Oliver Lutz: Calamari Fantasy (self-release)
Aside from having possibly the best album title so far this year, Oliver Lutz seems to mix 70s euro-synth with dreamy horns and the result is laid-back jazz that could accompany any holiday playlist over the summer. Immediately enjoyable, the title track will lower your blood pressure, settle your BPM and have you nodding your head for the duration. It’s a perfect curtain-raiser to the album and welcomes you to songs like Stargazer, with its tight drum pattern, Paffee Mountain, which is part South American rhythms and part Herbie Hancock’s Head Hunters, before the return of chilled head-nodding with Lea’s Dance. This track reminds me of mid- to late 1990s Marcus Miller (particularly his albums The Sun Don’t Lie and Tales) in the way the synth often overlays brass and the music is groove based.
The more I live with this album, the more I appreciate its quirks and variations as a whole. Lutz is a fine electric bassist; this is not only evident in his anchoring of the band but also in his virtuosic playing on Swoosh, where the instrument takes centre stage but doesn’t overplay or outstay its welcome.
This is music you can live with. It doesn’t get too caught up with trying to be emotional or deep; it’s simply good musicians creating something worthwhile and I really hope this reaches a larger audience. It ticks a lot of different boxes and should appeal to that group that think jazz is still stuffy men in stuffy suits playing trumpets. This is fresh, living, breathing music that is very enjoyable.
Seungmin Jung: Anecdotes (Seungmin Jung Music)
I’ve been listening to this debut from bassist Seungmin Jung during my commute to work and when this music is combined with the spring sunrise and waking streets the beauty of the music really comes out. This is unrushed, airy jazz that benefits from uninterrupted attention. It has the mood of a late night, after-hours jazz session where each instrument is given space to play but the music as a complete unit is tight and richly layered.
Standout track Three Black Beans And A Boy sounds – to my ears – influenced by Charles Mingus. With a solo-bass intro and a rise in tempo two thirds of the way through, it’s a tune that can be heard over and over without becoming tired (the liner notes reveal that the three black beans are a reference to Jung’s cat).
It’s quite an intense listen: the band are next to you revealing each note as if it were a secret message only meant for the listener. This is an advantage because the music then demands attention. I call this type of jazz “academic jazz” because it sounds as if the compositions have been pored over, written and rewritten – fuelled by caffeine and head-scratching until each note is perfect. That isn’t to say that there’s no room for improvisation or that the music sounds stuffy and contained. Far from it – there is a clever balance between structure and freedom that makes me want to hear more from this artist.
Rita Hargrave and Wayne Wallace: Salsa De La Bahia Vol. 3 – Renegade Queens (Patois Records)
This is an set that’s easy to sum up but very difficult to describe. It’s a double album of 19 songs by female singers or musicians that have pushed the boundaries in male-dominated Latin music. It draws together women who have shaped the Latin sound of the San Francisco Bay area (hence the title of the album).
Nineteen tracks might seem a big chunk of music to take in – especially for someone like me whose knowledge of Latin music is tiny. But we all know that Latin music is all about movement, relationships and joy, so it’s no hardship to listen to. The difficulty comes in trying to keep still.
The album covers musicians from the 1990s up to the present day. There are too many to list but some of the tracks I really enjoyed are Can’t Eat Clout by La Dona, La Mensajera by Renegade Queens, the Ellington classic Caravan by Montclair Women’s Big Band and Frevo No Morrozinho by Falso Baiano. There are others, but these are ones I jump to.
There are slower moments too as we’re treated to ballads and stories of heartbreak to counterbalance the dance music. If you want to experience snippets of female-powered Latin music, this album is perfect.
