Lilly Hertzman: Heartshaped
Some detect a Nordic influence in Lilly Hertzman’s new album, Heartshaped, but it is more reminiscent of Joni Mitchell’s more jazz-influenced years. Poetic lyrics, strong melodies but with sophisticated changes, jazzy arrangements and some of the best international players you can find. This isn’t a collection of late-night smoky love songs but a powerful expression of contemporary jazz.
The first track, Revelation, is just that. It is a fine indication of what is to come. Every moment is full of passion. Herztman’s delivery, of course. These are her songs and she sings them with power and emotion. But she is just one part of a quartet. Jongkuk Kim’s rolling rhythms on the drums power the music forward while Aaron Parks brings the tune to an emotional climax, with a solo that is lyrical, yet rousing and adventurous at the same time.
Thomas Morgan, on double bass, comes into his own on the slower tunes, picking out sensitive but rhythmic patterns and solos or, as in In The Sound Of The Night, echoing the movement of the voice. Hertzman thrives in this company. She has an emotional power that has something of the aching vulnerability of Billie Holiday but can quickly turn into to a fiery longing that seems to float above the rest of the quartet. But it is Parks who transforms these songs into something magical. He is always sensitive to what Hertzman is doing, always emotional, responsive when need be, but imaginative enough to take the music to places you would not expect.
The most conventional song, Big Heart, is also one of the most successful. Here Hertzman is at her most relaxed and Parks at his most romantic; the result is a simmering, understated lyricism. Other songs take a more horticultural turn. In Toward The Sun, Hertzman’s muses in her garden but, as with Flowers Will Grow Again, these tracks are bathed in a sunny optimism.
Discography
Revelation; Heartshaped; Fire In The Sky; The Calling; Toward The Sun; In The Sound Of The Night; Big Heart; Flowers Will Grow Again (38.52)
Hertzman (v); Parks (p); Morgan (b); Kim (d). Clubhouse Recording, Rhinebeck, NY, 10 & 11 April 2023.
Gateway Music LHCD001
Gustaf Lunggren: Along The Low Road
In a recent survey, Denmark and Sweden were deemed to be two of the happiest countries in the world and it is easy to imagine happy Swedes and Danes returning home after work and chilling to the music of Gustaf Ljunggren as they sip a glass of Aquavit. This is gentle, relaxing music, carefully crafted and played with a deceptive ease.
Ljunggren is a Swede who lives in Copenhagen. Though trained originally on the saxophone, his latest album, Along The Low Road, is dominated by a variety of plucked string instruments. Skúli Sverrisson plays bass guitar throughout but Ljunggren plays various guitars, a baritone ukulele, a mandola, not to mention a charango (an Andean instrument related to the lute) and a langspil (a drone often made out of driftwood). Not all overdubbed at once, of course, but these provide constant and welcome variation of texture. He also plays held notes on a variety of wind instruments which enrich the chords and widen the soundscape and well as a variety of keyboards that sometimes underpin or carry the melody.
There is a folksy simplicity to this music. The liner notes are full of poetic musings that suggest that these melodies are close to nature. Full of repeated motifs, they have a hypnotic, lyrical beauty. The best tracks, which are all written by Ljunggren, are the simplest, where the overdubbing is minimal. These are charming tunes that need little embellishment. Lille Skotland has a lovely, folksy charm. Letters Melting is a delightful melody that takes some unexpected harmonic and rhythmic turns. Summer Passing Letting Go and Tillfrisknandet show Ljunggren equally at ease on the piano. These are tunes that have the welcoming intimacy of a live performance. The overdubs on Along The Low Road and Here And Not Here sound less organic.
Along The Low Road is a welcome follow-up to Ljunggren’s previous album with Sverrisson, Floreana, which is equally relaxing. Put this on, fire up the wood burner in the sauna, and let the steam do the rest.
Discography
Lille Skotland; Stevelen; Along The Low Road; Letters Melting; Summer Passing Letting Go; Tillfrisknandet; Nine Again; Along The Low Road (Reprise); Quercian Motto; Here And Not Here (31.44)
Ljunggren (g, baritone ukulele, mandola, charango, pedal steel guitar, langspil, ts, f, bcl, p, org, clo, syn); Sverrisson (elb). Sundlaugin, Mossfellbaer and A Small World, Copenhagen.
April Records APR160CD
B.I.T.: R-Esistenze
It has become de rigueur for musicians to promote their compositions by explaining in detail what inspired them. The Italian duo B.I.T., made up of pianist Manuela Pasqui and saxophonist Danielle Di Majo, go to great pains to explain that their latest CD, R-Esistenze, is, as its name would suggest, about resistance – the resistance movement during WWII and also women’s struggle for emancipation in the early part of the 20th century. The first track on the album even includes a background of wartime explosions and patriotic song.
The best music, though, needs no explanation, and this is music with a real sense of passion and drama. Full of romantic nostalgia, it derives more from a classical than a jazz tradition. All the same, this is music improvised with skill and excitement.
The combination of piano and saxophone, particularly soprano saxophone, is not always an easy one but these compositions, all written by one or other of the two musicians, play to the duo’s strengths. In Brigata Menotti, Pasqui builds tension with an ostinato figure while the saxophone improvises busy melodies like a bird in a room fluttering to escape. Miriam is more contemplative. Here the saxophone takes some of the harmonic responsibility, playing long notes while the piano plays a floating, romantic melody. Cinque Pezzi Di Luna is perhaps the most attractive track. It starts with repeated patterns on the piano but soon both saxophone and piano break free with passionate solos.
This is the fourth album by B.I.T. (Back In Time), and, though the events that inspired the tunes may not mean much to listeners outside Italy, it is a rewarding listen. Good music does not need press releases or liner notes.
Discography
L’Identità Perduta; Brigata Menotti; Miriam; Meriggiare; Sul Fil Di Lama; Cinque Pezzi Di Luna; Bagheria; Lipari; Poisson D’Or; Luce Di Mezzanotte (42.39)
Di Majo (ss, as); Pasqui (p). Entrophya Studio, Spello (Italy), January 2025.
Filibusta Records FR2525
