Cecil McBee: Mutima
Bassist Cecil McBee racked up numerous dates as an in-demand sideman to everyone from Chico Freeman and Andrew Hill to Pharoah Sanders and Elvin Jones, but only recorded eight albums as leader, of which Mutima – “heart” in Swahili, or possibly “unseen forces” – was his debut, initially released in 1974. As a bassist, he had a wonderful technique, a great sense of swing, and rich harmonic ideas, but this set makes a good case that he should be best remembered as a composer and arranger. All six pieces are by him, the opening From Within – featuring just McBee’s solo, overdubbed bass – a resonant and hauntingly intense intro that sets a high standard for what is to come.
The rest of the tracks are for the ensemble, Dee Dee Bridgewater singing on the brief Voice Of The 7th Angel only, with four musicians dropping out of the frenetic Life Waves. All are packed with ideas, all a mix of adventurous post-bop and spiritual jazz, Tex Allen’s trumpet and then George Adams’s tenor blaring through Life Waves as if their lives depended on it, the prolific pianist Onaje Allen Gumbs making a welcome appearance throughout. The title track is more otherworldly and almost orchestrated in its rich overlapping textures, the concluding Tulsa Black a straight-ahead and glorious soul-funk jam. Truly a landmark recording from a great musician.
Discography
From Within; Voice Of The 7th Angel; Life Waves; Mutima; A Feeling; Tulsa Black (45.05)
Collectively: McBee (b); Tex Allen (t, flh); George Adams (ts, as); Alan Braufman (as); Art Webb (f); Onaje Allan Gumbs (p, elp); Cecil McBee Jr (elb); Dee Dee Bridgwater (v); Alan Nelson (d); Jimmy Hopps (d, pc); Michael Carvin (pc, gong); Lawrence Killian (cga, bells); Billy Hart (pc, cymbals). White Plains, New York, 8 May 1974.
Mack Avenue / Strata-East SES 7417-25
Craig Taborn: Dream Archives
Pianist Craig Taborn’s latest outing is another fine trio set, this time with drummer Ches Smith – they have previous ECM history together, notably in a trio with Mat Maneri on 2016’s The Bell – and cellist Tomeka Reid, here making her ECM debut. It opens ominously as Taborn tiptoes through the theme of Coordinates For The Absent against Reid’s eerie cello and some percussive bleeps from Smith as if nobody can quite remember the melody, but then picks up pace when they are Feeding Maps To The Fire in true improv fashion. Taborn is always precise in his notes, stating enough to make his mark but never profligate in performance, while Reid and Smith add the necessary sonic decoration and embellishment.
So far, the music tends towards abstraction, but then the mood changes with two non-originals, a warm, vibrantly swinging version of Geri Allen’s When Kabuya Dances and a mysterious dissection of Paul Motian’s Mumbo Jumbo into its different and contrasting motifs. Atmospheric and boisterous moods collide and are reconciled in the ethereal title track, the concluding and rightly entitled Enchant a fine vehicle for Reid’s melancholic cello and Taborn’s eloquent piano lines as Smith shimmers in the background.
Taborn doesn’t deliver easy listening, and in places this is demanding music, but it is always rewarding, and always fascinating. Like I said, another fine trio set.
Discography
Coordinates For The Absent; Feeding Maps To The Fire; When Kabuya Dances; Mumbo Jumbo; Dream Archive; Enchant (49.49)
Taborn (p, kyb, elec); Tomeka Reid (clo); Ches Smith (d, vib, pc, elec). New Haven, Connecticut, January 2024.
ECM 2833
Julia Hülsmann Octet: While I Was Away
While Julia Hülsmann was indeed away, she decided to abandon her usual trio or quartet format and replace it with an octet of instrumentalists and vocalists, in effect a classical violin trio overlapping a standard jazz piano trio, with three added singers. The programme is all new material, some with lyrics by such alumni as Emily Dickinson, Margaret Atwood and EE Cummings, alongside Ani DiFranco’s 1999 hit Up, Up … and the opening breezy Brazilian tune Coisário De Imagens by Zelia Fonsesca and Rosanna Tavares.
Whereas in the past, Hülsmann’s music has often been austere and refined, this new set is a riot of difference, combining Brazilian dance, free improvisation, musical-like storytelling, and elements of chamber music. Coisário De Imagens is sung in Portuguese by Angolan singer Aline Frazão while Norwegian singer Live Maria Roggen spins intriguing narratives to both Felicia’s Song and Moonfish Dance. Intense vocals are answered by instrumental responses that are equally vocal in effect, notably Héloïse Lefebvre’s keening violin on Up, Up … followed by the leader’s strong piano solo. You Come Back enters Brechtian territory as the two women singers weave round Michael Schiefel’s intense theatrical narration set against some strident string accompaniment, while TicToc rhythmically dances in perfect vocal precision to Cummings’s percussive lyrics.
What surprises throughout this set is indeed the sound of surprise, of drama and passion and excitement. While she was away, Hülsmann must have worked hard. For the results here are superb.
Discography
Coisário De Imagens; Sleep; Up, Up, Up, Up, Up, Up; Felicia’s Song; You Come Back; Walkside; Hora Azul; TicToc; Iskele; Moonfish Dance (47.47)
Hülsmann (p); Aline Frazão, Live Maria Roggen, Michael Schiefel (v); Héloïse Lefebvre (vn); Susanne Paul (clo); Eva Kruse, (b); Eva Klesse (d). Berlin, September 2023.
ECM 2869
Pasquale Mega PollCroma Ensemble: Concerto In Tre Colori
The PollCroma Ensemble of Italian pianist Pasquale Mega is a winning combination of a basic jazz quintet – piano, clarinet, vibes, double bass, drums – accompanied by two classical instruments, the harp and cello. Their music mixes European and American jazz timbres and is presented here as a live concerto in three colours, the multi-part three sections written, in order, by Pasquale Mega himself, by pianist Esbjörn Svensson and by double bassist Lars Danielsson. What is immediately obvious is the ingenuity of the writing, its vibrancy and colour. Gabriele Mirabassi’s clarinet stands out for its vocalised clarity, Marcella Carboni’s harp a rippling, shimmering delight in contrast to Federica Del Graudio’s darker cello, Camillo Pace’s haunting solo bass, and the chiming vibes of Pasquale Bardaro. All in all, an unexpected pleasure.
Discography
L’Indaco Di Pal; L’Ambra Di Esbjörn; Il Carminio Di Lars (71.07)
Mega (p); Pasquale Bardaro (vib); Gabriele Mirabassi (cl); Marcella Carboni (hp); Federica Del Gaudio (clo); Camillo Pace (b); Giovanni Angelini (d). Live, Teatro Mariella, Monopoli, Apulia, Italy, 14 November 2021.
Dodicilune ED590
