[BR][OF] Jane Ira Bloom - Early Americans - 2016 (Avant-Garde Jazz, Contemporary)

Disc Title:     JIB_EARLY_AMERICANS_HDGEEK
Disc Size:      5 733 642 844 bytes
Protection:     AACS
BD-Java:        Yes
BDInfo:         0.5.8
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QUICK SUMMARY:
Disc Title: JIB_EARLY_AMERICANS_HDGEEK
Disc Size: 5 733 642 844 bytes
Protection: AACS
BD-Java: Yes
Playlist: 00000.MPLS
Size: 5 732 247 552 bytes
Length: 0:52:27.277
Total Bitrate: 14,57 Mbps
Video: MPEG-4 AVC Video / 950 kbps / 1080i / 29,970 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
Audio: English / DTS-HD Master Audio / 5.1 / 96 kHz / 8012 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio: English / LPCM Audio / 2.0 / 96 kHz / 4608 kbps / 24-bit

Jane Ira Bloom, soprano saxophone
Mark Helias, bass
Bobby Previte, drums

You never know what American original soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom is going to do next. After the success of her GRAMMY® Nominated 2014 all-ballads release Sixteen Sunsets Bloom shifts into another gear showcasing the kinetic energy of her acclaimed trio playing with the musicians that she knows best on Early Americans. Its her first trio album, sixteenth as leader and sixth recording on the Outline label. Her sound is like no other on the straight horn and she lets it fly on every track. Shes joined by long-time bandmates Mark Helias on bass & drummer Bobby Previte and with over fifty years of shared musical history together the album is sure to be a winner. Blooms collaboration with Helias dates back to the mid 70s in New Haven CT and her unique chemistry with Previte has been ongoing since 2000. She brought the group together in summer 2015 to Avatar Studio B in NYC to capture their breathtaking sound in both stereo and surround-sound with renowned audio engineer Jim Anderson. The album features twelve Bloom originals ranging from the rhythmic drive of Song Patrol and Singing The Triangle to the spare melancholy of Mind Gray River. She closes the album with a signature solo rendition of the American songbook classic, Bernstein & Sondheims Somewhere. World-renowned portrait photographer Brigitte Lacombe contributes a stunning cover image of Bloom. Playing in threes has always held a special fascination for jazz artists - it offers the possibility that something can be slightly off balance and thats just what fires the imagination of players like Bloom, Helias, & Previte. With Early Americans Jane Ira Bloom stands in the vanguard of her generation carving out new territory in the heart of the jazz tradition. Dont miss this trio of fearless jazz explorers who share a commitment to beauty & adventure.
One jazz music's premier soprano saxophonists, Jane Ira Bloom, crafted a career-defining recording with Sixteen Sunsets (Outline Records, 2013). So how does she follow that up? With an alteration of her quartet trajectory. Bloom's recorded output has consisted, over a career that began in the late 90s, of a series of mostly quartet sets, featuring terrific pianists, including Fred Hersch and Jamie Saft and Dominic Fallacaro in the piano chair. For Early Americans, the piano disappears, and Bloom goes with the trio approach: soprano, bass and drums.
Where Sixteen Sunsets brimmed with a nuanced majesty—gorgeous familiar ballads, with a generous sprinkling of inspired originals, laid down by the most adept quartet craftsmanship, with Dominic Falacaro on piano, anchored by drummer Matt Wilson and bassist Cameron Brown, Early Americans, with its more spacious trio approach, has a feeling of fun and loose-limbed spontaneity. In a set of Bloom originals—with the exception of Leonard Bernstein's "Somewhere" closing out the disc—the music has an elasticity and bounce, and freedom afforded by the lack of a chording instrument. It's also an odd mix of edgy funkiness combined with a spiritually-tinged exploratory verve.
"Song Patrol" opens the set with a joyful ebullience, as Bobby Previte's drums and Mark Helias' bass bounce around Bloom's fluid soprano. Most reviews of Bloom's work mention the beauty of her tone. It is here and is, as always, exquisite—pure, vibrato-less sonic gold. "Nearly (for Kenny Wheeler)" features Bloom unaccompanied, sounding as if she's on a religious pilgrimage. "Hips and Sticks" shuffles and sizzles and rattles on down the road; "Singing The Triangle" seems like a zen poem inside an insistent groove.
Bernstein's "Somewhere," with Bloom alone with her horn, is unadorned loveliness—a straightforward rendering of one of the most beautiful melodies, closing out another of Jane Ira Bloom's first-rate recordings. --Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
Saxophonist/composer Jane Ira Bloom is one of the few jazz players to concentrate solely on the soprano saxophone. In 35 years she has recorded sixteen albums as a leader, most often in a quartet with piano. This is her first trio album, in the company of longtime playing partners bassist Mark Helias and drummer Bobby Previte. Their high level of communication is evident on a tune like "Singing the Triangle," which features a recurring theme that is clearly stated by all three instruments in unison (with Previte using his toms melodically). Both the head and the band's approach recall the late Steve Lacy, another soprano saxophone specialist and experimentalist. The start-and-stop "Gateway to Progress" has a similar feel (it also demonstrates how hard this band can swing). Bloom definitely has her own sound, but Lacy is the closest comparison that comes to mind.
