Luis Perdomo: Universal Mind (2012)

While pianist Luis Perdomo has earned plenty of praise for his work in Latin jazz settings with different artists such as percussionist Ray Barretto and saxophonist Miguel Zenon, classifying him as a "Latin jazz pianist" would be a mistake. Perdomo may earn his daily bread playing piano with many Latin luminaries and legends-to-be, but his work with saxophonist Ravi Coltrane and his own albums place him at the vanguard of modern jazz, in all of its expansive and inclusive glory.
Universal Mind is the Venezuelan-born pianist's fourth release as a leader, but it marks the debut of this compelling trio. Bassist Drew Gress and Perdomo built a chemistry and musical bond through their shared experiences in Coltrane's outfit, but the real story here is the connection between Perdomo and drummer Jack DeJohnette. The two push, prod and propel one another to great heights, while creating music that's thought-provoking, powerful, and unique.
DeJohnette's drumming serves as the engine that powers this trio and Gress is the bonding agent and balancing force that helps the group to gel, but Perdomo is the compass that leads them to their various destinations. He's capable of crafting pianistic paranoia as he doles out angular lines above arcing arpeggiated patterns ("Gene's Crown"), delivers Monk-ish music with modern syntax (DeJohnette's "Tin Can Alley"), and explores the unknown to produce music of profound beauty ("Dance Of The Elephants").
Universal Mind sets a new standard for bravura trio work in the modern epoch. It's a high point in Perdomo's discography and, beyond that, an early contender for album of the year. (Dan Bilawsky)

Tracklist:
1. Tetragon
2. Langnau
3. Rebellious Contemplation
4. Unified Path I
5. Just Before
6. Unified Path II
7. Tin Can Alley
8. Above The Storm
9. Gene's Crown
10. Dance of the Elephants
11. Doppio
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Jack DeJohnette: Sound Travels (2012)

Drummer/pianist/composer/bandleader Jack DeJohnette turns seventy this year, and his longevity on the scene is only eclipsed by the astonishing variety of settings in which he's worked. Since emerging from his hometown Chicago, the ubiquitous drummer has played with important artists including saxophonist Charles Lloyd, trumpeter Miles Davis and pianists Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett (with whom he still works today). And then there are his wonderfully eclectic Special Edition groups—always on the cutting edge. Although anyone could hear his crisp technique, what makes DeJohnette such a powerful and profound drummer is his telepathic ability to find the right groove—the vital rhythmic center, the musical middle path—that augments the swing factor of whatever musical context in which he's working.

DeJohnette's gifts as a multidirectional musician are on full display on this nine-track recording that dances and trances in myriad tones and tempos. At this stage of his career, DeJohnette has nothing to prove, drum-wise, so the overall tantric timbre of Sound Travels is mostly mid-tempo, with some ballad selections. But this does not mean that the CD is a snoozer—far from it. Thanks to DeJohnette's uncanny (for an American) mastery of Afro-Latin rhythms and the melodic nature of his drumming—made manifest by his also being an acclaimed pianist—the leader opens and concludes Sound Travels with two solo piano selections: the Asian-tinged, bell-intro'd, "Enter Here," and the reflective, Cape Town-cadenced "Home"—a nod to the great South African piano master Abdullah Ibrahim. Save for the hypnotic "Oneness," laced with guest vocalist Bobby McFerrin's vivid vocalese, the Spain-sketched blues "New Muse," and "Dirty Ground"—a Mardi Gras Indian, Big Easy shout-out christened by Tim Ries' second line soprano sax phrases, topped by the Crescent City-style vocals of Bruce Hornsby—the remainder of Sound Travels is a percussive, Pan-African affair.

"Salsa for Luisito," is a sexy medium-tempo track featuring spry, pixie-ish vocals from bassist Esperanza Spalding that would be welcome in New York's Spanish Harlem or Miami's Calle Ocho. On "Sonny Light" and the title track, DeJohnette delivers a Calypso-coded "big up" to the West Indian-descended Saxophone Colossus, Sonny Rollins. "Indigo Dreamscapes"—first heard on DeJohnette's Parallel Realities (MCA, 1990), featuring guitarist Pat Metheny and keyboardist Herbie Hancock—is revived here in a more organic, acoustic setting, highlighted by guest Jason Moran's probing pianism and Ries' silken tenor.

