A flood of new releases deserving attention is pouring in over the transom. To cover more of them, I’m keeping these reviews short and sweet. Here are several releases worthy of your attention, from Myra Melford’s new quintet; the quartet Kind Folk; the trio of Aaron Parks, Matt Brewer, and Eric Harland; and singer/songwriter Jason Tamba.

Myra Melford’s Fire and Water Quintet
For the Love of Fire and Water (RogueArt)
A review
Pianist/composer Myra Melford often takes her inspiration from literature and the visual arts. For the Love of Fire and Water, inspired by painter Cy Twombly’s Gaeta Set (for the Love of Fire & Water), is no exception. Melford has assembled a first-rate group of female artists for the project, including Mary Halvorson (guitar), Susie Ibarra (drums, percussion), Ingrid Laubrock (tenor and soprano saxes), and Tomeka Reid (cello) (with Melford herself on piano and melodica).

The 10 pieces, titled “I” through “X,” are not intended as musical representations of the Twombly drawings, but I cannot escape the thought that they are musical representations of a painter’s interaction with the canvas and of the way that we perceive a static canvas. Here, a scatter of color from the guitar. There, a bold broad stroke of the brush—you can almost feel the drag against the canvas—from the cello. Over here, a squiggly line in another color running through a fog of blue, as the sax tangles with the piano.

The music, like a painting, is not linear, and it is as dependent on timbre and color and placement as on melody and rhythm. Melford often matches up two or three instruments for extended passages, with the collaborators sometimes colliding with, sometimes complementing, each other. (You can check out “II” on Soundcloud here.)

This could be a wonderful album to paint to. (Maybe Hank S. will let me know.)

Kind Folk
Head towards the Center (Fresh Sounds Records)
A review
Separated by geography and the pandemic, the four members of the quartet Kind Folk—John Raymond (trumpet), Alex LoRe (alto sax), Noam Weisenberg (bass), and Colin Stranahan (drums)—conspired over Zoom for months before gathering in Brooklyn in June 2021 to record their sophomore release, Head towards the Center, each bringing new material. A sober reflection of their pandemic experiences, the album celebrates their renewed communion with seven originals, including two short, spontaneously improvised tracks, and two covers.

Despite the absence of a chordal instrument, Kind Folk manage to create captivating harmonies, thanks to cunning arrangements and strong improvisational instincts. Taking advantage of that absence, Raymond and LoRe, sensitive players both, expand the reach of the tonic, coloring outside the lines to great effect.

Highlights include LoRe’s dancing, almost jolly “Around Forever,” inspired by J. S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations. Raymond’s dense “Power Fall” offers a grim look at the chaos attending the downfall of any powerful individual or government, and his “Sweet Spot” offers an exhalation of relief and gratitude after the trying months of the pandemic. Elliot Smith’s nostalgic “Between the Bars” features a lovely interplay between Raymond and LoRe. The two short spontaneous improvisations, “Where Am I?” and “Distant Signal,” underscore the remarkable correspondence among the four members of the quartet.

With their intriguing compositions, deft arrangements, and sensitive performances alert to one another’s contributions, the Kind Folk quartet offers a challenging collection of complex and expressive jazz.

Aaron Parks, Matt Brewer, Eric Harland
Volume One (Fresh Sounds Records)
A review
Aaron Parks (piano), Matt Brewer (bass), and Eric Harland (drums), who have been friends on and off the bandstand for more than 20 years, got together for an impromptu recording session, Parks says in his Bandcamp notes. The session ended a pandemic-induced separation, offering an opportunity to play together in person for the first time in a long while. The result is a freewheeling collection of five originals—two from Parks, two from Brewer, and one from Harland—and covers of Frank Kimbrough’s “Centering” and the Kern/Hammerstein standard “All the Things You Are.”

Opening with Parks’ “Greetings,” the three set off on a relaxed excursion along the edge of out, with nothing to prove and every intention of enjoying one another’s company. Parks’ fine touch and nimble runs keep your ears attuned to the proceedings. The dexterity and the precise, propelling rhythmic sense of both Brewer and Harland—not to mention the expressive quality of their playing—round out a satisfying unit.

I found myself wondering how much Bill Evans Parks had been listening to lately. Even in his most far-afield improvisations, he never loses touch with the song, something that Evans excelled at. Highlights include the Bach-inflected “All the Things You Are,” the articulated anxiety of Brewer’s “Aspiring to Normalcy,” and Parks’ celebratory “Eleftheria,” which starts out as a love song and expands from there. The three mine the blues out of the long, slow burn of Harland’s “Maiden,” which includes a nice bass solo from Brewer.

Volume One will likely have you looking forward to hearing Volume Two.

Jason Tamba
Don’t Give Up (Playing for Change Records)
A review
Some musicians have a sound on their instrument that is as important as whatever music they may be playing. Think Coltrane’s tenor. The sound itself connects the listener with some other dimension. Is it outside the listener or inside or both? I don’t know, but I do know that such a sound has a healing and uplifting energy whose message seems to be love and unity and light. The charismatic, Kinshasa-born singer/songwriter Jason Tamba—familiar to those who follow Playing for Change (PFC)—has that sound in his voice, and his debut album, Don’t Give Up, is infused with it.

The album combines African and Americana elements, with a Spanish tinge here and there, into a sui generis genre that mocks the very idea of genre. Tamba on guitar is joined by Greg Leisz (pedal steel guitar), Louis Mhlanga (guitar), Matt DeMerritt on saxophone, Roberto Luti (slide guitar), Whynot Jansveld (bass and mastering), PFC Band members Mermans Mosengo (vocal/percussion/harmonica) and Robin Moxey (guitar), and Grammy-winning producer Mark Johnson.

The eight tracks, such primarily in Kikongo and delivered with an earnest warmth and beguiling grooves, touch on a variety of subjects. Among the highlights are “Maasai,” which tells the story of Tamba’s childhood as a shepherd (complete with bleating goat); “Loti,” which encourages you to listen to your spirit and follow your destiny; and “Gethsemane,” which raises an alert from a deep well of sorrow, advising you to choose your friends wisely.

Don’t Give Up is easy on the ears and a salve for the soul.

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© 2022 Mel Minter