It was an amazing year of great music from astonishing musicians. So many great vocalists and so very many great debut albums. This was the most difficult year, so far. If you haven’t heard the following albums, songs or artists, do yourself a favor and listen to them.

Once again, these are my favorites for the year. I would not presume to judge who is the “best.”
 
Vocal (Female) Album: “Matter of Time” by Aimée Allen
Vocal (Male) Album: Swing, Straight Up" by Dale Head
Piano: “The Evolution of Oneself” by Orrin Evans
Acoustic Guitar: “Blue Quiet Sound” by Goh Kurosawa
Electric Guitar: “Eternal Monomyth” by Gene Ess
Bass: “Within Sight” by Damian Erskine
Drums: “Evolution of an Influenced Mind” by Donald Edwards
Violin: “Roots” by Tomoko Omura
Organ: “For Once in My Life” by Ben Paterson
Sax: “No Net Nonet” by Lucas Pino
Trumpet: “Electricity” by Clear Water (Donald Malloy-trumpet)
Trombone: “The Chase” by Nick Finzer
Vibraphone: “Pictures from a Train Window” by Errol Rackipov
Harmonica: “Merci Toots” by Yvonnick Prene (and Pasquale Grasso)
Multi-instrumentalist Solo Recording: “Write Them Down” by George Colligan (keyboards, bass, drums, pocket trumpet, marching baritone and all vocals)
 
Solo (Guitar): “What a Beautiful Day” by Toshi Onizuka
Duet: “After You” by Mason Razavi and Bennet Roth-Newell
Trio: “Dictionary 3” by Ligro
Quartet: ““Yamiyo Ni Karasu” by Sakoto Fujii Tobira
Quintet: “Hats and Shoes” by Gebhard Ullmann Basement Research.
Sextet/Septet: “Aegean” by Jacob Varmus Septet
Large Ensemble: “Holmes” by Jeff Benedict Big Band
Orchestral Jazz: “The Kingdom of Arwen” by Thierry Maillard
Seasonal Album: “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” by Fred Hughes Trio
Best Jazz Arrangements: “Sea Changes” by Eric Olsen ReVision Quartet
Bossa Nova Album: “BossaToo” by Kristine Mills
Tango: “History of Tango” by Berta Rojas
Latin Jazz: “Cumbia Universal” by Gregorio Uribe Big Band
Progressive Album: “All You Can Eat” by Slivovitz
Jazz-Fusion Album: “Grace Notes” by Randy Bernsen
Jazz-Funk: “Olympus” by Beat Funktion
Free Jazz: “East Meets West” by Tres Gone
 
Jazz Blog: “Jazz Truth” by George Colligan
 
Debut Album of the Year: “Home” by Lorin Cohen
Song of the Year (Solo): “Light and Shade” from “What a Beautiful Day” by Toshi Onizuka
Song of the Year (Group): “Oblio” from the album “All You Can Eat” by Slivovitz
Album of the Year: “Ichigo Ichie” by Sakoto Fujii Orchestra Berlin


~ Travis Rogers, Jr. is "The Jazz Owl"

“All You Can Eat” is the fourth album for the Italian septet Slivovitz, their third for MoonJune Records (MJR 074). The 2011 release, “Bani Ahed,” was a work of incredible scope and scale but even that great album has been surpassed by this release.
 
Slivovitz is comprised of Pietro Santangelo (tenor and alto sax), Marcelo Giannini (electric and acoustic guitars), Riccardo Villari (electric and acoustic violins), Ciro Riccardi (trumpet), Derek Di Perri (harmonica), Vincenzo Lamagna (bass) and Salvatore Rainone (drums).
 
The album cover is a whimsical cartoon of a donkey with an open mouth and Japanese Kanji reading “tabe hodai” and the English title “All You Can Eat.” Clearly, the table is set for a fun album. And that will be my last reference to food or buffets or eating.
 
The album is opened with “Persian nights” by Pietro Santangelo. Acoustic guitar and hand-tapped drums leadoff before an electric onslaught of guitar, bass and drums. Villari’s violin and Di Perri’s harmonica slide alongside and it is better than Kansas ever imagined.
 
The chord shifts are exhilarating and the lead shifts between guitar, harmonica and trumpet are just as fascinating. More than Jazz-Fusion or Progressive Rock, this is ripping, harmonic, furious eclecticism. Santangelo’s sax is powerful and melodic. This is stuff to make your head spin.
 
