Peter Epstein Quartet - Polarities

Peter Epstein Quartet

Polarities

Songlines

Peter Epstein - Alto & Soprano Saxophone

Ralph Alessi - Trumpet, Cornet

Sam Minaie - Bass

Mark Ferber - Drums

I was very interested when I read that Peter Epstein had released his first album in several years, Polarities. I remember discovering him at my local Tower Records (remember those?) when I ran across the series of CDs he put out on ma recordings in the late 90s. They were artfully packaged and featured great players such as Jamie Saft, Scott Colley, and Jim Black. He also had a beautiful solo sax album on that label called Solus.

It turns out that Epstein has been teaching for the past several years at the University of Nevada, Reno, where he is now director of their jazz studies program. He put out a record on Songlines back in 2005, Lingua Franca, and one on Origin called Abstract Realism, but has had a lower profile in comparison to his New York days.

Epstein has always had flawless technique, but he tended to be a little too laid back over the Polarities. There's a nice variation in mood and tempo, and he brings the heat when needed. It's a controlled burn, certainly, and Epstein never loses the lyricism that defines his style. He’s good on both horns, but on alto is where you can really hear his unique voice.

course of an entire album for my taste, and his improvisations could wander a bit. I'm happy to report that he's fixed those minor flaws on

Epstein has the perfect front line partner in Ralph Alessi, who can play in or out with equal skill. They work well with each other, trading lines and overlapping in that tight yet loose way that seems to define today’s more adventurous jazz albums. I wasn’t familiar with bassist Sam Minaie, but he and drummer Ferber hook up to provide a seamless ebb and flow to support the horns. Together, the four musicians pull off a neat trick for a group with this lineup: They don't immediately make you think of the classic Ornette Coleman quartet.

Welcome back, Mr. Epstein. It’s good to make your acquaintance again.

Sound clips are available on the Songlines website.

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.

Drew Gress – The Sky Inside

Drew Gress
The Sky Inside
Pirouet

Drew Gress - Bass, Electronics
Tim Berne - Alto Saxophone
Ralph Alessi - Trumpet
Craig Taborn - Piano
Tom Rainey - Drums

The Sky Inside is the fourth release by Drew Gress with essentially the same group. He started with Spin & Drift (2001, Premonition), a release that looked good on paper but never really fulfilled its promise. 7 Black Butterflies (2005, Premonition) substituted Craig Taborn for Uri Caine and added trumpeter Ralph Alessi. I initially passed when it came out, but eventually came around and was very glad I did. He followed that with The Irrational Numbers (2008, Koch), another excellent record.

The Sky Inside shows that everyone has grown as mature, expressive players over the years. Tom Rainey is a modern rhythm master, able to accentuate the proceedings without calling undue attention to himself. Tim Berne and Alessi are both in the middle of probably the most productive periods of their careers, with their respective ECM albums and numerous guest appearances. Taborn shows himself to particularly good effect, whether helping hold down repeating rhythmic figures or providing key transitions in the compositions.

There’s always something interesting going on with Gress’s arrangements, a sense of motion and intricacy underneath while the horns play with and around each other. While his compositions strike a balance between melody and abstraction, In Streamline stands out because it is simply, unabashedly, beautiful. It reminded me of one of those perfect fall days when I lived in NYC, walking along brownstones in the afternoon sun, everything right with the world, if only for a moment. It’s the kind of performance that would be perfect on the soundtrack of a sophisticated, urban film.

As with the previous releases, there’s a very subtle use of electronic effects to enhance the arrangements in some places on the record. I usually hate any kind of studio manipulation, but the effects work here because they are so unobtrusive.

Distribution has been an issue recently for the label in the U.S., but you should be able to get it through Downtown Music Gallery, or through the Pirouet website.