Jazz comes in many flavors and nationalities, as these three new releases perfectly demonstrate. On La Misteriosa musica della Regina Loana, the duo of Italians Gianluigi Trovesi and Gianni Coscia pay homage to author Umberto Eco with a delightful out-of-the-box offering. Canadian Jacques Kuba Séguin serves up sophisticated compositions with his sextet on Migrations. Tom McDermott, an adopted son of New Orleans, shares his love of Scott Joplin on his mostly solo and, as usual, idiosyncratic release Tom McDermott Meets Scott Joplin.

Gianluigi Trovesi and Gianni Coscia
La misteriosa musica della Regina Loana (ECM)
A review
Inspired by Umberto Eco’s illustrated and somewhat autobiographical novel The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana, the virtuosic Gianluigi Trovesi (piccolo and alto clarinets) and Gianni Coscia (accordion) have created La misteriosa musica della Regina Loana, a delightful and inventive homage to the novel and its author, a lifelong friend of Coscia’s. In the book, the main character, Yambo, having lost his memory, rummages through his country house in search of his past, unearthing a trove of materials—school essays, sheet music, vinyl records—that bring a flood of memories from the postwar period. Trovesi and Coscia have picked up on verbal and visual cues in the novel to create an album that reflects and celebrates it. So, for example, a photo of Ingrid Bergman, which commemorates the film Casablanca in the book, is represented by “As Time Goes By,” with an almost antique quality of sweetness and melancholy. Three brief variations by Trovesi and Coscia on Janàček’s “In the Mists” reflect the constant presence of that atmospheric condition in the novel. A medley of five Italian songs of the time honors the repeated use of their lyrics in the book. The instrumentation contributes to the time capsule character of the album, which drops the listener deep into the atmosphere of postwar Europe. Eight of the 19 tracks are Trovesi/Coscia or Coscia originals, which pass the postwar character through a modern filter, expanding the musical palette. For example, one original, the improvised, polyphonic “Eco,” is developed on a gematria on the names “Umberto” and “Eco.” Among the album’s many highlights are “Basin Street Blues,” which suggests what early jazz might have sounded like if it had been invented in Italy; Glenn Miller’s “Moonlight Serenade,” in an impossibly slow and pure arrangement that distils the essence of hope; and the sly original “Umberto.” Playful and inventive, La misteriosa musica della Regina Loana lovingly conjures a bygone era with enchanting performances that celebrate the distinct genius of Umberto Eco.

Jacques Kabu Séguin
Migrations (Odd Sound)
A review
Unknown to me before this release, Canadian trumpeter/composer/arranger Jacques Kuba Séguin has introduced himself memorably with a sophisticated and satisfying effort on Migrations, on which he is joined by Yannick Rieu, (tenor sax), Olivier Salazar (vibraphone),  Jean-Michel Pilc (piano), Adrian Vedady (bass), and Kevin Warren (drums). The album includes six originals from Séguin and a cover of “Choucoune,” best known in the English-speaking world by its ’50s remake “Yellow Bird.” The lyrical, episodic compositions were inspired by a series of interviews Séguin conducted with people from various cultural communities in Quebec. Séguin might put you in mind of trumpeter Bobby Shew, with whom he shares a fondness for rapid and well-articulated runs; sudden, irrepressible sweeps skyward; and concentrated passion. The project is very ably supported by his colleagues, and in particular by the rhythm section. Pilc almost steals the show, with his ability to run multiple lines simultaneously with two hands, and with his speed and fluidity. Moods run from comforting and hymnlike (“Premiere Neige [You Are Not Alone]”) to frisky and fun (“I Remember Marie in April”), from an almost trad feel (“Hymne”) to an energetic modernity (“L’Ecrivain”) and to a Latin tinge (“Choucoune”). The entire album, from the upbeat numbers to the ballads, feels genuinely relaxed, and the soloists sail throughout.

Tom McDermott
Tom McDermott Meets Scott Joplin (Arbors Records)
A review
New Orleans pianist Tom McDermott brings a passionate curiosity about the syncopated musics of the Americas, an astonishing double-jointed technique, and a bottomless capacity for invention to every project, and the mostly solo Tom McDermott Meets Scott Joplin is no exception. In fact, it impressively showcases the variety of McDermott’s skills using the compositions of Scott Joplin as a worthy vehicle. The 17 tracks cover a wide swathe of Joplin compositions, from the very familiar, such as “The Entertainer” and “Maple Leaf Rag,” to lesser-known works, such as the two-step rag “Something Doing.” McDermott brings out the unique expressive quality of each—from the carefree “Pineapple Rag” to the teasing “Gladiolus Rag” to the Italianate “Rosebud March.” He sticks close to the score on several of these small gems, but this is a McDermott recording, so it’s no surprise that he takes delicious liberties with others. On “Rosebud,” he allows the late virtuosic New Orleans R&B pianist James Booker to poke his head through the curtains, and he remakes “The Entertainer” completely in Booker’s image. He injects Jelly Roll Morton into “The Strenuous Life” and “Searchlight Rag,” offering an entertaining class in how the music transitioned from ragtime to jazz. McDermott’s love affair with Brazilian choro came to a head in his recording Choro do Norte, which, recorded in Brazil and New Orleans, wedded musicians from two different traditions. Three of the tracks on that album impressed Joplin compositions into service, mixing ragtime, trad jazz, and choro, and they are reprised here, with Evan Christopher (clarinet), Rick Trolsen (trombone), Ciao Marcio (guitar), Henry Lentino (bandolim), and Sergio Krakowski (pandeiro). When sticking close to the scores, McDermott presents the material with affection and aplomb, but it is when he takes liberties that his full genius is on display. His robust and wide-ranging improvisational take on “Maple Leaf Rag” is alone worth the price of admission and will induce slack-jawed amazement and downright giddiness. The man is a true American treasure.

© 2019 Mel Minter