Volume 21 Issue 3 - November 2015

ecordings made by Childs’ quartet during
two 2013 gigs, cut together as one cohesive
set. Included are excellent, underplayed
selections from the standard repertoire such
as The Man That Got Away and It’s All Right
With Me, as well as some original Childs
compositions.
Such tunes are often tributes to eras past,
such as Theodore, a playful tune with a
Caribbean vibe that evokes St. Thomas, and
Parting of the Rocks, a composition of barely
contained righteous anger, reminiscent of
jazz protest songs by black composers of the
1960s. That title is an English translation of
Attawapiskat; Childs wrote it as “a response
to the lack of response by the Harper government
to the crisis at Attawapiskat.” In both
the composition and the group’s approach,
John Coltrane’s classic quartet comes to mind.
From ballads to scorchers, this album
immaculately captures the energy and sound
of the group’s live performances; the rest is up
to you. Grab a cold drink and enjoy.
Bob Ben
Meltframe
Mary Halvorson
Firehouse 12 FH12-04-01-021 (firehouse12.
com)
!!
In her mid-30s,
Mary Halvorson has
distinguished herself
as the most original
jazz guitarist of her
generation. A veteran
of numerous ensembles
led by Anthony
Braxton and a regular
musical partner of Marc Ribot, Halvorson
has touched on the radical fringes of folk and
rock as well as jazz and has created a remarkable
series of CDs leading a trio and quintet.
Meltframe is her first solo CD, and it goes very
close to the heart of what makes her such a
compelling musician, her rare ability both to
reach back to jazz traditions and forward to
the possibilities while setting everything in an
insistent present.
Whether it’s her embrace of Duke Ellington
and an absurdly full-size hollowbody archtop
guitar, or Ornette Coleman and an effects
pedal that carries pitch bending to the stratosphere,
Halvorson is at ease with fundamentals,
corollaries and contradictions. They’re all
here, from the dense electric roar with which
she approaches Oliver Nelson’s Cascades to
the (lightly amplified) flamenco touch she
employs on Annette Peacock’s Blood. McCoy
Tyner’s delicate Aisha occasionally surrenders
to grunge rock. It’s more for those who
like to be surprised than those who hate to be
disturbed.
Coleman’s Sadness arrives amongst wildly
bending arpeggios, while Ellington’s Solitude
is a reverie in artificial reverb that moves at
a glacial pace toward microtonal dissolution.
Halvorson can create great drama with
minimal means, evidenced in her treatment
of Carla Bley’s Ida Lupino, which develops a
kind of intense inevitability through deceptively
simple strumming. Works by Peacock
and Carla Bley may suggest their first advocate,
pianist Paul Bley, whose stark keyboard
lines and manipulations of timbre are paralleled
here.
Stuart Broomer
Telling Stories
Sonoluminescence Trio
Art Stew Records ASR 003 2015
!!
A band whose
improvising is as
enlightening as its
name, which refers
to light produced as
sound waves pass
through liquid, this
trio combination
confirms that fluid musicianship can easily
overcome geography and separation. A tale
of three cities – baritone saxophonist David
Mott lives in Toronto, percussionist Jesse
Stewart in Ottawa and bassist William Parker
in New York – the Sonoluminescence three
don’t play together very often. But when
they do, intercommunication is paramount,
because exposing unique sonic patterns is
more important to all than sporting showy
techniques.
Mott and Stewart are particularly cognizant
of this. One feels the drummer would
sooner lock himself in an airless crypt than
shatter this partnership with blasting beats.
As opposed to other baritone players who
plunder its lower depths like deep-sea divers
in the ocean, Mott emphasizes his horn’s
moderato facility. He could be playing a tenor,
save for some infrequent rhino-like snorts.
As for Parker, he’s cognizant that the double
bass can be treated as many instruments
simultaneously.
This is expressed as early as Echoes of
Africa, the CD’s first track, where the
patterning from Parker’s strings could come
from a berimbau or an ngoni and Stewart’s
rhythms from a combination of a wood
drum and a conga. Mott’s response isn’t
further exoticism however, but comprehensive
tongue flutters and expressive peeps.
A comparable transformation appears on
There’s the Rub, where the sum total of
thickened bass string strums, timed percussion
clatters and selective reed breaths add
up to a New Music-like interlude, with the
trio’s storytelling facilities intact. The three
are also capable of outputting non-stereotypical
rhythmic activity as on the slyly
named Rumble for Jackie Chan. But the
resulting hard-hitting beat is strained through
sardonic 21st-century sensibilities, so that the
metrical syncopation is brainy rather than
merely brawny.
Mixing speedy rhythms, standard tune
references and technical extensions when
needed for additional colour and emphasis,
the Sonoluminescence Trio does just what is
promised in the title. It tells unusual stories
energetically, with subtlety, but without artifice
or showboating.
Ken Waxman
Wind and Sand
Bruce Lofgren’s Jazz Pirates
Night Bird NB-4 (brucelofgren.com)
!!
With the release
of this exceptional
recording, talented
Los Angeles-based
guitarist, composer
and arranger Bruce
Lofgren has once again
established himself
as one of the most innovative and relevant
jazz artists currently leading large ensembles.
Lofgren has surrounded himself here
with “Jazz Pirates” that include the crème de
la crème of West Coast musicians, including
two French horn players (reminiscent of the
late Rob McConnell’s Boss Brass). Lofgren’s
prestigious career as a composer/arranger
(Airto, Flora Purim, Buddy Rich), as well as
his instrumental skill, has informed every
note of this project with a tasty smorgasbord
of tempos, styles and feels.
The CD kicks off with a re-imagined take
on Invitation and segues on to the clever
Bop Talk with a vocal by Karen Mitchell,
whose lovely soprano is all about the beauty
of the melodic line – with each vocal nuance
perfectly placed. Mitchell adds her voice
to two additional tunes on this recording,
(including the stunning bossa nova, Find a
Place) with equally wonderful effect. A true
stand out is Lofgren’s composition, Far Far
Away, which has deeply personal significance
to him, and the writing conjures up an
almost childlike quality of innocent longing.
The addition of Glen Berger’s soprano solo
is nothing short of breathtaking. The title
track is another stunner – utilizing Lofgren’s
superb rhythmic skills and musical vocabulary
– as a guitarist, composer and arranger
– and speaking of rhythm, Café Rio delivers
everything that it promises as well as a
face-melting keyboard solo from the gifted
Charlie Ferguson.
Wind and Sand is arguably one of the
most significant large ensemble jazz recordings
of the year, rife with musical gems. It’s a
must-have.
Lesley Mitchell-Clarke
A Serpent’s Dream
Michel Godard & Le Miroir du temps
Intuition INT 3440 2 (intuition-music.com)
!!
Michel Godard
may be the rarest and
best kind of musician,
filled with curiosity
and energy and
without prejudice. A
master tuba player and
member of the French
72 | Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 thewholenote.com