Volume 28 Issue 1 | September 20 - November 8, 2022

throughout the evocative and tasteful
works comprising Desert Bloom. The
opener, Between the Lines, is beautifully
hypnotic with a repeating piano line that
is joined by a contrapuntal bass and when
the drums enter it switches effortlessly
to a funky groove. The title song begins
with a bowed bass, elegant cymbal strikes
and sporadic piano chords, works into a
nice bass solo until a very funky ostinato
theme emerges.
Hoefner’s compositions are subtle, nuanced
and always moving; the album is a jazz
delight because of the interplay amongst all
three musicians. Andrew Downing’s bass
work is precise and funky, Nick Fraser’s
drumming is a masterclass in keeping the
groove going while sprinkling in surprising
and enlightening percussive elements; and
Hoefner’s piano can be understated, driving,
impressionistic or whatever else is required.
Ted Parkinson
Golden Hour
Jocelyn Gould
Independent JGDC0422
(jocelyngould.com)
! Nothing can
beat an album
intro like this one.
Beautiful rubato
guitar melodies
weave together
overtop lush piano
chords, punctuated
by patient pauses.
As the lead voice leans into the last note,
the rest of the band hangs onto it, giving the
impression of a soft exhale. The spell is eventually
broken by catharsis via drum pickup,
which manages to feel like a definitive statement
without being overly forceful, as if to
say “welcome.” This is not to overanalyze
30 seconds of music, because one could
loosely apply the previous description to the
entirety of Golden Hour. It flows perfectly,
is extremely dynamic, and has the calming
effect of a slow, deep breath. Everything fits
snugly in place.
With her sophomore effort, Jocelyn
Gould proves herself to yet again be a
masterful curator, bandleader and improviser,
refining so much of what made 2020’s
Elegant Traveler so mesmerizing. From that
preceding album, the energy itself is largely
dialed back, to inject the overall tone with the
quietude of observing a sunset. This atmosphere
is aided by Gould’s approach to song,
both through interpretation and composition.
Her original music feels every bit as polished
and timeless as the jazz standards she chooses
to tackle. Serendipity evokes the meaning of
its title with grace, with pleasant surprises to
be found throughout its form, culminating in
an outro that sums up everything the music’s
about: pure, unbridled unity.
Yoshi Maclear Wall
The End and The Beginning
RedGreenBlue
Astral Spirits AS190
(astralrgb.bandcamp.com)
! The End and the
Beginning defines
the slow burn;
establishing a drone
and then, armed
with nothing but
patience, allowing
it to grow organically
into something
truly profound. The whisper of synth
wizard Paul Giallorenzo’s reassuringly
consonant droning note both begins and ends
the album. At first so subtle you almost need
to squint to hear it, this initial monophonic
drone in The Beginning signals the only viable
musical direction to be skyward, and then
in The End allows space for the rubble to
clear. Charlie Kirchen comes in shortly after,
creating a simple bass line that lends itself to
the tranquil atmosphere while managing to
add as much harmonic context to the drone
as needed, not unlike what Charlie Haden
provided to the music of Don Cherry.
It is on this foundation that the music
begins to gather wholly satisfying
momentum. Citing Terry Riley as an influence,
RedGreenBlue accomplishes something
staggering, managing to evenly bridge
the forms of minimalism and improvisation,
revealing their marriage to warrant
unceasing exploration. Percussionist Ryan
Packard’s ability to impeccably imply pulse
while stealthily adding aspects to the groove
is key here, allowing for the sound to expand
outward while also shifting imperceptibly.
The end of The Beginning is an undeniable
climax, but the stripped-down Giallorenzo
solo passage during the next piece is every bit
as evocative. In this kind of music, process
is given equal emphasis as product, and
RedGreenBlue embody that concept.
Yoshi Maclear Wall
Transmit Slow
E3 by Alex Lakusta
(e3byalexlakusta.bandcamp.com/album/
transmit-slow)
! Numerous points
in Transmit Slow
can place a listener
in a unique state
between dissociation
and transfixion,
peacefully
swaying as blissful
minutes evaporate.
Drawing from numerous palates of ambient
and electronic sound, the trio finds their
signature from the outset. Alex Lakusta’s bass
playing is the definition of substance over
style, only playing the notes that lay a necessary
harmonic foundation for the ensemble.
Drummer Keagan Eskritt and keyboardist
Josh Smiley play similarly devoid of superficiality.
Transmit Slow is a masterclass in
what a rhythm section can achieve artistically
when solely focused on grooving as hard
as possible. Just as additive are the production
efforts of Robert Diack, who adds the
perfect amount of polish to the low end;
greatly benefiting the music’s textural clarity.
Brad Eaton rounds out this cast of consummate
professionals, guesting with extremely
restrained trumpet playing that does nothing
more than needed to further contextualize
Lakusta’s arrangements.
Due to the consistency of Lakusta’s refined
bandleading style, the tracks blend together
almost as if they were parts of a suite, arriving
at nary a single passage in contrived fashion.
Quite a bit of the overall cohesion is helped
by Smiley’s patience when it comes to
creating drones with his organ, allowing for a
profoundly hypnotic throughline. This effect
is particularly present on the track All Static/
Frequency Lost, which seamlessly switches
metre and pulse halfway through. That’s the
thing about E3, they always stick the landing.
Yoshi Maclear Wall
Anatomy
Billy Mohler; Nate Wood; Chris Speed;
Shane Endsley
Contagious Music CGM007 (billymohler.
bandcamp.com/album/anatomy)
! It is perhaps
fitting that Anatomy
– an album most
defined by its clarity
and attentiveness
– is so profoundly
anchored by
brief, improvised
passages. If
the track list were to be split into three, the
songs titled Abstract would open each side.
As it pertains to the pristine arrangements
surrounding these vignettes, these solos serve
as a sobering reminder of how fruitless and
unnecessary a task it can be to draw a hard
line between creative processes. There is still
that element of cleanliness and craftsmanship
present, mainly due to the fidelity of Billy
Mohler’s bass.
Through the hypnotic layering and reverb
of Abstract 1, one can almost hear the exact
point in which fingers make impact with
string. But through his diatonic explorations
within a fixed range and found resolutions of
phrases in real time, it is not only pure spontaneous
expression but an admittance that
he isn’t one to have an entire arrangement
suddenly appear in his head. By bringing the
listener through a process, a greater appreciation
is gained for the premeditation going
into a track such as Equals. The song lives
in a ping-pong match between septuple
metre sections for long enough that its brief
forays into standard time feel like subversive
interludes. Mohler understands the
power of a well-intentioned bridge, serving
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