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08/20/21
HECTOR ANCHONDO/Let Loose Those Chains: An album made by a cat with nothing to prove can be quite the satisfying experience. Winner of the solo guitar category at last year's IBC, that win gave this cat the rocket fuel to make a very personal album that lets him strut his stuff without care or self consciousness knowing the results are going to work. Feeling like a very personal album, all of his moves are moves that connect. Whether a classic bluesman or a modern blues rocker, this is what you have in your headphones when you really want to be away from the rest of the world in the company of someone that really understands.
(Vizz Tone HA1)
LINDSAY BEAVER & BRAD STIVERS: A duo that met up in Austin knows how to get the party started in classic campus coffeehouse fashion. Easy going blues rockers not all that concerned with making a statement, they did get their PhDs in good times. They rollick, they roll and they have all the right moves right at their command. Well done.
(Vizz Tone LNB 1)
ARTHUS POSSING QUARTET/Natural Flow: Sounding like hippies that learned at the feet of Paul Winter and now want to show what they can do on tier own, the second album from this crew is some nicely polished modern jazz that finds structure in it's lack of structure where it all comes together by everyone getting a chance to shine. Easy going stuff that has energy but lets you relax along the way, if the next Manfred Eicher is listening, this could be the house sound the next ECM.
(Double Moon 71391)
WINDISCH TRIO/Pros & Cons: A piano trio that kind of make s you think about how Miles might have sounded if he led a piano trio, this is as far from cocktail music as you could want and still make music that is in the ball park without sailing way past the foul lines. Not making it all the way over to free jazz, it's an amalgam of accessible egghead jazz that never fails to catch you by surprise. Proof there's still plenty of innovation left out there.
(Double Moon 71389 Jazz Thing Next Generation v. 89)
REINHARDT WINKLER/Let's Face the Music: The drummer gives us a different kind of walk down memory lane. This is a collection of the first jazz records he bought as a kid. And he's brought in a crew of cats that he thinks are the bee's knees to help him realize his vision. Classic Blue Note/Verve all the way. With just the right amount of swing to make this at home in any rec room, a good time is had by all.
(Challenge 73526)
FLOUNDER/I Am Flounder: Nice set of angular jazz by some young cats clearly living in the modern world. Skanking along kind of like acid Brecker Brothers (hmm, just invented a new genre?), it might have a stripped down feel but it feels like it's all there.
(Cure All 3)
ROLAND TEMELAAR/New York Chapter: You eye kind of gets fooled into thinking this has the look of a classic Impulse session, and that' s probably intentional. A piano trio that heavily into chestnuts, this could easily pass as a Bill Evans session. Handily avoiding every cliché that could have turned this into cocktail lounge music, this crew is in it for the love of doing it and it shows. Solid and smartly played throughout.
ROSCOE MITCHELL/Dots: So complain if I'm a sucker for an old hell raiser that won't go gentle into that good night. Raising hell in reverse, this minimalist set is akin to some modern classical minimalism where it's all about the white space as opposed to the notes. AACM still gets the publishing credit, but this is an AACM session with no budget. Really, the music is sonically dots. Hey, it's art and we can let the old master have his head.
(Wide Hive 359)
GREG LOUGHMAN/Re;Connection: The bass man plays us a socially distanced pandemic set in which every one played from home and the sound of isolation is evident. Danny Perez is lurking somewhere here so you know this set is legit.
LORRAINE FEATHER/My Own Particular Life: Haven't you laid awake at night wondering how it would sound if Dave Frishberg, Mark Winkler and Mose Allison had a jam session with a clever gal that had no intention of playing it dumb? Feather might have rounded up a bunch of contemporary jazz usual suspects for her latest but be warned, she's launching this one from a completely different launch pad. Not being static and not being a moving target, this is a classic album for modern times that really makes a statement. Feather proves she can still take us to new places in fine style.
(Relarion 315)
PK MAYO/simple Search for Truth: A vet folkie with blues underpinnings amps it up and puts heavy detail into the writing here. A road warrior of long standing, he's inspired to pull the various pieces tight here and the cohesion shows. A solid set for anyone that wants to hear a story backed by some stinging riffs, this is a heavy duty after hours set to jam with on the back porch when the neighbors are away on vacation.
HAROLD LAND/Westward Bound: Culled from 3 different shows in Seattle in the early 60s, this new entry in what could be the label's unsung heroes of jazz series finds the sax man leading various crews with swing and spring for all. Really bopping stuff that's daddio all the way, the tapes buried in the attic were always deserving of release. A nice collection of really letting a sax man do his thing and making it happen throughout.
(Reel to Reel 6)
AL BASILE/B's Testimony: One of those cats that knows how to fly just under the radar giving him the freedom to do things his way, he does it right once again. Leaving the song cycle format of his last two albums behind, he takes real control of this set and it has a loose tightness that keeps you from even thinking about hitting the eject button. Solid songwriting, impeccable playing and loads of the kind of vibes that'll get him to the top of the blues world again with this one. A real satisfying set throughout.
(Sweetspot 9941)
Volume 45/Number 293
August 20, 2021
MIDWEST RECORD
830 W. Route 22 #144
Lake Zurich, IL. 60047
CHRIS SPECTOR, Editor and Publisher
Copyright 2021 Midwest Record
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