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Pablo Menares
Melissa Aldana: Echoes Of The Inner Prophet
by Mike Jurkovic
Grammy-nominated saxophonist Melissa Aldana was all of maybe 21 going on 22 in 2010 when her Inner Circle Records arrival, Free Fall, caught many a discerning ear with its surprisingly earthy and assured lines and tangents. Her first for Blue Note, 2022's 12 Stars, displayed much the same but with a more resolute, restorative, established tone. As exhibited on such artistic statements as 12 Stars and 2019's Visions (Motema Music), Aldana relishes her sojourns and residencies in the ...
read moreMelissa Aldana: 12 Stars
by Chris May
Before we get into tenor saxophonist Melissa Aldana's album--which is excellent, so hang on in there--a word about press releases and publicity campaigns. Specifically, those from Blue Note. The label's headquarters in Los Angeles is in danger of becoming known for award-winning b.s. in this regard, as demonstrated during the campaign for Aldana's label debut. Here is an example: 12 Stars, we are told, “grapples with concepts of childrearing, familial forgiveness, acceptance, and self-love." Given that there is ...
read moreMelissa Aldana: 12 Stars
by Angelo Leonardi
Presente da alcuni anni ai vertici dei sondaggi dei critici di Down Beat, la sassofonista cilena Melissa Aldana ha da poco superato i 30 anni e in un decennio s'è imposta con un talento magistrale. Dopo cinque incisioni in proprio (l'ultima Visions le è valsa una nomination ai Grammy per il miglior assolo improvvisato nel brano “Elsewhere") ora debutta con l'etichetta Blue Note accompagnata dalla parole del suo presidente Don Was: «È tra i massimi musicisti e compositori della sua ...
read moreMelissa Aldana: 12 Stars
by Mike Jurkovic
Many musicians have chosen their Blue Note moment to reveal themselves as the artist they are or intend to be. So it is not surprising that a young, gifted artist such as Grammy nominee Melissa Aldana, riding a sure, ascendant arc both creatively and professionally, goes big on her Blue Note debut. From the start, 12 Stars is the exact antithesis of the parlance of isolation. It is a confab of equals. Though in her notes the saxophonist ...
read moreTomoko Omura: Branches Vol. 1
by Friedrich Kunzmann
Violinists come in many shapes, colors and sizes. In jazz, there are those who bridge the gap between classical music and a more improvised repertoire seamlessly, as seen with pioneers such as American avant-gardist Mark Feldman. There are others who go about their craft with a more rootsy approach to the improvised music tradition—as heard with virtuosos like Regina Carter. And then of course there's everything in between, from old guard veterans like Stephane Grappelli (also known as ...
read moreTomoko Omura: Branches Vol. 1
by Nicholas F. Mondello
With Branches Vol. 1, award-winning violinist Tomoro Omura dives deep into exploring textures and melodic invention drawn from Japanese folklore. This effort is a contemporized display which validates Omura's vast instrumental abilities and also channels Japanese folklore as a launch-point for her superior composition skills. The recording is seductive, deeply emotional and meditative, and, simultaneously, elegantly refined. The album offers six tracks, each a fascinating voyage. “Moonlight in Vermont" gets such a re-imagined, polyrhythmic treatment that one ...
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by Mike Jurkovic
If, as you start to yield willingly to the sumptuous, hypnotic Branches, Vol. 1, you should need to walk away and attend to other home/bunker business, try to keep at least one ear on the music. From any point in any room you might hear a gypsy laugh, a lover cry, a Celtic reel. A marvelous new touch on a centuries old instrument, bringing the ages together, gathering all the ley lines into one bustling hub. A rising ...
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Music
La Madrina
From: VisionsBy Pablo Menares
Pablo Menares
Location: New York City
Instrument: Bass, acoustic
