Tuve Halse: Reconnection
The inspiration for Tuve Halse’s new album, Reconnection, made with her quintet, comes in part from a trip she made to Svalbard, a remote archipelago in the Arctic Circle where polar bears outnumber people. Some of it will send a shiver down your spine. Not, as the press release might suggest, because it reflects the “biting cold” but because of the raw beauty of its melodic lyricism.
Contemplation is the stand-out track of this collection and typifies the qualities that define their style. Halse studied at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo and the music has more than a nod to the Baroque. The plaintive sound of a trumpet and violin come together and ease apart as they play a cantabile melody against a limpid piano. The melody is then sung in vocalese, leading to a tender violin solo full of flowing arpeggios. Irresistible.
In other tracks the players each have their opportunity to shine but it is in the ensemble playing that the music is most effective. The bright, reverberant sound of Oscar Andreas Haug’s trumpet blends perfectly with Halse’s violin and these are often heard in unison. They pick up on each other’s phrases so easily that it is not always obvious when one takes over from the other. This is all underpinned by a delicate, understated piano. The bass and drums, rather than drive a groove, provide an ever-changing, shifting sea upon which the melodies float.
This is not about showing off your chops. There are no long solos. No virtuosic showboating. Yet the musicianship is exceptional. This is music of a quiet, simple beauty. Lyrical, and sometimes rousing. Chilling.
Halse’s gift for lyrical composition (everything here is by her) was evident of her first album, Two. Reconnection shows her gaining in confidence and maturity. This quintet deserves a wider international audience. This music is wasted on the polar bears.
Discography
Reconnection; Contemplation; Longyear; Sorryrow; Acquaintances; Consideration; Duet; Gard; Confusion Illusion; Reconnection II; Close (47.00)
Halse (vn, v); Oscar Andreas Haug (t, v); Benjamin Gísli Einarsson (p); Gard Kronborg (b); Øyvind Leite (d). Musikloftet, Asker and Newtone AS, Oslo, April and December 2024.
Jazzland Recordings 1338403
Asaf Harris: I Thought I Was Ready
The music of Israeli saxophonist Asaf Harris’s new album has plenty of momentum. Music flows from his tenor in long, energetic streams of invention, fast and furious. He has some serious chops, and his playing has already gained recognition both in New York and Israel.
Much of his music is inspired by dance rhythms of his native Israel, though it is very much in a jazz idiom. It flows and swirls in long rhythmic phrases at fast tempos with scarcely a pause for breath. At times this is thrilling. We are carried along by the force of its conviction. At other times it leaves us longing for a breather.
Both Harris and his pianist, Gus Moskovich, revel in extended sequences, pouring out torrents of notes that can send us spinning. There is little variation in dynamics, little opportunity for the music to ebb and flow, little room for the creation and relaxation of tension. Even in the slower tunes the inclination tends towards long phrases with barely a rest. Not until the fifth track, Routes, which features a tasteful bass solo from Omri Ever Hadani, are we allowed to relax.
The final tune, FCB, where the quartet is joined by Onn Yosef Kadosh on oud, is the most successful. This is the most folk-influenced track. Its relatively simple melody develops gently as Harris and Moskovich join the oud to create passionate solos. Here the volume and tension builds and then gently recedes.
This album, Harris’s second, is called I Thought I Was Ready. Listeners can decide for themselves if he was or not.
Discography
I Thought I Was Ready; I Don’t Know What’s Inside (but it’s got to be good); Langa Grove; Climbing Down; Routes; The Story Of; Taqsim; FCB (34.25)
Harris (ts); Guy Moskovich (p); Omni Ever Hadani (b); David Sirkis (d). Kitcha Studios, Tel Aviv, 21-22 July 2023.
AHM001D
Massimiliano Cignitti: Quella Stanza Segreta
Massimiliano Cignitti’s latest album is a tribute to Edda Dell’ Orso, the singer who can be heard providing soaring wordless vocals to many Spaghetti Westerns. With an enormous range, she brought real drama and emotion to much of Ennio Morricone’s best film music. Despite this, Quella Stanza Segreta does not attempt to recreate the dramatic atmosphere of Morricone’s scores but reinterprets his music in more of a jazz setting.
The music tends towards smooth jazz but is elevated by Cignitti’s tasteful, often groove-filled arrangements which feature wordless vocals from a variety of singers. Cignitti is a bass player and many of the tunes are driven by a funky riff. The ensemble playing is faultless and is lifted out of the ordinary by some impressive solos, in particular from French Vietnamese guitarist, Nguyên Lê.
Lê comes into his own in Ninna Nanna In Blu (Lullaby in Blu) a gentle, poignant ballad. The tune is introduced on the koto which bends the notes with an oriental inflection. Then the voice enters in imitation of Dell’ Orso before Lê plays a gentle solo, featuring notes at the top end of his range which reflect the floating soprano of the vocalese.
The title track, one of a couple of Cignitti originals, features a powerful saxophone solo from Thierry Valentini which emerges from the driving drums. The vocals take over in a choral style very reminiscent of 60s sci-fi movies. Mariangela E La Seduzione is the most dramatic. Chords build over Cignitti’s insistent bass, then first the tenor sax, then Lê’s guitar ramps up the tension.
This is slick, enjoyable music that will encourage many to listen again to those magical soundtracks of the 60s and 70s.
Discography
Una Lucertola Con La Pelle Di Donna; Ninna Nanna In Blu; In Viaggio Attraverso L’Australia; Ma Non Troppo Erotico; Giornata Nera Per L’Ariete; Le Foto Proibite Di Una Signora Per Bene; Matto, Caldo, Soldi, Morto… Girotando; Veruschka; Quello Stanza Segreta; Mariangela E La Seduzione; Jackie O’ 1972 (Edda’s Party) (67.54)
Sara Della Porta (v); Clara Simonoviez (v); Lorena Falbo (v); Matteo Impilloni (v); Juan Carlos Albelo (hca); Mieko Myazaki (koto, v); Giancarlo Ciminelli (t); Marco Guidolotti, (as, ss, ts, bar, f); Thierry Valentini (ts); Nguyên Lê (g); Carlo Rosati (g); Fabio Servilio (g); Mauro Scardini (kyb); Cignitti (elb); Alessandro Di Nunzio (pc,v); Marco Rovinelli (d, pc). NMG Recording Studio, Palestrina (RM), April, June, July 2024.
Dodicilune Dischi ED573