Brief Notes On New Jazz Releases

Here are notes on a few new jazz albums you might want to check out.

Alexis Cole And The Tapei Jazz Orchestra: “Jazz Republic: Taiwan, The United States And The Freedom Of Swing” – Vocalist Alexis Cole teams up with the Tapei Jazz Orchestra to create a special album that celebrates music’s power to bring folks together. The album opens with a rousing rendition of Paul Winter’s “Common Ground,” common ground being an idea that somehow got lost here in this country over the last eight years. But it is present in music, where different voices and instruments come together to create a fuller sound. This song and this album are a celebration of that very thing, and I love the joy in the playing and in Alexis Cole’s delivery. And in the second half, there is a good, though brief, drum solo, adding to the track’s appeal. There is even some scat toward the end. There is so much energy to the performance that I’m surprised to not hear applause at the song’s conclusion. That is followed by “Begin The Beguine,” with Alexis Cole adding a short spoken word section to the beginning. “I’m in your arms and we’re dancing.” Ah yes, an image and a feeling that we all cherish, that we long for. And so right away we understand the longing of the song. Alexis Cole gives a passionate vocal performance, matched by some of the work by the brass section. The track concludes with a return to that spoken word section. From Cole Porter to Billy Joel? Sure, why not? Alexis Cole has fun with “Uptown Girl,” a song that you couldn’t avoid in 1983, but which we haven’t heard much in the subsequent years. There is a light, cheerful vibe. Then “I’ve Grown Accustomed To His Face” features some really nice work on piano. One of my favorites is Alexis Cole’s take on “Bye Bye Blackbird,” from that delicious opening with her vocals supported by bass and drums. This track has one of the album’s best and most impressive vocal performances, and includes some joyous scat. Then check out her gorgeous performance on “Here’s That Rainy Day,” a track that also features some wonderful work on trombone. “Moon River” features a lively lead on clarinet, as well as some really good stuff on piano. Another highlight is “Beyond The Sea,” which features a bright lead on trumpet, along with more excellent vocal work. The album concludes with a fantastic rendition of “You Make Me Feel So Young,” certain to leave you feeling youthful too. This album was released on August 19, 2024.

Jason Kao Hwang: “Soliloquies: Unaccompanied Pizzicato Violin Improvisations” – Violinist and composer Jason Kao Hwang is adept at telling stories with his music.  Last year, in fact, he released an album titled Book Of Stories. His new release is titled Soliloquies. A soliloquy tells a different and personal tale, for it is within soliloquies that characters reveal their thoughts and worries and goals directly to the audience. Remember, no character ever lies in a soliloquy. Also, apart from the audience, characters are generally alone when delivering soliloquies. And so it is that Jason Kao Hwang’s new album is made up of solo violin pieces. The album opens with the appropriately titled “At The Beginning,” which is striking in its dramatic use of pauses as well as for Jason Kao Hwang’s style of delivery, the pizzicato technique, which is usually used only in certain sections of songs rather than throughout a piece or album. It does feel like a voice, and reminds me of the way different actors might choose to approach a well-known speech, making it fresh with well-placed breaths. And what Jason Kao Hwang does here is command our attention and draw us into his own story. That’s followed by “Hungry Shadows,” a powerful image, the music fitting that image, with a voice that is at times perhaps uncertain or wary. There is an intimacy here created between the subject and audience. In “Vagabond,” it feels like the past has surfaced and is speaking to us in short phrases that we won’t easily forget. In “Remembering Our Conversation,” there is the sense of wisdom and knowledge imparted, handed down, and then made useful. Knowledge in action. “Where The River Runs Both Ways” transports us, both to a different time and a different space, but touches something within us, and so the unknown feels familiar. I love many of the titles Jason Kao Hwang gives his pieces, and on this album “Silhouettes Lean Forward” is particularly good, that title providing us with a strong image as the music begins, as well as a question. To what are they leaning forward? We listen for the answer, but instead get caught up in the unusual direction of the track. There is something playful here which attracts us. Then there are captivating moments in “Encirclement,” a dramatic energy running through it that might have you holding your breath at times. The action of “Bending Branches Into Roots” (another wonderful title) comes in short spurts, as if trying out different things to get an idea of the outcome. “Shards” makes me think of heavy rain drops falling into a metallic river, and the river responding. The past steps into the present again on “Before God,” the album’s final track, which feels like it is reaching out for answers. In fact, there seems to be a need for them. But the voice is alone, at times its own questions echoing in the darkness. This album is scheduled to be released on September 15, 2024.

