Album Review: Max Richter- Voices 2

Original image of a portion of Jose Vela Zanetti’s mural at the United Nations by There Stands the Glass.

I’m a Prius-driving, The New York Times-subscribing liberation theologist. Even so, I detest getting preached at by sanctimonious do-gooders. That’s why Max Richter’s Voices, an ambitious 2020 album dedicated to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, repels me. Voices 2 rectifies the heavy-handed blunder with predominantly instrumental pieces based on the same theme. As a committed fan of the British composer, I’m swayed by the subtler versions of the purposeful music on selections like "Prelude 2".

Album Review: Signum Saxophone Quartet- Echoes

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

World Saxophone Quartet was a favorite among critics for publications like The Village Voice when I first committed to becoming conversant in improvised music.  In the pre-internet era, terrestrial jazz radio was almost as stiflingly conservative as it is today.  I was forced to imagine the sounds made by the collective of Hamiet Bluiett, Julius Hemphill, Oliver Lake and David Murray.

While my guesswork was entirely illogical, I was surprised at the sparseness of the music when I finally heard a World Saxophone Quartet recording.  The lush sound of Echoes, the Signum Saxophone Quartet album released by Deutsche Grammophon in January, is more in keeping with what I’d expected.

Cellist Hila Karni joins the quartet on a breathtaking arrangement of Max Richter’s popular “On the Nature of Daylight” and Paul Hindemith’s melancholy “Trauermusik: IV. Choral.”  A serene cover of Joep Beving’s “Ab Ovo” further validates Signum’s overt crossover bid.  The voice of Grace Davidson fills out an interpretation of Gabriel Faure’s “Pie Jesu.”

Signum’s repertoire spans centuries.  Echoes opens with John Dowland’s luminous “Lachrimae Antiquae” (1604) and closes with Guillermo Lago’s haunting “Ciudades: Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina)” (2011), the only piece specifically written for a saxophone quartet.

In spite of their different orientations, Signum and World Saxophone Quartet aren’t terribly dissimilar.  A recent performance of selections from Echoes indicates the four Europeans are capable of brief bursts of freewheeling swing.

Having suffered through a time of comparative deprivation, I’m immensely grateful to live in an era in which the universe of recorded music that includes dozens of saxophone quartets is accessible with an internet connection.  In 2021, limiting oneself to familiar sounds is a willful act of self-harm.

Album Review: Dopolarians- The Bond

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

The extended quarantine, along with the savage relentlessness of time, enhances my appreciation of past experiences.  While it didn’t seem significant 20 years ago, I’m immensely gratified I had the foresight to catch a set led by the esteemed saxophonist Kidd Jordan at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in 2001.  And joining an audience of a few dozen for a set by the Brian Blade Fellowship during the Kansas City Jazz & Heritage Festival in 2017 now seems like an impossibly glorious dream.

Jordan, 85, didn’t participate in the recording of The Bond, the new album led by his band Dopolarians.  And following the passing of the eminent drummer Alvin Fielder, Jr. in 2019, Blade joined saxophonist Chad Fowler, trumpeter Marc Franklin, pianist Christopher Parker, bassist William Parker and vocalist Kelley Hurt for the deeply spiritual free jazz date.

Blade and Parker are renowned masters, but their lesser known band mates in the latest version of Dopolarians are worthy collaborators.  Unlike similar recordings in which free-form vocalizing is a distracting hindrance, Hurt’s contributions enhance the sacrosanct tone.  The six culturally cognizant musicians strive for- and repeatedly attain- spiritual epiphanies.  There’s almost no chance Dopolarians will ever make an appearance in Kansas City, but I’m confident the stars will align to provide me with another unforgettable experience in a more hospitable environment.

---

I catch up with three Mike Dillon albums at Plastic Sax.

