Pulse Trio: Now Is All We Have
Riga has been a haven for jazz since Soviet times. Sufficiently distanced, at least artistically, from Moscow and St Petersburg, it was able to find its own way through cultural repression during the Soviet period and now harbours a flourishing jazz scene. For the best part of a decade it has been the home of Jersika Records, which records Latvian and international jazz artists as well as releasing important recordings from Latvia’s past.
The latest release on the label is Pulse Trio’s Now Is All We have. As you might expect with musicians from Sweden, Finland and Latvia, the music of this trio lives primarily in the world of so-called “Nordic jazz”, but is not without other contemporary jazz influences. The emphasis is on improvisation and spontaneity, so much so that the recording is direct to analog tape with no editing or overdubs.
Latvian drummer Pauls Pokratniekes takes credit for the composition. Each track starts with an idea, a scrap of melody, a simple rhythm, a musical statement and builds as more complete melody and harmonies develop, around which the players emote. The opening track The Weight Of Goodbye, apparently about the situation in Ukraine, starts with an imitation of a slow tolling bell, from which a dreamy, tinkling piano emerges like a butterfly from a cocoon, finally alighting on a lyrical melody. Cozumel begins with a rhythm that gradually builds into a love song.
That we never feel that the music meanders is a reflection of the sensitivity of the musicians. The piano has the delicacy of water dripping into a pool, the bass picks out unusual motifs and the drums are tastefully understated, underpinning the music but allowing space for the other players. This is stylish, contemplative music, full of captivating rhythms, satisfying changes and solos that are adventurous without losing a lyrical romanticism.
Jazz is alive and well in Latvia.
Discography
The Weight Of Goodbye; Fragments Of Tomorrow; In The Process; Now Is All We Have; Cozumel; The Dance We Never Had (31.46)
Fabian Kallerdahl (p); Ollie Rantala (b); Pokratnieks (p). Jersika Recording Studios, Riga, 26 August 2024.
Jersika Records JRA 030
Alexis Martin Ensemble: Les Pôles Volume 1
“I thought I’d like to create something that feels good, something calming,” says Alexis Martin of his debut album, Les Pôles Vol 1 (Vol 2 does not yet exist). “I love melodic writing; I love ambient textures.”
Martin is a drummer from Quebec, best known as a composer and producer of music for film. This is reflected in his line-up, which includes a cello and a synth, and in the titles of some of the tracks, Entre Le Boom Et L’Écho (Between the boom and the echo) and Le Glissement Des Pôles (The Slipping Of The Poles). And sometimes there are musical devices that are more suited to a film score than to jazz, such as the percussion that imitates a clock ticking and the rumble of the synth in La Dune Du Pilat (Pilate’s Dune). Much of the music is evocative, ambient and moody and succeeds in its aim to make us feel good and calm us.
Film music, though, usually does not develop. But Martin has brought together a group of fine Quebecois jazz players whose solos move the music forward and take it to another level. Many of the tunes are essentially a slow-moving sequence of a few chords repeated, initially full of space and atmosphere. The trumpet floats over this, sometimes eerily, at other times in a plangent lament and then improvised solos take the music on a more emotional journey. The saxes are used mainly to provide a dramatic undercurrent while the piano and cello might pick out a tuneful refrain. This is music that has been tightly arranged, though with room for solo exploration.
There are lovely melodies here, simple, lyrical tunes that you could imagine as part of a film soundtrack, but there are also some impressive solos, particularly from Jean-François “Fafoui” Gagnon on trumpet and Emie R Roussel on piano.
Discography
Entre Le Boom Et L’Écho; Novembre; Apprends-Moi; Le Glissement Des Pôles; La Dune Di Pilat; C’Est Ton Âme, Ou Il Pleut; Pembina (35.32)
Martin (d, pc, kyb, moog syn, programming); Gagnon (t, bugle, vtb); Marie-Josée Frigon (ts, bar, bcl); André Leroux (ss, ts, f); Roussel (p, kyb, Fender Rhodes); Sheila Hannigan (clo); Mathieu Désy (b). Sherbrooke City, Quebec, 26-27 May 2025.
Independent
Freyja Garbett: Sowden House
Australian composer Freyja Garbett’s album Sowden House was originally conceived as a soundtrack for a VR project. It’s full of funky grooves, hypnotic riffs and electronic sound effects. It doesn’t develop very much. Probably that is not its intention. The names of the tracks mainly feature places and environments rather than feelings – Tomb Entrance, Library, Franklin Avenue, etc. It’s not meant to bring you to your feet in mad excitement, it is all about creating a sonic environment, designed to keep your heart beating at the required rate whilst you explore the wonders of virtual reality.
It’s clever. Played with slick intensity, and often with a funky groove. The sounds created are evocative if not always musical. There is an electronic backdrop to some tracks that buzzes and bubbles like a film sound effect. There are some nice solos, though no player has a real opportunity to stretch out. Occasionally there are glimpses of something more emotive – for example, an expressive sax solo in Ballroom ’68, (in 6/8. There is also a Ballroom ’44 which is in 4/4). Those tunes which do not rely on a funky groove are the most evocative. There are hints of a broody melancholy in Dream Hall, and mystery in the lilting rhythms of Franklin Avenue.
Garbett has brought together some of Sydney’s top players, including the funk collective, Mister Ott. Meticulously composed, arranged, and as tightly played as it is, there is little room for individual expression or spontaneity. It doesn’t really go anywhere. We may move from a ballroom to a library but with a click of a keyboard rather than a harmonic or melodic progression.
Gamers will probably love the hypnotic nature of much of this. It’s not music you would sit down and seriously listen to; it is designed to accompany some other activity. You might want to play it while exercising, or cooking or, ideally, while watching a state-of-the-art VR project.
Discography
Genesis; Los Feliz; Antonio Sanchez; Ballroom ’68; Art Gallery; Ballroom ’44; Azylum; Tomb Entrance; Echo Chamber; Dream Hall; Franklin Avenue; Library; Trophy Room; Labyrinth; Drum Ritual (55.49)
Garbett (kyb); Veronique Serret (vn); Freya Schack-Arnott (clo); Jayden Clark (f); Thomas Avgenicos, Ellen Kirkwood (t); Tessie Overmyer (as); Matthew Keegan (ts, bar, cl); Michael Avgenicos, Matthew Ottignon (ts); Alex Silver (tb); Hilary Geddes, Ben Panucci (g); Daniel Pliner (p, kyb); Jacques Emery, David Symes (elb); Maximillian Alduca (b); Carlos Adura, Miles Thomas (d); Dominic Kirk (pc). Golden Retriever Studios, Sydney, 14 August 2023 and Rancom Street Studios, Sydney, 29-30 January 2025.
Earshift Music Ear 116