Ava Mendoza, Dave Sewelson, Of It But Not Is It, Mahakala Music ***1/2
Let's not get splinters from sitting on the fence at all - but c'mere: avant guitar and baritone sax/vocals on a viscerally compelling wild thing of an album that pivots between a forceful punkish jazz energy and the blistering rawness a blues …
Published: 27 Mar 2024.Updated: 30 days.
Let's not get splinters from sitting on the fence at all - but c'mere: avant guitar and baritone sax/vocals on a viscerally compelling wild thing of an album that pivots between a forceful punkish jazz energy and the blistering rawness a blues shouter comes fully equipped with. Songs on this Brooklyn studio recording dating back to September 2022 include the chugging Ava Mendoza arranged 'Turnip Wine' and the angry, heavily sarcastic 'Do Nothing Man', the big highlight here, with words by free improviser bass icon William Parker. If unfamiliar with the very convincing electric guitar playing of Mendoza check out 'Sun Girl' from 2021. Sewelson belts the words of 'Turnip Wine' out in admirably no-nonsense fashion. And his bari playing is as chunky as the much missed Hamiet Bluiett on such epics as slamming but very different 1990s album Libation for the Baritone Saxophone Nation.
Any album with a well thought through and distinctively airy arrangement of Astor Piazzolla's 'Libertango' on it to begin is off to a flying start in our book. Enter Triad.
Unusual instrumentation - not gimmicky: trumpet, vibes (there's a cameo …
Any album with a well thought through and distinctively airy arrangement of Astor Piazzolla's 'Libertango' on it to begin is off to a flying start in our book. Enter Triad.
Unusual instrumentation - not gimmicky: trumpet, vibes (there's a cameo interlude for a switch to marimba), accordion - the work of collaborative trio master trumpeter Dominick Farinacci, accordionist Michael Ward-Bergeman and vibist Christian Tamburr who deliver an often touching display of skill and poise.
Jazz singer Shenel Johns who has been touring with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra this year is impressive on Screamin' Jay Hawkins 1950s classic 'I Put A Spell On You' while the great percussionist Jamey Haddad, who is also on the fine new Summer Camargo album To Whom I Love, is also a guest on some tracks.
Shenel is also notable on John Mayer and Pino Palladino's 'Stop This Train' a song that was on Mayer 2006 album, Continuum. Accordionist Ward-Bergeman who was on Billy Drewes' Under One Sun with Haddad is very poignant on Farinacci tune 'A Prayer For You' - a very big highlight of the album.
Farinacci went to Juilliard while Berklee graduate Ward-Bergeman's chamamé soaked piece 'Federal' is dedicated to the people of Federal in Argentina. Tamburr in recent years has been gigging with Benny Benack III in the States - trumpeter-crooner Benack has been a member of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert house band. TRIAD also includes a fine version of Kurt Weill/Maurice Magre’s 'Je ne t’aime pas,' a song that goes back to the 1930s as rendered luminously by French singer Lys Gauty and later covered by Ute Lemper.
To sum up TRIAD scores most for an interesting combination of instruments, a wide repertoire choice that makes sense, a crossing over into a range of areas that touches on the sort of terrain that listeners to Georgia Mann's 'Playlister' feature on BBC Radio 3 morning show Essential Classics might plump for but remains highly relevant to anyone who loves jazz especially with pieces set in the context of a wider stylistic lens.
Dwell certainly deeply and linger long over some remarkable trumpet playing from the Freddie Hubbard and Lee Morgan inspired Farinacci whose albums include 2016's Short Stories (that had Jacob Collier on Horace Silver classic 'Señor Blues') in a substantial discography that goes back a couple of decades. Dominick Farinacci, photo: via Ropeadope on Bandcamp
