Jazz | Pint | Transitioning Alpha Theta

A quiet Sunday evening at home called for a beer and some listening. The album that has lulled me off to sleep the last couple of nights is Hayden Chisholm's Transitioning Alpha Theta from his box set Cusp of Oblivion. If you hadn't picked up on it, I'm definitely a fan of Hayden's work, and I particularly enjoy his saxophone ensemble recordings. Whereas Kaum Quartet and Auto Poetica feature four and eight alto players respectively, Transitioning Alpha Theta, features Hayden alone, multi-tracked.

Nothing is abrupt. Dynamics are at the quieter end with subtle variations as particular notes are emphasized and the sounds ease in and out with breath. Ebb and flow. Sublime saxophone playing. The Breath. Space. A sense of calm prevails. After 42 minutes the piece ends but feels like it could just keep going. Infinity. 

The breath. Calm. Space. Areas that warrant further exploration in my own work and a record such as this (and others from Hayden), are a handy resource.... and an enjoyable listening experience. This past week or so I've been consciously trying to slow down while practicing. Leaving more space etc. Putting the horn down helps - you can't play if it's not in your hands.

One of my regrets is not getting back to Greece for another of his workshops. Maybe in the future it will happen. For now, I can relax, listen, get lost in the sound, and slow down.

Time to Unwind

Okay… this post is way overdue. Like last year, I took a little time off in February to catch Hayden while he was back on tour in support of Saffron, latest release by Unwind.

To kicks things off, I headed up to New Plymouth for the opening gig of the tour. I had pre-gig pint at Shining Peaks (recommended) before walking down to the Fourth Wall Theatre. It's a nice sized venue with pretty decent sound to boot. It’s always nice to hear him in front of the hometown crowd (my third time now) as it adds a different flavour to proceedings. Although it was first gig of the tour, the trio (Julien wasn’t due to join them until Napier) hit their stride pretty quickly.

The night kicked off with “Going Home” and they capped the night off with a medley of “How Great Thou Are/Amazing Grace/Pokarekare Ana”. In between there was "Nearness of You", "Mendoza", "S.T.B", "Morning and Evening Calm", a Serbian song about yellow quinces, and some others from Saffron. 

The quartet tweaked the set list a little to appeal to the (mostly) Whanganui Jazz Club audience at Lucky Bar by including a couple of numbers from Hayden’s big band album, Ace of My Heart - “Rhythm Got Me” and “For Ever More and a Day” (based on Rhythm Changes and Shine on Harvest Moon respectively). Jaco Pastorius’ “Three Views of a Secret” was a surprise addition (they played it in Wellington too).

In Wellington, the quartet appeared at The Third Eye for the Wellington Jazz Cooperative’s fortnightly concert series. There was a solid crowd – but it was not as packed as I was expecting. It seems like it can be hard to draw an audience in Wellington at times (and it seems to have gotten worse while I was living overseas - the creative capital?). I was expecting to see a bunch of saxophonists there - but where were they? (Maybe they had gigs!). I noted the clarity of Paul's bass tone. I have noticed a lot of players end up with heaps of boomy bottom end or a very electric/ampy sound when playing at Third Eye (maybe it's due to the extra volume of the large ensemble gigs... as the couple of examples I can think of where the bass sounded good were trio and quartet gigs). It’s nice to hear the contrast of Unwind with and without drums – Julien brings an energy and adds colours that work really well for me. And he’s an improvisor (and listener), with tunes getting treated quite differently night to night. Sometimes he can be quite busy, yet not get in the way.

Like last year, Hayden played a solo set at St Paul’s Cathedral as part of the TGIF lunchtime concert series. Hayden’s tone in this space is something to behold. It was interesting to hear how the “Well Tempered Shurti Box” is evolving. This time around there was a bit more overtone singing than I recall him doing last year and Pokarekare Ana made an appearance too.

That evening it was off to Raumati South. The house concert is a great setting for this group – Hayden and Norm with vocalist Hannah Griffin. The vibe in the room was fantastic and the trio was on form – the dialogue between Hayden and Norm was on point and Hannah’s singing was as real as I’ve heard. It was great catching up with her after the gig. Hard to put into words really - a beautiful concert, and the highlight from the tour for me.

