Umbra: West

American road trips have long inspired writers, from Jack Kerouac, John Steinbeck and Tom Wolfe, to Hunter S. Thompson, Robert M. Pirsig and Bill Bryson. Fewer are the extended works, similarly inspired, written by musicians. Some things, it seems, may be easier put into words. Umbra's West is inspired by founding member Chris Guilfoyle 's 2017 road trip, as evidenced through the song titles, through North America's Western states to Canada. It marks Umbra's full debut, but can be seen as a logical stepping stone from the band's eponymous debut from 2016. 

That EP announced Guilfoyle's penchant for complex interweaving threads, melodic and rhythmic, with the guitarist playing tag with the twin horns of tenor saxophonist Sam Comerford and soprano/altoist Chris Engel. Then as now, the rhtyhm section of bassist Barry Donohue and drummer Matthew Jacobson rounds out a quartet where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Like his father, renowned bassist/composer Ronan Guilfoyle , Chris Guilfoyle writes for the individuals, delighting in the juxtapositions between knotty lines and handsome melodies, contrasting simultaneous tempos, soft plateaus and soaring peaks. 

All these elements color "L.A.." Swirling, fuzzy electronics and serene dual saxophones entwine on the intro before a gnawing guitar riff kick-starts the rhythm section. Staccato motifs circle like a stuck needle on vinyl, an impasse resolved when Engel cuts loose on soprano over a visceral bass and drums groove. Guilfoyle's entry coincides with a pulling back on the quintet's reins, the guitarist's lyricism contrasting with Engel's fire. The quintet unites in a punchy unison sprint to the line. It's a punchy calling card and would make a great live opening number. 

The harmonic finesse of "San Francisco"'s motif, underpinned by Jacobson's feathery brush work, soon gives way to more urgent rhythms and bright, call-and-response between alto and tenor saxophones that frame Comerford's tenor flight. An unaccompanied drum feature concludes that chapter and bleeds into "Intro to Portland"—an atmospheric electro-acoustic vignette. It's Jacobson's emerging groove that announces "Portland," inviting a sparkling solo from Guilfoyle, who then dovetails with the arrival of the closely harnessed saxophones. Comerford's' mazy tenor solo is the centerpiece of a mellow number that winds its way elegantly and without fanfare, to its conclusion. 

Without pause, Guilfoyle's ruminative solo spot on "Intro to Seattle" follows on like an unfinished thought. The reverie is broken by the rocky guitar and driving beat of "Seattle"—an appropriate homage to the city of grunge; here, the soaring saxophones are at their most melodic and uplifting. A change of gear ushers in staccato horn phrasing, with Guilfoyle and Donohue picking up the knotty pattern when Engel stretches out on alto. In a stirring finale, Guilfoyle rocks out in brief but incendiary fashion over bouyant saxophones. The episodic "Vancouver" toggles between tightly-woven melodic-rhythmic lines and overlapping free-form flights. A hypnotic guitar-and-bass ostinato flares briefly before Jacobson's cymbal, as soft as sea breeze, put a full stop on the narrative. 

Emotionally engaging and technically impressive, Guilfoyle's Umbra makes a significant statement with West. Hopefully, this vibrant yet lyrical outing will launch Umbra to the wider touring its talents most definitely merit.

Track Listing: L.A.; San Francisco; Intro to Portland; Portland; Intro to Seattle; Seattle; Vancouver.

Personnel: Chris Guilfoyle: guitar; Sam Comerford: tenor saxophone, clarinet; Chris Engel: soprano saxophone, alto saxophone; Barry Donohue: bass; Matthew Jacobson: drums.

Title: West | Year Released: 2018 | Record Label: Self Produced

Saburo K, Saitama, Japan.

Hashima : The Haywain

This Serbian band often develops passages with the impetus and intent of a hunter stalking its prey. With asymmetrical jazz-rock, punk-jazz and free-form excursions amid Balkan folk themes, the musicians' animated buildups and intertwining motifs are anchored by drummer Aleksander Hristic and bassist Vanja Todorović power-packed grooves and fluent outbreaks. As the band's second album reaffirms its distinct personality with imaginative song-forms, deriving inspiration from The Haywain Triptych panel painting by Hieronymus Bosch. 

Nascent Portuguese trumpet star Susanna Santos Silva helps launch the festivities on the opener, "Dance No. 3." Here, the ensemble mixes it up via a gradual uprising and fiery convergence, spiraling towards a zenith. Consequently, the artists judiciously pick their spots. Sure, there's some razzle-dazzle type moments but they methodically dish out burgeoning thematic processes, often intensified by electric guitarist Igor Mišković's sweltering crunch chord strumming and ominous jazz rock leads. 