Omer Leshem: “Play Space” – Omer Leshem is a saxophone player and composer originally from Herzliya, Israel, and now based in New York City. His new album features all original compositions. Joining Omer Leshem on this release are Nadav Remez on guitar, Moshe Elmakias on piano, Elam Friedlander on bass, and Ben Silashi on drums. The album opens with “Twilight Hymn,” which very quickly develops a cool vibe, with a strong Middle Eastern flavor, featuring some wonderful work on both saxophone and guitar within the track’s first minute, hooking the listeners, and then growing from there. I love music that is able to transport me in some way, and this track certainly does that. And it begins to feel like a dance approximately halfway through, working to raise spirits. And the guitar lead in the second half is excellent. Then “Take An Advil” comes flying in, moving at a fast pace and demanding our full attention (or we’ll be left behind). This track features some completely delicious work on both drums and bass, as well as some exciting stuff on saxophone and piano. This track is a vibrant and thrilling ride. Omer Leshem changes gears then with “David’s Devastating Journey,” which begins with some soft, contemplative work on piano, feeling like it takes place at a lonesome early morning hour before the sun brings the world to life. When the saxophone comes in, it has a feeling of melancholy, and also like it faces some tough decisions ahead. Beautiful work. And the bass seems to offer some comfort during its lead. The track builds to become a gorgeous and moving piece. Things then get fun with “Cape Town Swag,” which has a strong, prominent rhythm. Oh yes, here is where the action is. The musicians change gears again with “The Heroic Era Of No Consequences,” which begins in a more somber place, and we sense colossal forces at work in that opening section. The piano then introduces a more intimate, individual human scope. And soon these two things are working together, creating another interesting experience. “Pull The Donkey” has a delicious groove at its center, and features some wonderful stuff on saxophone. And check out the drumming toward the end. Then “Mulberry Garden” begins with some thoughtful work on saxophone, a lone voice in a larger world. It develops into a pretty track, featuring some really nice stuff on guitar. There is a tension at the beginning of “Go You Maniac,” which remains even in those moments when a warmth is introduced. And it reflects the insanity out there, and reacts to it. Omer Leshem wraps things up with “Back Home,” which begins tenderly, with warm and fond memories. Yet there are hints of sadness, and as the track progresses we sense some unresolved troubles that lurk beneath the surface. It returns to a mellower place as it reaches its conclusion. This album is scheduled to be released on September 27, 2024.