The following evening Hayden, Norman and Hannah were at Futuna Chapel in Wellington. It’s a great space…. They just need a decent piano! While similar repertoire was used for both evenings, there was definitely a different vibe the previous evening – more formal and more mellow too.

Some of the works feature across the two evenings were: Hinemoana Baker: “Matariki, e”, “I Forget You” (a slow version used for the encore), “Liver”, “Urupā”, “Poi Dances”. One piece Norm announced as being played at “stripper tempo” (it was less raunchy when played in the chapel). Janet Frame: “Before I Get Into Sleep With You” and another I missed the title. David Mitchell: “Aesthetics”. Bill Manhire: “Little Prayers”, “Einstein” and “The Occupation Against Time”. Hone Tuwhare: “Rain” and “Life’s Eternal River”. And probably some others I missed.

I am really keen to hear the quartet plus Hannah (maybe next year) – it sounds like the Auckland gig was a gem. John Fenton wrote a bit about it on his blog.

That weekend I set a personal record for church attendance... three days in a row. On Sunday Hayden was featured with the choir at St Paul’s Cathedral. Sitting through a church service isn’t really my thing…. The things you do for a bit of music!

Following the tour, the quartet went back into the studio so expect another album in the not so distance future… and I hear 2021 tour plans are underway. I’ll have to book some leave.

Music for Commuting: Trio = Piano + Sax + Bass

The commuting continues but the posts have slowed down. Long weekend procrastination was not particularly obliging with blog updates but a couple of train rides helped scraping together something. I’m slowly catching up on things.

I played the title track from Time Will Tell to some friends earlier in the month. I’m not sure it really resonated with them, but that won’t stop me from trying to expose them to some different stuff. The follow-up, Sankt Gerold, is on my “to get” list. I'm pretty keen to hear Barre Phillips new solo album too.

I hadn’t listened to Slow Fox’s second album, Gentle Giants, all that much and I was happy reacquainting myself it on the way to work last week. It led me back to the trio’s first album, The Wood, when heading into Wellington for a couple of gigs. I was going to try and play favorites, but in the end.... why bother when you can sit back and enjoy them both. For NZ Music Month I’ll be sending a bunch of friends a playlist which will include a track from Gentle Giants.

Unwind on tour

It was time to take an overdue break from work and catch a few of Unwind's gigs as they toured New Zealand.

First stop was the 4^th Wall Theatre in New Plymouth. It meant missing out on Matt Penman in Wellington, but I hadn't heard Hayden since 2012, so I wanted to make the most of him being home (sorry Matt! What are the chances?). It's a nice sized venue and was pretty much at capacity (100 or so). The trio have added a couple of gospel tunes to their repertoire - “Nearer to Thee” and “Precious Lord” - both of which proved to be popular choices. A Serbian folk tune about a son who leaves and never returns seemed like a fitting choice to play (and sing.... as promised to his Serbian friends) to his hometown crowd.

While I was in town I made sure to get to the Govett-Brewsster Gallery/Len Lye Centre. The Group Therapy exhibition featured three of Lye's sculptures, “Rotating Harmonic,” “Zebra” and “Watusi” (I'm pretty sure they said it was the first time since the 60s it had been exhibited). They were also playing “Free Radicals” and “Tusulava.” It's a great space in which to calm your mind. Do check it out. 

Following work on Wednesday, I jumped out to Lucky Bar + Kitchen in Whanganui for round two. There was bit of a different vibe, compared to the more hometown-casual feel of New Plymouth, it was more “gig-like.” The night was bit more high energy, the spiritual pieces got bluesy-er and there was even a little wailing altissimo. I enjoyed the venue - friendly staff and surprisingly decent acoustics (they just need a piano!). A crowd of about 40, not bad for mid-week I guess, tended to stay away from the stage. Paul's “The Last Desperate Hoot”, was a stand out for me. I loved the joyous swing and interaction between P.D and Hayden's weaving lines (Norm laid out, only comping during the head – a recurring pattern for each performance).

I didn't catch the titles of all the new tunes, but I hope “Tumble” (?) makes the new recording. Having heard them debut a number of tunes on this tour I'm keen to hear any that make the next album. One tune I dubbed “Norm's Groove” eventually I discovered was titled “Gabriel.” Norm's “Morning and Evening Calm” to open each concert.