Album Review: Domenico Lancellotti- Raio

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

I’m slogging through Finian’s Rainbow as part of my increasingly irksome pledge to become fully conversant in musicals.  The gorgeous cinematography in the 1968 film directed by Francis Ford Coppola is the most compelling element of the jarringly dated Fred Astaire and Petula Clark vehicle.  Raio, the latest release from the Brazilian artist Domenico Lancellotti, is similarly anachronistic.  Tracks like "Vai a Serpente" sound as if the studio group Toto is further polishing the already refined songs of Antonio Carlos Jobim.  Just as Finian’s Rainbow is salvaged by stunning visuals, Raio is elevated by glittering wall-of-sound production.  Spectacular on headphones, the album has been added to my short list of audio reference recordings.  (Tip via S.A.)

---

Aaron Rhodes and I yack about the latest releases from Lana Del Ray and Benny the Butcher and vehemently disagree about the merits of a 1988 album by the Business in the latest episode of our In My Headache podcast.

---

Recently at the Kansas City jazz blog Plastic Sax: an audacious proposal for a specialized music streaming service and appreciation for a nice surprise from the Wild Women of Kansas City.

Album Review: Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders and the London Symphony Orchestra- Promises

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

I was repeatedly reprimanded during a stimulating set by Pharoah Sanders at Blues Alley in 2015. I disregarded the prohibition on photos and my unruly enthusiasm was deemed disruptive by the staff of the refined Washington D.C. venue. I was simply unable to contain my excitement at seeing the cosmic jazz legend for the first time. The 80-year-old saxophonist continues to thrill. Promises, a new collaboration with Sam Shepherd, the British electronic musician who operates as Floating Points, is no less essential than Sanders’ work of the ‘60s and ‘70s. Rather than replicating those seminal grooves, Sanders soars through ethereal clouds of bells, bleeps and hums created by Floating Points and the London Symphony Orchestra. Vastly superior to the majority of pointy-headed third-stream endeavors, the celestial Promises is a launch pad for astral projections. Blues Alley’s bouncers no longer need to dread my return. Promises has me permanently blissed out.

Opera Show at The Concertgebouw

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

Witnessing Lise Davidsen’s mesmerizing turn in the title role of the Royal Opera’s production of Beethoven’s gender-bending “Fidelio” was crucial in fostering my nascent love of the form during my virtual opera binge last year. I pegged the 34-year-old Norwegian as a contemporary artist I’d faithfully follow for the remainder of my life. In spite of its lackluster title, Davidsen’s new album Beethoven Wagner Verdi doesn’t disappoint. Her commanding voice on pieces including Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder affirm my devotion to the 6’2” soprano. On a vacation in 2011, I spent a glorious hour basking in the sun on the lawn of The Concertgebouw. With kids in tow and a train to catch, I didn’t bother to see what was playing that evening. Watching Davidsen promote Beethoven Wagner Verdi at the site in Amsterdam deepens my resolve to wheel a trek to famous European opera houses and concert halls around an appearance by Davidsen before I die.

March 2021 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of Dirk Bogarde in the trailer of Cast a Dark Shadow by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums (released in March)

1. Pino Palladino and Blake Mills- Notes With Attachments

My review.

2. Nik Bärtsch- Entendre

Erik Satie in the NFT era.

3. Lana Del Rey- Chemtrails Over the Country Club

Flying high.

4. Pat Metheny- Road to the Sun

My review.

5. Charles Lloyd & The Marvels- Tone Poem

Urbane hillbilly jazz.

6. Danish String Quartet- Prism III

Beethoven, Bartók and Bach.

7. Camilo- Mis Manos

The soundtrack of my imaginary spring break.

8. Gretchen Parlato- Flor

My review.

9. Arab Strap- As Days Get Dark

Everything’s getting older.

10. DJ Muggs the Black Goat- Dies Occidendum

How I could just kill a man.

Top Ten Songs (released in March)

1. Jorja Smith- “Addicted”

Rehab.

2. Denzel Curry- “Track 07” (Georgia Anne Muldrow remix featuring Arlo Parks)

Third eye open.

3. Show Me the Body- “Rubberband”

Snapped.

4. The Streets- “Who’s Got the Bag (21st June)”

Please recycle.

5. St. Vincent- “Pay Your Way In Pain”

In arrears.

6. Benny the Butcher featuring Fat Joe- “Talkin’ Back”

Lean back.