"II The Haywain" is initially framed on Hristic's prodding medium-tempo backbeat, morphing into a scorching jazz rocker, slightly chilled by tenor saxophonist Srdan Mijalkovic's searching and drifting lines, culminating in the soloists' ballsy and brazen dialogues. They sport a deterministic gait. However, the final track "III Satantango" is an up-tempo blitz elevated by the saxophonist's popping notes, yet tempered by the guitarist's off-kilter phrasings during the bridge, as a one-note bass and drum timestamp provides lucid imagery for the frontline's howling riffs. 

While the album clocks in at 39:24, there is no filler material to be found. Each piece is a standalone storyboard, shaded with exploding dynamics and sinuous sound designs, as the ensemble seemingly breaches the vaults of forbidden dwellings.

Track Listing: Dance No.3; Iris of the Eye - The Haywain Triptych; Ray of the Microcosm; II The Haywain; III Satantango.

Personnel: Srdan Mijalkovic: tenor saxophone; Igor Miskovic: guitar; Vanja Todorovic: double bass; Aleksander Hristic: drums; Susana Santos Silva: trumpet (1).

Title: The Haywain | Year Released: 2018 | Record Label: Metropolis Music

Saburo K, Saitama, Japan.

Daniel Biro : 120 Onetwenty

Great music is all about passion, and this is definitely the fundamental ingredient behind Daniel Biro's heartfelt new release, 120 Onetwenty. This amazing music project really blurs the lines between a wide variety of styles, including ambient, instrumental experimental composition, jazz, and a lot more. Biro is proceeding forward while simultaneously looking to the past. His stated goal here is paying homage to the challenging, futurist vision of '70s and '80s synthesizer architects such as Vangelis and Kraftwerk as well as progressive rock icons such as King Crimson, jazz fusion pioneers such as Herbie Hancock, and ambient experimenters such as Brian Eno. They all seemed to fly in a similar circle of avant-garde artistry, liberated from commercial conventions and stylistic rules. Biro relishes this creative freedom on every track; you never know where he's headed. 

This project has a tasteful and understated overtone, which gives it a stark, minimalist feel. However, the sound is also rich and nuanced, really allowing Biro to come up with very expansive sonic ideas. If you closed your eyes while listening to this music, you might be able to see some beautiful vivid images—the music is very expansive and emotional, suggesting stunning visual connections. 120 Onetwenty actually has a really cinematic feel, which stands out for its powerful and emotionally relevant approach. There is nothing that sounds quite as compelling as a musician pouring his heart out, and this is definitely Biro's case.

Track Listing: Door; Ancient; Nimbus; Itinerarium; Embark; Levitator; Barren; Immortal; Returning; Outside.

Personnel: Daniel Biro: Rhodes piano, Moog Prodigy, Roland RS505, Nord Stage, virtual instruments.

Title: 120 Onetwenty | Year Released: 2018 | Record Label: Sargasso

Saburo K, Saitama, Japan.

Wayne Shorter : Emanon

Just the fifth release from Wayne Shorter's celebrated acoustic quartet in its near two-decade career, the triple-CD plus graphic novel that is Emanon marks something of a creative high point in its journey. The first CD, a four-part suite for quartet and the thirty-four-piece Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, is Shorter's first studio recording since Alegria (Verve, 2003), while the second and third discs capture the quartet live in London. The accompanying forty-eight page comic-book, co-written by Shorter and Monica Sly, with illustrations by Randy Duburke, is a science-fiction epic of Homer-esque proportions. 

The comic-book tale is thematically related to the suite and depicts a dystopian world of tyrannical government, censorship and a climate of fear that engenders apathy, suspicion of the foreign and dehumanisation. Changing the status quo can only come about via change within the individual. A revolution is called for. A parable of our times? Perhaps so. Although the musical narrative is open to interpretation, the tensions and drama inherent in Shorter's orchestral score broadly reflect the heroic struggle of the comic-book hero, the rogue philosopher, Emanon. 

All the music was recorded in 2013, which begs the question as to why it's taken so long for this recording to see the light of day. In effect, Emanon musically represents a snapshot of the quartet half a decade ago. The live music on CDs two and three is as thrilling, for the most part, as we've come to expect from this rather unique improvising unit, but it's the orchestral suite that stands out for its originality. 

The fifteen-minute "Pegasus" sees early sparring between Danilo Pérez, and Shorter on soprano, the pianist's probing creating little stepping stones for the saxophonist's improvisations. A brief strings and brass call-and-response ensues before a three-note brass motif ignites the string section. Melody and rhythm are inextricably linked as short, staccato phrases from brass and strings in turn, strung together like beads, provide a punchy rhythmic current. Brian Blade, John Patitucci and Perez trace the orchestral pulses, with Shorter arriving late to ride the cresting wave with a spiralling solo. 