Considering Unwind were touring in support of the release of Orange, they didn't play much from the album - “Miracle” made a regular appearance in the set list. And “Fly” was the only piece from the trio's debut album. But that really didn't bother me, as I enjoyed the chance to hear them working through tunes that will feature on their upcoming album (to be recorded while they were in Christchurch). After four gigs I was starting the new tunes were starting to sink in.

St. Paul's Lutheran Church was the scene on Thursday night in Wellington. I know some people had gigs that night (credit to Jake for making the first set!), but I was expecting a much larger crowd – at least one that was heavy on sax players. We need to work on this! 

For some of the tour Unwind expanded to a quartet with the addition of Julien Dyne on drums. I was really keen to hear how Julien slotted into the group. Particularly on the older material that may not have been written with drums in mind. He had already played a few dates with them earlier in the tour but this was my first chance to hear the new line up. It seemed like the first set he was still coming to terms with the acoustics (there's a reason why Bach didn't have drums in his church band!) but I enjoyed his approach. Unsurprisingly, it did change the fundamental sound of the trio. There was less room for the music to breathe (one of the strengths of the albums). At times he plays the energy that is implied on the trio recordings. Did that space need filling? Sure, Unwind could keep operating as a trio, but the addition of drums definitely brings a new feel to the group. But why change? I guess it may freshen things a little to avoid the third recording being samey. I don't really have a problem with samey... as in stable line-ups working creatively in samey settings (Root 70, Connie Crothers Quartet, Steve Lacy Quintet/Sextet come to mind). But regardless of the reason, the addition of drums has plenty to offer and build on.

One change that did stand out was P.D's approach with the addition of drums. I felt he was more interactive and broke up the time more in the trio setting. This was one of the elements I really enjoyed on the recordings, Unwind and Orange. It came to the fore in Whanganui and on a couple of trio tunes in Raumati. But it was nice hearing him settle into a groove with his son.

One of Norm's strengths is knowing when not to play (a seriously underrated quality!). He can be happy digging the sounds around him without the need to be constantly stabbing at the piano. And when he does play – he means it. It's definitely not a chops-heavy approach, and it suits this group to a tee. 

Friday lunchtime and St. Paul's Cathedral was the setting for a condensed version of “The Well-Tempered Shruti Box.” It's a recording of Hayden's I have listened to a lot, so it was fantastic to hear it live in a acoustic space that really showcased his alto tone to the max. Understated virtuosity – he makes it seem so easy and sound so good, without having to wow people with pyrotechnics. The 35 minutes floated by in no time.

It was great to hear the trio for a couple of nights and then the quartet for a couple of nights. Again, it was very interesting hearing Julien with the group the following evening at the house concert in Raumati South. He's an improviser, as his approach to the same tunes two nights running varied quite a lot - and this time round the acoustics were in his favour. Everything seemed to dovetail together on Friday night – the coziness of New Plymouth, the energy of Whanganui, not having to battle acoustics as they did in Wellington. The crowd (full house) really got into it, and I chatted with a bloke attending his first ever jazz concert and he was blown away.

If they played a better concert than this house concert, and if you managed to catch it, consider yourself extremely fortunate. The walk back to my sister's place was too short to contemplate the mystery and magic I'd heard that night. A great evening.

The week came with mixed emotions – great getting to hear and hang with one of my favourite musicians who I haven't seen in a number of years, but it also was a reminder of times passed, when getting out to four gigs in a week was standard fare, when music was more prominent in my life, and when everyday life was far more fulfilling. Coming down from such such a high isn't easy. In some ways, it served as a stark reminder of just how ordinary parts of my life have become – but I'll try to focus on the positives. During my lessons, Connie Crothers would often talk about momentum. I want to talk this week's energy, move with it and build on it. 

NZ Jazz: Unwind - Orange

Unwind: Orange (Rattle)

Hayden Chisholm (as/shruti box) Norman Meehan (p) Paul Dyne (b)

This month I've been listening to another new release from Rattle. Orange is the follow up to the trio's 2017 debut, Unwind. The added bonus here is the inclusion of a DVD featuring the trio in concert at Orange Studios in Christchurch. 

