“What’s in the Mailbag, Maude?” (Review)
Well, I’m so glad that you asked.
There’s never a dull moment here in the mailroom. But after January’s and February’s boatload of new releases buried me, the deliveries have been lighter mid-March and I can now see the ceiling. Why don’t we take a look at five releases that I’ve randomly chosen to review:
Mark Lockett/Swings and Roundabouts (Thick) – I find myself saying more often “I have never heard of this person” and being more intrigued to review their work. The release by New Zealand-born drummer Lockett is his seventh and it truly resonates within the energy field of saxophonist Ornette Coleman. The front melodic line of saxophonist David Binney and trumpeter Duane Eubanks mirrors Coleman and trumpeter Don Cherry in a most respectful fashion. Though not as aggressive as bassist Charlie Haden in Coleman’s quartet, bassist Matt Penman gives buoyancy to the compositions. Available February 2023.
Tropos/Shadow Music (Endectomorph) – wait for it, wait for it…that’s the trick to engaging with this one by the ever-evolving collective Tropos. Three from it - vocalist Laila Smith, pianist Phillip Golub, and drummer/percussionist Mario Layne Fabrizio – recorded Shadow Music into the night after putting their first album to wax. They sound like they’re emptying out after a “laborious” task, and use the space surrounding them as an anchor for their ideas. Available March 17, 2023.
Shawn Maxwell/Story at Eleven (Cora Street) – This is a rather cool release. Reed player, composer, and educator Maxwell is Chicago, IL from the ground up – schooled in the ways of soulful and groovy improvisation. It’s all of four compositions that include the Rhodes, Wurlitzwer and Hammond B-3 playing of fellow Chicagoan Collin Clauson. Available March 21, 2023.
Isaiah J. Thompson/The Power of the Spirit (Blue Engine) – Recorded live in 2020, 2021, and 2022 at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Dizzy’s Club in NYC, another high caliber recording from a pianist who wriggled through the Jazz pipeline, appearing with well-seasoned artists like bassists Ron Carter and Christian McBride. No one who came to that show came to sleep, so they came to the right place. Man, the band is cookin’! And if I’m not mistaken, Thompson, who gigs regularly with guitarist John Pizzarelli, is on Pizzarelli’s upcoming Spring release. Available March 30, 2023.
Emily Braden/Cannon & Sparrow (Emily Braden) – I liken this release to putting on a fresh coat of paint onto the living room walls. With a wonderful voice and a heart full of enthusiasm, Harlem, NYC-based Braden gives a handful of standards a stronger pulse and her own compositions wings to fly. Feelin’ flat today? Put this on.
Ciao!