Throughout Sound Travels, DeJohnette—particularly with Venezuelan percussionist Luisito Quintero—establishes the groove, morphing and shaping it, and extending it with such seeming ease and panache that is reminiscent of that old commercial tag line "so advanced its simple." But then, that's what masters like Jack DeJohnette do. ~ Eugene Holley, Jr.

Tracklist:

1. Enter Here [02:24]
2. Salsa for Luisito [06:56]
3. Dirty Ground [04:49]
4. New Muse [06:06]
5. Sonny Light [05:40]
6. Sound Travels [01:43]
7. Oneness [05:59]
8. Indigo Dreamscapes [08:05]
9. Home [04:34]
Personnel:
Jack DeJohnette - piano (1-7, 9), drums (2-6, 8), resonating bell (1), vocal (2), keyboards (3);
Tim Ries - tenor saxophone (2, 3, 5, 8), soprano saxophone (3, 4);
Ambrose Akinmusire - trumpet (2, 4, 5);
Lionel Loueke - guitar (2, 3, 5, 6);
Esperanza Spalding - bass (2-6, 8), vocal (2, 3);
Luisito Quintero - percussion (2-8), vocal (2);
Bruce Hornsby - vocal (3);
Bobby McFerrin - vocal (7);
Jason Moran - piano (8)
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Esperanza Spalding: Radio Music Society (2012)

It has not taken Esperanza Spalding long to emerge as one of the brightest lights in the musical world. Listeners familiar with her stunning 2008 Heads Up International debut, Esperanza, and her best-selling 2010 release Chamber Music Society, were well aware that the young bassist, vocalist and composer from Portland, Oregon was the real deal, with a unique and style-spanning presence, deeply rooted in jazz yet destined to make her mark far beyond the jazz realm. That judgment was confirmed on February 13, 2011, when Spalding became the first jazz musician to receive the GRAMMY® Award for Best New Artist. With the release of Radio Music Society, her most diverse, ambitious and masterful recital yet. Each of the 12 songs are accompanied by conceptual music videos, which further express Esperanza's inspiration and story behind each track. Shot in various locations including New York City; Barcelona, Spain; and Portland, Oregon; all videos will be available to purchasers of Radio Music Society as a digital download or a DVD on the deluxe version.

Radio Music Society is a companion, rather than a sequel, to Spalding's previous disc, which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Chart. "Originally I thought it would be fun to release a double album," she explains, "One disc with an intimate, subtle exploration of chamber works and a second one in which jazz musicians explore song forms and melodies that are formatted more along the lines of what we would categorize as "pop songs." Those are the two things that really interest me, and it intrigues me to think about different presentation approaches while writing each kind of song. On the pop song side, I think about listeners who aren't into jazz, but I also think about the people within my musical community who can interpret each idea best." "Art doesn't thrive with too much analyzing and explaining," Esperanza Spalding notes, "The idea of `radio music' is very broad." Radio Music Society is destined to expand the concept even further, not to mention the horizons of the music world's most exceptional young artist.

Among its many strengths, Radio Music Society is a celebration of the men and women who have helped cultivate Spalding's talent, as well as those who have nurtured her vision and inspired her along the way. "I've had the honor and blessing of working with so many phenomenal jazz musicians over the years," she says. "As I've gotten to know them and their music, I've grown to love them as family and colleagues. I wished for an opportunity for us all to interpret songs together, so that they can be heard and received by a larger audience. That music is realized by many of the brilliant musicians who are part of Spalding's ever-expanding universe. In addition to longtime partners Lovano, keyboard player Leo Genovese and drummer Terri Lyne Carrington, the ranks contain jazz legends Jack DeJohnette and Billy Hart; guitar heroes Jef Lee Johnson and Lionel Loueke; an array of master vocalists including Algebra Blessett, Lalah Hathaway, Gretchen Parlato, Leni Stern and Becca Stevens; hip-hop giant Q-Tip (who performs on and co-produced two tracks); and two Portland-based musicians, Janice Scroggins and Dr. Thara Memory, who provided essential mentorship in Spalding's youth.

Tracklist:

1. Radio Song
2. Cinnamon Tree
3. Crowned & Kissed
4. Land Of The Free
5. Black Gold
6. I Can't Help It
7. Hold On Me
8. Vague Suspicions
9. Endangered Species
10. Let Her
11. City Of Roses
12. Smile Like That

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