As was the case when I wrote about Unwind, Orange is quite different from the previous month's featured recording (Antipodes' Good Winter). While both groups have a definite ensemble sound the means in which they attain it are very different. The velvety quality of Hayden's phrasing, Norm's hints of churchiness (without overdoing it) and P.D's counterpoint come together as one to form a distinct trio sound.

The album opens with Norman's “The Chickenfoot Tango” with an alto solo introducing what becomes a duo between Hayden and Paul. One thing I noticed immediately is that the bass sounds a little more “ampy” than on Unwind. Not that it stopped from enjoying Paul's playing. In fact, I really enjoyed the dialogue between P.D and Norm across the album. There's a really thoughtful quality and delicate placement of notes to Paul's work on “Mendoza”. And the collective soloing of piano and bass. 

This conversation playing also stood out on “Grolnick” - particularly Paul's playing during Norm's solo. The trio attain a very rich sound. Warm, and at times, there is a bittersweet element to sneaks in (not only on this tune). I know Norm is a big fan of Don Grolnick's compositions. He's someone I've never really checked out but perhaps it's time I got around to it.

The tracks are fairly short mostly in the 3-4 minute range with three tracks over 6 minutes. It keeps things rolling along which isn't a bad thing with a program heavy on ballads and slower pieces. “Placeholder” and “Ms Mulgan” are well placed to and provide a little lift. The former is upbeat, and while it is quite busy and even dense at times, somehow it remains light. I dig Hayden's phrasing as he opens up the latter unaccompanied. Norm hides his left hand for the entirety of the piece and it makes for a welcome change in color.

The title track is a brief collective improvisation that had me imagining how a set of free improvised music could sound coming from this trio.

The bulk of the tunes come from Norm. Two are by Hayden and the lone tune from Paul is “Miracle.” It fits well into the mix and next time around I'd like to hear them tackle some more of P.D's tunes. At 3.55 Norm hints that things are going to rev up a little and Paul joins him for 10 seconds of walking before the unwind a little more.

The colors Hayden can draw out of his never fails to please my ears. Often it's subtle, but that just draws me in closer and closer. There's an intensity to his attention to detail with tone that really appeals to me. Listening to “Star Shepherd” always had me focusing on his tone. Does this tune showcase something different (tonally) than the other tracks? I don't think so, but I definitely caught myself zoning in on tone here. 

It wasn't immediately apparent what was pulling me in “Star.” But with repeated listens, I realized it was the way the phrases swell and pulsate that caught my ear – music that breathes.

Orange was very much a case of knowing what you're going to get and not being disappointed. I was expecting and unhurried, warm, intimate album featuring lyrical playing, and it checked all those boxes. But Orange is much more than that. Often in jazz, we fall into the trap of being wowed by chops, the fanciness of hip chords, fancy licks, and weird time signatures. But there's something seriously underrated about presenting a melody, taking your time and not having to shout. And that's the wow factor for me that Hayden, Paul and Norm express so well on Orange. Not a bad way to round out what has been a hell of a year.

Unwind are on tour in February (with Julien Dyne added) with details over at Norm's website. See you there!

PS. I love that the watch beep made the final cut. 

The soothing sounds of Connie Crothers and Hayden Chisholm

On select nights over the past couple of weeks, Hadyen Chisholm's Circe (Jazz Haus Musik) and Connie Crothers' Music from Everyday Life (New Artists) have been doing the late night rounds as I drift off to sleep. Both are albums I return to often, particularly when the mind needs calming.

2018 NZ Jazz Award Finalists Announced

The finalists for the Recorded Music NZ Best Jazz Artist and APRA Best Jazz Composition have been announced. 

Does anyone know why change Jazz Album of the Year is now Best Jazz Artist? To me they are different things and the award is still based on the album. Anyway....

It's great to see a number of friends in the running. Of the albums, Fearless Music, is the only one I haven't heard, but Unwind has had plenty of airtime since I picked it up last year (and I woke up at 3am this morning with "View of the Moon" floating through my minds ear) and I'm listening to West of the Sun as I write this post. I've been listening to it sporadically since picking it up at the start of the year - Really enjoyable and recommended (I'll get around to blogging about it eventually). I'm a little surprised that Jim Langabeer's Secret Islands didn't make the final three. The composition award is a different matter – I'm not familiar with any of them! However, the works by Callum and Jake were recorded by Radio New Zealand and you can listen to the The Jac & Black String there (part of my plan today). Anita's tune is on her soon to be released album, Eat You Greens – her first as a leader (I think) and I'm looking forward to hearing it. 

