This week on Jazz Spectrum – September 9, 2023

This week on Jazz Spectrum – September 9, 2023

By Fritz Byers

I’ve called Jazz Spectrum an anthology since the show’s inception. It’s a baggy term, meaning not much more than that the thing is a compilation of pieces selected by the compiler. True enough. I aspire to make the show a tour through eras, styles, instrumentations, luminaries and unknowns, and so on. It’s a way of showcasing the diversity of the music and the virtuosity of the people who make it.

If the show even somewhat approaches that goal, then these Friday weekly posts, “This week on Jazz Spectrum . . .,” can’t do much more than call attention to a couple of items, and invite you to listen. From there, who knows . . . I suppose it’s up to you.

This week, you’ll hear selections from four new releases, two of them capturing great performers live at the fabled Village Vanguard in Greenwich Village, and two of them heralding the advent of exciting new artists.

The pianist Kris Davis and her ensemble, Diatom Ribbons, produced one of 2019’s most enthralling recordings. That release assembled some of the most interesting musicians in the music – among them, the bassist Esperanza Spalding, placed in the role of vocalist; the tenor saxophonists JD Allen and Tony Malaby, and the guitarists Nels Cline and Marc Ribot. You should check it out. A reduced iteration of Diatom Ribbons had a week-long residency at the Vanguard in May of 2022, and the new release documents those performances. Core collaborators from the 2019 recording are here: the drummer Terri Lyne Carrington, the bassist Tervor Dunn, and the path-breaking turntablist Val Jeanty. On guitar: Julian Lage. At end of Saturday’s first set, you’ll hear the group perform Kris’s composition “Brainfeel.”

• The tenor saxophonist Mark Turner, rightly considered among the premier improvisers currently working, has a chordless quartet, including the trumpeter Jason Palmer, the bassist Joe Martin, and the drummer Jonathan Pinson. I was stunned to realize that Mark, whose debut as a leader I recall playing on the show, has been making thrilling music for three decades. (Yam Yam, his first recording, came out in 1995.) But this is his first live recording as a leader. Mark is always interesting, with a deft touch across the whole big horn and a light, appealing tone. He melds beautifully with Jason’s trumpet, as you can hear from their work together on Jason’s own releases, Rhyme & Reason and The Concert: 12 Musings for Isabella. The new release, Live at the Village Vanguard, was recorded in June 2022. The final hour of this week’s show opens with a long track, “It’s Not Alright with Me,” which gives each of the quartet’s members a chance to stretch out to excellent effect.
• The exciting young tenor saxophonist Willie Morris’s debut release, Conversation Starter, is out on the PosiTone label. It’s a quintet date; the alto saxophonist and alto-flutist Patrick Cornelius joins Willie on the frontline, with a rhythm section of the pianist Jon Davis, the bassist Adi Meyerson, and the drummer EJ Strickland. The release shows Willie’s promise as a composer and, even more so, his power as a soloist.  This Saturday’s show opens with Willie’s composition, “Azar,” which features cleverly shifting meters, a sort of rhythmic call-and-response pattern that creates an unease, an irresolution, that is, I’m sure, intentional. After multiple listenings, I concluded the tune makes enormous sense. And the final set opens with Willie’s tune, “Introspective.” The title is apt, and what Willie finds in his turn inward is fascinating.
• The violinist Aline Homzy’s group, Aline’s etoile magique, showcases the leader’s virtuosic technique and her bold ambition to meld jazz-violin tradition (such as it is) with contemporary styles of improvisation. The result is highly appealing. In her composing, you can hear the fruits of the time Aline spent studying with the great pianist and composer, Aki Takasi, with whose work Jazz Spectrum listeners are well familiar. In the second set, you’ll hear Aline’s group work through her composition, “Rose du Ciel.” In addition to Aline’s sedate tone, listen for the tasty harmonic embroidery provided by the marimba work of Michael Davidson.