Tigran Hamasyan - Shadow Theatre

Tigran Hamasyan is one of those young music geniuses, and rubs our nose in it once more with his last album Shadow Theater. His style is a smart mix of Armenian folk tradition, experimental music and jazz of course, giving us something genuinely original and well worth listening to.

Hamasyan has got many prizes in the world of jazz music, like for instance the first seat at the ”Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz”, under the direction of influential jazz figure Herbie Hancock; he has also been noticed by Avishai Cohen Trio, Chick Corea and Brad Mehldau, to give a few names.

This album is a quality modern jazz work, starting effectively with ‘The Poet’, a track introducing perfectly the versatility of the album. The drums’ irregular accompaniment, its variation, the superposition of voices and the Middle-Eastern influences all contribute to an impression of blurred imaginary landscape, both unsettling and attractive. The second and fifth tracks, ‘Erishta’ and ‘The Year Is Gone’, follow the same vibe.

Other pieces are very serene and sobre, such as ‘The Lament’, number three, ‘Pagan Lullaby’, number eight, or ‘Holy’, number eleven, which give dreamy and ‘Ave Maria’-like atmospheres, the cello being more present on these ones. The tenth – ‘Alternative Universe’ – is notable for the piano part: here Hamasyan is put on the foreground with a long ad-lib and gives us an insight of his great talent.

From this category, one of the key tracks of the album is by far the sixth one: ‘Seafarer’. It has a simple arrangement and melody, with a background of bass lines from the strings alternating with a wavy pattern by the tenor saxophone and piano, making us easily feel like a sailor in the middle of a restless sea thinking of home. This piece sounds very noble and solemn; it just shows how all the great things in life are simple.

But for the most fiery of you, there are also a few devilish tracks with jerky rhythms such as ‘The Drip’, number four, and ‘The Collapse’, number nine; interesting dark pieces, with oriental touches here and there as well.

The album leaves us with another great piece, ‘Road Song’, again with original rhythms and sometimes almost Japanese tones, on a background of restless wavy piano. A very positive energy emerges from this one track; something fresh, like a re-start in one’s life. It then ends quietly, leaving us with a feeling of curiosity for new things…this is what this album does to you.

This article appeared on AAAmusic.co.uk.

Kaz Simmons - For the Love of the Big L

Get to know ‘For the Love of the Big L’, by jazz singer and songwriter Kaz Simmons. It is part of her fourth album Signs, released on Sunday 28th October.

The atmosphere is very much her own, a wavy, dreamy world with a slight ’70s overall feel, and an interesting thread from beginning to end of Brazilian music influence – which she loves – through the percussions’ accompaniment. She also manages to smartly introduce wittiness in the song by high-lighting the well-known outside robot-like attitude of Londoners when she sings “They won’t look at me” or “Move to the right” juxtaposed with “We’re friendly people here, honestly”.

This is about a love story with its ups and downs, but a special one indeed since it is a love story with London. Kaz, with her pure and laser-precise voice, tells how the Big L “seduced” her, but she also sings about how the capital can be too pushy at times, making her want to leave. A “dark” break in the song appears, with just a doublebass and touches of electric piano on the background, and Kaz singing a cappella “Don’t take me for granted; I’m good to you”.

But don’t worry, all’s well that ends well, when she finally admits that she “really love(s) it here”.

And if you want more, you will be able to hear Kaz Simmons on the opening night of the EFG London Jazz Festival on the 15th of November, at the Green Note in Camden Town.

 This article appeared on AAAmusic.co.uk.

Robert Glasper Experiment - Black Radio 2

Robert Glasper Experiment’s new record Black Radio 2 (out October 28th) is highly anticipated, as is to be expected of the sequel of his 2013 Grammy Award-winning (Best R’n’B Album) Black Radio.

The album features collaborations with well-asserted artists such as Snoop Dogg, Common, Lalah Hathaway, Brandy, Emeli Sandé and more… another treat is the presence of Jill Scott (in ‘Calls’) and Lupe Fiasco (in ‘Persevere’ with Snoop Dogg), who together made an absolutely wonderful version of ‘Daydreamin’ in 2006.

So this “experiment” is not to be listened to as a Robert Glasper‘s record, but more as a collective work of talented artists from various music backgrounds. Glasper is indeed a talented and inventive jazz pianist, but here he remains more in the shadows, giving nevertheless a strong background throughout this jazz/pop/R’n’B album.

Technically speaking, all the pieces more or less follow the same range of chords, but always revitalising them in a new way, with new arrangements and singers, and therefore new styles. It follows the spirit of what is explained to us at the end of the introductory track, in a speech addressing the war between mainstream and innovation in music, and which tells the audience that the force and appeal of African music is to use repetitive music, though adding a new element at every turn.

Track two, ‘I Stand Alone’, is a nice punchy song ever-rising in intensity, starting with rapper Common followed in the chorus by Fall Out Boy singer Patrick Stump. It carries a soul and hip hop vibe; and on the thematic perspective, it gives a good introduction to this album where there is a great sense of vulnerability portrayed throughout, as artists share their life experiences dealing with issues like trust, love and the quest of finding one self.

But Glasper does get a little more freedom in his jazz piano play as the album evolves, like for instance in the last part of the sixth calm track ‘Trust’, or in the ninth track with fast drums‘Let It Ride’, featuring Norah Jones. Also on track number five, ‘No Worries’, featuring soul singer Dwele, at 1’42 minutes the song offers a nice modulation which resonates with jazz grids.

The last song, ‘Jesus Children of America’, featuring Lala Hathaway and Malcolm Jamal-Warner, is a clear tribute to Glasper‘s mother, Kim Yvette Glasper, who used to take her son to church where he first took interest in playing the piano, and where he was inspired to combine Jazz and Gospel harmonies. It closes this album rightly, which is indeed a quality homage to Black music and talent.

 This article appeared on AAAmusic.co.uk.