LEE KONITZ | RUDI MAHALL | ANDREAS SCHMIDT | JERRY GRANELLI - Haiku (1995) FLAC (tracks), lossless

This 1994 quintet recording of Lee Konitz and drummer Jerry Granelli with pianist Andreas Schmidt, bass clarinetist Rudi Mahall, and vocalist Sayumi Yoshida is a startling exercise in understatement, texture, elegance, and adventure. Konitz has become a legend for his ability to play only the necessary notes with a perfect sense of musical dynamics. He creates drama by un-creating it. His seemingly laid-back approach to his horn has made him one of the true legends of melodic improvisation. There are 13 tracks on Haiku, and all of them examine the melodic aspects of improvisation and its various approaches to execution. Most pieces are 3-4 minutes in length, with none over five and a half minutes. "Hi Lee" is an inversion of one of the pieces on Lone-Lee, or perhaps many of them, while "Geraldo" uses touchstones from "'Round Midnight" between the horns to create a scalar system of short intervals that feel like poetically metered lines punctuated by minimal percussion to dent segmentation and the introduction of new phrases built upon the same harmonic figures. This serves as an introduction to "Ittle Onk Usic," which uses themes from four different Monk tunes to extrapolate the rhythmic and harmonic contexts of them for the purpose of grafting them onto an improvisation that swings its way through the center and unifies them all without forcing the issue or being obvious. The most beautiful piece on the album is the five-minute ballad "The Princess," which features Konitz singing sweetly, though the alto melody is out of time and space and accented by three- and four-note pastoral clusters by Schmidt, slipping in between his slowly, effortlessly unfolding lines, answered only by the occasional restatement of one of them by Mahall. The sheer lyricism in this piece is breathtakingly beautiful and full of the kind of innovation Konitz has continued to make his hallmark for the past 50 years. Brilliant.
-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <-
Tracklist :
1     The Man Who Came to Dinner 3:41
Andreas Schmidt
2     There Is a Sun Chase 2:58
Andreas Schmidt
3     Hi-Lee 2:55
Lee Konitz / Andreas Schmidt
4     Fun Keys 4:46
Andreas Schmidt
5     Uki-Ah 4:34
Jerry Granelli / Andreas Schmidt
6     Steinolphonk 3:25
Andreas Schmidt
7     Geraldo 4:11
Andreas Schmidt
8     Ittle Onk Usic 3:30
Andreas Schmidt
9     The Princess 5:04
Andreas Schmidt
10     Nuts 0:57
Andreas Schmidt
11     Egyptian Caravan 3:06
Andreas Schmidt
12     Rudimentär 1:28
Andreas Schmidt
13     Freezoo 5:16
Credits :
Alto Saxophone, Voice – Lee Konitz
Bass Clarinet, Turntables – Rudi Mahall
Calligraphy – Sayumi Yoshida
Drums, Percussion, Voice – Jerry Granelli
Piano – Andreas Schmidt
Voice – Sayumi Yoshida (pistas: 3, 5, 13)

RALPH TOWNER - City of Eyes (1989) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Ralph Towner breaks out in more ways than one on City of Eyes. Despite his band Oregon's lagging creative slump and his own obsession with a synthesizer he is only beginning to learn how to "play," Towner cuts some new grooves on this set with an all-star cast. New to Towner's musical universe is drummer/percussionist Jerry Granelli and brass auteur Markus Stockhausen. Even Paul McCandless -- who has spent the better part of the '80s making new age albums -- doesn't muck things up this time out. The opener, "Jamaica Stopover," is Towner's freshest solo guitar piece in ages. It's slippery, has a groove, and is actually rooted in both the blues and gypsy swing. The first ensemble piece, "Cascades," sounds a little florid at the outset, but Granelli's percussive ambience is a cure for the rococo melody (it again reeks of Offramp-period Pat Metheny-ism). Towner kicks it into classical gear on "Les Douzilles," before moving into a hot improv duet with Gary Peacock, who -- believe it -- plays his bass like a guitarist. The fretwork by Towner and the pizzicato by Peacock are among the most intricate, complex, and purely "musical" duets in recent history between the two instruments. This is where Towner shines, when challenged by a musician equal to, or greater than, his own abilities. The entire ensemble plays together on only three selections, the aforementioned "Cascades," the title track, and "Tundra." On the title track the music shifts modally from one series of chamber jazz timbres to another; mood and tempo relentless move throughout the piece's first five minutes, giving a feeling as if it is a free improv piece one moment and something strictly composed for rhythm and meter the next. Harmonically, Towner pianistically creates intervals that offer shades and colors of ambient-like texture. He extends the musical reach of Peacock's bass role by making it of primary importance to the work's lyrical line and its role in the "free" sections. On "Tundra," the focus is on Towner as musical interloper, connecting each player's lines with his riveting 12-string work. The melody comes from minor, augmented chords. Granelli stays in the pocket, painting over the guitar with bells and chimes, but the others engage Towner separately. Stockhausen's contribution is especially noteworthy, as he punctuates each short guitar line with a long, beautiful phrase that is an extended tonality from that of the guitar. In essence, City of Eyes shows Ralph Towner as a musical explorer again, a composer and instrumentalist who can persuasively create aural travelogues through time, space, and terrain.
(This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa')
Tracklist:
1     Jamaica Stopover 4:15
Ralph Towner
2     Cascades 6:15
Ralph Towner
3     Les Douzilles 6:14
Ralph Towner
4     City of Eyes 4:13
Ralph Towner
5     Sipping the Past 2:36
Ralph Towner
6     Far Cry 4:26
Ralph Towner
7     Janet 3:24
Ralph Towner
8     Sustained Release 5:06
Ralph Towner
9     Tundra 4:43
Ralph Towner
10     Blue Gown 5:36
Ralph Towner
Credits:
Bass – Gary Peacock (faixas: 2, 4, 6, 8, 9)
Classical Guitar – Ralph Towner (faixas: 1, 3, 7, 8, 10)
Design [Cover Design] – Barbara Wojirsch
Drums – Jerry Granelli (faixas: 2, 4, 6, 8, 9)
Electronic Drums – Jerry Granelli (faixas: 2, 4, 9)
English Horn – Paul McCandless (faixas: 4, 9)
Flugelhorn [Fluegelhorn] – Markus Stockhausen (faixas: 4)
Oboe – Paul McCandless (faixas: 2)
Piano, Synthesizer – Ralph Towner (faixas: 2, 6)
Piccolo Trumpet – Markus Stockhausen (faixas: 2)
Producer – Manfred Eicher
Trumpet – Markus Stockhausen (faixas: 9)
Twelve-String Guitar [12-String Guitar] – Ralph Towner (faixas: 4 to 6, 9