js Although “Three Chord Monte” is only his third album as a leader, guitarist Tony Romano has been working as a sideman for sometime with jazz, Latin and pop artists such as Randy Brecker, Dave Valentin, Joe Bataan, Stanley Jordan and even Debbie Gibson. He can also be heard on many TV soundtracks as well. Tony wrote all of the material on this album and he enlisted Jennifer Vincent on bass and Rob Garcia on drums to help him out. Saxophonist Paul Carlon shows up on about half of the songs as well. Tony cites Bill Frisell as a major influence which will be obvious to those who know Bill’s work, but you can also hear some John Scofield in some of Romano’s funky riffing and contemporary melodic style.

The album opens strong with the Afrobeat groove of “Cadillac Green”, on which you can hear drummer Rob Garcia’s appreciation for Fela’s long time drummer, Tony Allen. As Romano builds his solo he digs into some hardcore Prince style funk riffs, this one is a scorcher. Later on the album, “Lay it Down”, re-visit’s the Tony Allen Afrobeat drive. The Frisell influence shows up on several melodic ballads, the best of which is “Home”, because this one gives Tony more room to stretch out on a solo. The band gets into their jazzy post bop thing on a couple numbers and “Onward and Upward” features some of sax man Paul Carlon’s best work. Romano’s extensive work in Latin jazz shows up on a couple tracks and “Squirrelly” gets into some bluesy RnB with a New Orleans backline beat. All of the tracks are well composed and executed with imagination, but for my money, I would love to hear Tony get into some more of that groovy Afrobeat thang.

snobb Five years ago I noticed a (virtually unknown at the time) young American jazz artist playing a gig during a jazz fest in a small provincial town in Samogitia, where every foreign artist was a real rarity. He sounded like the time machine transferred him there right from late 60s America, and it was quite unusual and interesting. This musician was sax player Isaiah Collier.

Now, after a few albums released and a lot of gigs played all around the globe, Isaiah is not a jazz world's "dark horse" anymore. His just released album, "The Almighty", is obviously noticed by media and listeners. What Isaiah offers on his new release is in fact a continuation of his earliest work. Emotively colored, richly arranged spiritual jazz, more precisely - a jazz suite performed by Collier's quartet with the help of a whole small orchestra on some pieces.

The album's music sounds exactly as one can expect from Collier - strongly influenced by Pharoah Sanders/Alice Coltrane works from the late 60s-early 70s, without even a trace of more current decades influence. To be precise, it is important to mention there is a stronger attention on composition in this album's music.

Just five longish songs, lasting more that one hour, all are tuneful, soulful and well played and arranged. Depending on the listener's taste, one can enjoy almost authentically re-vitalized sound and atmosphere of half-a-century old spiritual jazz, or miss some of nowadays musical elements in it. Same way, for some, the whole album can sound a bit bombastic, but then it fits well under the late 60s genre standards.

All in all, it's an interesting work of a rising artist who continues going his own way.

Matti P This is the third and latest album of the fairly young Finnish vocalist and composer SANNA RUOHONIEMI. She grew up in the countryside of Finnish Ostrobothnia and nowadays lives in Stockholm. That's where the album was recorded as well, the accompanying musicians being Fredrik Lindborg (saxophone, bass clarinet), Daniel Tilling (piano), Lars Ekman (double bass) and Daniel Olsson (drums). Lyrics feature also Finnish and Swedish in addition to dominating English. Her compositions are modern jazz with ingredients from Nordic ethnic music, bebop and tango.

The opening title track is rather an introspective and moody song in slow tempo. The elegant arrangement favours piano and hi-hat plus some bass clarinet, but the focus is on the girlish and sensual voice of Ruohoniemi. 'Helsinki mun' (= My Helsinki) is her Finnish-language adaptation of Monica Zetterlund's Stockholm-inspired 'Sakta vi gå genom stan'. The combo plays excellently together and there's a suitable amount of emotion.

'Jag vet en dejlig rosa' is a slow piece, and if I'm not mistaken, of traditional origins. The playing flows in a melancholic, wandering manner. 'Dance of Life' has a pretty traditional vocal jazz sound, reminding me of 'Is You Or Is You Ain't My Baby'. A lengthy saxophone solo is followed by a bass solo.

'Slavic Heart' is a vividly pouring, melodic composition. 'Tango Variaté' is basically an instrumental with wordless chanting, perhaps my favourite piece, and definitely the most dynamic in its alteration between calmness and more energetic moments. Another highlight is the closing song 'No One's Coming' for its strong, introspective mood.