The aptly-named opener "Song Patrol" demonstrates just how tuneful Bloom's composing can be, a fact that may be obscured by the avant-garde tag she is sometimes saddled with. She has long had an interest in live electronics and sound design, which first appears here in the panning between the left and right stereo channels on "Dangerous Times." I believe this particular effect was achieved the old fashioned way, by simply moving the horn between the pair of stereo microphones—there is a photo in the CD liners showing her playing in the studio with tape on the floor to mark the mic placement. Bloom also employs some discreet electronic processing on her saxophone. It's especially noticeable on "Rhyme or Rhythm," which also features overdubbed hand drums and agogô bell from Previte, creating a denser group sound with a latin flavor.
"Other Eyes" goes the other way, paring things down to a gentle saxophone/bass duet. Bloom closes the album with a beautiful solo rendition of Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim's "Somewhere." The whole program is full of variety, beautiful and exploratory at the same time. The trio format works so well that it is surprising that Bloom hasn't used it before. I'd love to hear more from these three. --Mark Sullivan, All About Jazz
Soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom does something new on her latest album, the 52-minute Early Americans. On her 16th release as a leader, she strips the proceedings down to a trio format. The result is a dozen Bloom originals (and one Broadway standard) which crackle with sustained fortitude, snap with swing and groove, and pop out from the speakers or headphones with auditory aplomb. Bloom is joined by two longtime musical friends: bassist Mark Helias (who first collaborated with Bloom in the mid-70s) and drummer Bobby Previte (who has worked with Bloom for 15 years). It’s not hard to imagine the simpatico synergy which filters through each tune, and listening confirms Bloom, Previte and Helias’ uncanny communication.
There are many standouts. The CD opens with two memorable pieces. “Song Patrol” introduces a magnificent melodic theme via Bloom’s sincere soprano, while Helias and Previte contribute freely-moving rhythms. This is modern jazz but doesn’t stray into free or avant-garde territory. There’s a lithe bass/drum duet near the two-minute mark which accentuates the contemporary feel. The 4:21 “Dangerous Times” has a sonorous characteristic, highlighted by Helias’ sawing arco bass lines and plucked notes, Bloom’s earthy sax (yes, soprano can be soulful) and Previte’s distinct percussive measures, including shakers, deft use of snare and cymbals, and a staggered tempo. Two upbeat tracks bring out the trio’s possibilities for energy. “Rhyme or Rhythm” opts for a fast rhythmic quotient. The rhythm section stays gated together on a hearty groove while Bloom hangs above, favoring lower notes and keeping things slightly off-balance with occasional spirals of horn (as if she suddenly circles away the microphone, which may not be far from the truth). The personality portrayal, “Big Bill,” has a strong enthusiasm and includes Bloom’s dazzlingly inspired improvisational phrases. And the rhythm team nurtures a commanding cadence which is reviving and revolving.
Bloom and her trio offset the momentum-enriched moments with spare melancholy throughout Early Americans. One track in particular marries both sensibilities. The 5:23 “Singing the Triangle” begins with a soprano and bass duet, where triangle indeed is used. But then the pace shifts higher, and the threesome snags the reins and flies outward. Bloom showcases her expressiveness and touch for adventure on her soloing, while Previte and Bloom take the melody into some unique but always swinging rhythmic sequences. There are two pieces which lie on the quiet side. Solemnity is discernable on the sober “Other Eyes,” an indigo-hued sax/bass duet which is the audio equivalent of slow, steady rain coursing down a cracked window pane. There’s also a gentle liquidity to “Mind Gray River,” which has a meaningful thoughtfulness. Bloom’s soprano seems to reach heavenwards (she effortlessly hits some high notes), while Previte and Helias sustain a soil-bound rhythm foundation which almost appears to be in contrast with what Bloom does on her sax.
Bloom goes it alone on the shortest cut, the 1:52 “Nearly,” a tribute to the late great trumpeter Kenny Wheeler, who passed away in 2014. This is a beautiful and poetic piece which memorializes with the seclusion and succinctness of Emily Dickinson’s verse. The only other solo Bloom excursion is a lingering, careful adaptation of Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim’s “Somewhere,” from West Side Story. The tune is well-known for its sense of hope amid the conflict of loss and love, and Bloom catches that spirit during this lamenting but not maudlin interpretation. While the packaging for Early Americans is sparse (no liner notes; a few appropriately sepia-shaded photos; and credits), the fecund production is worthy of mention. Recording engineer, co-producer and mixer Jim Anderson creates a splendid stereo sound. There’s a sonic richness and closeness to the material, a shared aesthetic between performer and production. With any luck, Bloom can return her trio to the studio and enlist the assistance of Anderson. --Doug Simpson, Audiophile Audition