Fabiano do Nascimento: Solstice Concert (Leaving Records LR252)
Fabiano do Nascimento was born in Rio de Janeiro and is based in Los Angeles and Japan. The guitarist, composer, arranger and producer is known for his intricately woven, multi-string performances, and this recording captures a live performance from June 2023 in Los Angeles. The music is more New Age, ambient and electronic than it is jazz, but that does not detract from the interesting merger of cultures that shapes Nascimento’s approach to music. Some of the guitar playing swings with a Latin vibe, but the Japanese influence is also strong, with plucked, simple melodies shaping some of the material. The release notes make for an amusing read, mentioning that at the concert the band was in “full-freak out mode, audience stoked”. Really? In either the recording or the mixing, the presence of the audience has been completely overlooked, with many tracks ending abruptly or segueing into the next one raggedly. The audience can be heard applauding briefly on one track, but overall this could have been knocked out in the studio, such is the album’s lack of live atmosphere.
Richard X Bennett: Scavenger (Ropeadope)
This album was conceived and recorded as Bennett was undergoing treatment for pancreatic cancer in 2024. Remarkably, given those circumstances, Scavenger is full of lovely, upbeat music that contains so much that is life-affirming and positive. Bennett’s music is influenced by many different genres and kicks off with a piece shaped by West African rhythm and some lyrical piano melodies. There is a sweeping orchestral sound to several of the compositions, whilst on other tracks the sound is more personal and pared back.
My Elegy finds Bennett performing a haunting, slow melody on chromatic harmonica, an instrument he played as a child then gave up. Returning to it during his cancer treatment, he found the instrument hard work and could only play slowly. It’s a poignant, standout track on this deeply personal album. The mood changes with Vultures, an energetic, scurrying track that explores a range of emotions from joy to anger, reflecting Bennett’s experiences of being treated for cancer and how this made him feel. 5fu is shorthand for the drug Fluorouracil, so named for the different ways it can mess up the body. Given the dark source of the inspiration for the track, it’s a surprisingly bluesy, swinging composition. Perhaps the sense of optimism that characterises this album is heard best of all on That’s The Sound, a gorgeously swinging piano and vibes track that, says Bennett, is all about love.
Bennett’s album is an uplifting experience and, knowing the background to how it came about, the listener cannot fail to be moved by the sheer exuberance, fight, and positivity that comes out in the music. A remarkable album from a remarkable man.
Mathias Eick: Lullaby (ECM 6024 7510486 5)
Eick has a unique and distinct sound as both trumpeter and composer. Time and place are important influences that shape how he approaches his music, and it is an overall sense of reflection and melancholy that are often the standout qualities on his albums. Despite wanting to challenge himself with new projects, not much seems to have changed with Eick’s approach to Lullaby. It’s listenable enough but doesn’t seem to take him anywhere he has not been before. Even the presence of some new musicians hasn’t changed things too much.
Between the mournful songs driven by Eick’s familiar waspish trumpet and occasional vocals, there are a few more upbeat pieces where the pace quickens, and he sounds more like Tomasz Stanko, with edge and attack added to the playing. Pianist Kristjan Randalu pushes Eick perhaps more than he has been on previous albums, so there are some tightly knit exchanges between the two to enjoy. But overall, with some tracks named after months of the year – a recurring theme explored on earlier Eick releases – and that sense of sadness and loss underpinning the feel of the music, Lullaby sounds very much like business as usual for the Norwegian.
Etienne Manchon Trio: Weird Life (etiennemanchon.fr)
The most vibrant and enjoyable album in this month’s digest comes from the Etienne Manchon Trio. It is packed with inventiveness, energetic performances and a strong sense that this group of youthful musicians could run with an idea and take it anywhere they wanted. In a well-matched trio, pianist Manchon is ably supported by colleagues and friends Clement Daldosso (bass) and Theo Moutou (drums). There is a keen sense of joy and connection in the trio as the album unfolds.
Award-winner Manchon has been influenced by a range of sources including Pink Floyd and keyboardist Jozef Dumoulin. As a result, the tracks offer a blend of piano-led trio jazz with some prog-rock electronics for variety. It’s a dizzying, enjoyable listen, best described as a mix of the very best of modern jazz pianists such as Martin Tingvall, Marcin Wasilewski and Romain Collin, infused with Yes-like keyboard solos and the funky beat of French group Air. In a recent interview, Manchon described Weird Life as being a milestone release for the trio, perhaps indicating that this is what the trio is most happy with, and where they will take their music in the future.
Now and then, bands and albums come along that stick in the mind because of some exceptional quality that comes out in the music performed, that also hints at the huge potential of what is to come. Manchon is one of those musicians, and Weird Life is one of those albums.
Knats: Knats (Gearbox Records)
Geordie jazz is alive and well, based on what I have heard of Knats. Two lifelong friends from Newcastle – Stan Woodward and King David-Ike Elechi have teamed their talents on bass and drums with virtuoso trumpeter Ferg Kilsby and some other musicians to produce a lively set of songs that explore their personal history and a range of musical styles. The sound is modern and urban, fusing easy-on-the-ear melodies with some funky beats and some standout playing from Kilsby. With material that draws on the experiences of being raised by single mothers, to an appreciation of fusion from the 1970s and 1980s, there is an honesty and dynamism to this music that is likely to put Newcastle firmly on the map as a source of exciting new jazz sounds.