Rosemary Loar: “Coraçāo Vagabundo/Vagabond Heart” – Rosemary Loar is a singer and composer, and her new album features several original compositions as well as some wonderful choices of covers. She is joined by Frank Ponzio on piano, Tom Hubbard on bass, Vito Lesczak on drums, Gary Schreiner on harmonica, and David Longworth on egg and triangle. The album opens with its title track, “Coraçāo Vagabundo,” written by Caetano Veloso and Gal Costa. This rendition eases in, featuring some pretty work on bass during that first section. Then there is some nice stuff on harmonica, setting the tone for Rosemary Loar’s entrance. She delivers a gorgeous and touching vocal performance here. That’s followed by one of the album’s original songs, “Just A Fairy Tale,” the piano working as our usher into that fairy tale world, before the song opens up in a dramatic way. And then we learn that she is looking back at something that she discovered wasn’t real. “Oh, how willingly I fell/How deeply in your spell/It was just a fairy tale/Figment of my fantasy.” Ah, that fairy tale beginning did not last, and we were tricked just as she was. And once she has come to terms with it, the song begins to swing, and features some excellent work on piano. The piano is now part of the real world, and joyously so, even though there is then a moment where it begins to slip back into that fairy tale. We still want it to be real, don’t we, and slip into the fantasy’s arms? “Your Turn To Be Brave” is another of the original compositions, and near the beginning of this one she sings, “It scared me to say it/But I trust my love is real.” We get the feeling this one will not turn out to be fairy tale, especially when it kicks in with a cool and sexy force. Who could help but fall for her as she sings, “I’ll hold on long as I’m able/But it’s so hard to behave/I blurted out ‘I adore you’/You’re the one that I crave.” She is both adorable and sexy here. This track also features a delicious lead on bass and some vibrant work on piano. This is one of my personal favorites. It’s followed by another original song, “You Taught My Heart To Sing.” “We meet and it begins/The sound of violins,” Rosemary sings at the beginning, and we know exactly how she feels. It’s not just in the words, but the way she delivers them. While there might not be violins on this track, there is some good work on harmonica at key moments. That’s followed by “Fascinating Rhythm.” I’ve said it before, but you can never go wrong with Gershwin, and Rosemary Loar delivers a fantastic rendition here, pulling us in with a captivating vocal performance. Then nearly halfway through, she picks up the pace, and includes some scat. She also gives us a cool version of Sting’s “La Belle Dame Sans Regrets,” featuring another alluring vocal performance. “I Don’t Want To Know For Sure,” the album’s final original number, has a beautiful, timeless vibe. “I don’t want to know for sure/It’s fun to have this fantasy/That I’m much more than a friend/Our romance will never end.” This album was released on July 18, 2024.

Jeff Rupert: “It Gets Better” – Saxophonist Jeff Rupert is known for his work in The Jazz Professors and with The Flying Horse Big Band. His new album features mostly original compositions. Joining him are Kenny Barron on piano, Peter Washington on bass, and Joe Farnsworth on drums. Jeff Rupert opens the album with an original number, “Petrichor (In The Cote D’azur),” which has a kind of sweet intro, and then very quickly becomes a fun, gently swinging tune that has a light, easygoing attitude, like a joyous walk through the city when you have no pressing obligations, when the rain has left the streets and air feeling clean. The work on saxophone begins to soar partway through. This track also contains good leads on piano and bass. That’s followed by “Comanche Crush,” about the sailing yacht that set a new transatlantic record in 2022. As you might expect, this one moves at a good clip. There is a strong sense of forward movement, particularly in that first section, and a good energy. It features an excellent and exciting lead on piano. And you can feel the wind at your back during the saxophone lead in the middle. Then we get the album’s first cover, Billy Strayhorn’s “Lana Turner,” which has cool, somewhat relaxed vibe, as the saxophone casually struts about in a way that is alluring. That’s followed by the album’s title track, “It Gets Better,” an original composition that has a great vibe from the start, with that cool bass line. Honestly, it was the album’s title that initially drew me to this album, for I appreciate that sense of optimism. And it does feel like things are getting better, doesn’t it? If it doesn’t for you, give a listen to this track, for I think this music will help. It’s one of my personal favorites, and it might get your spirits dancing. Jeff Rupert takes us in a different direction with “Pharaoh’s Daughter,” which has a darker, more contemplative vibe, though still containing some bright moments. I love how we get caught up in the motion, particularly of Jeff Rupert’s lead. He then delivers a really nice rendition of “Like Someone In Love,” which has a certain warmth, a certain friendliness to it. It also contains some excellent drumming, including a solo, and a delicious lead on bass. The final cover is “Nowhere To Go But Up,” from the movie Mary Poppins Returns (a relatively recent release I didn’t know existed until now). It’s a cheerful number, featuring a particularly good lead on piano. That’s followed by “Not My Blues,” a cool and engaging tune that features some delicious work on drums. The album concludes with “Promenade In Blue,” a thoughtful piece that seems to reflect on a past of some suffering. This album is scheduled to be released on September 6, 2024.