Making Beautiful Music in a Converted Japanese Farm House :Vocalist Sinne Eeg and Pianist Jacob Christoffersen : SHIKIORI

Sinne Eeg And Jacob Christofferssen: SHIKIORI: Stunt Records

I have been a fan of the Danish vocalist Sinne Eeg since I came across her 2015 Stunt Records album Eeg-Fonnesbaek which was a spectacular duo with the bassist Thomas Fonnesbaek. I later reviewed her equally impressive album Dreams from 2017, which she recorded with Danish pianist Jacob Christoffersen and with an excellent American band consisting of guitarist Larry Koonze, bassist Scott Colley and drummer Joey Barron. You can find that review here. If you haven't yet gotten hip to the talent of this vocalist you need to take a listen to her new album.

Eeg's latest release is titled Shikiori, and is a collaboration with the pianist Jacob Christoffersen, who has worked together with Eeg for over twenty years.  After such a long time working together, it's a wonder that this album, Shikiori, a duo album and the first the two have released with both of their names as co-headliners, took this long to happen. 

The title Shikiori is a poetic Japanese word that loosely means  "weaving of the four seasons."  Eeg and Christoffersen's album seems to successfully weave a tapestry of sounds, styles and sentiments to great effect. Shikiori also happens to be the name of a 140 year Japanese farmhouse that bassist Seigo Matsunaga has restored and converted into a top-notch recording studio and intimate performance venue. It is reportedly a special place amidst rice fields and mountains that allows for peaceful reflection and creative inspiration. Matsunaga has said it was his intention to "...create a place where the heart returns." Apparently, the bassist has been successful in his quest, as other important artists, like the talented Tigran Hamaysan, the amazing Armenian jazz pianist, has used the venue as a tranquil stop on his Japanese tour in 2023.

If it is true that artistic creation does not confine itself to artificially created  boundaries, than Eeg and Christoffersen have done their part to create an album that follows its own muse. They have chosen twelve songs, mostly from diverse sources, upon which to place their own imprimatur, creating their own impressive aural tapestry.

The opener "Losing You," is a composition penned by Eeg with Danish pop star Søren Sko. It is a beautiful bittersweet song of lost love that features Eeg's dynamic and heartfelt vocals accompanied by Christoffersen's sumptuous piano. Critic Dan Bilawsky of AAJ   wrote  the duo presents "...their own brand of quiet-storm soul" on this one and I have to agree.

The album features three compositions by Eeg and Christoffersen that seem to be inspired by the setting of the recording and Japanese folk-song tradition. The first is titled "Hebi," a word that means snake in Japanese. The snake can symbolize growth of wisdom or personal transformation. Christoffersen opens the song with a beautifully subdued piano entrée that creates an ethereal background upon which Eeg can provide her gorgeous wordless vocalizing. The pianist's touch is quite elegant. Sinne's voice is exquisitely pliable and resonant, and she creates a vapor-like essence. You are floating in the cosmos of your mind here.

The Soba flower is the white blossoms of the buckwheat plant. The buckwheat grain is used to make Soba noodles, a traditional Japanese dish, and fittingly "Soba Flower" is another Christoffersen creation for this recording. The composition has a cycling, vamp-like, folk-inspired pianistic theme upon which Eeg sings in Japanese. Quite fetching.

"Soba" is a reprise of the previous "Soba Flower," this time with Eeg wordlessly vocalizing in-synch with Christoffersen's repeating piano lines. The two have a telepathic connection that allows the improvised element of this music to enfold organically. Just beautiful.

The remainder of the album features a commanding performance of the  challenging, but rewarding, Billy Strayhorn's  composition "Lush Life." The song is harmonically challenging and has often stymied singers, most notably Frank Sinatra. Sinatra, who while once attempting to record it, stopped midway through the session, unhappy with his read of the complex arrangement. He would put it off, never revisiting the chance to record the song. Eeg has no such problem. Having a palpable rapport with her pianist, Eeg becomes the consummate storyteller. Her command of the song's pathos is superb. Her voice captures the loneliness and disillusionment that the music evokes. It's hard to believe a then sixteen year old Strayhorn penned this mature beauty.  Sinne's delivery is so matter of fact convincing that it's like she has the listener in the palm of her hand. Worth the price of admission.

The duo does a jaunty take on David Wheat/Bill Loughborough's "Better Than Anything." The album continues with Leonard Bernstein/Stephen Sondheim's heartfelt love song "Maria" from the Broadway hit West Side Story. Eeg and Christofferson give this beautiful ballad their own interpretation with warmth, sensitivity and heart. There is no doubt this woman can sing, capturing the emotional soul that the music deserves. Just listen to her as she brilliantly executes the gorgeously inspired coda. 

