ALL THAT JAZZ by Simon Adams

REVIEWS

MINO CINELU/NILS PETTER MOLVÆR SulaMadiana (Modern Recordings).

Nordic ambient trumpeter Nils Petter Molvær comes from the Norwegian island of Sula, former Miles Davis and Weather Report percussionist Mino Cinélu’s father is from Martinique, or Madiana as it was originally known, hence this set’s collective title. This merging of cold and hot is a magical meeting, in which African rhythms and pattering tabla beats combine with slow, open and synthesized trumpet lines, Molvær in his best Jon Hassell Fourth World mode. Atmospheric sound effects waft in and out alongside random vocal interjections. It is all a bit like listening in to a multilingual conversation without quite understanding the different languages spoken, but loving the experience all the same. Unexpectedly good, and quite beguiling.

COSMIC VIBRATIONS ft. DWIGHT TRIBLE Pathways & Passages (Spiritmuse).

The six-piece Cosmic Vibrations have been gathered together by in-demand vocalist Dwight Trible. The band has been performing steadily over the last three years, building a reputation in Los Angeles and further afield for its mesmerising performances. Pathways & Passages is the first time that their transcendental, spiritual music has been recorded. It is a genre-defying amalgamation of divine vocals, soul-stirring jazz and healing poetry, delivered with a rich tapestry of African, Mesoamerican, and indigenous North American percussion and instrumentation. Improvisation forms the core of this set, but rhythm and groove are never absent. Throughout, Trible’s vocals dominate, but the real power comes from the three percussionists, who produce interweaving lines of frothing intensity, the bass and other instruments weaving all around them. It all makes for a heady brew, and a fascinating one too.

COLIN STEELE QUARTET Joni (Marina).

Joni Mitchell’s beautiful songs long ago made their way into the jazz repertoire, helped to some extent by her own adoption of jazz around the time of the Hejira and Mingus sets in the late 1970s. Many musicians have covered her songs over the years: now it is the turn of Scottish trumpeter Colin Steele. Steele certainly knows his Joni, although he obviously favours the early folk material rather than the later experimental works. However, while he cherishes the songs, he doesn’t do much with them except largely follow the melody note for note, his trumpet standing in for Joni’s voice. Pianist Dave Milligan is more adventurous, as are bassist Calum Gourlay and drummer Alyn Cosker, but overall it seems the band is too overawed by the original material to improvise much, despite their obvious skills. Of course, for hardcore Joni fans, this set is just perfect, but while it is enjoyable, many of us will consider it a missed opportunity.