Manafonistas

What do these two albums have in common (one released in January 2019, the other will come out on Oct. 14)?  That question I asked myself when listening to them one after the other lately, on a long and winding thursday afternoon. There probably was no other radio show in the last three decades that had works of ECM and Eno on such high rotation than my version of „Klanghorizonte“. So what is it that made me put a focus on these two „areas“ apart from taste and being faithful to a beloved habit – comparable to old brave hippies who never checked out of Hotel California. It‘s all horizons, that maybe one possible answer in three words. „It‘s all horizons“, Eno sings in one of the new songs, and „Horizons Touched“ is the title of a book on the history and aesthetics of ECM Records and „Magus“ Manfred Eicher. Both hold one another in high estimation, but never met in person. By the time Jon Hassell‘s „Power Spot“ (produced by Eno and Lanois, and surprisingly released on ECM), they exchanged faxes, probably kind words, and that was it.

Speaking horizons, look at the covers. Though coming from two very different musical languages, „Trio Tapestry“ and „Foreverandevernomore“ share a special handling of space and breath. Both have moments of (discreet) eruption and a stunning care for details. In the words of Joe Lovano (liner notes): „Themes and compositions that are peaceful and spiritual in nature to fuel our ideas and create music within the music. A spirit lake, an unpredictable smiling dog, the rare beauty of expression (…)“. In the words of Leah Kardos (Wire, Nov. 2022): „These are songs with enveloping atmospheres that dramatise their lyrics with crisping, gasping, blinding, thundering, quietly screaming sound design.“

Both long-players are incredibly well sequenced by Manfred Eicher and Brian Eno. Joe Lovano told me (funny enough, in Bonn, a town that literally appears in „Sherry“) how deeply impressed he had been when finally listening to the vinyl. The lines of suspense, the track-by-track order, their impact! The same with Brian’s record. The instrumental „Inclusion“ is silently blowing you away (at the end of the first side), and „Making Gardens Out Of Silence“ is the best choice for the final cut.

There is no replacement for listening – old school – from start to end. Not forgetting all things lost in the fire of our lives (as far as we can remember). Sometimes, from a distance, everything (losses first, and hands still to hold) falls into place.  No catchy songs, no singalongs, no fairytale searches of parallel worlds, no hooks, no future evergreens, oh, hold on, in their own peculiar way these songs which could be coined as modern day lamentations, a collection of future „everblues“ at least, striking quite a special, different note, corner in Brian Eno‘s song life. The album is haunting, uncanny, ethereal, strangely elevating, anti-nostalgic. „Always there / For the last hooray / Last light of an old sun.“ 

Then again (change of scene), the follow-up of „Trio Tapestry“, „Garden Of Expression“, lives up to the high standard of the first meeting in New York. (Let’s go sideways for a while.) Now with a deeper touch of Provence pastel and colours at dusk. You can think of every jazz writing cliche of praise, from „filigree“ to „elemental“, and be sure that Lovano, Crispell and Castaldi are breathing new life into it. After the first three pieces of pure baladry (written by soul, not by the book), the appearances of sound take more and more adventurous side steps, from moments of pianistic unrest and upheaval, to an exploration of metal and sound in Castaldi‘s drum figures. A zen-like purity‘s bold pairing with an adventurous spirit. The record delivers everything with grace, selflessness and the most nuanced sense of tempo, time standing still and a flow of undercurrents. If this sounds slightly over the top, let the music take over, dim the lights and follow the tapestries!

And, in regards to Eno, the instruction manual for „Foreverandevernomore“ is closing in with the same simple sentences: „The record delivers everything with grace, selflessness and the most nuanced sense of  tempo, time standing still and a flow of undercurrents. If this sounds slightly over the top, let the music take over, dim the lights and follow the tapestries!“ 

