corners. When a solid four-beat rhythm arrives, cello and piano enunciate a choppy melodic shape. Kokayi’s voice is sharp-edged and crisp. He has a knack for shifting the emphasis of his diction, forming and reforming patterns like a horn player.
Brown gets his most prominent role on MYanx. After a one-minute introductory solo, the inventive drummer refuses to step out of the limelight. This is a more menacing and muscular piece that also offers a welcome showcase for pianist Harris, above pealing violins.
Half of the album is taken up by s-.Kinfols. It’s a half-hour track with heaps of extended techniques, from hands inside the piano and mosquito-pitch trumpet calls to goblin-like yelping in the background. There’s an R&B groove, plus an old-soul denouement and much more. A lot can happen in 30 minutes.
Limitless variations are built into this album’s unusual instrumentation and get turned loose across five lengthy, wide-ranging compositions. Akinmusire proved his chops years ago and is now pushing his music to new heights, depths and distances. His sumptuous trumpet tone goes missing for long periods of this record. But when it shows up, it sings.
Nicole McCabe: A Song To Sing (Colorfield Records CF019)
A small cast puts on a big show on this fifth release by Nicole McCabe. The alto saxophonist has a history of hopping across genres, from typical contemporary stuff to avant-garde improvisations via bebop and blues. Her compositions change shape and zigzag around. But it’s music imbued with a strong sense of self that always strives for clarity, even when it flirts with chaos.
McCabe plays various woodwinds, plus synthesizer and percussion. Often, her fulsome sax voice gets doubled or tripled in the mix. She’s joined by Paul Cornish on piano and Justin Brown on drums for three tunes each. Bassist Logan Kane appears four times. That gives McCabe a lot of room to fill on this 11-track album. Clever compositions and studio sleight-of-hand get the job done.
The opening song, Running Backwards, is a duet featuring McCabe and Kane. Clicky electronic pulses give way to a double-voiced melody from saxophone. For an alto player, McCabe has a fluffy tone that sounds closer to a balladeering tenor. This track meanders around with calm confidence and she navigates improvised sections patiently.
San Benito lasts less than 90 seconds, but the piece stands out for its peekabooing reed instruments. McCabe’s writing is more rigid here, yet still difficult to second guess. Listening to this track feels like stepping into a small room with cuckoo clocks covering every inch of the walls.
Sustained synthesizer chords create an immersive introduction on Driving Alone At Night. Then a disco-ballad mood rises, with Brown’s drums commanding more attention. Low-hanging synth clouds return later, although slightly smudged. McCabe clears herself some sonic space before playing an unobscured, undulating closing segment.
Vivid landscapes emerge on A Song To Sing, despite its stripped-back cast. McCabe’s studio skills and many sided musical character pack this record with surprises, but those surprises are never delivered for their own sake. This is music that presents an artist to her audience with great care and clarity – even when it flirts with chaos.
Marta Warelis, Toma Gouband and Sakina Abdou: Hammer, Roll and Leaf (Relative Pitch Records RPR1220)
Grab your electrolyte gels and vitamin D supplements. This record demands focus, strength and stamina. A trio of European improvisers created it by spending several days experimenting in a confined space. That hard graft resulted in an album overflowing with musical messages but short on opportunities to interpret that input. It’s dizzying stuff.
French saxophonist Sakina Abdou hosted the free-playing session at her home. Another French player, Toma Gouband, joins on percussion. Polish pianist Marta Warelis rounds out the group. These are prominent figures on the continental avant scene and their voices are distinctive, expressive and assertive. There’s no slinking out into the corridor here.
Warelis is alone for the first 90 seconds of the album, sounding staccato phrases and leaving big gaps. There’s compelling warmth beneath her angular playing. Abdou arrives, her voice characterised by broad low notes and a laser-concentrated high register. It’s an opening track with a get-to-know-you quality.
Roll The Leaf is a slow-burning piece with percussion in the foreground for long periods. It features an intense passage of siren-like saxophone, like many of the tracks on this release. However, it has the gentlest atmosphere on the record. Listeners need to lean close to their speakers to pick up quietly uttered classical lines and other solid shapes from the piano.
The heaviest use of extended techniques comes on Leaf The Roll. There are giggly noises and squeaky bits. It has an underwater feeling that mixes something playful with something panicky.
Hammer, Roll and Leaf is a product of hard graft and high talent. For one hour, this trio of free players interacts and intersects with endless energy. Together, they produce a superabundance of musical messages that demands focus, strength and stamina from the listener. It’s an act of generosity. It is also a tough challenge. Are you up to the task?