Other songs on the album include a showtime-like delivery of Gershwin's "But Not For Me." A delightful take on Christoffersen and Hansen' "Seems Like Yesterday" where Eegs' fluid wordless vocalese is on display, and soulful take on  Christoffersen and Freeman's " A Second Chance." 

Two other favorites are Sinne's take on Annie Lennox's "Cold," originally heard on Lennox's Diva from 1992. Eeg's proves that despite her jazz proclivities, she proves that popular music in the hands of a vocalist with talent and creativity can always find inspiration in good material. 

The gorgeous Eeg composition "Don't Be So Blue," was originally recorded on her album of the same name from Red Dot Records released in 2010. It just kills at how much emotion this woman can project. The band on that album included Christoffersen on piano, the talented bassist Morten Ramsbøl, and the drummer Morten Lund. This new album's version maybe missing some of the trio's beautifully textured accompaniment from the 2010 recording, but her voice is just as powerfully evocative and emotive. Christoffersen's piano work is lush and moving and his accompaniment with Eeg is superb. These two make beautiful music. Need I say more, what on earth are you waiting for?

John Di Martino: "Passion Flower: The Music of Billy Strayhorn"

John di Martino Passion Flower: The Music of Billy Strayhorn Sunnyside SSC 4114

When a talented and seasoned musician like the exceptional pianist/composer/arranger John Di Martino takes a moment to create a new album under his leadership, it deserves attention. DiMartino’s latest release is titled Passion Flower, a thoughtful compilation of the music of Billy Strayhorn. 

John’s playing incorporates superb sensitivity, admirable facility, and an assured poise that allows him to extract the best qualities of the soul and spirit of these fine compositions.  Di Martino sums up his approach to playing, I “surrender to the ecstasy of making music… if I can feel that joy then I can also transfer that joy to the audience!” 

Strayhorn’s work is a cache of gems. With John’s imagination and his attuned band of tenorist Eric Alexander, bassist Boris Kozlov, drummer Lewis Nash and vocalist Raul Midón, these memorable compositions are reimagined and revitalized in new and surprisingly delightful ways.

The sixty-one-year-old Di Martino hails originally from Philadelphia, “The City of Brotherly Love,” like so many other notable jazz artists of the last half a century. His piano playing has been influenced by a diverse group of iconic pianists including Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, Hank Jones and Horace Silver. He mastered his craft by studying with the enigmatic pianist/educator Lennie Tristano, pianist Jimmie Amadie, a Woody Herman alumnus, and with noted pianist and arranger Don Sebesky.  

Di Martino made his way to New York in 1988 after honing his skills for years as the keyboard player for a house band of a casino in Atlantic City. This “showtime” experience exposed him to a myriad of musical styles, genres, and international influences.

Di Martino’s musical skills permit him to “shapeshift,” - seamlessly adapting his playing to the requirements of the music at hand. No wonder he developed such chameleon abilities as he has found himself playing and arranging for such diverse talents as Houston Person, James Moody, Kenny Burrell, Jack Sheldon, David “Fat Head” Newman, George Mraz and Joe Lovano. 

Over the years he has become a sought after accompanist and arranger for such proven vocalists as Billy Eckstein, Giacomo Gates, Janis Siegel, Grady Tate, Gloria Lynn, and Freddy Cole. His inherent street-wise affinity for Latin music was refined by his stint with Panamanian flutist Marisco Smith. He later toured with Latin percussionist and bandleader Ray Barretto’s New World Spirit Big Band for several years. and continues that love for Latin music, continuing his present work with the distinguished clarinetist master Paquito D’Rivera.

Billy Strayhorn photo credit unknown

On the new cd, Passion Fruit, the music of Billy Strayhorn is a unifying theme, but Di Martino and his bandmates always seem to present the music in new and exciting ways. Take the opening “Johnny Come Lately” which is launched by a strutting bass line by Boris Koslov before the group enters the pace with a jaunty swing that is infectious. Di Martino’s piano skills are immediately on display as he probs the ascending and descending spirit of this melody. Tenor master Eric Alexander adds his own signature warm tone and the trap master Lewis Nash creates a swirl of inventive percussive enthusiasm. You cannot help but get drawn in by this band’s enthusiasm for the music.

Billy Strayhorn reportedly wrote his sophisticated masterpiece “Lush Life” at the age of sixteen, an almost unimaginable feat. The song is coveted for its lyrical maturity and musical complexity. Strayhorn originally debuted it with vocalist Kay Davis at Carnegie Hall in 1948. The composition challenges the vocalist with quick changes. It commands the singer to precisely execute slides and leaps, all the while maintaining a debonair, sagacious sensibility of forlorn. Notably successful recordings of this song have included a version by baritone Johnny Hartman, collaborating with saxophonist John Coltrane and a superb take recorded by chanteuse Sarah Vaughan. But even an iconic vocalist like Frank Sinatra, working to record this song with the great Nelson Riddle in 1958, was unsatisfied with his attempts to successfully navigate the complex changes and abandoned recording the song, never to make it part of his repertoire.