A recommendable album for those wishing to find stylistically eclectic Nordic vocal jazz with female vocalists, alongside artists such as Viktoria Tolstoy, Ira Kaspi, Jeanette Lindström, Lisa Ekdahl and Sidsel Endresen. However, Ruohoniemi's slightly naiive vocal expression takes a half star away from my four stars for not exactly being up to my personal taste.

js After starting his recording career working with larger groups, in 2010 pianist Dave Bass decided he wanted to record in a trio format. As Dave explains it, “The spotlight is on each player, forcing you to play at the highest level. But its also the most satisfying configuration, because you can really develop a kind of telepathy with the other musicians:”. This year’s release, “Trio Nuevo”, is Dave’s fourth album in a trio format and presents his Nuevo trio, Tyler Miles on double bass and Steve Helfand on drums. The telepathic interplay that Bass talks about is on full display here. Tyler’s bass is almost on an equal footing with Dave’s piano as Tyler is apt to present melodies solo on the arco bass, or in harmony with Dave. Likewise, both bass and drums are afforded ample solo space as well as a place in the conversation when trading bars.

Along with being active in the SF bay area jazz scene, Dave also plays his share of Latin gigs and his Latin influences are very apparent on many of the tracks. Both “Sandino” and “Gone” have a tango like influence, only played in a very forceful and aggressive style. Bass’ Afro-Cuban style piano buildup is particularly appealing on “Sandino”. The up tempo “Baby Melon” sounds like classic west coast jazz with its brush work on the drums and double time feel. Likewise, Dave’s interest in contrapuntal lines on his “Three Views of Bach”, also recalls the sound of classic west coast cool. Today’s modern abstract sound are represented with “These Times” and a cover of Andrew Hill’s “Duplicity”. Dave presents an Ahmad Jamal type elegance on ballads such as, “As Time Goes By” and “One Look”.

Carmel On "Green Lights," saxophonist and composer Troy Roberts embarks on a unique musical journey, illuminating the corridors of modern jazz with his vivid compositions and dynamic playing. His music draws a rich, emotive line through the map of his musical and geographical migrations, inviting the listener to connect with his personal experiences. This album, released under Toy Robot Music, reflects Roberts' artistic and personal journeys and marks the first time this gifted ensemble has recorded together under Roberts' leadership.

From the opening track, it's clear that "Green Lights" is based on conversational jazz between musicians who enjoy and respect each other. Roberts, alongside guitarist Paul Bollenback, bassist John Patitucci, and drummer Jimmy MacBride, establishes a seamless dialogue that sounds telepathic. The ensemble's responsiveness and mutual intuition are the bedrock upon which this album is built.

"Green Lights" opens the album with a flourish. The synergy among the musicians is palpable, marked by Roberts' robust, expressive saxophone and the ensemble's crisp, fluid interaction. Bollenback's guitar, with its rich Fender Rhodes-like tone, and Patitucci's growling bass lines create a lush, rhythmic tapestry, setting the stage for an album that feels both explorative and grounded.

"The Question" and "By Your Side" are prime examples of the band's versatility, showcasing contemporary harmony and rhythm and a traditional jazz waltz, respectively. In "The Question," the ensemble skillfully navigates through the well-written composition, allowing Roberts to display his deft control over the tenor saxophone during his impressive solo. Meanwhile, "By Your Side" offers an emotive contrast, emphasizing lyrical solos and traditional jazz aesthetics. This diverse range of musical styles keeps the listener engaged and excited throughout the album.

"Solar Panels" is an up-tempo swing, based on a standard that allows the ensemble to weave through the progression with finesse and fervor. "Harry Brown" and "Jive Dumpling" further highlight the ensemble's chemistry and interactive playing. "Harry Brown" delves into modal jazz, while "Jive Dumpling" mixes modern and contemporary jazz for a playful, rhythmically intricate track that will surely put a smile on your face.

"Up To No Good" and "The Scotsman's Ballad" each offer different feels for the ensemble to express through. The former showcases modern jazz sensibility meshed with tight compositional structure, and the latter is a tender, profoundly emotive ballad highlighting Roberts' sensitivity and control. Ending with "Stretch Armstrong," the album revisits the roots of jazz in a straight-ahead swing that allows each musician to shine individually and, as a whole, bring the album to a compelling close.