“Mani in Faccia” is Marcello Giannini’s composition. The hot violin is reminiscent of Eddie Jobson’s days with Frank Zappa or UK. The harmonica, guitar and bass all work the same melodic groove and the drums smoke below.           
 
The crunchy guitar with violin is cool stuff but then the whole group thunders forth for a few bars and the bass and drums of Lamagna and Rainone are explosive. Then, out of the fury, that smoking groove closes out the track.
 
“Yahtzee” (Santangelo) opens with sweet alto sax and guitars with a washing cymbal behind. The beautiful violin comes in to join the guitar. Then the bass walks it to the transition.
 
The funky rhythmic line lays the foundation for Giannini’s Middle Eastern imagery. The attention to bass and drums while you feast your ears on the lead guitar. (Oh, damn. I said “feast.”)
 
The harmonic effect of the instruments is profound and moving. The structure of “Yahtzee” is extraordinary. So well done.
 
“Passannante" (Ciro Riccardi) is like big-band swing to start. Derek Di Perri’s harmonica over sax and trumpet is righteous stuff. The corps progression is full on fury in a brass and bass firefight. Remarkable.
 
“Barotrauma” (Santangelo) starts off with the touch of R&B that gives way to an expanding, even progressive, Jazz-Funk. The staggered delivery from harmonica, brass and guitar is punchy and jovial. A sorrowful tenor sax smooths out the melody as the rest flow warmly alongside. All the while, the crescendo builds to a fine and harmonious conclusion.
 
“Hangover” (Giannini) opens slowly with picked guitar and sax. The bass and drums serve as both support and propulsion.
 
The guitar and harmonica are in fine agreement. Villari’s violin takes the lead for an exquisite delivery of the theme. Guitar and sax take the melody to conclusion with the whole group in attendance.
 
“Currywurst” (Giannini) is the hottest piece of Funk on the album. The switches between leads and chorus from all of the artists are brilliant. All the while, the bass and drums keep the groove on fire. The building of the closing segment is steady until the fevered return to the theme.
 
“Oblio” (Giannini) is a thoroughly fascinating work of harmony and modulation. This is an astounding work of interaction. Santangelo’s sax is fabulous in cooperation with Giannini’s guitar and Villari’s violin. There are moments that recall the early days of King Crimson and you don’t get much better than that.
 
Tenor sax and violin are joined by Di Perri’s harmonica as the bass of Lamagna and drums of Rainone roll an agreement. The structure, the artistry, the emotion of “Oblio” are inescapable.        
 
“All You Can Eat” is Slivovitz’s crowning achievement. The virtuosity of the artists is beyond doubt. However, it is the power and the beauty of the competitions that are so breathtaking. The instrumentation is staggering. I never expected this. Indeed, I could not have expected it at all. Hearing this album is like turning the corner of a busy street and walking right into the one you’ve awaited all your life.      



~ Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl




For more great music, go to MoonJune.com. 

Eric Olsen has made a name for himself as a pianist and organist, conductor, composer and arranger in both Jazz and Classical music. He has appeared on 17 albums as leader and accompanist.

With the Blujazz release of “Sea Changes” (BJ3433), Olsen has brought his two musical worlds together again, arranging Classical pieces (and one very special Pop song) into works of delightful Jazz. With Olsen are soprano and tenor saxophonist Don Braden, bassist Ratzo B. Harris and drummer Tim Horner. Together, this ensemble is called the Eric Olsen ReVision Quartet.

It was exciting to simply unpack the CD and flip it over to read the track list. My eyes widened as I read the list of some of my favorite pieces of all time freshly arranged for Jazz by a guy who knows how to do it.  You’ll see what I mean.

The album opens with “Be Now My Vision,” an arrangement of the traditional Irish hymn “Slane.” For a band called the Eric Olsen ReVision Quartet, the title of the piece should not be treated as coincidence. In fact, the song sets the vision for the quartet as well as the listener.

The opening of the piece makes you think that you have stumbled onto a John Coltrane recording. The gorgeous intonations of Dan Braden and the clean play of Eric Olsen sounds like the grand dialogues of Coltrane and McCoy Tyner. All the while, Ratzo B. Harris and Tim Horner are a perfect rhythm section, showing steady support and a lot of groove.

Gabriel Fauré’s “Elegy” is a beautiful remembrance. Originally written for cello and piano, the sax and piano arrangement is perfect for Jazz voices.

Olsen and Braden are meant to be together, it would seem. Braden’s tonality and Olsen’s directness are flawlessly complementary.