A sought after accompanist for countless vocalists of all types, John di Martino has developed his own inherent sixth sense of what makes a vocalist suited to render a specific composition. Here, his sensitive duet with the emotive vocalist Raul Midón is a stunningly effective treatment of this pensive Strayhorn classic. Di Martino’s yearning piano- expressive, complimentary but never overwhelming- creates the perfect tableaux for Midón’s expressive voice. Together they bring to life Strayhorn’s disheartening words and one would be hard-pressed to find a more genuinely moving rendition of this beautiful composition. Easily, this alone is worth the price of admission.

“Rain Check” opens with a slick, tight-brushed snare entry by Nash and features some mellifluous tenor work by Alexander that swells and ebbs with the changes. Di Martino’s piano solos always firmly guide you through the stated melody, but he can add short familiar musical ideas tangentially that he weaves into the music flawlessly.

John Di Martino photo by The Cuban Bridge

“Star-Crossed Lovers” is a gorgeous slow-paced composition that is played with delicate restraint as an expressive vehicle for both Alexander and Di Martino. Alexander’s tenor, at his best, is tonally burnished, emotively strong but purposefully subdued for emphasis. Di Martino’s piano is warm and shimmers with a beauty and sensitivity that radiates from his ability to find that joy in the music he is always looking for.

“Isfahan” is one of my favorite Strayhorn compositions. I have heard tenor master Joe Henderson play this one to great effect. Di Martino utilizes Alexander’s precise and gorgeous intonation and Kozlov’s plucky bass to make this one special. Di Martino creates an inventive solo that works so well over the strong walking bass lines and Nash’s subtle snare and cymbal driven pace. The group trades solos and the interaction of these simpatico musicians is a treat.

The remaining album is a cornucopia of expertly played Strayhorn classics. The slow languishing “Chelsea Bridge” delights and the imaginative “Daydream” is lively and uplifting. Drummer Lewis Nash creates a precise cadenced pulse for the exotic “Passion Flower,” with Alexander’s deep-throated tenor being featured as the lead voice. Di Martino’s piano and the rhythm section are predominantly adding deft accompaniment, judicially applied aural accents to the music, as Alexander is given the stage to subtly explore harmonic ideas on his saxophone. When Di Martino solos, he carves himself out a brief musical path, a flurry of gorgeous lines that seem to just dance with the melody.

“U.M.M.G.” is a more obscure composition that is one of the more energetically driven paces on the album. The cd also includes the Ellington Orchestra’s memorable “Take the A Train” and the middle eastern-inspired “Absinthe,” with some of Di Martino’s most inventive improvisations and Alexander stretching out. 

“A Flower is a Lovesome Thing” is one of Strayhorn’s more romantic compositions, as is the final cut “Lotus Blossom.” It’s great to hear John take the time to feature himself as a soloist on these gorgeous songs. Di Martino has a mastery of his keyboard with a skilled touch and an inventive harmonic grasp of how to make the songs draw out the best of the composer’s intentions.

“Blood Count” was the last composition written by Strayhorn at a time when the composer discovered that he was struck with terminal cancer.  The music drips of melancholy, almost desperation and was written specifically to be played by Ellington altoist Johnny Hodges. Perhaps one of the most memorable renditions of this music was recorded later by tenor saxophonist Stan Getz, who made the song one of the signature pieces of his repertoire. 

Di Martino smarty employs Alexander’s Getzian tone to bring out the sheer forlornness that the music evokes, and the tenorist plays with impressive emotion and depth.  Pairing these two musicians on this aching composition is a testimony to their affinity. Hopefully, this collaboration will be explored in the near future. The performance is one of the cd’s highlights, with Di Martino and Alexander together, artfully extracting some of the essences of Strayhorn’s most empathetic music. 

Saxophonist Dayna Stephens: Knowing the Meaning of "Gratitude"

Gratitude is a state of mind. A sense of seeing all the benefits that life has bestowed on one and demonstrating a true appreciation for having received them. Sometimes gratitude takes the form of a prayer of thanks to one’s creator. Sometimes it is a simple expression of showing those around you that you care and have not taken their kindness or love for granted. Sometimes it is a simple moment of acknowledgment that briefly crosses past one’s consciousness amongst all the daily clutter. For saxophonist/composer Dayna Stephens Gratitude is a musical expression of joy, appreciation and a celebration of life.