The full orchestral voice regally announces the intense yet repetitive "Prometheus Unbound," which toggles between gently treading quartet interludes and bouyant orchestral passages. The lush romanticism that opens "Lotus" is soon swept up in an epic orchestral wave, a grand, three-note ostinato transferred to piano, which then underpins a quartet dialogue where Perez and Shorter's free blowing is anchored by Blade and Patitucci's steady course. The baton passes back and forth between orchestra and quartet in a sustained segment that marries lyricism and bold phrasing. The quartet eventually tears loose with skittering exchanges between Shorter and Perez, the three-note ostinato resurfacing as the prelude to a stirring, closing fanfare. 

Shorter plays soprano, and to a lesser extent tenor, on "The Three Marias," an episodic piece where restless quartet exploration is framed by distinctive orchestral lines that are melodically pronounced and rhythmically vibrant in turn. The greater ebb and flow of this final piece, with its dramatic denouement, provides an emotionally intense, uplifting conclusion to the stirring fifty-minute suite. 

The live discs faithfully document of one of contemporary jazz's most exciting small ensembles. Disc two features a sprawling, twenty-seven minute version of "The Three Marias," where protracted collective ruminations, with Shorter on tenor saxophone, seem always on the point of lift-off. In the final few minutes a quickening rhythmic pulse briefly signals collective release, before the quartet makes the softest of landings. Without pause, the quartet slides into a medley of "Lost" and "Orbits," Perez' riffing stoking the quartet's fire as Shorter follows his muse. Perez and Blade gradually force their way to the forefront of the narrative in a fiery finale that provides dramatic release after nearly forty minutes of simmering tension. 

The subtle percussive stirrings of "Lotus," which kicks off disc three, quickly give way to more robust terrain, with Perez' restless tilling freeing Shorter, on soprano, and cajoling Blade, whose explosive accents are all the more effective for their sparing release. "She Moves through the Fair," unrecognizable from the quartet's studio version from 2003, begins with a burrowing Patitucci solo before developing into a Perez' feature, the pianist's animated solo punctuated by Blade's snap and crackle. A short but lively "Adventures aboard the Golden Mean" sees the quartet go straight for the jugular, with Shorter on soprano leading the way, without preamble, through an uncluttered, blues-edged workout colored by Perez' Latin-tinged vamps. 

The set concludes with a hypnotic, fourteen-minute "Prometheus Unbound," the soft initial stirrings of bass arco, high-register piano, rumbling mallets and lowing soprano ceding way to greater rhythmic impetus. A middle section of delicate understatement—lightly coursing, bluesy piano and earthy bass—is steered by Perez and Shorter into exuberant collective exploration, with a mantra-like motif, played in unison by Shorter and Perez, unleashing Blade's fire and guiding the quartet towards a spectacular finish. 

Shorter's most ambitious project in his sixty-year career, Emanon is in some ways a curious release. The orchestral arrangements represent some of the most impassioned and arresting music Shorter has ever committed to disc. The two live discs, as tirelessly inventive as the performances are, serve up more of what has come before and arguably detract from the singularity of the orchestral collaboration. The graphic novel is a take it or leave it affair. Still, it's cause for celebration that Shorter and his remarkable quartet are still fearlessly pushing the sound barrier with such evident joy.

Track Listing: Disc I: Pegasus; Prometheus Unbound; Lotus; The Three Marias. Disc II: The Three Marias; Lost and Orbits Medley. Disc III: Lotus; She Moves through the Fair; Adventures Aboard the Golden Mean; Prometheus Unbound.

Personnel: Disc I: Wayne Shorter: tenor and soprano saxophones; Danilo Perez: piano; John Patitucci: bass; Brian Blade: drums; The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra: violin I: Richard Rood, concertmaster, Martha Caplin, Laura Frautschi, Joanna Jenner, Renee Jolles, Sophia Kessinger; violin II: Calvin Wiersma, principal, Ronnie Bauch, Adela Pena, Eriko Sato; viola: Dov Scheindlin, principal, Mark Holloway, Daniel Panner, Nardo Poy; cello: Eric Bartlett, principal, Melissa Meell, Jonathon Spitz, James Wilson; double bass: Donald Palma, principal, Jordan Frazier; flute: Susan Palma Nidel, principal, Elizabeth Mann; oboe: James Austin Smith, principal, Alexandra Knoll; clarinet: Alan Kay, principal, Alicia Lee; bassoon: Frank Morelli, principal, Marc Goldberg; horn: Stewart Rose, principal, Julie Landsman; trumpet: Louis Hanzlik, principal, Carl Albach; trombone: Michael Powell; timpani: Maya Gunji.

