Steve Coleman’s Natal Eclipse - Morphogenesis

Morphogenesis

Steve Coleman’s Natal Eclipse

Pi Recordings

Steve Coleman - alto saxophone

Jonathan Finlayson - trumpet

Maria Grand - tenor saxophone

Rane Moore - clarinet 

Kristin Lee - violin 

Jen Shyu - vocals 

Matt Mitchell - piano 

Greg Chudzik - bass 

Neeraj Mehta - percussion

Steve Coleman has been undergoing an artistic renaissance since joining Pi Recordings in 2010. His M-Base theories have been hugely influential in contemporary jazz over many years, with followers such as Jonathan Finlayson taking his concepts and providing their own interpretations. I've had reservations about the M-Base style, chiefly that the fixed rhythms on releases such as 1995's Def Trance Beat (Modalities of Rhythm) have tended to anchor in place soloists, including Mr. Coleman, and prevented them from taking full flight.

Coleman has expanded his palette over the course of four Pi releases, and the result has been the best recordings of his career. Morphogenesis continues that streak with what is essentially an ambitious multi-part suite spanning 60-plus minutes. What's impressive is the clarity of the vision and how well the sections hang together to create the whole.

Coleman creates interest by constantly shifting the focus to different instruments in a seamless fashion distinct from the traditional jazz solo. Rhythms are more supple and varied than in his earlier works. The cyclical effect of the compositions' structures bears a faint resemblance to Anthony Braxton's Ghost Trance music, although Coleman is his own person as a composer and player.

There were a couple of sections that I felt overstayed their welcome, but overall Morphogenesis is another impressive milestone in Steve Coleman's career.

Mary Halvorson Octet - Away With You

Mary Halvorson Octet

Away With You

Firehouse 12 Records

Jonathan Finlayson - trumpet
Jon Irabagon - alto saxophone
Ingrid Laubrock - tenor saxophone
Jacob Garchik - trombone
Mary Halvorson - guitar

Susan Alcorn - pedal steel guitar
John Hébert - bass
Ches Smith - drums

Just got through listening to Mary Halvorson’s amazing new album with her Octet, Away With You (Because of the letterspacing on the cover, at first I thought the title was A Way With You, which is a nice play on words if you think about it!) This recording hit me so hard that I had to come out of my blog retirement to comment on it.

No real dominant voice, everything is very well-balanced throughout, and it’s the ensemble sound that you notice. One unique quality to the arrangements is Susan Alcorn’s pedal steel, an instrument I generally steer clear of even though I was born in the South. Here, however, it blends remarkably well with the woodwinds and brass, as well as Ms. Halvorson’s guitar.

Away With You builds on Ms. Halvorson’s work on her previous Firehouse 12 group recording, Illusionary Sea; in fact, it’s the same group with the addition of Ms. Alcorn. Listening to Away With You brought to mind Michael Formanek’s The Distance, not in the specific sound but in the way each offers a fresh take on arranging for larger groups of instruments.

This is brilliant stuff. It releases on October 28, but you can pre-order at Firehouse 12’s Bandcamp page.

2013 NPR Jazz Critics Poll

The results of Francis Davis' annual poll, which this year is being hosted by NPR Music, are now online. There's also a separate article by Mr. Davis with his thoughts on the results and his personal choices. Here are my comments, which I posted at the end of his article:

"I was surprised that Without A Net (Wayne Shorter) was the #1 album, but I suppose I shouldn’t be. I knew that a large portion of the jazz audience was looking backwards, but I didn’t realize so many critics were as well. It’s not a bad album, but it’s not anywhere near his best work or the best of what was released in 2013. As for the rest of the poll, there’s a lot to like, but I was also puzzled that Functional Arrhythmias (Steve Coleman) rated so highly, as I think Coleman’s last couple of releases were much stronger. In fact, I thought Jonathan Finlayson’s Moment and the Message was a better take on M-Base concepts. But kudos to Mr. Davis for some of his personal choices, particularly for calling attention to records from Myra Melford, Eric Revis, and Taylor Ho Bynum..."

The individual choices of each critic, including mine, have also been posted separately.