Here's something you might be interested in.
Saxophonist Ian Tordella's new CD is officially out today, and after last Friday's release-party, it seems that a dedicated review of the source material is warranted.
Tragic Comedy represents a new direction in jazz--it's not quite the "electric-space-jazz," that Tordella himself called it, but it isn't like anything else on the market, either.
Largely eschewing traditional elements like "walking" bass lines, or the familiar "ting-ting-a-ting" ride cymbal rhythms, Tragic Comedy also wholly embraces the input of two very electric guitarists, Jeff Miles and Joey Carano who have been given free-reign to create as much effects-pedal chaos as possible.
Tordella himself is a hard nut to crack, stylistically. There is a definite influence of Wayne Shorter in his playing, which he readily acknowledges. Tone-wise, there is a sweet, mid-range quality in his sound that has some Hank Mobley type flavor to it. He rarely engages in screaming or over-the-top types of affectation--when he does creep into the altissimo range of his tenor, it's usually in a contained manner. He seems to concentrate more on creating snaking, elliptical lines and avoiding clichés.
His writing is what really stands out in this release. The title track, with its winding, hyper-melodic theme, could be an out-take from trumpeter Kenny Wheeler's '80's classics "Widow In The Window," or "Double, Double You." Both guitarists turn in excellent, boundary pushing solos as well as out-of-the-box "comping".
Only one "standard" on the record, an ebullient, odd-meter push through "While We're Young," which features Danny Weller making his bass sound as big as a mountain and as woody as an old-growth Redwood.
There is a kind of melancholy prevalent throughout Tragic Comedy, with several ballad-tempo pieces, but things never degenerate into the maudlin.
Weller's loose stringed independent bass lines illuminate the straight-eight feel of "Spring Again," and the sensitive cymbal embellishment of Richard Sellers draws out the best in Tordella, who lays down a gorgeous essay before Carano takes it "out" with a slightly overdriven series of short repetitions that ratchet up the tension. Sellers responds to the gains in intensity with well-timed gun-shot accents and waves of tom-tom flourishes.
Miles penned the probing "Instead Of You," a pensive statement that wouldn't be out of place on Pat Metheny's "80-81." Tenor lines weave around the rolling arpeggios of the composer, before striking out into longs strands of melodic ideas. Miles' spot effortlessly navigates between bluesy staccato and ecstatic streams of dreamy legato before Tordella returns to take the melody out.
Very creative stuff. Highly recommended.
Saxophonist Ian Tordella's new CD is officially out today, and after last Friday's release-party, it seems that a dedicated review of the source material is warranted.
Tragic Comedy represents a new direction in jazz--it's not quite the "electric-space-jazz," that Tordella himself called it, but it isn't like anything else on the market, either.
Largely eschewing traditional elements like "walking" bass lines, or the familiar "ting-ting-a-ting" ride cymbal rhythms, Tragic Comedy also wholly embraces the input of two very electric guitarists, Jeff Miles and Joey Carano who have been given free-reign to create as much effects-pedal chaos as possible.
Tordella himself is a hard nut to crack, stylistically. There is a definite influence of Wayne Shorter in his playing, which he readily acknowledges. Tone-wise, there is a sweet, mid-range quality in his sound that has some Hank Mobley type flavor to it. He rarely engages in screaming or over-the-top types of affectation--when he does creep into the altissimo range of his tenor, it's usually in a contained manner. He seems to concentrate more on creating snaking, elliptical lines and avoiding clichés.
His writing is what really stands out in this release. The title track, with its winding, hyper-melodic theme, could be an out-take from trumpeter Kenny Wheeler's '80's classics "Widow In The Window," or "Double, Double You." Both guitarists turn in excellent, boundary pushing solos as well as out-of-the-box "comping".
Only one "standard" on the record, an ebullient, odd-meter push through "While We're Young," which features Danny Weller making his bass sound as big as a mountain and as woody as an old-growth Redwood.
There is a kind of melancholy prevalent throughout Tragic Comedy, with several ballad-tempo pieces, but things never degenerate into the maudlin.
Weller's loose stringed independent bass lines illuminate the straight-eight feel of "Spring Again," and the sensitive cymbal embellishment of Richard Sellers draws out the best in Tordella, who lays down a gorgeous essay before Carano takes it "out" with a slightly overdriven series of short repetitions that ratchet up the tension. Sellers responds to the gains in intensity with well-timed gun-shot accents and waves of tom-tom flourishes.
Miles penned the probing "Instead Of You," a pensive statement that wouldn't be out of place on Pat Metheny's "80-81." Tenor lines weave around the rolling arpeggios of the composer, before striking out into longs strands of melodic ideas. Miles' spot effortlessly navigates between bluesy staccato and ecstatic streams of dreamy legato before Tordella returns to take the melody out.
Very creative stuff. Highly recommended.