Daily jazz blog, Marlbank

Altus, Mythos, Biophilia ***

Altus - l-r: Ryan Sands, Neta Raanan, Nathan Reising, Dave Adewumi, Isaac Levien. A quintet who gig around New York a bit. Dourly likeable, the plangent trumpet style of Dave Adewumi on 'Lay of the Land' calls in the other horn players and …

Published: 20 Jun 2024. Updated: 11 days.

altus

Altus - l-r: Ryan Sands, Neta Raanan, Nathan Reising, Dave Adewumi, Isaac Levien.

A quintet who gig around New York a bit. Dourly likeable, the plangent trumpet style of Dave Adewumi on 'Lay of the Land' calls in the other horn players and floats on top of exploratory rhythm. There isn't really any groove or anything as nailed down as that. Instead it's pretty avant in a loose and open sense without being self-conscious. Minor key, chromatic rather than diatonic in flavour, using lots of glacially slow tempi and occasionally stirring-us-up momentum. A band that can shift to be more frenetic without your being able to see that coming. There's more heat from alto saxist Nathan Reising coming out of nowhere on 'Origin'. Tunes are inspired by Greek and Yoruba myths - worth following now and as they grow.

Tags: Reviews

Clarence Penn, Behind the Voice, Origin***

We're not really fans of albums with more than one or two singers present so approached Behind The Voice which has 5 featured singers plus vocodered effects from the leader the fine ex-Betty Carter drummer Clarence Penn with a certain amount of …

Published: 20 Jun 2024. Updated: 11 days.

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We're not really fans of albums with more than one or two singers present so approached Behind The Voice which has 5 featured singers plus vocodered effects from the leader the fine ex-Betty Carter drummer Clarence Penn with a certain amount of caution. Recorded over a period of two years at a Brooklyn studio we expected the best vocal choice to come from Kurt Elling who is on a cover of Peter Gabriel's 'Come Talk to Me.'

Kurt Elling on Peter Gabriel's 'Come Talk to Me' drawn from Behind the Voice is streaming ahead of the album's full release tomorrow

Of course given how reliably effective Elling always proves this works. But the tracks we liked most are actually by Japanese jazzer Toku singing Levon Helm's 'Growing Trade' and Aaron Marcellus' role, especially on Phil Collins song 'Why Can't It Wait Til Morning'. There are lots of shifting personnel combinations on the record themed around pop singer-drummers and firmly rooted in the 1980s. But of all the stellar players listed on the album it's keys player Shedrick Mitchell's presence and that of bass great James Genus' that counts most at the heart of the groove.