Reviews

Bruce Williams review for The NYC Jazz Record

| Tyran Grillo

Private Thoughts

Bruce Williams isn’t afraid to loosen his seams and let rawness seep through, and nowhere is this so true as on the alto saxophonist’s fourth album. In the opening punctuations of “Mata Leon,” the organic nature of his compositional grammar is revealed, as are his interlocking relationships with a roving cast of bandmates, shuffled throughout to fit the needs of individual tunes. While the initial vibe is fragmentary and searching, the title track that follows has a brighter, classical energy actualizing the album’s core concept: squeezing hardship until essential oils of affirmation drip into the bell of his horn. Likewise in “Premonitions,” which, despite its airiness, speaks incisively through the leading voices. Williams on soprano and trumpeter Josh Evans spin webs of future possibility, only to sever them with ferocious retrospection.

Williams is unafraid to ask probing questions metaphorically, but also titularly in “Forever Asking Why?” Such is his quest for resignation by means of a tone so razor-edged that even in the most brooding passages, it cuts to the quick. “The Price We Pay for Peace” and “Last Visit in the Mirror” are further examples of this characteristic. The latter opens with a cultivated intro from pianist Brandon McCune, cushioning a soulful awakening from Williams. Here is the heart of this album—numerically, emotionally, spiritually.

The jauntier “Old Forester” levels darker weights on the fulcrum of trumpeter Freddie Hendrix. “The Void” unfolds in kind and finds Williams belting out his inner world as if it were an improvisational assembly line. Guitarist Brad Williams and core rhythm section of bassist Chris Berger and drummer Vincent Ector are vivid comforts, as are the meatier “I Still Carry On” and “View through a Sheet,” which balance straight-from-the-gut extemporizing and mystery before the smooth landing of “Past Tense.”

Though haunted by memories of a father who took his own life nearly 30 years ago, this is music of survival when all the heart wants to do is curl up in obscurity.

(This review originally appeared in the September 2017 issue of The New York City Jazz Record, a full PDF of which is available here.)

Petros Klampinis review for The NYC Jazz Record

| Tyran Grillo

Chroma

The title Chroma evokes the colors of human experience. Recorded live in December 2015 at New York’s Onassis Cultural Center, bassist Petros Klampanis’ Motéma debut allows said colors to intermingle in utterly lyrical ways.

Klampanis takes much of the composing credit, starting off on the rightest of feet with the album’s title track. Its trim opening, replete with tuned percussion, eerily recalls the postmodern minimalism of Nik Bärtsch’s Mobile before the guitar of Gilad Hekselman and bow-work of a top-flight string section make it clear that we are in far more extroverted territory. Klampanis possesses a relativity all his own when it comes to crafting melodic cages in which to improvise. His multifaceted rhythm sectioning with drummer John Hadfield, artfully gilded by percussionist Keita Ogawa, gives just the right amount of uplift to maintain an uninterrupted aerial view toward the final vista, “Shades of Magenta.” The latter’s Brazilian pulse and Nana Vasconcelos-esque vocals (courtesy of Klampanis himself) offset a smooth highway with soulful detours.

“Tough Decisions” eases the listener into a patient unfolding. The bassist’s soloing spotlights his refined approach, in which every note feels like a necessary leaf in forested surroundings. For its surprising reveries and groovy resolution, “Little Blue Sun,” with its oceanic vibe, comes across as the most dynamic piece.

Hekselman contributes “Cosmic Patience,” introducing it by way of starlit guitar and expanding the possibilities of his interactions with the bass like heat lightning personified: distant yet glowing with colorful immediacy. Pianist and frequent Klampanis collaborator Spyros Manesis is behind “Shadows,” another prime surface for Hekselman’s warm touch.

If you’ve ever woken up from a dream with beautiful music in your head, only to forget it as the day goes on, Chroma will make you feel like you have recaptured some of that spirit.

(This review originally appeared in the July 2017 issue of The New York City Jazz Record, a full PDF of which is available here.)

