March 19th, 2021
TuneTown er en stærk, canadisk jazztrio bestående af saxofonisten Kelly Jefferson, bassisten Artie Roth og trommeslageren Ernesto Cervini. Og Utopia? Det er trioens nye plade, den første på det nye label Three Pines Records. Pladen vidner om, at de tre musikere er stærke improvisatorer og et godt sammenspillet team, der har sammen om det swing og det udtryk, som f.eks. Sonny Rollins og Lee Konitz raffinerede i 50’erne og 60’erne. Det er et udtryk, der især bærer præg af, at trioen er uden klaver, men også af at trioen netop improviserer, til tider vildt, til tider kontrolleret. Musikken er i den forstand ikke konventionel, men heller ikke outreret. Den er kreativ, innovativ, forfriskende. Stilsikker. Moden. Seks af pladens tolv musikstykker har trioens medlemmer selv skrevet. Fire har de skrevet eller rettere: fremelsket sammen. De resterende to numre er standards, og her hæfter jeg mig især ved trioens versionering af Charlie Parkers Cheryl. Det nummer er ikke utopisk, men det matcher alligevel trioens originale materiale – det stikker af, med Kelly Jefferson som den drivende faktor. Kun nummeret, Memories Remain, har et nostalgisk skær over sig. Det er til gengæld også albummets allerbedste. Det er dragende, smukt.
★★★★
Ivan Rod
via Google Translate:
TuneTown is a strong Canadian jazz trio consisting of saxophonist Kelly Jefferson, bassist Artie Roth and drummer Ernesto Cervini. And Utopia? It’s the trio’s new record, the first on the new label Three Pines Records. The record testifies that the three musicians are strong improvisers and a well-coordinated team that has together about the swing and the expression, such as. Sonny Rollins and Lee Konitz refined in the 50s and 60s. It is an expression that is especially marked by the fact that the trio is without a piano, but also by the fact that the trio just improvises, sometimes wildly, sometimes controlled. In that sense, the music is not conventional, but neither is it outrageous. It is creative, innovative, refreshing. Stylish. Mature. Six of the album’s twelve pieces of music have been written by the trio’s members themselves. Four they have written or rather: nurtured together. The remaining two tracks are standard, and here I pay particular attention to the trio’s version of Charlie Parker’s Cheryl. That number is not utopian, but it still matches the trio’s original material – it stands out, with Kelly Jefferson as the driving factor. Only the track, Memories Remain, has a nostalgic tinge to it. On the other hand, it is also the album’s very best. It’s alluring, beautiful.