Best Jazz Artist 

Lucien Johnson: West of the Sun
Hayden Chisholm/Norman Meehan/Paul Dyne: Unwind
Umar Zakaria: Fearless Music

APRA Best Jazz Composition 
Callum Allardice: "A Gathering"
Anita Schwabe: "Springtide"
Jake Baxendale: "Beyond the Palace"

More details can be found on the APRA/AMCOS website.

NZ Jazz: Chisholm / Meehan / Dyne - Unwind

I first met Hayden when he toured NZ with Root 70 in 2007 and have been listening to his music since about 2003 (more on that later). Of all my friends I've written about his music the most - and I still feel a bit guarded in doing so. Going back to 1999, Norm and Paul were teachers of mine at jazz school and earlier this year while back in NZ, I got to hear them both - P.D with Jasmine Lovell-Smith, and Norm just happened to be playing a gig at the airport(!) when I was there to head back to the U.S. This series of posts is going to challenge me to write about my friends, teachers and associates more than I have in the past. 

Unwind is quite the contrast to the Space Case discs from last month. Following the initial spin I played word association and scribbled down some words that came to mind: space; warmth; quiet; understated; open; cozy; subtle; intimate; sparingness; dark; unhurried; joy; communicative; and intense.

The three originals from Haden have been explored before in the alto/piano/bass setting. “Fly,” “Inebriate Waltz” and “Tinkerbell's Whim” all appeared on Breve with the latter named “Tinkerbell Swing”) and “Inebriate Waltz” is also on Star Shepherd. One thing I haven't done this month is give some comparative listening to the match-ups of Dyne/Meehan, Penman/Taylor and Kaufmann/Eldn alongside Hayden. Norm contributes seven pieces and “Nick Van Dijk” (Hi Nick!) seemed very familiar to me. I think it's from watching the video of the trio that John Fenton posted on his blog late last year as I don't recall hearing another recording of it. There are some strong melodies here and later in the month I started working on “Free Motian” and “S.T.B.”

It's always interesting what pops out as you listen passively - “Edward” and “Free Motian” were the two melodies that initially drew my ear. And there's phrase from Hayden's improvisation on “Nick Van Dijk” (at 1.54) always seemed on leap out at me and now I catch myself waiting for it. Parts of the melody (the bridge) of “View of the Moon” remind me a little of “Ballad of the Hurting Girl” from Norm's Small Holes In The Silence (also on Rattle).

One of the keys to the album is the nuanced playing and subtleties – Paul's upper register playing during the melody of “Beekeeper,” or the way Norm uses a pedal tone to generate some gentle propulsion during the out head of “Free Motian.” Hayden's Basie-esque riff behind Paul's bass solo on “S.T.B” (a live track to end the album) and Norm's intro to his solo on the same piece. Some of these examples last only a matter of seconds but are vital nonetheless. On a mostly ballad outing such as this, textural variety can make a big difference. The piano/alto duo of “Free Motian,” the brief solo sax opening up “Tinkerbell's Whim” the bass/alto duo on “View of the Moon,” and Hayden's comping behind Paul on “S.T.B” provide enough variety to keep the ears fresh. Oh, and the counter point on the out head of “S.T.B” is a nice touch too (the melody of this tune brought to mind Bernie McGann).

The trio brings some laid-back churchy blues to Hayden's arrangement of Robert Schumann's “Sei Gegrusst Viel Tausendmal.” I'm enjoying the way Paul's interactive lines breath with the soloists.

Following the melody, “Unwind” momentarily features the tangled lines of dueting alto and piano before the bass reenters. This tune has bit of a different vibe to the other pieces – maybe a bit darker or starker (again, a nice bit of variety). But that feeling is more apparent during the melody statements than in the improvisations. It's nice hearing the melody used as a tool for accompaniment. I could hear this tune reimagined as a wilder out-of-tempo free-jazz thing too.

