David Gordon Trio: In C (Live In London) (Mister Sam Records 006)
French cult writer Georges Perec wrote two books that either banned the use of the vowel “e” or eschewed all vowels except “e”, a valiant but ultimately fruitless attempt to get his emotional message across. Pianist David Gordon worked out a similar idea in jazz music and contrary to Perec’s unreadable works, his spontaneously arranged performance of songs played strictly in the key of C is quite stimulating to the ear.
Perhaps a sense of clarity is the most immediate result of Gordon’s “note play” of his London gig in November in 2024 – skies opening up to sky blue, sentences moving along untouched by pretensions to gentility. One song segues organically into another, which undoubtedly is due to Gordon’s focused handling of his intriguing self-imposed constraint and the qualities of the equally responsive Oli Hayhurst on bass and Tom Hooper on drums.
Gordon’s versatility is striking and not to be confused with overbearing. It is, if anything, a means to move with taste through a Gabriel Fauré-inspired song, Brandy With Fauré, underlining its classicism with stride and bop, and A Jazz Thing, a sassy Ray Bryantish tune. He gives kid-glove treatment to various world rhythms, as with Greenland’s Afro-Cuban vibe and Choro Moreno’s traditional Brazilian beat, while on certain occasions he ends on an intensely swinging note.
I can’t get enough of the sublime way Hayhurst and Hooper slip into Gordon’s introduction of the sprightly Too Early To Say Goodnight in double time and get things underway, a prime example of the unusual sophistication of Gordon’s trio. Certainly, having less than in-depth knowledge of the UK scene, I confess I hadn’t heard of David Gordon. Delighted, I plan to make up for this deficit by diving straight into his supposedly multi-layered catalogue.
David Bode: Good Hang (1718 Records)
Released precisely 20 years after the Katrina disaster on 29 August 2005, New Orleans-native David Bode’s big-band album Good Hang is appropriately NO in spirit, identified by jubilance and exotic rhythm. The alto saxophonist’s talent for scoring defines John Coltrane’s Syeeda’s Song Flute (secondary saxophone motives) and lamented rock hero Jeff Buckley’s ballad Lover, You Should’ve Come Over (detailed embellishments of relatively simple chords).
The repertoire is not commonplace. Bode’s melting pot is carefully crafted, with Astor Piazzola’s Libertango swelling up to high drama, and it features good soloists. Taking only two solos throughout, Bode generously creates space for colleagues, notably trombonist Peter Gustafson. His own Cold Train Funk mixes The Meters, Coltrane and Bach and is undeniably funky, but its development comes across as rather contrived. In fact, Bode’s shuffling of styles and genres stretches to the limit what I can handle. Reggae-fied Beatles takes the cake. It’ll be someone else’s favourite cut, you will see.
Ricardo Pinheiro: Songs Of Longing (Fresh Sound 5139)
Like Kurt Rosenwinkel or Ben Monder, the broad-minded Portuguese guitarist Ricardo Pinheiro, equally at home in straightahead jazz, ambient music or Brazilian-Portuguese folk, favours a fuzzy tone, bridging the gap between guitar and the inflections of saxophone or voice. Few bands are as sympathetic to his approach than the outfit Pinheiro assembled for Songs Of Longing, which succeeds Tone Stories from 2023 and consists of saxophonist Chris Cheek, bassist Michael Formanek and drummer Jorge Rossy.
They tune in delicately to Pinheiro’s melancholic and lyrical treatment of original tunes and two standards. Opener Be Longing immediately hits home, a sumptuous melody marked by inspired back-and-forths between Pinheiro and Cheek, setting the tone for a programme that includes an intriguing arrangement of I Hear A Rhapsody and Avô, Pinheiro’s bossa-tinged dedication to his father. The epitome of “saudade” – the typically Portuguese sense of nostalgia – is Francisco de Lacerda’s Tenho Tantas Saudades, which tickles the senses in sweet-toned fashion, Pinheiro’s voicing as soothing as a deep dive into a bed of roses.
It’d be good news if Pinheiro’s organic international group would stick around for another session.