Title: Emanon | Year Released: 2018 | Record Label: Blue Note Records

Saburo K, Saitama, Japan.

Kang Tae Hwan: Live At Cafe Amores

South Korean reedman Kang Tae Hwan is one of the foremost exponents of solo saxophone in the Far East. While he has featured in groups, notably Ton Klami who can be heard on Prophecy Of Nue (NoBusiness, 2017), his conception is so singular that it may be best appreciated in undiluted form. Which makes Live At Cafe Amores a prime exhibit to further awareness of his extraordinary art. It's another in the Lithuanian label's ongoing series of unreleased Chap Chap label recordings licensed from Japan. His combination of multiphonics, overtones and sustained circular breathing recalls some of AACM reedman Roscoe Mitchell's solo outings, while he also sometimes suggests a more serene Evan Parker. 

Kang thrills with astonishingly controlled use of overblowing to reveal the vibrating harmonics of his alto saxophone. What's all the more impressive is that it sounds completely purposeful but is achieved almost naturally without any ostentation. "Solo I" presents the perfect example of the rarefied atmosphere on offer. Kang sets out a sequence of deliberately-paced prolonged notes remarkable for their consistency and purity, spiced with split tones, in a meditative stream. He occasionally dips into a broad vibrato by way of variation, then later introduces a spiraling equivalent to a double time passage amid the continued drawn-out notes. 

Pentatonic melodies create an Eastern vibe, and sometimes as in "Solo II" even evoke Scottish folk music, a feeling exacerbated by use of a skirling bagpipes-like pitch. Although Kang works with the same building blocks throughout, he succeeds in giving each of the five pieces a distinct flavor, no mean feat when working with such a self-imposed restricted palette, as many other improvisers have discovered to their cost. In "Solo III" he intersperses intermittent short dancing phrases and rhythmically-inflected oscillating frequencies, while in "Solo IV" he juxtaposes flutter-tongued wickering with the elongated tones. 

At over 68-minutes it's an hypnotic if somewhat intense listen, so perhaps the most appropriate strategy is to sample one track at a time when in the mood to admire Kang's unrivalled mastery.

Track Listing: Solo I; Solo II; Solo III; Solo IV; Solo V.

Personnel: Kang Tae Hwan: alto saxophone.

Title: Live At Cafe Amores | Year Released: 2018 | Record Label: NoBusiness Records

Saburo K, Saitama, Japan.

Steve Coleman: Live At Village Vanguard Vol. 1 (The Embedded Sets)

Decades after he had migrated from Chicago to New York to briefly play in the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, saxophonist/composer Steve Coleman took to the Village Vanguard stage that Jones and Lewis had occupied for more than twenty years. Since 2015, Coleman and his Five Elements group have made the club an annual event in their global schedule. Live at the Village Vanguard, Vol. I (The Embedded Sets) documents two nights' performances recorded in May 2017. 

The Five Elements have been a remarkably stable group for the past fifteen years with trumpeter Jonathan Finlayson, bassist Anthony Tidd and drummer Sean Rickman having a long history with the leader. Guitarist Miles Okazaki has released five albums as leader or co-leader working with drummer Dan Weiss on four of those albums. Okazaki's Pi Recordings debut, Trickster (2017), featured Tidd on bass and Craig Taborn as well. 

Coleman's two previous Pi Recordings releases, Synovial Joints (2015) with Council of Balance, and Morphogenesis (2017) with his Natal Eclipse group, were—in Coleman's M-Base format—extravagantly prepared and exhaustively composed, relying on his cognitive process, and absence of predictable time signatures. Live at the Village Vanguard, Vol. I represents a paradigm shift as Coleman focuses on spontaneous composition and free improvisation. Unusual and complex time signatures are still present throughout this two-disc set, though the overall context is shaped in the moment. 

"Horda" opens the first set but is revisited mid-way through the second set as well, in the latter case with a bit more of a world music touch. Along with "Djw," the first fifteen minutes of the combined two and one-half hour program grows steadily in intensity. The medley of Bunky Green's "Little Girl I Love You" and "Embedded #1" provide a more expressive respite that continues with the lyrical "idHw." Once the forceful improvisations resume, the quintet doesn't come up for air again until well into the second set where a similar version of "idHw" reappears. Coleman and Finlayson tend to be center stage for much of the collection though Okazaki gets his share of lead time on the quieter pieces. 