A positive vibe prevails on “Edward” which features communicative collective playing and swell to the accompaniment thats builds throughout the song. 3.28 and 4.20 were another couple of phrases/sound bites that caught my ear.

On the mid-tempo pieces like “Tinkerbell's Whim” and “S.T.B” Norm's lines have a nice singing quality to them. His playing on the latter has some nice twists and turns and use of space/phrasing that I'm digging. Paul's sound really pops on “View of the Moon” and “S.T.B” as he digs in for some walking and he plays some lovely counter melodies on “Beekeeper” and the title track.

Hints of Hayden's Johnny Hodges roots come through in “Inebriate Waltz.” The breath is very much part of Hayden's sound and while some players try to hide air sounds (or it is taught out of them), Hayden embraces it. At the six-minute mark he links two phrases with air – not something I hear people doing.

Unwind, lets you do just that – highly recommended. 

NZ Music Month: Root 70 - Luxury Habits

Root 70: Luxury Habits (nWog Records)
Nils Wogram (trb) Hayden Chisholm (as) Matt Penman (b) Jochen Rueckert (d)

The latest album from one of my favorite groups arrived in the mail last week. Luxury Habits is the 8^th album by Root 70 (9th if you include Heaps Dub… but that’s a different thing really).

As far as contemporary jazz groups (i.e. active during my time) go, Root 70 is one of the two that I have listened to the most (the other being the Connie Crothers Quartet). One similarity between the two is the long-standing relationships between the members. A difference is repertoire. Whereas the CCQT drew from a relatively small body of works and recorded the same pieces on multiple occasions, Root 70 record new pieces with each album. As usual Nils takes on the bulk of the composition duties. Jochen contributes one and it very much fits the vibe of the album.

After a few themed albums based on standards (On 52 ¼ St and Wise Men Can Be Wrong), blues (Listen to Your Woman), and an album with strings (Riomar), Luxury Habits recalls some of Root 70’s earlier releases and I couldn’t help thinking of their first three albums while listening this week. I didn’t make any side-by-side comparisons but I plan to. Initial impressions are that some of the youthful exuberance has refined over the years.

There’s still plenty of energy though and the balanced ensemble sound continues to be a highlight for me. It’s all the more impressive in that they don’t play together as a unit all that often (although Matt and Jochen play together a bit in other groups), but they only come together as Root 70 a couple of times a year  - in fact they just wrapped up a tour this week. Listening to Nils and Hayden makes me realize how underutilized the trombone/alto front-line pairing is. And I'm sure I've said it before but…. the combo of Matt and Jochen is one of my favorite rhythm section pairings - a great balance between the tradition and the now (plus the Root 70 albums always seem to capture Matt’s bass sound so nicely).

There’s plenty to digest and I’m looking forward to give Luxury Habits plenty more attention.

And that wraps up NZ Music Month for 2017. I the meantime, add to the NZ jazz listening list two releases due out in June on Rattle Records -  Reuben Bradley Trio's Shark Variations and Jim Langabeer's Secret Islands (it's rare these days that someone is under-recorded, but Jim definitely is!). And for those wanting more from Hayden, the second Slowfox album has just been released. 

You can read previous NZ Music Month posts here: C.L. Bob and Bleakley/Crayford/Donaldson and Lucien Johnson.

Nautilus: Infrablue

Nautilus: Infrablue (Two Rivers)
Hayden Chisholm (as) Jurgen Friedrich (p) Robert Lucaciu (b) Philipp Scholz (d)

Over the last couple of months Infrablue has been on pretty regular rotation.
The music is unhurried which could lead some to miss the subtleties that unfold throughout. The key for me is the conversational approach to the ensemble as a whole which leads to a well-balanced group sound with no single voice dominating the album. Overall I would place the sound as understated, subtle,  intimate, warm, somewhat introverted and at times, there is a feeling of vulnerability. Occasionally things get ramped up like on "Armageddon" although it doesn't feel out of place. 