"Green Lights" is an album built on camaraderie, resulting in an auditory journey that resonates with anyone who appreciates the beauty of skilled jazz musicianship and the stories it can tell.

js Oliver Lake was an early participant in the St Louis avant-garde scene, and later a major figure in the NYC loft scene of the early 70s. By the time the late 70s rolled around, he like so many others in the free jazz movement, were starting to diversify their sound as free jazz was becoming a bit predictable. This leads us to the album, “Life Dance of Is”, a mostly avant-garde collection with a good dose of free jazz, but also some other interesting eclecticisms. It’s a very talented band that Oliver assembled here, many of these musicians he had worked with before and would continue to perform with in the future. We have Michael Gregory Jackson on guitar, Anthony Davis on piano, Pheeroan ak Laff on drums and some tracks include Leonard Jones on bass.

The album opens with the sparse sounds of “Rite-Ing” in which various band members play composed snatches of melody in between long moments of silence. Follow up track “Comous” is a little more in the free jazz tradition, but implied beats give this one a funhouse rowdy nature, like a hard bop jam gone insane. Side one closes out with “Shu-Ful” another fun one that has the band playing to a punky two beat shuffle and laying down wacky solos. Oliver seems to be channeling Eric Dolphy on this one.

Side two opens with “Tfon” and an impossibly difficult ensemble bebop line before the group lays into some free improv. Towards the end, Anthony Davis plays what sounds like a closing phrase but then keeps repeating it as the others join in hammering this phrase to death. “Change One” is a one chord reggae vamp with some weird vocals from Lake and bluesy country harmonica from Jackson. The album closes with a spoken word collage that would sound right at home in a modern concert hall setting. Interesting album, sometimes dry and intellectual, and at other times boisterous and funny. This may not have ever been re-issued on CD or in any other format, so look for it where used vinyl is sold.

snobb "Belonging" is the first Keith Jarrett recording on ECM with Jan Garbarek and his rhythm section (often known as Jarrett's European quartet). Compared to Jarrett's American quartet, the music here is less experimental and adventurous and the whole sound is influenced by Garbarek's Nordic folk.

The obvious project leader is Jarrett for sure. His playful piano improvs are the central sound of the album's music and the most attractive element. Garbarek's sax sounds far from his experimental works of the early 70s and shows his growing trend to melodic simplified tunes influenced by folklore and with only occasional interesting improvs. He has enough space on this album, but compared to Jarrett's piano, which is very jazzy in an American manner, Garbarek's musicianship adds more simplified feeling to the sound.

The rhythm section is competent, but as in cases with previous Garbarek releases, they are a great supporting team and hardly more. Musically the album varies from post-bop with serious Jarrett classical influences to a more polished mix of third stream and Nordic folk, but in all cases, the sound is well rounded, emotionally cool and only Jarrett's great piano playing makes it alive.

A borderline album in many senses: after its release Jarrett will continue working for ECM recording a few more albums with the European quartet. Garbarek will develop similar musical direction on his later albums, but without Jarrett's jazz roots, Garbarek's music very soon will be transformed into cold background contemporary jazz/world fusion close to new age. The sound presented on this album (as well as many similar releases of the mid to late 70s) will evolve to post-bop rooted, but comfortably-polished melodic contemporary jazz of the 90s.

snobb The deep groovy bass line which opens "Double Sunrise Over Neptune", surprisingly doesn't belong to William Parker - who is one among a few still active jazz bassists that is a living legend who made his name in the 90s playing accessible but very creative avant-garde jazz. Here on "Double Sunrise...", Parker conducts a multinational (East-West) orchestra and plays different reeds and the African stringed instrument doussn'gouni.

His 15-piece band contains some of the best musicians from both worlds, including drummers Gerald Cleaver and Hamid Drake, guitarist Joe Morris (who plays banjo as well), sax players Sabir Mateen, Rob Brown and Dave Sewelson, viola player Jessica Pavone plus a Chinese American violinist Jason Kao Hwang, Morrocan Brahim Frigbane and classic Indian Sangeeta Bandyopadhyay among others.

The album contains just four songs, three - long (between 15 and 27 minutes) and one- very short (little longer then half-a-minute). Musically one can hear usual Parker's tuneful groovy compositions framed and pushed ahead by repetitive rhythmic constructions. Still, characteristic William's storytelling-like form is significantly modified by a lot of Indian classical vocals and oud soling.

Predominantly mid-tempo very rhythmic music has enough freedom and space for each artist and group of instruments soloing on the front, interchanging with each other. Elements of different traditions fit together surprisingly organically, musical pictures seamlessly change one with the other, and longer-then-hour album didn't seem long at all.