The thirty-nine-year-old Brooklyn born saxophonist grew up in the San Francisco Bay area before attending school at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston on scholarship. He has studied with piano legend Kenny Baron, pianist Ed Kelley, trumpeter Terrence Blanchard and the iconic Wayne Shorter among others and was on his way to establishing himself as one of the top young voices of a new generation of saxophonists when he was diagnosed with Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis, a rare kidney disease, in 2009. After struggling with the limitations of the disease, awaiting a suitable transplant that somehow often seemed just out of, and with the challenge of finding the funds necessary to get the expensive anti-rejection drug treatment needed for the transplant, Stephens finally received a transplant from his Aunt Lauren Bullock in October of 2015. All during the process Stephens maintained his music as his own personal lifeline. Meanwhile the musical community, both friends and fans, rallied for him, planning benefit concerts, outreaching to the public for donations to help the young musician defray some of the costs of his operation and treatments.Stephens sees this new lease on life as a gift that he cannot take for granted and thus this heartfelt album Gratitude is his musical expression to all those that helped, encouraged and stood by him in his time of need.

The music is a splendid offering by a deeply talented musician. His sound is warm and liquid, and conveys great emotional depth with an earnest but joyful intensity.  The band features a stellar cast of today’s most sort after musicians; Brad Mehldau on piano, Julian Lage on guitar, Larry Grenadier on bass and Eric Harland on drums. 

Stephens’ musical selections are marvelously diverse and uber contemporary. He has skillfully distilled the music of such diverse artists as the French composer/violinist Olivier Manchon, the poetic stylings of Rebbeca Martin, the electronica-jazz driven music of Michelle Amador, the Americana tinged work of guitarist Julian Lage, the durable music of guitar legend Pat Metheny and the perennially masterwork of Billy Strayhorn, into a modern interpretation of what this music means to him.

Starting with the beautifully rendered “Emilie,” we get a taste of Stephens deeply personal approach to sound. His tone is honey-throated, an authentic extension of his voice. Pianist Mehldau, exploratory as ever, responds to this sensitive piece with a probing solo that traverses the outskirts of the melody without ever losing its bearings. Grenadier and Harland offer turbulent, but somehow totally in sync backup, that redefines what it means to be provide rhythmic support. 

On the pianist Aaron Parks moving “In a Garden” Stephens sincerely states the melody and then bassist Grenadier takes an ambitious, plucky solo as Lage’s filigreed guitar work provides a delicate backdrop.

On Michelle Amador’s “Amber is Falling” Stephens is again the lead voice. The band swirls around him in a mist of sounds in the intro, until the song takes on a more forceful launch with Stephens again leading the way with his fluid tenor that brims with clarity and purposeful direction. The superb rhythm section builds the song into a flurry of tension that allows Stephens to soar above the roil. Mehldau spins his pianistic magic on a solo of inspired imagination, spurred along in part by the limitless percussive wellspring of ideas that Harland’s drum kit provides. Stephens ends the piece holding a contemplative note to silence.

On guitarist Julian Lage’s cinematic “Woodside Waltz” we are transported back to a time of wagon wheels and five-cent a beer saloon’s with a honk-tonk piano tucked off to the side of the bar. Mehldau employ the “tack” piano to produce the nostalgic sound. Stephens’ offers a plaintive sound on his tenor which is contrasted nicely by Lage’s nimble, Western-tinged guitar solo.  

On Pat Metheny’s ruminative composition “We Had a Sister,” Stephens uses his EWI/synthesizer to create an otherworldly sound. The electronics are nicely counterpointed against Mehldau’s, by comparison, stark acoustic piano sound. The composer originally played this song acoustically with his trio, but Metheny’s own subsequent electronic explorations could easily be the source of inspiration for Stephens version of this quiet gem.

Stephens’ sole composition on this album is “Timbre of Gratitude.” The song features Stephens’ and Lage playing synchronous lines. On his solo, Lage traverses the fretboard with a gossamer touch that flows like droplets of water running down the silken strands of a spider’s web.

Billy Strayhorn’s exotic “Isfahan” finds Stephens on the big baritone saxophone. His tone is rich with a lustrous vibrato that burrows its way into your chest cavity.  The interplay between him and Lage’s masterful guitarwork is especially noteworthy.

On Rebecca Martin’s beguiling “Don’t Mean a Thing at All,” Stephens’ tenor is warm and inviting and resonates into your soul. The marvelous melody is accentuated with a subtle synthesizer accompaniment by Stephens as Lage darts around the melody with his deft guitar accents.

The closing song is a medley of two songs titled “Clouds.” The first by Massimo Biocati is a synthesized series of vamps with Stephens’ sole tenor voice singing against a trap drum background. The second is by Louis Cole and has a more magisterial, orchestral sound, again with Stephens tenor and synthesizer. Both offer an interesting look at mixing electronics with acoustic instruments to create intriguing aural landscapes.

With Gratitude Stephens has returned from his brush with illness in renewed and inspired form. He has created a  distinctive suite of music, with intriguing contemporary melodies, that should satisfy even the most demanding of listeners.