Martina berichtete kürzlich in einem Kommentar, dass die Pandemie die Hörgewohnheiten einer Freundin verändert habe, sie höre jetzt kaum noch molllastige Musik (so erinnere ich es wenigstens, ist schon ein paar Wochen her). Auf Anhieb dachte ich, dass dies für mich nicht zutrifft: am häufigsten lief bei mir in den letzten Monaten mit Amnesiac ein zeitloses Klanglabyrinth, sicher kein Quell der guten Laune. Davon abgesehen ist es schon so, dass bei mir in dieser Zeit des Schmuddelwetters und der ungemütlichen Gesamtlage (eine meiner täglichen Aufgaben ist es, den Vertretungsplan für eine Schule zu erstellen, womit ich gerade überdurchschnittlich viel zu tun habe) Musik läuft, die eher gute Laune verbreitet. Ich mag an der Stelle ja das englische Wort „uplifting“ ganz gerne, die deutschen Übersetzungen „erhebend“ und „erbaulich“ treffen den Kern nicht, „aufmunternd“ passt schon eher, aber auch nicht wirklich. Ende letzten Jahres kaufte ich zwei gebrauchte Pet Metheny LPs: „Wichita Falls“ und „Pat Metheny Group“. Midwestern light, wide open spaces, coffee with milk and lots of sugar and one of the most beautiful songs Rick Beato knows. Meine Wertung: knapp 4 Donuts mit Zuckerglasur für beide Alben. Dann kamen in den letzten zwei Wochen noch drei Platten bei mir an. Bei dem Album des Ibrahim Khalil Shihab Quintet ist der Titel Program: Spring. Hier sind Charles Lloyd oder John Coltrane als Assoziationen naheliegend, insgesamt wunderbar sonnige Musik. Leider mussten die Klänge 1968 in Johannesburg in nur zwei Stunden aufgenommen werden; man wünscht sich, diese so gut eingespielten Musiker hätten die Chance gehabt, ein ernsthaft produziertes Album aufzunehmen. Trotzdem: diese Musik verströmt unverschämt gute Laune und bekommt als Wertung 3 1/2 Gläser frisch gepressten O-Saft. Mit der Post kam ausserdem Cat von Hiroshi Suzuki, ein Juwel aus Japan, das aber eher nach groovy West Coast klingt. 1975 aufgenommen, Schlagzeug, Bass, Keyboards, Saxophon und Posaune. Wertung: 4 Flat Whites.

Und dann war da noch Trio Tapestry von Joe Lovano & Co im Paket. Hiermit bin ich noch lange nicht fertig, schreibe später hoffentlich etwas, vergebe aber als Wertung schon mal 4 Klangschalen und einen Gong für dieses meisterhafte Webstück.

Trio Tapestry‘s sense of melody, space and  letting-go  is immaculate. I will always remember their first record, one of the jazz miracles of 2019. For me, it was the best album Joe Lovano ever made, with Manfred Eicher’s perfect sequencing of the tracks. Listen to the vinyl: suspense, sound and silence in perfect union. It is quite natural that this follow-up lives up to the high standard of the first meeting in New York. Now with a deeper touch of Provence pastel and colours at dusk. You can think of every jazz writing cliche of praise, from „filigree“ to „elemental“, and be sure that Lovano, Crispell and Castaldi are breathing new life into it. After the first three pieces of pure baladry (written by soul, not by the book), the appearances of sound take more and more adventurous side steps, from moments of pianistic unrest and upheaval, to an exploration of metal and sound in Castaldi‘s drum figures. A zen-like purity‘s bold pairing with an adventurous spirit. The record delivers everything with grace, selflessness and the most nuanced sense of  tempo, time standing still and a flow of undercurrents. If this sounds slightly over the top, let the music take over, dim the lights and follow the tapestries!

 

Facing You is one of the most important recordings in contemporary jazz for several reasons, aside from being beautifully conceived and executed by pianist Keith Jarrett. It is a hallmark recording of solo piano in any discipline, a signature piece in the early ECM label discography, a distinct departure from mainstream jazz, a breakthrough for Jarrett, and a studio prelude for his most famous solo project to follow, The Köln Concert. Often meditative, richly melodic, inventive, and introspective beyond compare, Jarrett expresses his soul in tailored tones that set standards for not only this kind of jazz, but music that would serve him and his fans in good stead onward. In this program of all originals, which sound spontaneously improvised with certain pretexts and motifs as springboards, the rhapsodic „Ritooria,“ 4/4 love/spirit song „Lalene,“ and song for family and life „My Lady; My Child“ firmly establish Jarrett’s heartfelt and thoughtful approach. „Vapallia“ cements the thematic, seemingly effortless, lighter — but never tame — aesthetic. „Starbright“ is an easy-paced two-step tune signifying fully Jarrett’s personalized stance. Straddling a more jagged, angular, and free edge, the pianist evokes the influence of Paul Bley during „Semblence“ (sic). But it is the opening selection, an extended ten-minute opus titled „In Front,“ that truly showcases Jarrett at his playful best — a timeless, modal, direct, and bright delight. A remarkable effort that reveals more and more with each listen, this recording has stood the test of time, and is unquestionably a Top Three recording in Keith Jarrett’s long and storied career.

Michael G. Nastos, allmusic