As with the five numbers mentioned above, Coleman has opted for a significant amount of repetition here with all but two tunes having a second version. While the alternates vary to some extent, this very long collection would have been quite a bit above average were we given access to the best of each piece. That said, Coleman's music is so different from most everything we hear that the multiple listens deliver somewhat deeper insights to the composer's development of works. Moreover, these sparer approaches provide a well-rounded view of an artist with an ear for the street, current and relevant, and without sacrificing cultural references or the bebop fundamentals that Coleman grew up with.

Track Listing: CD 1: Horda; Djw; Little Girl I'll Miss You-Embedded #1; idHw; twf; Figit Time; Nfr, Little Girl I'll Miss You; Change the Guard. 

CD 2: rmT-Figit Time; Nfr; idHw; Horda; Embedded #1; Djw; rmT-9 to 5.

Personnel: Steve Coleman: alto saxophone; Jonathan Finlayson: trumpet; Miles Okazaki: guitar; Anthony Tidd: bass; Sean Rickman: drums, percussion.

Title: Live at Village Vanguard Vol. 1 (The Embedded Sets) | Year Released: 2018 | Record Label: Pi Recordings

Saburo K, Saitama, Japan.

John Coltrane: Both Directions At Once : The Lost Album Deluxe

The fulsome clarity of the monaural sound on Both Directions at Once: The Lost Album by John Coltrane may be just the gateway necessary to entice those listeners used to a single home speakers, ear buds or their smart phones. After all, as Ashley Kahn notes in his lengthy essay, this double set of compact discs features the iconic saxophonist's classic quartet in its prime, and so deserves to be heard by musiclovers of all stripes and equipment setups, not just the audiophiles and jazz connoisseurs. 

Rudy Van Gelder recorded Coltrane wielding both tenor and soprano horns as he displayed a profound sense of freedom in his instrumental interactions with pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison and drummer Elvin Jones. It's a liberation including, but not limited to, release from worry about mistakes or repetition; even with multiple takes of the same tunes, like "Impressions" (which appears here four times, once without Tyner), there's not a whit of suspicion about duplication of effort or ideas: when players of this high caliber replicate a progression of melody or rhythm, even a single note, it can be an epiphany. Little wonder saxophonist/composer Wayne Shorter, an arguable genius himself, would be quoted in the enclosed booklet, talking in awed terms about the music these artists. 

The music itself speaks volumes through the uncanny intuitive sense(s) the foursome share. By the time of this Bob Thiele-produced session, those well-honed collective instincts had been sharpened both in studios such as this one in New Jersey and on stages like that of Birdland's to which the band repaired immediately upon completion of the recording. Ravi Coltrane's description of his response to this afternoon interlude as "a kicking-the-tires sessions" may arise from the appearance of "Nature Boy" and "Vilia," not yet set as regular repertoire for the group, but cover material which Coltrane and company nonetheless imbue with an infectious sense of play. 

Neither dilettante nor the reserved aficionado should be apprehensive Both Directions At Once contains four tracks labeled "Untitled Original." The Lost Album does manifest some movement on Coltrane's part to the more open- ended likes of Interstellar Space (Impulse, 1974), but the performances here are just sufficiently loose to allow the evolving arrangements breathe and, in turn, further nurture the quartet's musicianly camaraderie. To explain too much of how this happens somewhat demeans the product of this group's creative impulses, but that's certainly not the case with the liner notes: the aforementioned jazz scholar writes with an emphatic logic, communicating as much information as insight, into which he infuses a passion that's a direct reflection of its subject. 

As edifying as it is to read that esteemed author, the sensation isn't all that dissimilar from admiring the design of the two-CD package: die-cuts, gold embossing and all are an ingenious reflection of the imagination within the music it encloses. Consequently, as precious a possession as this deluxe set will become for those who own it, the greatest delight rightfully derives from the sounds it contains.

Track Listing: CD 1: Untitled Original 11383; Nature Boy ; Untitled Original 11386 (Take 1); Vilia (Take 3); Impressions (Take 3); Slow Blues; One Up, One Down (Take 1). CD 2: Vilia (Take 5); Impressions (Take 1); Impressions (Take 2); Impressions (Take 4); Untitled Original 11386 (Take 2); Untitled Original 11386 (Take 5); One Up, One Down (Take 6).

Personnel: John Coltrane: saxophone; McCoy Tyner: piano; Jimmy Garrison: bass; Elvin Jones: drums.

Title: Both Directions at Once: The Lost Album Deluxe Edition | Year Released: 2018 | Record Label: Impulse!

Saburo K, Saitama, Japan.