Here we have four new releases by ECM. Each one has a different instrumental configuration and number of artists, yet there is a familiar feel to the quartet of albums; an overall feel of spaciousness, warmth and freedom within the form. Something is here for every aspect of jazz fans
Pianist Julia Hulsmann leads a quiet yet intricate chamber quartet with Tom Arthurs/tp-fh, Marc Muellbauer/b and Heinrich Kobberling through some post modern originals. The themes range from sepia toned ballads such as “Richtung Osten” to angular pieces like “Qucksilver” and “Dedication.” Arthur’s horn is gentle and fragile, glowing gently on “Spiel” whle Muellbauer’s bass plods along like a Clydesdale on the brooding “Dunkel” and “Gleim.” As for Hulsmann herself, she’s got a graceful cadence to her touch which works well in these melancholy moods.
Vocalist Susanne Abbuehl takes the poems from the likes of Dickenson, Bronte, Teasdale and the like, as well as her own lyrics, and uses her fragile voice to inculcate them in pastel jazz settings. Along with Matthieu Michel’s flugelhorn, Wolfert Brederode’s piano and harmonium, and Olavi Louhivuori’s drums with percussion, Abbuehl creates a mood that’s not unlike traditional UK folk on tunes like “My River Runs To You” or modern caberet on “This And My Heart.” Her voice is gripping as she agonizes on “Forbidden Fruit,” with Louhivouri’s cymbals creating an ominous presence; likewise she cries her heart out with Michel on “If Bees Are Few” making you feel each meter of the words. A true teller of tales.
Harmonious spirits since their days together with the late Paul Motian, Gary Peacock/b and Marilyn Crispell/p go it as a duo here. The material ranges from frolicking free conversations to more structured themes. Where a piece like “Puppets’ meanders a bid, Crispell’s piano broods convincingly on “Lullaby.” Peacock’s bass is resonant as integrates with the ivories on “Leap Frog” while he goes solo on an intriguing solo which follows. Crispell gets her chance alone later on, while joining together most successfully on the gentle “Goodbye” as opposed to the more disjointed “Patterns.” Space is the place here.
Pianist Ketil Bjornstad brings together an inspiring and ambitious musical gathering at a Norwegian Festival back in 2010. The music stands as a tribute to Italian filmmaker Michelangelo Antonioni, and the material here has a dramatic feel to it that sounds like it begs to be the part of the silver screen. The team of Andy Sheppard/ts-ss, Eivind Aarset/g-elec, Anja Lechner/vio, Arild Andersen/b and Marilyn Mazur/perc create highly lyrical and thematic pieces, with Lechner’s cello howling like the wind on the slowly and dramatically building “La Notte I” . Sheppard’s tenor is almost rhapsodic on the galloping and vibrant “La Notte II” while the daydreaming and wistful sounds of “La Notte V” have Sheppard yearning as if in a Puccini Opera. Bjornstad has a wondrous hand, repeating incessant riffs on the cello themed “La Notte III” alongand is reflective with the string secion on “La Notte IV.” Quite a thrilling evening!
ECM Records