Harris Eisenstadt - Recent Developments

Harris Eisenstadt
Recent Developments

Songlines

Anna Webber - flute
Sara Schoenbeck - bassoon
Nate Wooley - trumpet
Jeb Bishop - trombone
Dan Peck - tuba
Brandon Seabrook - banjo
Hank Roberts - cello
Eivind Opsvik - bass
Harris Eisenstadt - drums, compositions

Harris Eisenstadt is one of my favorite contemporary Jazz composers. His series of Canada Day quintet albums on Songlines represent a sustained high level of composing and playing, mixing the adventurous with a sense of melody that in a just world could attract a broader audience. 

Eisenstadt has featured larger groups as well, most recently on Canada Day Octet from 2012. Recent Developments has more of a chamber music sound, in spite of the fact the album includes a rhythm section of drums and acoustic bass. The album is a little deceptive; it has a light, even slight, feel to it at first. Listen further and more intricacies reveal themselves. The musicians on the record are a who’s who of today’s forward thinking jazz-related players. The ensemble sound takes precedence on Recent Developments, with the banjo of Brandon Seabrook providing an interesting and unusual textural twist.

The Top Jazz Releases of 2013

Here, in order, are my top 10 jazz releases of 2013. I kept my list to 10 in order to conform to the format established by Francis Davis, who graciously asked me to take part in his 8th annual jazz critics poll, hosted this year by NPR Music. For this blog I cheated and added an "Honorable Mention" list as well, below the list of my main choices.

My top 10 are:

Mary Halvorson Septet - Illusionary Sea (Firehouse 12)
Ms. Halvorson takes yet another step forward in an already remarkable career. In a lineage with Point of Departure.

Convergence Quartet – Slow & Steady (No Business)
Taylor Ho Bynum and Alexander Hawkins both figure again on this list, and along with Dominic Lash and Harris Eisenstadt, reinvent a traditional-sounding trumpet/piano/bass/drums lineup.

Taylor Ho Bynum Sextet & 7-tette – Navigation (Firehouse 12)
Fascinating to hear how he approaches recasting a set of materials over four performances outside of his work with Braxton.

Drew Gress – The Sky Inside (Pirouet)
Compelling compositions and arrangements from Gress, and compelling performances from his long-time collaborators. 

Craig Taborn – Chants (ECM)
A dark, complex record that with mysterious depths beneath the surface. 

Alexander Hawkins – Song Singular (Babel Label)
The record that puts Hawkins in the same league as Melford, Taborn, Fujii, etc. 

Ralph Alessi – Baida (ECM)
Alessi seems in total command of his horn and his approach, and he sounds like he’s having fun as well. 

Satoko Fujii Trio – Spring Storm (Libra)
Another winning trio record. 

Francois Houle/Havard Wiik – Aves (Songlines)
A beautiful dialogue between clarinet and piano.

Nate Wooley – (Sit In) The Throne of Friendship (Clean Feed)
Wooley has some pretty wild freer recordings, but I like him best when he balances composition with unique arrangements. 

Honorable mentions:

Ingrid Laubrock Anti-House - Strong Place (Intakt)

Gabriella Friedli Trio – Started (Intakt)

Samuel Blaser/Benoit Delbecq/Gerry Hemingway - Fourth Landscape (Nuscope)

Harris Eisenstadt – Golden State (Songlines)

Tim Berne's Snakeoil - Shadow Man (ECM)

Satoko Fujii – Gen Himmel (Libra)

Full results of Mr. Davis' poll will be posted in the coming days at www.nprmusic.org.