V.A. — The Music of Eric von Essen, Vol. I (2000) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

West Coast bassist/composer Von Essen died prematurely in his sleep of a heart attack at age 43 but left behind some 100 compositions, and many bandmates are dedicated to making sure his music gets heard. This is one of three proposed volumes that will assure Von Essen's sounds are known to a jazz public that probably never heard of him. That will change, for this is a wonderful initial outing, played by five different groups. Pianists Alan Pasqua and Alan Broadbent lead trios on two tracks apiece. Pasqua, with Dave Carpenter on bass and Peter Erskine on drums, uses an urgent ticktock to a light beat under a languid, beauteous piano melody on "Silvana," while "Blues For Carin'" is an easily swung, ultra-melodic number with Pasqua using Chick Corea or Thelonious Monk-like techniques. Broadbent swings "Blues Puzzle" with Putter Smith's bass way up in the mix, while the lament "Nowhere" starts with solo 88s, then Smith and drummer Kendall Kay join on this most pristine ballad. Electric guitarist Nels Cline and pianist David Witham lead a quartet for the urgent, modal to swinging "Peacemaker," as familiar a theme as the public might recognize, and the easy flowing waltz "For Me" sports some lustrous unison lines. Violinist Jeff Gauthier and acoustic guitarist Cline in finger-style mode use a chamber-style approach à la Oregon for "Incomplete Circle" in phrases of seven and four beats, while the slow waltz "Departure" has Gauthier in mournful yet optimistic spirits. Stacy Rowles plays poignant trumpet or flugelhorn with Larry Koonse's tender electric guitar in separate lines on the contemporary ballad "Love Song For Kirsi" and works in tandem on the easy, straight-ahead swinger "Benny" for Benny Golson, using phraseology from Golson's "Whisper Not." Tom Warrington, in Von Essen's spirit, evokes the composer's persona with a deftly plucked bass solo. If this is only a portent of future volumes to come, it's quite an auspicious starting point. One can only look at future issuance of Von Essen's musical brilliance with hope and grand expectation. Highly recommended. Michael G. Nastos   Tracklist & Credits :

V.A. — The Music of Eric von Essen, Vol. II (2001) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The second of three projected volumes of music by the late bassist/composer Eric von Essen, who passed away at the age of 43, is -- like its predecessor -- a purposely mixed bag. A composer of straight modern jazz tunes to gypsy blues-jazz to pop to pieces that border on theater and classical music, von Essen was nothing if not a lover of diverse musics, and well-versed in their compositional vocabularies. All of his work was equally possessed of movement, however; there was no stasis in his compositional language. Five different ensembles ranging from quintet to trio perform two pieces each, and add more to the mystery of von Essen the virtuoso musician. The first two pieces, "Blues for John" and "K," are post-bop tunes that soar with the aegis of modern electric post-bop jazz. Larry Koonse's electric guitar and Stacy Rowles' trumpet and flügelhorn are perfect foils for one another. As Koonse takes the edges and makes them sharper, Rowles rounds them into tight pockets of harmony. On "Petit Rayon" and "9/8/29," brothers Nels and Alex Cline, on acoustic guitar and drums respectively, team with Jeff Gauthier and Michael Elizondo on violin and bass to reveal the impressionistic side of von Essen's personality. Both pieces feel like sketches for orchestral pieces; they hold within their melodic lines large harmonic sonances. The primary strings, guitar and violin, are bridged by the counterpoint melody of the bass. Both works -- though their movement is fluid and medium tempoed -- are restrained until each of them cuts loose into a kind of modern gypsy swing with Django Reinhardt on one side and Pat Metheny on the other. The trio with Peter Erskine is the least successful here, but the material is not the problem. This group took exactly the same hushed approach to this type of material on the first volume, and it's a bit wispy to come completely to life on a recording. To take the record out, the Cline brothers electrically team with David Witham and Joel Hamilton, on piano and bass respectively, for a straight-up jazz romp with hot solos all around ("BC/Jezebel") and a ballad ("Marry Me") of such lyrical tenderness that it almost floats through the air without the music attached. It's gorgeous, hypnotic, and based on open tunings, so that a drone plays a large part in the body of its architecture. If it wasn't for the line coming back over and over again, you would swear you heard this tune inside your heart instead of through your stereo speakers. Not as overwhelming as the first volume, this disk -- aside from the two trio pieces -- is solid nonetheless. It also begs the question of just how deep von Essen's abilities ran because, so far, they seem boundless.
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V.A. — The Music of Eric von Essen, Vol. III (2002) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Eric von Essen never recorded as a leader during his lifetime, though he played bass and cello as a sideman on a number of memorable releases between 1980 and 1994. This third (and evidently, final) volume of his original compositions features a number of different artists, including a few who collaborated with him on earlier releases. Guitarist Nels Cline, with whom the composer made his recording debut, plays 12-string acoustic guitar with Ken Filiano's arco bass in the moving "Blues for Me," which isn't really a blues at all. Violinist Jeff Gauthier and drummer Alex Cline, both of whom appeared on von Essen's first date as well, join the guitarist and bassist Michael Elizondo for the tense, very complex "Unresolved." The brisk, Latin-flavored "It's Just One Big Party" showcases tenor saxophonist Chuck Manning and pianist Theo Saunders. The delightful trio arrangement of "Norton's Last Words" is not a slow, mournful elegy as its title might imply, but a catchy post-bop vehicle with superb solos by pianist Jeff Colella and bassist Putter Smith. "Finska Flues" is a roller coaster ride centered around Stacy Rowles' tasty flügelhorn. Kate McGarry contributed the vocals and the lyrics to the reflective "One Eye Laughs, One Eye Weeps," which she also performed at Eric von Essen's funeral. Jazz fans should regret the premature death of this talented composer before he had a chance to record many of his compositions, though at least his friends and admirers seem dedicated to making his rewarding music more widely known. Ken Dryden    Tracklist & Credits :