The compositions are shared amongst Chisholm (4), Friedrich (3) and Lucaciu (2). During the last couple of listens I have concentrated on Hayden's tunes. "Star Shepherd," "Inward Expansion" and "Love Rush" are on the new box set that I am slowly making my way through (most recently I've been listening to The Void Between Us and Sisyphus Runs). The latter two tunes feature duo passages between sax and piano that I have been enjoying. "Fly" must be his most recorded composition (one of my favorites) and it's great hearing artists revisiting compositions over time with different (or the same!) personnel. I think it helps listeners associate a body of tunes with an artists as opposed to an endless string of compositions. The trend seems to be to write tunes, record them, tour and then put them aside and move onto writing a new batch of compositions for the next project. Anyway, before I get too far off topic..... Nautilus played at the 2015 Jazzahead festival and video of their performance is up on Youtube.

I got my copy of Infrablue (along with the download) from Bandcamp.

NZ Music Month: Introduction

Jochen Rueckert: Introduction (Jazzline)
Rueckert (d) Hayden Chisholm (as) Chris Potter (ts) Johannes Weidenmuller / Matt Penman (b) Kurt Rosenwinkel / Ben Monder (g)

Before delving into Cusp of Oblivion, I decided to listen to revisit some of his earlier work, so why not go back to the album that was my introduction to Hayden Chisholm. I have to give a big thank you to Charmaine Ford for this one. Sometime during 2003 Char lent me her copy of Jochen Rueckert's Introduction as it featured Matt Penman on bass and as she handed it to me she casually remarked that apparently the saxophone player was a Kiwi too. In the evenings I would practice at the piano store where we worked, and that night I put the album on during a practice break as I ate dinner. My ear was immediately drawn to the alto saxophone. While odd-meter arrangements of standards wasn't something I was in to (they do it well though), the alto tone was right up my alley and the lines he played presented someone developing a voice all his own. I looked at the date it was recorded (1997) and then I wondered..... How could I spend three years at university studying music (saxophone and jazz no less) and have not come across his playing? In fact, no one had even whispered his name in passing.

During 2004, I spent six months in NYC studying with Richard Tabnik (more on that later!). I stayed at Matt’s for a couple of weeks (thanks Matt!) and made a point of checking out his record collection - and Introduction was there. I listened to the album a lot during those couple of weeks - everyday I would put it on, focussing on Hayden’s playing (the first couple of Root 70 albums also got plenty of airtime).

Fast forward a dozen years and it's been fun, and perhaps even a little nostalgic, giving Introduction a spin throughout the week. It's an important album in my musical development and Hayden continues to inspire to this day. Luckily for me I have 12 more new discs of Hayden's to get through.... oh, and the new Nautilus album. No complaints here (an American tour would be nice though!).

NZ Music Month: Hayden Chisholm Quintet - Cusp of Oblivion

Last week I posted on an album from Hayden's 2013 box set, 13 Views of the Hearts Cargo. This week I've been listening to the first disc - Cusp of Oblivion - from the box set (of the same name) released a couple of months ago.

The quintet - Hayden Chisholm as, Evi Filippou vibes, Achim Kaufmann p, Petter Eldh b, John Hollenbeck d - tackle eight pieces by Hayden. Cusp has a suite-like feel to it, the pieces seem to come from a larger whole. They flow together, and throughout the week very rarely did I listen to only part of the album. Instead I found myself listening to the album from start to finish - and on more than one occasion, multiple runs back to back. Although the sax and piano take on the bulk of the solo work (their different approaches make for a nice pairing), with the vibraphone, bass and drums largely in the role of supportive and interactive accompanists, the album maintains a strong, balanced group sound throughout. I'm really enjoying the rich texture provided by the vibraphone and piano. The vibraphone seems to fill out harmony, giving extra depth and color to the sound and gets a nice blend with both piano and alto (disc 7 of the set is a Chisholm/Filippou duo and I'm looking forward to hearing more of this combo). The effortlessness of Hayden's playing is one the the standout features of his work. His tone is complex and continues to develop new shades of expression coupled with an extra assuredness (at least I think that's what it is). The sound of the album is unhurried and delicate yet intense, brooding yet light, and I'm finding these contrasts make for compelling listening.

With such a strong start to the set I can't wait to delve into the other 12 discs. But one of the challenges with box sets is making sure you don't rush through things. I may have a cursory run through of the other discs before settling down to absorb things focusing on one disc at a time.