Winds of Exchange: Simon Shaheen’s Zafir at Cornell

| Tyran Grillo

Simon-Shaheen-by-Adrian-BoteanuIMGP3081
(Photo credit: Adrian Boteanu)

Simon Shaheen presents Zafir
March 10, 2017
8:00pm
Cornell University, Bailey Hall

String Theory: VIDA Guitar Quartet Live at Cornell

| Tyran Grillo

VIDA portrait

VIDA Guitar Quartet
February 23, 2017
8:00pm
Cornell University, Barnes Hall

On February 23, 2017, the VIDA Guitar Quartet made its Ithaca debut at Cornell’s Barnes Hall. Since 2007, the British ensemble has been impressing a conscientious sonic footprint on listeners. Seeing them live, however, the interlocking nature of their artistry is apparent not only in their craft, but also in their choice and assembly of programming.

There is, of course, plenty of savvy over which to marvel regarding each player’s technical wheelhouse. Mark Eden’s highs, Mark Ashford’s harmonizing and melodic leads, Amanda Cook’s unbreakable ground lines and Chris Stell’s rhythmic backbone (enhanced by tapping of the guitar body) make for a kindred fit that is rare among quartets of any constitution. By an uncompromising equanimity of individual allotments, VIDA shows its truest colors as a holistic unit.

The concert opens with selections from VIDA’s latest CD, The Leaves be Green, thereby nodding to their homeland. The three-part English Folk Songs by Ralph Vaughan Williams, based on melodies collected from the British Isles and originally written for marching band, feels most tactile in the version presented here. Two marches, and between them an intermezzo, morph from vivacious to tender and back again. In addition to introducing us to the quartet’s sound, the piece also lends insight into Vaughan Williams’s love for music in its most rudimentary forms (even a tune heard whistled at a pub was fair game for a composer so enamored). By contrast, Peter Warlock’s Capriol Suite, a collection of six French courtly and lay dances that would be the short-lived composer’s most popular work, is just as vibrant under VIDA’s fingertips in guitarist Chris Susans’s reimagining (the only arrangement of the program not produced by one of the quartet’s members). More latticed than the macramé of the Vaughan Williams, it emotes as much vertically as horizontally, stretching more than enough canvas to support VIDA’s flourishing foregrounds.

From there, the program seems to change costumes into George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. Formidably arranged over a three-year period by VIDA frontman Chris Stell, the new version highlights the brilliance of this timeworn classic’s rhythmic complexities. A piece normally rendered far too grandiose for my taste by dint of its popular orchestral arrangement (the piece was originally written for two pianos), it blossoms through VIDA’s intimate filter and begs new appreciation for its source and for the feat of making it amenable to plucked gut.

After flexing their knuckles during intermission, the musicians return for a lighter — though no less engaging — second half, starting with a highlight of the evening: Mark Eden’s nimble retelling of J. S. Bach’s third Brandenburg Concerto. Smooth yet punctuated, flowing yet rhythmically precise, this perennial favorite reveals an inner heart too often glossed over at the touch of a bow. It also shows the quartet at its tessellated best, and underscores the unique sonority of each instrument.

This is followed by two contemporary pieces. The first is by composer Phillip Houghton, who bases his Opals on the beloved precious stone of his native Australia. Each of its movements plies a different atmospheric trade. Where “Black” is jagged and strong, “Water” evokes a pond shimmering in moonlight and “White” coheres with the precision of a jigsaw puzzle. Next is The Great British Rock Journey, written for VIDA by friend Nick Cartledge. A brilliantly composed piece that is a joy to hear, it cycles through familiar riffs of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd and others. In keeping with the rhapsodic theme, Queen’s instantly recognizable bohemianism provides the longest and most indulgent section, and a quotation of Coldplay’s “Clocks” is surprisingly fresh.

VIDA ends with a selection from the Hungarian Dances of Johannes Brahms, which after the excitement of its predecessors might fall flat if it wasn’t for the musicians’ deft balancing act of texture and character. On that latter note, an encore rendition of the theme from director Carol Reed’s 1949 classic, The Third Man, exits the stage amid a dash of humor by which to remember a performance otherwise steeped in enchanting rigor.

(See this article as it originally appeared in The Cornell Daily Sun here.)

Leandro Cabral review for All About Jazz

| Tyran Grillo

Today’s All About Jazz review is brought to you by the phenomenal Leandro Cabral Trio from Brazil. Released last year on the Novodisc label, Alfa is a worthwhile contender against any of ECM’s finest trio recordings of recent years and is a must for Keith Jarrett fans. What a wonderful surprise, pristinely recorded and performed. Click the cover to discover!

Alfa