New releases from Chris Potter’s quartet and Ernesto Cervini’s sextet Turboprop wash away the dust of everyday life* and demonstrate that modern jazz is alive and well and in good hands.

Chris Potter
Eagle’s Point (Edition Records)
A review
Saxophonist Chris Potter’s absolute command of his instrument and the astute alignment of intellect and feeling in his compositions find extraordinary support in his new supergroup quartet, with pianist Brad Mehldau, bassist John Patitucci, and drummer Brian Blade. These four gentlemen share an elevated jazz fluency, a penchant for exploration, and big, big ears that allow them to navigate improvisational waters with an exhilarating coherence, discovering musical gems that they didn’t even know they were looking for. It’s one thing when jazz musicians surprise the listener, but it’s something else altogether when they allow the music to surprise themselves. Potter’s muscular but supple lines and his rhythmic and timbral subtleties are well served by Mehldau’s pianistic colorings (often reminiscent of Bill Evans), Patitucci’s depth, and Blade’s kinetic drumming, which somehow finds the beat within the beat. (It doesn’t hurt that Patitucci and Blade played together for years in Wayne Shorter’s quartet.) The eight original Potter compositions offer a variety of crisp narratives. There’s the broad-shouldered romp of “Horizon Dance” with its calypso tinge, the tender, bolero-ish “Aria for Ana” with its lovely melody, the midtempo title track’s workout with Mehldau’s slalom through the changes and Blade’s embellishing rhythmic details, the Iberian groove of “Málaga’s Moon” with Patitucci’s opening incantation. Every track is delivered with an unforced intensity generated by the sheer pleasure that these musicians take in working together. It’s a pleasure for listeners, too.

Ernesto Cervini’s Turboprop
A Canadian Songbook (TPR Records)
A review
Canadian Ernesto Cervini proudly wears his love of country on his latest release, A Canadian Songbook, from his Turboprop sextet, featuring Tara Davidson (alto saxophone), Joel Frahm (tenor saxophone), William Carn (trombone), Adrean Farrugia (piano), Dan Loomis (bass), and Cervini (drums). (Cervini also provides two compositions, six arrangements, publicity, and record label.) It’s the fourth full-length album from Turboprop, which has been together since 2013. That long affiliation, along with the sterling musicality of its members, helps explain the sextet’s exceptionally cohesive performances, which are suffused by Cervini’s bright, athletic optimism—in his compositions, arrangements, and propulsive playing. Things gets off to a rolling start with Canadian pianist James Hill’s “Skeletons,” showcasing Cervini’s rich writing for the three horns, which later trade improvised lines before engaging in a tasteful and exuberant three-way improv. “When I Fall,” from Canada’s Barenaked Ladies, delivers one of the album’s high points in Frahm’s solo, which digs into the redemptive. Cervini’s “If, Then” offers a charming musical representation of “hypothesis, conclusion” and a nice solo from Farrugia, and his “Stuck Inside” showcases Cervini’s compositional and arranging skills, especially in the horn soli section. The album is rounded out by engaging compositions from Our Lady Peace, alto saxophonist Allison Au (which gets a brisk and nimble solo from Davidson), and Carn—Canadians all. A Canadian Songbook offers an energizing and satisfying glimpse of the vibrancy of the jazz scene in our neighbor to the north.

* With thanks to Art Blakey.

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