The piece itself is a lovely and melancholy look back. It recalls people and places once shared but now gone, filling the heart as the music fills the ears.

George Gershwin’s “My Man’s Gone Now” is, of course, the aria from “Porgy and Bess.” In the opera, it is sung by the character of Serena who is grieving over the body of her murdered husband. It is one of the most heart-breaking vocal pieces ever.

Olsen has arranged it wonderfully for piano and sax. Harris’ bass is mournful alongside Horner’s shuffling drums. Olsen plays wistful runs and Braden’s soulful sax calls after the beloved. It ends in despair with Olsen’s fine, light touch and a groaning bass.

One fine surprise on the album is the inclusion of the furiously-paced “Carmen’s Prelude” from the Georges Bizet opera “Carmen.” It is a beautiful melodic line that is set ablaze by the quartet.

During my playing of the CD, my wife walked in and said, “Is this ‘Carmen’?” Obviously, then, the arrangement does not lose the identity of the wondrous original.

This is one of those tracks that requires multiple plays just to concentrate on the individual parts. Harris gets a great bass solo near the 5-minute mark, a beautiful thing. Who knew Bizet could swing?

From the fierce to the fragile, “Immortality” from Olivier Messiaen’s “Quartet for the End of Time” follows next.

Messiaen wrote most of “Quartet for the End of Time” after being captured as a French soldier during the German invasion of France in 1940. The premiere of the piece took place in the cold and unheated confines of Barracks 27 of Stalag VIII. The German officers of the camp sat with the prisoners-of-war and—freezing together—heard the first performance of the incredible composition. “Immortality,” the final movement of the quartet, is a staggering artistic resistance to evil.

Eric Olsen has brought new life to “Immortality”—the lexical incongruity notwithstanding. The voice of piano, sax, bass and drums cry out against the relentless darkness and it is a triumphant shout of light over darkness, life over death.
Stunning.

John Lennon told George Harrison, after the recording of “Something,” that George “may have given us the best Beatles song ever.” This is one of my favorite Beatles songs, even though I was a John Lennon guy.

Olsen arranges Harrison’s original into a Jazz beauty. Braden’s work on the soprano sax is soaring and full of life. Harris’ bass solo keeps the chords and offers his unique voice to it. Through it all, Olsen holds the line in this splendid tip of the hat to “the quiet Beatle.” Not so quiet when these guys are finished with him.

I have never been able to get enough of Jean Sibelius. Eric Olsen makes doubly certain of that with his arrangement of “Finlandia.”

The vision of Olsen’s opening chords is expanded with Braden’s picturesque sax. Good God. This is gorgeous. The wash of Tim Horner’s brush and cymbals is like fine mist whispering across a springtime meadow. The warm stroll of piano and bass with the occasional skip of the drum is like a couple’s walk together.

It was originally a protest piece against the censorship of the Russian Empire in 1899. It is indeed a love song, a love for home.

It is one of my favorite pieces of music and Eric Olsen has not only done no violence to the Sibelius original, but a great service to the non-Classical listener by reintroducing the gorgeous themes of the Classical music world.

Frederic Chopin’s “Waltz in C# Minor” is another fine example of just that. Harris and Horner swing behind Olsen’s piano.
Oscar Peterson’s father once told him that Jazz is fine “but learn Chopin because he will be your musical vocabulary for anything you want to say on the piano.”

Eric Olsen has taken that Classical vocabulary and written a sweet Jazz poem with it.

From the first time I heard Edvard Grieg’s “Peer Gynt Suite” at the age of 10, I have always been hooked by “In the Hall of the Mountain King.” Rick Wakeman used it as the finale for his 1974 album, “Journey to the Centre of the Earth,” and the four cellists “Apocalyptica” closed their concerts with it “in case some of you thought you were coming to a Classical music concert.” Eric Olsen uses it as the final track for “Sea Changes.” It does not disappoint.

With Olsen on the Nord Piano 2, Braden runs the melody on tenor sax. Harris and Horner create a fun bit of funk for the background. The layering of the voices is like looking at the geological strata on a mountain side.

There is menace and courage, wit and wisdom, light and dark all in tight interaction. This is riotous good fun.

“Sea Changes” is a stunning rainbow bridge between the worlds of Classical and Jazz. Eric Olsen’s ReVision Quartet has managed the crossover with dedication and devotion to both the originals and the new arrangements. Equally at home in both realms, Olsen has caused the listener to delight in the Jazz expression of Classical majesty.