Everyone familiar with Parker's music will recognize his music quite easily, but the addition of Eastern instruments and vocals brings a lot of new colorful nuances to it. One among best master's work for sure.

P.S. Joe Morris guitar solo on final album's composition, "Neptune's Mirror ", is really impressive.

Matti P Every now and then I shuffle through the JMA database to find something interesting I haven't heard before. Vocalist LUCIA CADOTSCH (b. 1984 in Switzerland, living in Berlin) hasn't been reviewed here yet, so all the more rewarding it is for me to share this discovery with you. I'm not saying this highly personal album would deeply charm me right from the start, but with time I would very likely grow a certain affection with it. The CD was released by We Jazz Records from Finland, my home country.

The vocalist forms the Berlin-based Speak Low trio with tenor saxophonist Otis Sandsjö and a double bassist Petter Eldh, this album featuring also some organ and cello guest appearances. The trio mixes jazz, avant-garde and minimalism in a way that can sound both spatially introspective and daringly experimental and playful. All nine tracks are covers, a fact that doesn't diminish the music's originality at all in this case. Some of the choices are unexpected happy surprises to me. Indeed if the song material had been totally unfamiliar, my initial interest towards the album would have been radically smaller.

The trio's approach to 'Azure' from Duke Ellington's repertoire immediately reveals they're doing things exactly their own way. The double bass is used in a rather percussive manner while sax and organ wave at times nearly neurotic textures behind the vocals. Cadotsch's vocal expression is not too peculiar in itself, although it has a slightly detached, introspective thoughtfulness in it. There's a bit of frailty à la Jennie Abrahamson (whom some of us know from Peter Gabriel's live sets) but Cadotsch's voice is not as high.

The melodic substance of the songs, and in Cadotsch's singing, is a safe anchor in an otherwise avant-ish musical environment, best showcased on Randy Newman's classic 'I Think It's Gonna Rain Today'. 'What’s New / There Comes a Time' is slightly less accessible in that sense.

'Wild Is the Wind' (Washington / Tiomkin) is familiar to me especially as either David Bowie's or Nina Simone's version, both very enjoyable. Here the song's moody melodicism is a bit too buried under the avant-garde minimalism, thus not being among my faves. The traditional 'Black is the Color of My True Love's Hair' is another Nina Simone classic. On this spatial version Cadotsch has a folky sincerity in her singing while the lengthy instrumental sections drag it closer to the experimentalism. Anyway I like this one more than 'Wild is the Wind'.

Two of the most interesting song choices are Brian Eno's 'By This River' which sounds delightfully fresh, and 'Ballad of the Drowned Girl' (Weill / Brecht) which as a slow-paced, dark-toned interpretation is a highlight (even though I'm still much more impressed by Liisa Tavi's gorgeous Finnish cover).

I admit my concentration is put on the test over the 40 minutes of this album, and occasionally I do miss a bit more conventional approach from the trio. Let's say my appreciation is higher than my actual enjoyment.

Matti P Carla Bley is American free jazz pianist and composer whose music often contains experimentalism. On Social Studies -- the only Bley album I've listened to -- the composer plays organ and piano and is accompanied by a rhythm section and a wind sextet.

The opener 'Reactionary Tango' (12:52) is the longest track; other five tracks are between 4 and 7 minutes. The dance-like rhythm structure forms the basis, on top of which the trumpet, trombone, saxes and other wind instruments play almost as in a dialogue, with quick, little piano melodies thrown in here and there. This harmlessly playful and mildly humorous composition actually feels a bit too long since the changes along the way aren't very big. Even the soprano sax solo remains rather restricted. But towards the end it begins to feel more interesting as the organ makes me think of the early 70's Soft Machine. Indeed to me this music seems closer in spirit to the early British jazz/fusion with some continental flavour, than to American jazz. 'Copyright Royalties' is also temperate and easy-going.

'Utviklingssang' is a moody piece in a slow tempo. Alto sax has the biggest role in it. 'Valse Sinistre' is another composition based on a dance rhythm, and it's not exactly sinister. 'Floater' starts cautiously in a "where do we go from here?" manner but gets slightly livelier. Bass is great here. The final piece 'Walking Batteriewoman' has the fastest and edgiest melodies. Tenor sax has references to be-bop, I guess.

This album is happily less experimental or difficult than I was prepared to hear, but on the other hand it's also a bit duller than I expected. I like the overall feel: temperate, intelligent, witty, gentlemanly and mildly playful and unpredictable. However, the brass-oriented arrangement is surely not up to my jazz taste.