Here are a pair of guitarists on the Origin label that show a positive future for jazz.
Drummer Xavier Lecouturier features guitarist Lucas Winter in an excellent light along with his band of Ben Feldman/b, Gus Carns/p, Santosh Sharma/ts-EWI and guest Thomas Marriott/tp on an album of originals. Tunes like the spacious and pulsating “Aube” features Winter’s warm strings along with rich tenor sounds while Sharma’s switch to EWI creates a nice fusiony “Guitar Hero” for Winter’s electric warrior of a solo. Lecouturier gives hip accents to “Level Up” and shows soft hands for Marriott’s relaxed horn on ”Waiting.” Rounded angles are fun on “Monk Deriviative” and the team gives a Weather Report mood for the thrill ride of “Striations.” Impressive.
Guitarist Erik Skov composes all of the tunes for the front line of Emily Kuhn/tp, Dustin L aurenzi/ts, Euan Edmonds and the rhythm section of Kitt Lyles/b and Gustavo Cortinas/dr. Skov’s got an elegant sound that is lovely as he hovers through the horns and Lyles’ line on “Summer Meditation” and gives dark reflections as the horns sway on the reflective “Fading Embers.” His acoustic strings create a tender ripple effect with Lyles on the g r acious “Like Sounds” and shows he can bop with the best on the galloping “Rewake” and swinging “Diversion.” A thirteen minute opus of “Traveler’s Tale” is a journey that ebbs and flows to Cortina’s high hat and Edmonds’ plunger’d trombone with Skov serving as tour guide through this rich trek. Creative and cohesive.