7. Loretta Lynn- "I Don't Feel at Home Anymore"

I feel like going home.

8. SZA- "Good Days"

A time to be born, and a time to die.

9. Connor Leimer- "Little Rules"

Made to be broken.

10. J Balvin- “Tu Veneno”

Poison.

Top Ten Movies (viewed for the first time in March, in lieu of live music)

1. Wings of Desire/Der Himmel über Berlin (1987)

And to think Berlin once topped my list of dream destinations.

2. Nomadland (2020)

State of the union.

3. Juliet of the Spirits/Giulietta degli spiriti (1965)

Fellini’s psychedelic depiction of middle-aged angst.

4. Berlin: Symphony of a Metropolis/Berlin: Die Sinfonie der Großstadt (1927)

Eerie documentation.

5. Paris, Texas (1984)

Ennui never looked so good.

6. Milford Graves: Full Mantis (2018)

Relevant vibrations.

7. Cast a Dark Shadow (1955)

Murder most noir.

8. Sparkle (1976)

Something I can feel.

9. Judas and the Black Messiah (2020)

Big shoulders.

10. The Exterminating Angel/El ángel exterminador (1962)

Death trap.

February’s recap and links to previous monthly surveys are here.

Sedan Delivery

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

I’m baffled by the prevailing practice of rereading books, watching previously viewed television programs or movies and keeping familiar music in heavy rotation.  Repetition is anathema to me.  Yet there’s a downside to my compulsion to constantly move forward.

A long-neglected friend slapped me in the face the other day.  I was bowled over by a furious reading of “Sedan Delivery” as I listened to Way Down in the Rust Bucket, a recently released 1990 live set by Neil Young and Crazy Horse.  The loopy rocker was my favorite song on the astonishing 1979 album Rust Never Sleeps.

“Sedan Delivery” hadn’t crossed my mind in more than a decade. In spite of my regular protestations that “I don’t listen to that kind of music anymore,” I love the song just as much as I did 42 years ago. My embargo on revisiting the past may need to be reconsidered.

Album Review: Pino Palladino and Blake Mills- Notes With Attachments

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

Not one of you jerks turned me on to Domi and JD Beck.  I had to learn about the precocious duo through a feature in The New York Times.  I share the author’s sense of wonder about an incomprehensibly virtuosic performance video documenting the musicians’ transgressive approach to jazz.

Lawless renderings of improvised music exhibited by artists like Steven Ellison (Flying Lotus), Sam Gendel, Makaya McCraven, Georgia Anne Muldrow (Jyoti) and Kassa Overall represent one of the most interesting musical developments of recent years.  The tandem of Domitille Degalle and JD Beck advances the overdue revolution by introducing hyperpop to jazz.

Even if it’s only half as good as Pino Palladino and Blake Mills’ Notes With Attachments, Domi and JD Beck’s forthcoming debut album will be worthwhile. The inside out and upside down version of jazz created by the journeyman bassist and the sonic trailblazer on tracks like "Just Wrong" is at the vanguard of the thrilling trend.

Album Review: Gretchen Parlato- Flor

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

On March 7, 2020, I picked my life partner up at Kansas City International Airport and drove to the Folly Theater for a Luciana Souza concert.  The Brazilian bandleader’s performance with Chico Pinheiro and Scott Colley was so good my wife didn’t even mention jet lag at the end of her business trip.  Aside from a few parking lot buskers, I haven’t heard live music since.

The lingering echoes of Souza’s concert through the subsequent lost months may explain my unlikely affinity for Gretchen Parlato’s new album Flor.   I ordinarily don’t fall for sophisticated adult pop that seems tailor made for international jetsetters.

Like Souza, Parlato blends Música Popular Brasileira with the varied styles associated with artists ranging from Sade to Édith Piaf.  Much of Flor is undeniably precious, but the calming nature of the refined album is helping me avoid the temptation to inappropriately jump the vaccination line.

---

Pat Metheny plays Arvo Pärt? Sold! I review Metheny’s new album Road to the Sun at Plastic Sax.