DB1408

Juhani AaltonenTo Future MemoriesTUM RECORDS 036½Henrik Otto Donner & TUMOAnd It Happened …TUM RECORDS 039These two albums on the Finnish label TUM offer two verydifferent types of tribute: To Future Memories presents seven pieces from composerAntti Hytti, performed by a sextet led by the saxophonist-flutist of JuhaniAaltonen. Aaltonen is also the principal soloist on And It Happened … , a collectionof compositions by Henrik Otto Donner performed by a big band, stringsand vocalist Johanna Iivanainen. Although Donner was involved in putting thealbum together, his death prior to its completion transformed a career retrospectiveinto an unintended valediction.Of the two albums, To Future Memories is the more satisfying. Theexpanded-quartet lineup—featuring piano, two double basses and percussionas well as drums—creates a sound that is full and encompassing butrarely dense or unnecessarily busy. Tatu Rönkkö’s percussion is so carefullyjudged that it often blends seamlessly into the spare, elegant drumming ofReino Laine. Similarly, the playing of bassists Ulf Krokfors and Ville Herralahas an unobtrusive synergy, contributing vast textural depth without overwhelmingthe predominantly meditative mood. Yet it is Aaltonen—primarilyon tenor saxophone, although he switches to flute or bass flute on three tracks—Dena DeRoseWe Won’t Forget You… An Homage ToShirley HornHIGHNOTE 7263A few years before her death in2005, jazz singer and pianistShirley Horn met DenaDeRose and, recognizing akindred spirit, complimentedher on her singing and pianoplaying. On We Won’t ForgetYou … An Homage To ShirleyHorn, DeRose pays tributeby exploring 11 songs from Horn’s immense repertoire. While DeRose hasa similar, understated and economical style, she does not attempt to copyHorn. The tone of her voice is different on the track “Sunday In New York,”and there are moments when she sounds like Susannah McCorkle, and herpiano playing is a touch more modern. She succeeds at the difficult balancingact of paying homage to an idol while putting some of herself into thesongs. Horn became famous for her slow-burning ballads, but DeRose doesnot overemphasize that aspect of her style on this CD. Her version of “ATime For Love” is surprising, as she turns it into a medium-tempo swingerthat includes some heated trumpet from Jeremy Pelt. While the balladsare there—including a wistful version of “Quietly There,” an atmospheric“You Won’t Forget Me” and a touching solo rendition of “You’re Nearer”—most of the songs are taken at a medium-tempo pace. “You Stepped OutOf A Dream,” which starts as a ballad but becomes a cooker before long,“Sunday In New York,” “I Just Found Out About Love” and “Wild Is Love”are each given joyous treatments. All three horn players have moments toshine during their brief appearances; the trio’s close interplay makes it clearthat they have played together often. But the main stars of this tasteful andheartwarming tribute are Dena DeRose and the legacy of Shirley Horn.—Scott YanowWe Won’t Forget You … An Homage To Shirley Horn: You Stepped Out Of A Dream; SundayIn New York; Quietly There; A Time For Love; Don’t Be On The Outside; You Won’t Forget Me; I JustFound Out About Love; Big City; You’re Nearer; Wild Is Love; The Great City. (50:26)Personnel: Dena DeRose, vocals, piano, organ; Martin Wind, bass; Matt Wilson, drums; Eric Alexander,tenor saxophone (1, 2); Jeremy Pelt, trumpet (1, 4, 6); Gary Smulyan, baritone saxophone (8).Ordering info: jazzdepot.comwhose sound and vision preside over the album. His styleis at once melodic and restless, shifting frequently betweenlong phrases and busy exploration, and his vocabulary oftechnique on all three instruments is impressive.And It Happened … , on the other hand, is an intriguingalbum that, despite moments of inspiration, neverquite manages to coalesce. Its motivating force, Donner,was a legendary figure in Finnish music who was activein a variety of genres as a performer, composer, arrangerand label-boss. For this album, Donner rearrangeda number of compositions spanning the half-centuryof his career—including new, English-language settings of several oldersongs. Four songs feature Iivanainen, whose readings are refined, gracefuland refreshingly free of ostentation. Yet these songs sit awkwardly next to theextended compositions like the 11-minute “Have Me, Hold Me” and the 15-minutetitle track, with their complex multipart arrangements and solo saxophonepassages. While the performances captured here are of a uniformly high quality,there is also a sense that the album has attempted to squeeze too great and toovaried a musical personality onto a single disc.—Jesse SimonTo Future Memories: Reminiscence; Kukunor; To Future Memories; Hiisi; Ursula; All The Birds; Haze. (53:25)Personnel: Juhani Aaltonen, tenor saxophone, flutes; Iro Haarla, piano, harp; Ulf Krokfors, VilleHerrala, bass; Reino Laine, drums; Tatu Rönkkö, percussion.Ordering info: tumrecords.comAnd It Happened … : Junnudå?; Close Your Eyes; Entreaty; The First Summer; Have Me, Hold Me;These Are The Days; And It Happened … ; For Friends And Relatives. (49:48)Personnel: Juhani Aaltonen, tenor saxophone, alto flute; Johanna Iivanainen, vocals; Mikko Hassinen,Henrik Otto Donner, conductor; TUMO, orchestra.Ordering info: tumrecords.comAnne Mette Iversen’sDouble LifeSo Many RoadsBROOKLYN JAZZ UNDERGROUND 041½Danish bassist-composer Anne MetteIversen, a member of the Brooklyn JazzUnderground collective who now splitsher time between New York and Berlin,has a classical background revealedin compositions that would’ve beentermed Third Stream in the 1950s—though her latest work is far more seamlessthan many like-minded pieces of that era. So Many Roads comprises atune-rich, 36-minute suite in which jazz and classical elements are beautifullyin sync. As with the first half of her 2008 double-album Best Of The West/Many Places, the new release features a jazz band alongside 4Corners, a stringquartet of players from the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra. Iversen thebassist combines lithe spring with a deep-well tone, and she sets the scenewith the substantive solo “Prologue,” which unspools hints of motifs tocome. Then, with “Chapter One,” the strings and jazz band bloom into thepiece’s signature melody. Swedish trombonist Peter Dahlgren, who has a gorgeouslysinging tone, voices that tune again before he goes into an involvingsolo as the strings swirl around, arco then pizzicato. Iversen has orchestratedthis music with allure, the studio at the Royal Danish Conservatoryin Copenhagen capturing it in great sound. There is an episode in “ChapterThree” that brought to mind acoustic bass guitarist Jonas Hellborg’s unsung1991 album The Word with Tony Williams and the Soldier String Quartet;that was a darker, more elemental affair, but the blend is evoked when4Corners plays long, melodic bow strokes as drummer Otis Brown III roilswith imaginative tension underneath. Along with Brown, Iversen’s long-runningquartet includes saxophonist John Ellis and pianist Danny Grissett,who both play wonderfully burnished improvisations here that bounce offIversen’s fertile material. Strings and piano present a limpid “Epilogue,” a bittersweetconclusion to an essentially life-affirming suite. The only real problemwith So Many Roads is that the journey ends before you want it to.—Bradley BambargerSo Many Roads: Prologue; Chapter One; Chapter Two; Chapter Three; Chapter Four; Epilogue. (36:33)Personnel: Anne Mette Iversen, double-bass; John Ellis, soprano, tenor saxophone; Peter Dahlgren,trombone; Danny Grissett, piano; Otis Brown III, drums; Tine Rudloff, Sarah McClelland, violin; AnneSoren, viola; Mats Larsson, cello.Ordering info: bjurecords.com80 DOWNBEAT AUGUST 2014