Sarah Wilson: Incandescence (Brass Tonic Records)
For many years, Sarah Wilson provided the musical backdrop for politically radical and socially conscious puppet shows. Despite those experiences, the composer and trumpeter knows how to loosen up and let the good times roll. Her latest release is a friendly sextet album that mixes danceable rhythms with sensitive arrangements and listener-centric soloing.
Wilson wrote all of the music for the group and then published the record via her own label. Two drummers, Jon Arkin and Tim Bulkley, appear on half of the tracks each. John Scott plays guitar, with Lisa Mezzacappa on bass. An all-female horn section brings together alto saxophonist Kasey Knudsen and trombonist Mara Fox. The group gives a happy and humble impression.
The title track is typically chipper, with its helixing brass and reed motifs. Subtle dynamic shifts keep the audience leaning forward. Knudsen’s solo leans on repeating shapes and leaves valuable space between ideas. It’s a song of bright sunshine and light hearts.
Clangy chords and howling riffs from guitar are at the centre of the off-kilter romp, Jubilant. It’s a sloppier and rowdier track, where musicians gatecrash each other’s solos and stray further outside the straightforward harmony.
Two slower tunes get sprinkled into the mix. Epilogue is the most free-feeling track on the record, with more extended techniques and meandering, dream-like passages of collective improvisation. Wilson adds a shimmying, raunchy melodic line to the gentle waltz rhythm of Lullaby.
Incandescence is an affable album, played with a spirit of generosity and warmth. With her rich and lively arrangements, Sarah Wilson delivers a refreshing and convivial listening experience. The former puppet-show musician pulls the strings with great skill on this delightful record.
Liv Andrea Hauge Trio: Døgnville (Hubro Records 2670)
A dry mouth, sore muscles and a pounding headache led Liv Andrea Hauge to write the music on this short but deep-reaching record. The Norwegian pianist was tucked up in bed, sweating and shivering with high fever. Through the murky fug of ill health, she identified a series of rhythmic and melodic shapes that now form the third release by her thoughtful, efficient trio.
The album’s title describes a groggy state of mind. Much of the material is composed, but there’s also plenty of room for in-the-moment interactions among the modern acoustic group. Hauge gathered bassist Georgia Wartel Collins and drummer August Glännestrand in a single room to capture the music in real time. That gives the 35-minute record an animated and unpredictable character.
Karja communicates Hauge’s hazy delirium most clearly. It’s one of several tracks that oscillates between burning patterns and listless, almost frozen sections. There’s heavy left-hand piano punches within the bumpy, uptempo segments and arco bass in the tense periods of introspection.
Microphones pick up vocalisations from Hauge during her improvisations. She’s loudest on the final track, Mange Av Oss. It’s a more cheerful song with a gospel-adjacent sound, where Glännestrand’s fidgety-yet-winsome percussive work stands out.
The drummer gets 30 seconds to brush his drumskins without interruption in the opening bars of Vi Er. It’s a slow-moving piece with plucked bass notes plinking and plunking beneath sparse, melancholy lines from the bandleader’s piano. A broken and beautiful composition.
Liv Andrea Hauge’s trio is marked by its patient and mindful playing. That calmness gives Døgnville its quiet vigour and persuades listeners to surrender to its meandering mood. When the sweating and shivering are over, the audience returns to the daily grind feeling stronger for the experience.
Vincent Herring and Eric Alexander: Split Decision (Smoke Sessions Records 2503)
Between them, tenor saxophonists Eric Alexander and Vincent Herring have appeared on more than 500 albums. That includes two previous matchups in this series of recordings that aims to invoke the spirit of duelling hornmen, reeling back and hunching forward as they blast flaming barrages of music at each other. It’s all for show, of course. And rather good fun.
Split Decision follows The Battle (2005) and Friendly Fire (2011). It’s a swinging six-track release, committed to tape in front of a politely applauding crowd at Smoke jazz club in uptown Manhattan. It features pianist Mike LeDonne and bassist John Webber, who also appear on the two earlier instalments. Drummer Lewis Nash joins for this latest sax-centric slugfest.
The two tenors swim above a spacey passage of pattering drums, twinkling piano and rumbling bass to kick of the first track, Pharoah’s Dance by Steve Turre. Then the swing feeling takes over. Alexander delivers a twisty solo before Herring screams the house down. In truth, the two players have a similar sound and shared penchant for high-speed fingerwork. It’s such a shame they just can’t get along…
One section of ceasefire does make it onto the record. The Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart composition My Romance offers a balladeering break from the post-bop punch-up. The group shifts to a swing rhythm and increases the volume during the solos. It’s a pretty piece and a welcome change of pace.
If you’re looking for haymakers and gut punches, however, there’s no shortage. A Peck A Sec is a blistering six-minute contest, packed with gazillions of notes. On the final track, Mo’s Theme, the horns trade overlapping bursts and attempt to blow each other into Row Z in the time-honoured and hammed-up tradition.
After more than 500 albums and countless performances, there’s no doubt Eric Alexander and Vincent Herring know how to give their audience a good time. They flex their muscles and flash their chops for 45 minutes on this entertaining release. And it’s rather good fun.
