Editor's Choice: May 2023 | The best new jazz albums
Thursday, April 20, 2023
The best new albums reviewed in the May issue, featuring Billy Childs, Ingrid Laubrock, Jeremy Pelt, Nana Rashid and more
Billy Childs
The Winds of Change
Mack Avenue Records
Billy Childs (p), Ambrose Akinmusire (t), Scott Colley (b) and Brian Blade (d)
'The title track was originally written for Roy Hargrove and a large accompanying orchestra, but Childs' mission on this album was to rediscover his jazz roots and turn the trio of himself, Colley and Blade into a compact orchestral force to interact with the trumpet wizardry of Ambrose Akinmusire. The result is not just the vibrant reimagining of that track, but an entire album that is a triumph of improvisational and compositional interaction and musicianly interplay...' Alyn Shipton
Fire! Orchestra
Echoes
Rune Grammofon
Mats Gustafsson (bs, f, cond), Johan Berthling (b, el b), Andreas Werliin (d), plus guests inc Anna Lindal (vn), Susana Santos Silva (t), Mette Rasmussen (as, f ), Elsa Bergman (b) and many others
'Talk about epic. Scandinavian free jazz/experimental ensemble Fire! Orchestra open the second decade of their existence with the largest, most sprawling version of their elastic lineup yet – in this case 43 members spanning five continents! Echoes is the group’s seventh record, an expansive triple vinyl (two CD) album that encompasses contemporary jazz but also rock, folk, world, the avant-garde electronic and classical music. For added interest, the project was recorded in the presence of, and mastered by, avant-garde superhero Jim O’Rourke – and it sounds great...' Kevin Whitlock
Wayne Escoffery
Like Minds
Smoke Sessions
Wayne Escoffery (ts, ss), Gregory Porter (v), Tom Harrell (t), Mike Moreno (g), David Kikoski (p), Ugonna Okegwo (b), Mark Whitfield Jr (d) and Daniel Sadonwick (perc)
'The heart of this live-recorded studio album lies in Escoffery's muscular articulation and the band's close-knit confidence. Not that the guests are also rans. Trumpeter and one-time Escoffery employer Tom Harrell is on song, guitarist Mike Moreno fleshes out the saxophonist's twisty themes and Gregory Porter delivers spiritual fire. His distinctive baritone wrings the last drops of emotion from Escoffery's ‘My Truth’ and renders ‘Rivers of Babylon’ as a song of substance...' Mike Hobart
Ingrid Laubrock
The Last Quiet Place
Pyroclastic Records
Ingrid Laubrock (ts, ss), Brandon Seabrook (g), Mazz Swift (vn), Tomeka Reid (clo), Michael Formanek (b) and Tom Rainey (d)
'Inspired by the Pulitzer-prizewinning writings of environmental journalist Elizabeth Kolbert, much-lauded German saxophonist/ composer Ingrid Laubrock composed most of the music for The Last Quiet Place in solitude and outdoors - but if she was feeling that the imagination might be the last quiet place as humankind noisily erodes a fragile natural world outside, this powerful album confirms she wasn't intending a music of tranquil withdrawal. Laubrock's ever-expanding compositional vision forms a genre-fluid super-sextet here, all six members capable of shifting seamlessly between free-jazz, avant-rock, and delicate classical-strings textures...' John Fordham
Aymée Nuviola
Havana Nocturne
Worldwide Entertainment
Aymée Nuviola (v), Julián Ávila (g), Kemuel Roig (p), Lowell Ringel (b), Hilario Bell (d) and José ‘Majito’ Aguilera (perc)
'This new album from acclaimed Cuban vocalist Aymée Nuviola follows last year’s Latin Grammy-winning Live in Marciac with pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba. The 13-song collection presents a compelling paean to filin, a style of jazz-influenced romantic song which rose to prominence in mid-20th-century Havana and whose musical roots can be traced to the bolero and canción...' Peter Quinn
Jeremy Pelt
The Art of Intimacy Volume 2: His Muse
HighNote Records
Jeremy Pelt (t, v), Victor Gould (p), Buster Williams (b), Billy Hart (d), Chico Pinero (g), Andrew Griffi n, Josh Henderson (vn), Nicole Neely (vla), Susan Mandel (clo) with strings arr by David O’Rourke
'The first volume of Jeremy Pelt’s The Art of Intimacy was a soft-focus drum-free trio set, showcasing the trumpeter’s warmth and tonal control. That soft focus remains on Volume 2, but now strings enhance the gentle moods, and the piano trio rhythm section pulses gently with the swish of Billy Hart’s drums...' Mike Hobart
Ivo Perelman / Elliot Sharp
Artificial Intelligence
Mahakala Music
Ivo Perelman (ts) and Elliot Sharp (8-string guitar)
'Ivo Perelman strengthens his claim to the title of fearless adventurous duo partner with this latest offering. Having done many sessions with important contemporary titans such as pianist Matthew Shipp and Joe Morris, here he joins forces with guitarist Elliot Sharp on what is an intriguing, and challenging at times, mesmerising session. While the 29-minute duration of ‘One’ sees the pair climb to the level of epic performance of Coltranian-Braxtonian proportions, they have both the ability and chemistry to ensure that the interest is sustained, even if the endeavour has occasional moments of stasis...' Kevin Le Gendre
Nana Rashid
Music for Betty
April Records
Nana Rashid (v), Benjamin Nørholm Jacobsen (p), Martin Brunbjerg Rasmussen (b) and Lasse Jacobsen (d)
'This hugely impressive debut album from Danish vocalist Nana Rashid follows her well-received four-track EP, Sorrow in Sunlight, which she released in 2016. A judicious mix of standards and originals, the Rashid opener ‘Poor Blue Betty’ possesses a smouldering intensity which sets the tone for the entire album. A sorrowing tale of unrequited love, the hauntingly beautiful ‘Goodbye My Love’ is a standout, with the understated, hypersensitive accompaniment of the Danish jazz piano trio Little North adding greatly to the intimate atmosphere...' Peter Quinn
Sultan Stevenson
Faithful One
Whirlwind Recordings
Sultan Stevenson (p), Denys Baptiste (ts), Josh Short (t), Jacob Gryn (b) and Joel Waters (d)
'Faithful One is an entirely acoustic album. It’s also a vivid, dramatic piece of work, melodic and free from dissonance, replete with both light and shade, and infused with the strength and confidence of a far more seasoned musician...' Peter Jones
The Vampires featuring Chris Abrahams
Nightjar
Earshift Records
Noel Mason (b), Jeremy Rose (s, bcl), Alex Masso (d), Nick Garbett (t) and Chris Abrahams (p)
'The music shifts from a sensuously stylish funkily reggae-pop feel, soothing horn arrangements with influences from the Middle East or Ethiojazz through to a sultrily ambient Nordic-like acoustic chamber jazz, and even a touch of quirky latin-ish psych-rock. A warm, uplifting, and unfashionable brand of jazz that doesn’t take itself too seriously...' Selwyn Harris
Read the reviews of these albums – and many more – in the May 2023 issue of Jazzwise. Never miss an issue – subscribe today
